Cleo guides us on a journey beyond the conventional notions of pleasure, exploring sensuality as a holistic connection to the self. From creative expression and breathwork to Tai Chi and art therapy, she shows how embodiment, sexuality, and emotional awareness intertwine to unlock deeper self-discovery.
In this candid conversation, Cleo shares her personal experiences with grief, creativity, and somatic work, revealing how these shaped her philosophy on consent, pleasure, and empowerment. She challenges cultural myths about sexuality, emphasizing presence, curiosity, and authentic pleasure over performance.
Cleo envisions a world where sensuality is celebrated as a natural, integral part of being human, a society that honors the body, nurtures emotional intelligence, and encourages self-exploration. Her insights offer practical ways for readers to reconnect with their own pleasure, reclaim joy, and embrace a more embodied, sensual life.
Discover how slowing down, listening to your body, and exploring creativity can transform your relationship with pleasure
Photographer: Lea Hopp
Living Through the Senses:
You frame sensuality as a holistic connection to oneself, extending beyond mere pleasure. What experiences in your personal journey brought you to this perspective, and how does it influence the way you support and guide others?
Cleo: There are many layers to this. I’ve always been a very creative person, making music, drawing, painting, and writing, so my senses have always played an important part in how I perceive the world. Despite my trying to hide it, I also was (and still am) a deeply emotional person, yet like many of us, I hadn’t learned how to be with that and what a gift it can be. For a long time, it left me feeling like an outsider, either too sensitive or too expressive. Subconsciously, my sexuality became a playground for my sensual self.
I experienced a good amount of loss and grief throughout my teens and twenties, leading me to conversational therapy, then somatic work, and eventually into the realm of sacred sexuality. One modality just led to the next like a natural ripple effect that still continues to amaze me. It felt like I found the bridge between the mind-centered world I grew up in and the world of the body, emotions, nervous system, and sexuality.
That integration changed a lot for me. I realized you can’t truly do somatic work without including sexuality, and you can’t explore your sexuality deeply without tending to the nervous system and emotions. To me, all of that can be summed up in one word: sensuality. It’s where embodiment and sexuality meet.
We are never just one thing; we contain multitudes, and they are all connected. My personal experiences inform my work as a coach and facilitator; they help me meet others where they are and support them on their path. I live by the principle of practicing what I teach, and I also understand the structures and systems we move through and how differently they shape each of our lived experiences. By now, I see my role as building bridges: between mind and body, between shame and empowerment, and between knowledge and embodied experience.
For me, this work is ultimately about empowerment, education, and autonomy, supporting people to remember that their sensuality is a powerful part of themselves, not something to fix or hide.
Embodied Exploration
You draw on art therapy, breathwork, and Tai Chi—how do these practices come together to enhance a person’s awareness of their body, sensuality, and self?”
Cleo: Every person is different, which is why I like to have a range of approaches and tools at hand. The more I use them, the more I see how these practices complement one another. Essentially they all lead to the same place: yourself. They are simply different entry points to presence, awareness, and embodiment.
Some people find the breath to be their most accessible pathway into the body and their emotions. For others, Tai Chi helps regulate the nervous system and create the safety needed to open up to pleasure. And some connect most deeply with their sensuality when they create without expectation or performance.
Both breathwork and Tai Chi are practices of energy cultivation breathwork more active, and Tai Chi is more meditative, guiding us toward a deeper connection with what is alive within. Art therapy does the same through creative expression, offering a different way to express what words can’t hold. Each practice serves as a bridge into embodiment; what matters most is the intention behind it. Depending on who I’m working with, I’ll offer the practice that feels most supportive at that moment.
From Boundaries to Freedom
In your workshops and group facilitation, what have you noticed about the ways people’s relationships with touch and consent evolve over time?
Cleo: What I’ve observed is that the more clarity people have around consent, which means talking about it as well as practicing it the safer people feel to explore touch. In almost all my workshops, I start by laying a clear foundation for consensual interaction.
Consent has become a bit of a buzzword in recent years, which is wonderful and necessary, but it’s not enough to just speak about it on an intellectual level. We need to experience what consent is, what a genuine “yes” or “no” feels like in the body, how it feels to express it, and how it feels to receive a “yes” or “no.” And it is important to understand that mistakes can happen, and that it doesn’t automatically make someone “bad.” There’s an important difference between an honest mistake and harm done with intent. Learning to navigate those moments to recognize them, communicate, and practice repair is an essential part of the process.
There’s already so much shame surrounding sexuality and touch. My intention is never to add to that, but to create spaces where people can explore and learn without fear of doing it wrong. That’s why it’s important to not only talk about consent but also embody it. Through that I’ve seen people become more confident in both giving and receiving, not only in sexual contexts but in other areas of life as well.
Are We Missing Out on True Pleasure?
Do you think society’s obsession with performance, whether sexual, career, or social, gets in the way of authentic pleasure? How so?
Cleo: Oh, most definitely. Though I sometimes encourage clients to “fake it till you make it,” especially when it comes to movement or sound, because for some people, it’s easier to let a performative moan out than an authentic sound. And that performative gesture can open the door for authenticity.
On a societal level, however, performance is the norm. We’re taught that success, whether in sex, career, or social life, must look a certain way: measurable, productive, impressive. It’s a mindset summarized perfectly by “better, faster, stronger.” But that’s not how pleasure works at all. Pleasure happens when we are present, and presence happens when we slow down. Yet we live in systems that are not designed for slowness or nuance. We’re rewarded for doing and achieving, not for sensing or simply being.
