Sexuality work can undo lifetimes of conditioning incredibly fast.
EMBER - A Somatic Retreat into Sexuality, Intimacy & Embodied Wholeness
Over six days, women come together to slow down, connect, and explore their sexuality. Looking at how it’s shaped by the nervous system, lived experience, and the imprints held around boundaries, pleasure, and intimacy.
This is a space to meet yourself more intimately. To reconnect with your pelvis, your erotic self and your heart. To listen to and understand your female body. To notice what your body holds around desire, erotic energy, longing, shame, sexuality, intimacy, pleasure and aliveness.
Sexuality work is not about becoming more sexual, orgasmic, or confident in the way we’ve been taught to imagine.
It is about coming home to the body in a way that allows life to move again. When women step into sexuality work, they begin to soften the places that have learned to brace, numb, or disconnect - often for very good reasons. They begin to regain autonomy over their sexuality, bodies, desires. Sexuality becomes a gateway to the self, not a goal.
Through this work women rediscover their capacity to deeply feel: grief and love, tenderness and anger, trauma and aliveness, sensation and emotion, all living in the same body. What often unfolds is a deep reclamation of the self - a shedding of shame that was never theirs, a release of conditioning held in the nervous system, and a profound sense of acceptance for the body as it is. Over time, this work doesn’t just change how women experience intimacy or pleasure; it changes how they inhabit their lives and their bodies - with more aliveness, safety, honesty, softness, and trust in themselves.
The retreat is capped at 10 women so it’s intimate and each woman feels seen and supported.
“When I speak of the erotic, I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that creative energy empowered, the knowledge and use of which we are now reclaiming in our language, our history, our dancing, our loving, our work, our lives.” Audre Lorde
What we explore?
EMBER approaches sexuality in a grounded, body-led way.
Nothing is rushed or performed.
The work unfolds at the pace of the nervous system, allowing your body and your sexuality to be met with honesty, safety, and curiosity. It’s an invitation to dance at your safe edges. This is not about becoming someone new.
It’s about coming home to your sexual, alive, sensual self as part of your wholeness.
Over the six days, we explore sexuality as part of the wider female experience and how it is shaped by the nervous system, lived experience, different stages of life, stress, trauma, and our capacity for intimacy.
We start with consent, because everything else depends on it. Before we go anywhere near desire, we spend two days in the Wheel of Consent, learning what a real yes feels like in the body, what an endured yes feels like, and how to tell the difference. Most women have never been asked what they want, let alone practised asking for it and receiving it without apologising.
Then we meet desire and taking. Once your no is anchored, we turn to the harder question for most women: what do I want, and can I let myself take it? This is where the
Then we de-shame and liberate the body, fully including the parts nobody taught you about.
Then we awaken the inner wolf, giving the female nervous system an opportunity to awaken, feel alive and shift out of fawn and freeze.
Then we soften into tenderness, and we close in the temple.
Every workshop is trauma-led and consent-led. Nothing is required. Everything is invitational. You are always the one who decides how far in you go.
“As a woman who has experienced childhood sexual abuse this felt terrifying - scared of what would come up and how I would cope I still stepped in. Meeting the past in moments, but moving through them and feeling the support from the other incredible women was profound.
I can honestly say I feel like I have reclaimed my body, my pleasure and my sexuality - this work is so bloody powerful and I want you to feel brave to step in and allow Lydia to support you in your healing.
Thank you for creating such a powerful, incredible beautiful space and you truly just led it as you always do - from your heart and that was felt. Thank you for what you do and for bringing this retreat to us. I will be back.
I want to reassure the woman who thinks that this might be too edgy or doesn’t really know what to expect. It’s so much more than your thinking it’s beautiful, healing and educational - gift yourself this opportunity you won’t regret it and your body will thank you”
Katy
“Ember has help me to reconnect to my own mind and body after sexual trauma and child birth/motherhood. I think it's very easy to feel overwhelmed or burnt out, disconnected from yourself with either of these experiences, Ember has allowed me to reclaim myself. I feel more myself now than I have in years!
Obviously everyone comes to Ember for a different reason, lack of intimacy, questioning sexuality, struggling to orgasm etc I didn't think that it would reframe my mind set so much but whatever the reason you are wondering whether to attend the retreat, I'd just say book it! There's a reason you're being called towards Ember, explore that reason”.
Charlie
What did sexuality mean?
“Assumptions I had were that it was all about sex and the act of having sex to reach an orgasm. I thought it would be a bit weird how all of us together would be exploring sexuality. I expected it to be uncomfortable”
What does sexuality mean now?
