Meet Nadeshda of Love the Yoni

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadeshda.

Hi Nadeshda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey has been shaped by a deep curiosity about what helps people understand themselves, heal, and live more authentically. Throughout my career as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I’ve had the opportunity to work with children, adolescents, and families navigating trauma, complex life experiences, and relationship challenges. These experiences deepened my understanding of how our experiences shape the way we see ourselves, relate to others, and move through the world.

My path into subconscious reprogramming began when a producer contacted me to lead a team of parapsychologists. Through his guidance, I became a parapsychologist, which opened up an entirely new world of curiosity for me, particularly around hypnosis, the paranormal, and the ways we experience things beyond our everyday understanding. That exploration eventually led me to clinical hypnotherapy and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), another approach to working with the subconscious and emotional patterns. I absolutely love this work because it allows us to explore change at a deeper level, beyond simply understanding our experiences intellectually.

Another important part of my journey has been creating Love the Yoni, a conversation game I conceived in Long Beach in 2016. Growing up in a conservative Latino environment, attending a conservative Christian denomination, and being raised by my grandmother all shaped my early relationship with sexuality and self-expression. There was a lot of messaging around what was acceptable and what wasn’t, and I came to understand how easily natural curiosity can become entangled with shame, repression, and silence.

I was already familiar with board games as a form of healthy fun, so I began imagining a game that could bring that same sense of playfulness and connection to conversations about sexuality. The idea came to me during a period when I experienced a car accident as a turning point in my life. I felt that I was being called by something greater than myself to create this game, almost as though I were responding to a collective desire for a healthier way to talk about sexuality.

Love the Yoni was conceived right before the #MeToo movement brought widespread attention to sexual harassment, consent, and the experiences people had been afraid to voice. I wanted to create a space where people could explore sexuality, consent, boundaries, pleasure, and vulnerability with curiosity and without pressure or judgment. I believe that when people are taught to suppress their questions and feelings around sexuality, they can be left without healthy, safe ways to understand themselves or communicate with others. While a game alone can’t solve these complex issues, I wanted to contribute something that could help open those conversations through play, education, and connection.

Although my work as a therapist, my exploration of subconscious reprogramming, and my creation of Love the Yoni may look like different paths, I see them as deeply interconnected. Therapy can help us identify and transform subconscious patterns, beliefs, and emotional responses that shape our lives. Love the Yoni brings that exploration into the realm of adult play, creating opportunities to examine our conditioning around sexuality, deepen our connections with ourselves and others, and express our creativity in a playful, nonjudgmental environment. At the heart of all my work is a desire to help people reconnect with themselves, find their voices, and discover new possibilities for how they experience themselves, their relationships, and their lives.

Today, I’m continuing to explore the intersection of therapy, subconscious transformation, creativity, and meaningful human connection. I’m excited about finding new ways to bring these ideas into the world and create spaces where people can learn, grow, and discover new possibilities for themselves.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road! I’ve had to navigate challenges both personally and professionally, and I’ve learned that meaningful growth rarely happens in a straight line.

One of the challenges has been navigating the conditioning I grew up with, particularly around sexuality, self-expression, and what was considered acceptable. Unlearning some of those messages has been part of my own journey toward greater authenticity, and it has influenced the work I feel called to do. It’s helped me understand how deeply our upbringing and cultural environments can shape our beliefs, sometimes in ways we don’t fully recognize until we’re ready to question them.

Professionally, my path has also involved following my curiosity into areas that don’t always fit neatly into one category. My work as a therapist, my exploration of parapsychology and hypnotherapy, my interest in EFT, and my creation of Love the Yoni have all required me to trust my instincts and be willing to explore unconventional ideas. Bringing a concept like Love the Yoni into the world has also meant navigating the vulnerability of putting something personal and meaningful out there, especially when it touches on a subject that can still make people uncomfortable and scared.

There have been moments when life itself has forced me to slow down, reconsider my direction, and make room for something new. I’ve come to see those moments not simply as obstacles, but as opportunities to listen more closely to myself and reconnect with what matters most.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that I don’t have to have the entire path figured out before taking the next step. Sometimes the way forward becomes clear only after we’re willing to take a risk, question what we’ve been taught, or allow ourselves to imagine a different possibility.

I’m still learning, evolving, and finding new ways to bring my ideas into the world. The road hasn’t always been easy, but the challenges have helped me become more intentional about the work I do and the life I want to create.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Love the Yoni is a sex-positive, consent-based adult board game I created in Long Beach, California, in 2016. I wanted to bring the fun and connection of traditional board games into exploring sexuality—an area of life that so often gets surrounded by shame, silence, judgment, or misinformation. Intentionally designed to offer a variety of experiences, the game combines educational prompts and meaningful conversations with opportunities to explore different perspectives, engage in physical activities, laugh, and guess. My vision was to create a playful, well-rounded experience where adults could explore sexuality with curiosity, openness, and freedom while connecting with themselves and others.

Growing up in a conservative Latino environment, I experienced how cultural and religious messages can shape what we feel comfortable expressing, asking, and exploring. I became interested in creating something that could help people approach sexuality with more curiosity, openness, lightheartedness, and freedom. Rather than making these conversations feel intimidating or overly serious, I wanted to create a playful way for people to learn about themselves and one another in a welcoming space where players could relax and engage at their own pace.

