Yoga Room Episode 5 with Jennifer Hellwarth & Joshua Searle-White

SEXUALITY & COMMUNICATION WITH JENNIFER HELLWARTH & JOSHUA SEARLE-WHITE

Episode 5

Sexuality & Communication in the Classroom & Life with Jennifer Hellwarth & Joshua Searle-White

Sexuality and communication are as common as they are complex. While ancient-to-modern yoga texts and teachings provide various views on sex and morals, matters of sexual desire, power, transference, trauma, and communication are often as problematic in yoga classes as the are in the larger world. A generation of young people have grown up in confused cultures where "no means no" is all too often ignored, "yes means yes" can lead to unwanted interaction, and basic values of loving kindness and dignity get lost in questions of consent, which can obscure deeper feelings, desires, and needs for safety, joy, and well being.

Tune in here to learn more about sexuality and communication in yoga and life.

Episode Highlights:

  • A short introductory talk by Mark Stephens on yoga and sexuality.
  • A fascinating exchange with Jennifer Hellwarth and Joshua Searle-White based on classes they've co-taught at Allegheny College on Sexuality, Relationships, and Consent.
  • Conversation about sexual awareness, interaction in classes, power dynamics, and the importance of respect and kindness.
  • Discussion of touch in yoga and life.

GUEST INFORMATION & LINKS

Jennifer Hellwarth is Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and author of The Reproductive Unconscious in Medieval and Early Modern England. 

Joshua Searle-White taught in the Psychology Department at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, from 1995-2018, where he is currently Professor Emeritus.  He is the author of The Psychology of Nationalism, Magic Wanda’s Travel Emporium: Stories of Love, Hate, and Things in Between, three storytelling CDs, and three plays, “The Weekend Workshop,” “Truth Out!”, and “It’s Not All about Sex! (Or Is It?)”. 

Jennifer & Joshua have a long-standing interest in sexuality education for college students and older adults, and together they have taught a course on Sexuality, Relationships, and Consent three times at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pensylvania. The’ve both completed Yoga Teacher Training with Mark Stephens.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCES MENTIONED

  • Amia Srinavasan, The Right to Sex: Feminism in the 21st Century
     
  • Christine Emba, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation
  • Mark Stephens, Yoga Adjustments: Philosophy, Principles, and Technique

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