“I have increased my level of self-pleasure SO much. It's not a dirty word anymore. It's empowering, sexy, owned and mine. Sexuality feels so much more wholesome than it did before and I understand the many layers that are within it. I am becoming more and more intrigued and just want to continue to learn and explore - to meet and remeet myself. Intimacy has been completely reframed for me, now I get to own my intimacy, the intimacy that I give and offer to others and it no longer feels bad or disgusting it feels great”
Nicola
Through somatic and sexological bodywork practices, boundary work, pleasure principles, breath, somatic movement, and guided exploration, you are invited to:
Reconnect with your body and your sensual self.
Deepen your understanding of the female body and the pelvis on an emotional, spiritual and embodied level.
Explore intimacy, pleasure, and sexuality in a grounded, body-led way.
Notice how sexuality intersects with nervous system and trauma healing.
Become aware of, and gently soften, patterns and stories held in the body.
De-shame and reclaim parts of yourself that have been silenced or hidden.
Build more capacity for pleasure, aliveness, and connection.
Embody and embrace your fullness - your juice, your vitality, your life force.
EMBER is facilitated with care, consent, and deep respect for the body and this work meets you exactly where you’re at.
This work is held within The Reverence Method™. A body-led, therapeutic approach that honours the wisdom of the female body. Reverence is shaped by a set of interconnected pillars that support women back into safety, sovereignty, and wholeness.
Each pillar informs the others, creating a cyclical process where one layer opens the next. Sexuality is never explored in isolation, but in relationship with the whole woman.
Once women get past the barrier of fear around sexuality work, the depth, richness, and transformation on the other side is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“Don't think, just book! You will not regret it! (I'm only saying to other’s to book because I've secured my place 😂)
EMBER has been, without a doubt, the best decision I've made in years! This retreat has catapulted me to incredible growth with myself, my body and intimacy. Every single area of life is positively impacted, not just pleasure but the whole spectrum of what I feel, I invite so much more of myself to the table with love and compassion now”.
Nicola
“I just wanted to take a moment to share my experience of your EMBER retreat! Wow I don’t really know where to start other than to say what an incredible week. It feels like it’s changed so much for me.
It was tough, edgy and confronting - pushing me to meet parts of myself that I didn’t even know I was holding onto and parts of my past that were still impacting my current life now. But the pushing was coming from me, the permission to step in and out as much as we needed allowed me to build my autonomy - something I haven’t been able to do much previously.
Every single workshop was incredible, the layers unfolding and just encouraging and supporting us to deepen our healing even more.
The togetherness will stay in my heart forever. Being held by you and the other women in the retreat, allowing them to be held by all of us and just the care, love and support was so so beautiful. These women will forever have a space in my healing and my heart”.
Katy
“The La Loba workshop felt like it genuinely opened something up and shifted something inside me. I felt like I got completely in touch with my body, my femininity and my sexuality for the first time in a very long time. I felt like I had the support of the other women in the room, but at the same time I was so focused on myself and the music that it also felt like I was alone and doing my own thing. I felt so in touch with my primal self and I was able to just let my body lead and move in whatever way it wanted to. I felt a freedom like I have never felt before and it felt like I was revealing and releasing a part of myself into the world that I have always kept deeply hidden before.”
Annie
This Retreat is For You If…
You feel ready to meet your body and your sexuality with more honesty and depth.
You’re curious about exploring intimacy, pleasure, and desire in a grounded, body-led way.
You sense there may be layers of armour, shame, numbness, or fear in your body particularly around sexuality that you’re ready to shed.
You want to deepen your relationship with yourself, rather than perform, push, or override what you feel.
You feel those parts of you sensual, sexual, emotional are ready to be reclaimed or met more fully.
You want to build more capacity for pleasure, aliveness, vitality and connection.
You desire to embody your wholeness.
You value spaces that honour choice, autonomy, and listening to your own rhythm.
You desire to be in space with other open, brave women exploring these topics.
Whether you arrive feeling open, curious, steady, or unsure, you are welcome here. EMBER meets you where you are and invites you into deeper contact with yourself.
“Ember was the first retreat I have ever been on and I absolutely loved it! It is an experience I will remember for life and I have genuinely learnt and discovered so much about myself. I did things that I previously would have thought were far too edgy or been too scared to do, which has made me feel so proud of myself. Ember has taken away so much of the shame and embarrassment I used to feel when it came to talking about sexuality and intimacy, and also helped me to see that there are other like-minded women out there who want to be more sex-positive and open minded.
I felt big shifts during the retreat and learnt so many things that I will be taking out into my life - not just within sexuality but all other parts of my life too. Lydia created a completely safe and supportive environment, where I never felt pressured to do anything I didn't want to do, I always knew I would be supported no matter what happened or what came up for me and I felt free to be myself. I have learnt so much on this retreat that I would definitely not hesitate to book on to it again. A truly life-changing experience that I will never forget!”
Annie
“Pleasure gets to feel good, safe, wholesome and I get to own my own pleasure.
My body gets to feel like mine.