Love the Yoni invites adults to explore topics such as consent, boundaries, pleasure, personal experiences, beliefs, turn-ons, turn-offs, and vulnerability. Through conversation and play, participants have opportunities to share their perspectives, discover differences, challenge assumptions, and connect in ways they might not otherwise experience. Consent and personal choice are central to the game: nobody should feel pressured to share anything they don’t want to share.

What sets Love the Yoni apart is that it approaches sexuality through play, education, curiosity, and connection—not pressure or performance. It isn’t about getting people to disclose more than they’re comfortable with. Instead, it uses play to make potentially difficult topics more approachable. I’ve always wanted to find a way to bring the spirit of play therapy to adults in an informal, playful setting. As a therapist, I’m fascinated by how play can open up new ways of learning, expressing ourselves, and connecting with others.

I’m particularly fascinated by the connection between play and subconscious patterns. When we’re relaxed, curious, laughing, and engaging with others, we may become more open to considering perspectives and questioning beliefs we’ve taken for granted. In that sense, I see Love the Yoni as creating opportunities for the kind of reflection and exploration that can contribute to personal growth and shifts in perspective. While the game isn’t an official subconscious reprogramming treatment, its playful approach reflects my broader interest in how we learn, what shapes our beliefs, and how we can create space for new possibilities.

As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I have a professional background in trauma, relationships, communication, and emotional well-being. That experience has deepened my understanding of how personal history, cultural messages, and relationship dynamics can influence the way people see themselves and connect with others. However, Love the Yoni is separate from my clinical practice: it is an educational and recreational game, not therapy or a substitute for mental health care. My professional background informs the game’s emphasis on consent, emotional safety, communication, and personal agency, while the game itself invites participants to explore and discuss their own perspectives without making clinical claims or promising therapeutic outcomes.

What I’m most proud of is bringing an idea that felt deeply personal into the world as a tangible game that other people can experience and share. One of the pieces of feedback I hear most often is that people can feel me in the game—in the way it holds space, the energy it creates, and the experience it invites people into. I think of Love the Yoni as my baby; it carries my essence, almost as though it has my own code and DNA woven into it. I put so much intention into creating an experience that feels playful, welcoming, curious, and open to the many different perspectives people bring to the table. Love the Yoni grew out of my own curiosity and desire to bring more ease and fun to interactions connected to sexuality, but its purpose extends beyond my individual story. I believe we all deserve opportunities to explore who we are, communicate our boundaries, understand one another, and experience connection without shame.

Ultimately, I want readers to know that Love the Yoni is an invitation to get curious, have fun, and make room for conversations that matter. My hope is that it helps people feel a little more comfortable using their voices and expressing themselves, a little more open to learning from one another, and more empowered to define their own experiences of sexuality and connection.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Love the Yoni has been a collaborative journey, and I’m grateful for the people who have contributed their creativity, time, ideas, and support along the way. Although the original vision was mine, bringing it to life involved a number of people who helped me turn that vision into something tangible.

My brother, Danny, and my sister, Michelle, helped me hand-draw some of the illustrations. I initially sketched the game board and many of the avatars on cardboard, so seeing those early drawings eventually become part of a finished product was especially meaningful. My friend Jade then helped transform those original ideas into polished graphic designs, including the game board, avatars, and original logo. She also contributed marketing ideas as we explored ways to introduce the game to the world.

Laura was another important contributor, helping with the behind-the-scenes work of getting the business organized, reaching out to people, brainstorming marketing ideas, and, most significantly, finding the manufacturing company that could bring the game to life. That was a huge step in turning the concept into a physical product. Amanda also played a key role in preparing the first 100 copies for manufacturing, helping finalize important details and contributing to the behind-the-scenes organization. She also suggested making the logo more gender-inclusive, an idea I welcomed as part of making the game feel more inviting to a broader audience.

More recently, Mandy has been helping me brainstorm ways to expand Love the Yoni through events and related creative projects, including a podcast spinoff that we’re developing together. Friends like Alfredo have also brought fresh ideas and perspectives to conversations about where the project could go next.

Each person has contributed something different, whether through artistic talent, design, logistics, manufacturing, marketing, or imagining new possibilities. I appreciate how a project that began as a personal vision has created opportunities for collaboration and connection, and I’m excited about the people I’ll continue to meet along the way. I see Love the Yoni as an evolving project, and I look forward to building relationships with more people who resonate with its purpose and want to help bring its next chapter to life.

Pricing:

• *Love the Yoni board game:* $111 per copy, plus shipping\.
• *Love the Yoni game night:* $36/ person or $69 for two people attending together
• *Individual psychotherapy / Law of Attraction coaching:* $231/45 min
• Couples/ family sessions: $333/ 75-min session
• Individual subconscious reprogramming: $444/ 75-min session

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lovetheyoni.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bella8belles?rpxt=Y2g2NmVibXNuOGUw&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadeshda.hernandez.2025?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/p/gpTjjgPF
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nadeshdaefttappingandhypno9910?si=BREAyRGJJpidL_DA
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/YwBUafm7oj
• Other: https://allowyourwell-being.com/