Description

How to Say No (and Why You Don’t)

A somatic workshop on healthy boundaries

Thursday, October 1 | 5:30-8:00 p.m.
My Inner Harbour (149 Wallace Street, Nanaimo)

Early bird registration $25 until September 21. $30 after. 

Does saying no have to be this hard? Maybe it’s time to learn another way.

Saying “no” when you mean it is vital to any relationship, romantic, sexual, or platonic. But the dominant culture bypasses boundaries at every turn, leaving us feeling as if there’s no other choice but to endure what we don’t want or risk hurting someone’s feelings.

Yet when we only give in to what another wants without considering our needs, we lose access to our centre and the choice that is available there.

This workshop offers somatic practices and inquiries grounded in teachings around consent and voice. Together, we’ll explore a framework to help you find your boundaries and name them in a low-stakes setting so you can grow more comfortable saying no when it really matters.

What you’ll learn:

How power and relational dynamics can prevent you from fully expressing a no
Verbal and nonverbal ways to say no (including some that require zero confrontation)
Somatic practices to retrain a healthy fight response to better express your no and stand up for yourself
How to receive no from another person (because let’s face it, sometimes that is hard too)

Expect a mix of teaching, partner practice, and solo practices.

About me:
I’m Sonja Semyonova, a somatic intimacy educator with 20+ years of study and practice of the body, healing, and intimate connection.

My training spans a wide range of focus, but also runs very deep. I spent my early days as a sexual assault counselor, which awakened me to a decades-long study of how we heal trauma physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Seeing how the power of our sexuality and ingrained need for human-to-human intimacy has been at the heart of many people’s greatest pain and pleasure, I have been immersed in the study of sexuality and intimacy since 2018. I’ve studied with a range of teachers and modalities, including somatic sex education and sexological bodywork, BDSM, Taoist sexual alchemy, pleasure, sexual trauma recovery, and more. I’m currently in my practicum to receive certification as a Somatic Sex Educator through the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education in Victoria/traditional territory of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples.

My work is grounded in rigorous training, but it’s also shaped by my own journey through layers of sexual wounding and coming out with a deep sense of personal power. I know what it takes to rebuild a relationship with your body, your desire, and your capacity for real intimacy. And I know it doesn’t happen through willpower alone.

If you’re looking to go deeper into exploring how to find more power and voice in your intimate relationships, I also offer 1:1 work (take a look here and set up a call to ask about time-limited spots with discounted rates to fulfill my practicum hours).