In this episode of The Poly Tantra Kink Podcast, Laurie Ellington sits down with modern tantra teacher Shawn Roop, founder of Tantra Quest, for a grounded and expansive conversation on presence as a lived practice, and not a performance.

Shawn shares his unconventional path into tantra and how his work, rooted in Mahamudra Tantra, focuses on removing what's in the way rather than adding more techniques. Together, they explore why pleasure is impossible without presence, how maturity creates safety in open and non-traditional relationships, and why designing relationships from inner truth matters more than following external blueprints.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, return to the body's intelligence, and let presence guide intimacy, sexuality, and relationship choice.

• Tantra as something you remember, not something you learn
• Presence as the foundation of pleasure and intimacy
• Removing obstacles instead of adding techniques
• Maturity vs. "safety" in open and polyamorous relationships
• Designing relationships from inner truth
• Embodiment as awareness, feeling, and action
• Why pacing and sobriety of mind create sustainability

Shawn Roop is the founder of Tantra Quest and a modern tantra teacher with over 25 years of embodied experience. Rooted in Mahamudra Tantra, his work is direct, grounded, and practical, supporting people in reconnecting with the intelligence of their body, energy, and awareness.

Shawn works with individuals, couples, and teachers through classes, private sessions, and immersive programs. His teaching emphasizes presence over performance, empowerment over dependency, and removing what's in the way so people can access their own inner wisdom and live more truth-aligned lives.

• Tantra Quest: https://tantraquest.com/

Website: poly-coach.com
Instagram: @polycoaching

Work with Laurie:
Explore coaching for polyamory, open relationships, tantra, sacred sexuality, and conscious kink.

Free Resource:
Inspired by this conversation about presence? Download The Pause Method, Laurie's free guide to slowing down, clearing what's in the way, and meeting relationship moments with embodied awareness.

In this episode of The Poly Tantra Kink Podcast, Laurie speaks with Dr. Betty Martin, creator of the Wheel of Consent and founder of the School of Consent, about what it truly means to practice consent with clarity, presence, and integrity.

Dr. Martin shares the origin of the Wheel of Consent and the Three Minute Game, offering a grounded framework for understanding desire, choice, and responsibility. Together, they explore the difference between consent and permission, why receiving can be more challenging than giving, and how learning who an interaction is for can transform sex, relationships, kink, tantra, and everyday life.

This episode is a foundational conversation for anyone wanting to relate more honestly to desire, boundaries, and embodied truth.

• The origin story of the Wheel of Consent

• The Three Minute Game and why it is more than a simple exercise

• Why consent and permission are not the same thing

• Learning to recognize who an interaction is actually for

• Why receiving can be harder than giving

• Asking for what you want as a vulnerable and essential skill

• Erotic integrity as telling the truth about desire

• Applications of the Wheel of Consent beyond sexuality, including business and social systems

• Why slowing down and tracking sensation creates depth and presence

Dr. Betty Martin has worked hands-on with people professionally for over 40 years. Her background includes 30 years as a chiropractor and practitioner of other body-based modalities, followed by 15 years as a somatic sex educator and surrogate partner therapist. Her work is also informed by Contact Improvisation and embodied play practices.

She is the developer of the Wheel of Consent, a groundbreaking model of receiving and giving that began with touch and now extends far beyond it into relationships, leadership, sexuality, and everyday life. Dr. Martin is the author of The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent.

Betty spent years traveling internationally teaching a five-day Wheel of Consent training for practitioners, later training others to teach the work so she could step back from full-time instruction. She now mentors helping professionals across many fields, including psychotherapists, sex workers, and hands-on practitioners of all kinds.

• School of Consent: https://www.schoolofconsent.org

• Free educational videos by Dr. Betty Martin

• The Art of Receiving and Giving by Dr. Betty Martin

Website: poly-coach.com
Instagram: @polycoachingWork with Laurie: Explore coaching for polyamory, open relationships, tantra, sacred sexuality, and conscious kink.

In this episode of The Poly Tantra Kink Podcast, Laurie Ellington sits down with psychologist and somatic practitioner Dr. Stacy Ellis for a rich conversation about trauma, embodiment, nervous system regulation, and what it takes to create real, lasting change.

Together, they explore how healing happens beyond talk therapy, why working with the body is essential for transformation, and how alternative relationship structures, sexuality, and conscious practices intersect with trauma-informed care. Dr. Ellis shares insights from her clinical work, group facilitation, and immersive workshops that help people move out of old patterns and into embodied presence.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reconnect with the body, and approach healing as an integrated, whole-person experience.

• Why embodiment is essential for trauma healing

• Moving beyond talk therapy into somatic change

• Nervous system regulation and childhood conditioning

• Integrating psychology with body-based practices

• Supporting authentic expression and relational health

• Creating sustainable change through immersive work

• Healing as a present-moment, embodied process

Dr. Stacy Ellis is a Doctor of Psychology, somatic practitioner, and international facilitator devoted to supporting deep personal transformation. With over fifteen years of clinical experience and a decade of leading ongoing groups, her work weaves together psychology, nervous system regulation, and embodied practices.

Dr. Ellis is trauma-informed and trained in modalities including EMDR, IFS, TRE, EFT, NLP, somatic therapies, breathwork, and sound healing. She specializes in trauma, inner child work, LGBTQIA+ care, addiction medicine, alternative relationship styles, and cultivating a healthy nervous system. Her workshops and immersive experiences support people in moving out of old conditioning and into authentic, embodied living.

• Liberation Workshops: https://liberationworkshops.com/

• Website: https://drstacyellis.com/

Website: poly-coach.com
Instagram: @poly.coach

Work with Laurie:
Explore coaching for polyamory, open relationships, tantra, sacred sexuality, and conscious kink.

In this opening episode of The Poly Tantra Kink Podcast, Laurie invites you into a raw and embodied exploration of why we are drawn to the edges of love, desire, and power. Through her personal journey with polyamory, tantra, conscious kink, plant medicine, and nervous system wisdom, she reflects on how "playing with fire" becomes a path of truth, liberation, and deep self-return.

Laurie shares how years in ethical non-monogamy, periods of intentional solitude, and immersive experiences in tantra, BDSM, and ceremony shaped her relationship to intimacy, safety, and surrender. This episode sets the foundation for the season, opening a conversation about sacred sexuality, conscious relationships, and learning to meet intensity with presence rather than control.

• Why desire often leads us to the edges of growth

• Fire as a metaphor for truth, transformation, and intimacy

• Lessons from ethical non-monogamy and conscious uncoupling

• Tantra and kink as practices of presence and nervous system safety

• Learning to surrender without losing yourself

• Integration as the bridge between insight and embodied change

Laurie Ellington is a trauma-informed poly coach, intimacy guide, and educator devoted to conscious relating, sacred sexuality, and embodied transformation. With over a decade of experience in polyamory, tantra, and kink-aware coaching, her work supports people in navigating desire, attachment, power, and nervous system regulation with honesty and care.

Laurie's approach weaves together somatic awareness, relational skills, and spiritual inquiry to help clients meet intensity without bypassing, suppressing, or self-abandoning. She works with individuals and couples exploring ethical non-monogamy, open relationships, tantra, and conscious kink, offering a grounded path toward deeper trust, freedom, and connection.

Website: https://poly-coach.com
Instagram: @polycoaching