This conditioning shows up everywhere, especially in sexuality, making performance anxiety a very common experience. There are many unspoken cultural scripts, like the idea that “a man” should always be ready, hard, and eager, or that sex should follow the linear, goal-oriented structure we’ve inherited from Hollywood movies and heteronormative mainstream porn. These narratives leave little room for authenticity. In many ways, capitalism has seeped into our most intimate spaces, turning even pleasure into something to optimize. But pleasure is an experience that unfolds naturally when we allow ourselves to slow down, feel, and connect, and we can practice that.
The Pleasure of Creation
Your creative work, like Fruit Porn Tenderness, explored sensuality through visual and performative mediums. How does creativity intersect with pleasure and embodiment in your teaching?
Cleo: Your sexual energy is quite literally the energy of creation. It brings life (and ideas or art!) into existence. So for me, creativity is one of the most direct ways to access that life force, to connect with our essence.
When we create, we engage our senses. Take our hands, for example: they contain around 17,000 nerve endings. We use them constantly in daily life, yet rarely bring mindful attention to them. When we slow down and focus on our sense of touch, we open up to what is happening in the body. Emotions can rise to the surface, and we may access more of our sensuality.
Creative expression is also a form of play and as adults, we don’t get nearly enough of that. Yet play is a powerful way to regulate the nervous system. It allows us to explore without an agenda, which is exactly the mindset that opens the door to authentic pleasure.
Getting creative can feel like a meditation. It quiets the mind and brings us into the body quite naturally. Because it has worked so profoundly for me, I know it can be a meaningful bridge for others too. You don’t have to be an artist to access this part of yourself. You simply need curiosity and the willingness to explore.
The Mindful Rebellion
In a culture that often emphasizes performance or productivity, how do you help people slow down and cultivate presence in both body and mind?
Cleo: I always come back to the basics: breath, sound, and movement. It’s often the simple things that have the most profound effect.
For example, there’s a beautiful exercise where you sit comfortably and touch an object as slowly as possible, breathing deeply and staying fully present with the sensations in your hands. It might sound underwhelming, but I get to witness the impact every time. These kinds of practices help recondition the nervous system; they remind the body that it’s safe to slow down and feel.
I’ve noticed that it also makes a difference whether you practice alone or together. It’s easier to drop in when others around you are doing the same or are supporting you with their presence. There’s a process of co-regulation that happens and when someone witnesses you in that state of presence and vulnerability, without judgment or expectation, something shifts.
Misconceptions of Desire:
What is one cultural myth about sexuality or sensuality that you wish everyone would stop believing?
Cleo: The myth that only penetration is sex.
Sex is so much more than that. Some of the most intimate, ecstatic experiences I’ve had involved no penetration at all. When we shift our focus away from goal orientation and penetration, a whole new world opens up.
There’s a difference between a climax and an orgasm. A climax is a peak; once you’re there, it’s over. But orgasms can ripple through the body like waves, come and go, and build and soften. When we give ourselves permission to explore pleasure beyond the linear, penetrative script, we begin to experience sex as something deeply expansive and creative. So, ask yourself: What is sex to you? Have you ever experienced sex without touch? Only energetically? What about eye-fucking? What happens when you explore parts of your body that you normally overlook, or when you take climax off the table entirely?
The idea that sex equals penetration is a heteronormative, patriarchal construct, one that centers performance and “male” climax. Sex can be hot, gentle, messy, slow, rough, and tender. It can last fifteen minutes or three hours. It can involve many bodies or just your own. No matter the genitalia, if we expand our idea of sex and focus on pleasure instead of climax, everyone benefits.
Photographer: Lea Hopp
The Future of Sensuality:
Looking ahead, what is your vision for a “sensual society,” and what small shifts can readers make today to start reclaiming joy, connection, and pleasure in their own lives?
Cleo: In a sensual society, body and mind move together like true partners. Sexuality is not hidden in the shadows or treated as something separate but integrated into our understanding of what it means to be human.
I imagine an education system that teaches embodiment and emotional intelligence alongside math and language, where we learn how to feel our emotions, talk about sex, care for ourselves, and be in connection with others. A world where diversity is celebrated and nurtured.
We can move toward that by actively letting go of the internalized shame we carry and questioning the stories we’ve inherited about our bodies and sexuality. By getting curious again. By prioritizing pleasure in everyday activities. By returning to the body again and again, just listening to what it has to say. Every small act of self-discovery and care ripples outward, shaping not only our own life but also that of a more sensual society. And it’s ok to ask for support.
Editor Note
Sensuality is far more than a pursuit of pleasure; it is a lens through which we can engage fully with ourselves and the world. Her insights reveal that presence, curiosity, and creative exploration are not just tools for pleasure but gateways to self-awareness, empowerment, and emotional resilience. By reclaiming the wisdom of our bodies, honoring consent, and slowing down in a culture obsessed with performance, we open the door to richer, more authentic experiences of connection, creativity, and joy.
Pleasure is not a luxury or a goal to achieve; it is an ongoing practice, a bridge between mind, body, and spirit, and a powerful act of self-recognition. What we cultivate within ourselves ripples outward, shaping not only our own lives but the society we wish to live in.
“We are never just one thing; we contain multitudes, and they are all connected.”