I get to feel like my body (all of it) is accepted and welcomed.
I know how fucking powerful I am”
Nicola
I attended Lydia’s first Melt retreat and it was life changing; especially touching on themes of sexuality. When Lydia announced she was creating Ember, I knew it was for me. A week of re-connecting with and de-shaming my body, gaining huge insight into my boundaries and unravelling the patterns that I’ve been following for years. Ember was educational, playful, tender. I would urge any woman who is considering it, to sign up. She will leave in reverence of herself and the other beautiful women who attended.
Georgia
Location: St Mark’s Stays, Sedbergh. In the Countryside of Cumbria meaning we’re surrounded by lush nature.
Dates: Monday 21st June 2027 Arrival from 4:30pm to Sunday 27th May 2026 Departure by 10:30am.
What’s Included:
EMBER is a fully held, all-inclusive retreat. Once you arrive, everything is taken care of allowing you to settle, soften, and fully immerse yourself in the experience.
Therapeutic workshops each day and everything needed for them.
Support from both myself and my assistant throughout the retreat.
A 2hr sauna/ Ice bath session.
A fire night for integration and connection.
Yoga and Breath-work during the week.
All oils and materials used during workshops.
A welcome goodie bag on arrival.
Delicious homemade meals each day during your time on the retreat plus Cacao / Coffee / Herbal Teas/ Snack included..
Gorgeous female connection and personal transformation.
Group integration call after the retreat ends.
Everything is designed so you can arrive, exhale, and be fully supported in the process
All-inclusive shared room: £1100. All-inclusive solo room £1300. Payment plans available.
Given the nature of this work and the limited, intimate spaces it’s important for me to connect over a call before offering a space. For me, this feels like more of a trauma-led process and ensures EMBER if a good fit for those interested in joining. Please fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch to arrange a free 20 minute chat.
Sending Love, Lydia x
Frequently Asked Questions
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Some level of prior inner work is recommended however it doesn’t need to be around this specific topic. EMBER is designed for women who already have a foundational relationship with self-awareness, embodiment, or therapeutic work. This might include somatic therapy, psychotherapy, breathwork, body-based practices, or other forms of conscious inner work.
EMBER isn’t an entry point into self-exploration, but a space to deepen an existing relationship with your body and inner world. You don’t need to be an expert, you may feel like a newbie to sexuality work which is fine. But capacity to notice your internal experience and take responsibility for your own pacing is important for this work.
If you’re unsure whether EMBER is the right fit for you at this time, you’re warmly invited to reach out and ask.
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No. EMBER is not about sexual performance, techniques, or learning how to “do” sexuality. It’s about deepening your relationship with your body, your felt sense, and your inner experience of pleasure, aliveness, and connection. Sexuality is explored as a life force and relational energy, not as something to perform or achieve.
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This is very welcome here. Many women arrive with fear, numbness, shame, or uncertainty especially around sexuality. EMBER is held in a trauma and consent led way, with no expectation to share, expose, or go beyond what feels right for you. You are always invited to listen to your body and honour your own edges.
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There may be opportunities for guided body-based practices, but all touch is optional, clearly communicated, and always consent-based. There is no requirement to participate in anything involving touch. Choice, autonomy, and safety are central to how EMBER is facilitated.
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It’s suitable however please read below.
EMBER is facilitated with a strong trauma-led foundation, and a nervous-system aware approach. The work is paced, grounded, and held with care, and you’ll be guided in ways that support safety, regulation, and staying connected to yourself when you meet an edge which is a natural and expected part of this work.
That said, EMBER is a group, experiential space rather than a cathartic or 1:1 therapeutic setting. While I offer tools to help you orient back to safety and presence, this container does require a level of self-awareness, self-responsibility, and capacity to stay with your experience.
If you’re currently in a period of acute crisis or feel very raw and overwhelmed, this may not be the right space for you at this time. EMBER is best suited for women who have already done some inner or somatic work and feel resourced enough to meet discomfort, move at their own pace, and have some awareness of their boundaries within a group sett
If you’re unsure whether this is the right moment for you, I encourage you to listen to your body and reach out with any questions before booking.
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Every woman’s experience is unique. Some women feel softness, warmth, and connection. Others meet emotions, memories, or sensations that have been waiting for space. There is no “right” way to experience EMBER. The intention is not to create a particular outcome, but to support honest, embodied contact with yourself.
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Due to the nature of retreat planning and venue commitments, all retreat bookings are non-refundable.
However, I understand that life can change unexpectedly. If something arises and you’re no longer able to attend, I will actively support you in finding someone to take your place. This may include sharing the space within my community or waitlist, where appropriate.
If your place is successfully filled, your place will be transferred to the new participant and a refund issued. While I can’t guarantee that a replacement will be found, I’ll do my best to support the process with care and transparency.