My husband signed me up to talk with Amanda. I didn’t want to meet with her. For the last 10 years of our 20-year marriage my husband has been trying to help me find pleasure in sex. His efforts, though well intended and kind, just made me feel broken. I put up walls and effectively shut down my sexuality. I had blocked off most negative emotions and was numbing rather than facing my challenges. My first conversation with Amanda helped me see the need for change. I was a little nervous about the group coaching and I knew it would be hard, but I recognized I needed help to address my issues.
Concerns about sharing my bedroom troubles with a group disappeared after one meeting. It was nice to hear other women share their stories; to realize I wasn’t alone. I also learned a lot from their successes and really felt joy with them. Sex was a taboo topic growing up and talking about it openly and learning from each other helped normalize it for me. In fact, now I find myself bringing it up with friends to learn from their experiences and share my new knowledge. I was sad when our session ended because I really wish those women the best on the rest of their journey.
As far as Amanda goes, she was so easy to talk to. She helped me recognize for myself where my thoughts were limiting me. She asked me questions and enabled me to listen and accept the answers that I had been ignoring. Her teachings about my higher and lower desires and letting myself feel my emotions without judgement were especially important for me to stay focused on how I wanted to change and not beating myself up when I failed to see immediate results. Meeting weekly helped me stay accountable and mindful as I tried to adjust my daily thoughts about myself and sex. By the end of our session I had an entirely different attitude towards sex. I learned to own my own sexuality and now I am able to share it with my husband. I am cultivating desire and giving myself permission to feel emotions without judgement. I’m still learning but I am no longer “enduring” sex; I’m enjoying it. I am also taking more responsibility for my thoughts and feelings and that has improved aspects of my parenting, productivity, and ability to be present in the moment. Amanda’s coaching has helped me turn a corner I have been facing and avoiding for 10 years. I had read so many books and taken other courses, but Amanda’s work drove me to take ownership and make real change. Thank you Amanda.