Shownotes

• The story behind the quasi-cheating incident that ended the relationship

• Why Ryan and Layla’s first kiss went horribly wrong

• How to take full responsibility for your actions and impact on others

• Why Ryan showed up at the Stanford campus in a full-on chicken costume

• How radical love is different than self-sacrificing

• What Ryan and Layla learned from opening their relationship

Bio

Ryan Cheney is a therapist, seeker, and guide devoted to the process of inner transformation. Based in Austin, TX, he works with individuals and couples to uncover what stands in the way of lasting change – and how to meet those blocks with presence, compassion, and courage. His work is deeply rooted in Internal Family Systems and a profound curiosity about how people evolve.

Before turning his focus inward, Ryan was the founder of Raaka Chocolate, a Brooklyn-based bean-to-bar company built on transparency and ethical sourcing. But his truest calling lies in the inner landscapes: the quiet, tender spaces where real healing happens. His path has been shaped by deep inquiry, spiritual practice, and a love for the moments when people reconnect with the truth of who they are.

Ryan believes transformation doesn’t have to be a battle – it can be a remembering. He’s most alive when exploring the alchemy of change, the courage it requires, and the unexpected grace that can come when we stop striving and start listening.

Timestamps

00:01:16 - Guest introduction

00:06:02 - Ryan shares how he and Layla met

00:07:35 - Going from small and scared to big and free

00:07:59 - Where Layla was at in her life when she met Ryan

00:11:48 - Where Ryan was at in his life when he met Layla

00:12:31 - Sign up for Layla’s newsletter at LaylaMartin.com

00:13:11 - Friendship turns into strong attraction

00:13:47 - Ryan describes he and Layla’s first kiss

00:16:20 - Why the sex didn’t initially work for Ryan

00:19:33 - Ryan learned to hold all parts of Layla

00:21:11 - Layla’s first experience with somatic therapy

00:23:00 - Layla credits Ryan for being deeply present for her healing journey

00:24:33 - Unlock your deepest passion inside The Tantric Mastermind for Couples

00:26:00 - Layla’s desire to find the real Tantra

00:27:19 - Ryan and Layla gave each other spiritual names

00:34:05 - Layla and Ryan discuss their experience with sexual healing

00:39:01 - Why we have to take full responsibility for our actions and impact on others

00:41:48 - How to be present with intensity and pain

00:41:57 - Discover MOOD™ Sex Magic

00:42:55 - Ryan and Layla drink MOOD SEX MAGIC

00:45:57 - The feedback Layla gave Ryan as their relationship ended

00:48:17 - Layla healed and opened her sexuality before healing and opening her heart

00:51:15 - Ryan shares what he learned from the end of the relationship

00:54:55 - Layla shares one of her favorite stories about Ryan

00:56:08 - How radical love is different than self-sacrificing

01:02:18 - Discover your most masculine confidence and presence with Men’s Sexual Mastery

01:03:59 - Layla and Ryan share their experience with an open relationship

01:09:10 - Ryan shares what signaled the end for him

01:17:38 - What Layla learned from the end of the relationship

01:19:20 - What Ryan learned from the relationship

01:21:08 - One of the saddest parts of trauma

01:24:32 - Ryan’s favorite parts of Layla from their relationship

01:27:41 - Conclusion

Shownotes

• What Eva learned through menopause that she wishes she had known

• The science behind body changes in perimenopause and menopause

• Some of the key practices Eva recommends for midlife

• How meditation supports perimenopause and menopause

• How Eva’s needs with men and relationships changed through menopause

• Why Eva calls Kali the Patron Goddess of Menopause

Bio

Eva Clay is an acclaimed sexologist, psychotherapist and professional troublemaker whose mission is to illuminate the ménage-a-trois of soul, sex and science. She's helped thousands of people unlock their innate potential for pleasure, and as a former professor of neuroscience, she bodaciously reminds us that smart is sexy. As a practitioner of sexual tantra for 13 years, her work is an elegant marriage of the profound and the playful - and she has a particular passion for elevating women in their midlife portal to enjoy the most wildly succulent phase of their lives.

See www.EvaClay.com

Timestamps

00:01:00 - Guest introduction

00:04:02 - Eva shares the story of her first hot flash

00:06:20 - The medical model around perimenopause and menopause

00:07:59 - What Eva learned through menopause that she wishes she had known

00:09:19 - Sign up for Layla’s newsletter at LaylaMartin.com

00:11:00 - What we offer the world when we’re in menopause fundamentally shifts

00:14:49 - The science behind body changes in perimenopause and menopause

00:17:38 - Why women who prioritize pleasure have a more easeful menopausal process

00:19:44 - The mindset that allowed Eva to have lovers in perimenopause

00:21:47 - Some of the key practices Eva recommends for midlife

00:24:46 - How meditation supports perimenopause and menopause

00:25:56 - Discover MOOD™ Sex Magic

00:26:39 - Unlock your deepest passion inside The Tantric Mastermind for Couples

00:29:03 - Eva shares her love story

00:32:21 - Eva and Layla drink MOOD SEX MAGIC

00:33:52 - How ketamine helped Eva move into a deeper state of body acceptance

00:35:38 - How Eva’s needs with men and relationships changed through menopause

00:38:23 - Eva’s experience with hormones

00:39:34 - Why Eva calls Kali the Patron Goddess of Menopause

00:40:31 - Fall in love with your body and unlock outrageous orgasms with Obliss

00:42:15 - Why it’s never too late to start these practices

00:46:00 - Menopause isn’t about how you look, it’s about how you feel

00:47:28 - Enhance your sensitivity and pleasure inside Crystal Pleasure

00:50:16 - Menopause: you are in full bloom

00:51:03 - Conclusion

Shownotes

• Exactly what Internal Family Systems therapy is

• The actual mechanism that creates the most profound level of healing

• Psychedelics as a loving catalyst to know ourselves more

• The truth about psychedelic stigma

• Why it’s important to prepare your set and setting with psychedelics

• The difference between doses of psilocybin

Bio

Nick Brüss, EdD, LMFT, is a leading licensed psychedelic therapist, researcher and educator who is passionate about inspiring and helping people heal, grow and live creative lives. He’s pioneering treatments and programs that harness the synergistic power of combining psychedelic medicine with cutting edge therapy and coaching.

Dr. Brüss was a clinical researcher and supervisor on the ground breaking FDA Phase III clinical trial of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD sponsored by MAPS, and is currently a lead therapist on the Phase III Psilocybin therapy study for Treatment Resistant Depression sponsored by Compass Pathways.

In private practice, he specializes in concierge ketamine-assisted and Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. He trains nationally and speaks internationally on psychedelic-assisted therapy safety and efficacy, and is a co-founder of the Psychedelic Coalition for Health, a psychedelic medicine education and training platform.

Dr. Brüss is also a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and a certified teacher of both Mindful Self-Compassion, and the Compassion Cultivation Training through the Center for Compassion, Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Find more about Dr. Brüss’ work at www.apracticeoffreedom.com and connect with him on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Timestamps

00:01:14 - Guest introduction

00:02:20 - How Layla and Dr. Brüss originally connected

00:04:51 - Sign up for Layla’s newsletter at LaylaMartin.com

00:06:51 - The first time Layla experienced her own somatic avoidance

00:11:14 - Humans are so beautiful when they don’t have so much pain

00:13:52 - Dr. Brüss explains what Internal Family Systems therapy is

00:19:24 - Unlock your deepest passion inside The Tantric Mastermind for Couples

00:20:06 - Discover your most masculine confidence and presence with Men’s Sexual Mastery

00:21:12 - Dr. Brüss introduces listeners to MAPS

00:24:36 - The actual mechanism that creates this profound level of healing

00:27:19 - Layla shares about her experiences with MDMA

00:30:43 - How IFS integrates with felt-sense experience

00:32:30 - How intellectually “getting” something isn’t the same as being “in” it

00:36:33 - We don’t realize how much power we actually have

00:38:44 - Discover MOOD™ Sex Magic

00:42:48 - How psychedelics can be a loving catalyst to know ourselves more

00:44:28 - Layla shares her experience with psychedelics

00:47:22 - Dr. Brüss and Layla drink MOOD Sex Magic

00:55:28 - Psychedelic stigma was intentionally created

00:57:02 - The war on disconnection

00:57:27 - Enhance your sensitivity and pleasure inside Crystal Pleasure

00:59:15 - Why it’s important to prepare your set and setting with psychedelics

01:04:33 - Dr. Brüss shares about his first psychedelic experience

01:07:24 - The difference between doses of psilocybin

01:12:06 - How different psychedelics work on different situations

01:19:53 - Conclusion