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Sex With Emily

30 Jun 2026 · 35m · 16 chapters

Episode artwork

The Secret to Magnetic Chemistry in Long-Term Relationships

In short

Sex IQ pillar #3, collaboration, arguing that long-term “magnetic chemistry” comes from co-creating intimacy (not autopilot, assumptions, or “hope for the best”).

Key claims

mismatched desire is normal; chemistry is built through connection; communication “lubricates”; couples should talk about sex before/during/after and stay playful/curious; energetic presence (breath, eye contact) resets dynamics; sexual polarity (masculine/feminine energies as leading/following, direction/softness) creates spark; use a shared “sex menu” (yes/no/maybe).

Notable examples

60 seconds of eye contact + synchronized breathing; stopping mid-intimacy to breathe; “sexual state of the union” scheduled sex talk like a monthly/weekly check-in; “sex menu” date-night conversation.

Guests

no interview guests; mentions include Danae Logan (workshop: Bedroom Authenticity and Breakthroughs), Dolly Josette (pleasuremuse.com), and Tammy/Tamara Colton (rabbi/healer workshop on love/inner child).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

0:52

Understanding Collaboration in Relationships

Emily discusses the importance of collaboration in sexual relationships and communication.

“One person leads, the other person follows.”
1:41

Communication as the Foundation of Sexual Connection

The role of communication in enhancing sexual experiences is emphasized.

“It's about you having better sex, expressing your desires, and knowing exactly what you want.”
3:30

Exploring the Pillars of Sexual Intelligence

Emily introduces the concept of sexual intelligence and its pillars, focusing on collaboration.

“We are going through the pillars of sex IQ, which I love that we are really diving into them.”
5:01

Breathwork and Presence in Relationships

The importance of breathwork and being present is highlighted as a tool for deeper connection.

“But first, I would love to take a moment and do a little bit of breath work.”
6:11

Creating Connection Through Energetic Collaboration

Discussion on how energetic connection enhances intimacy and collaboration in sex.

“literally are not anywhere else we're not in the past where there's a lot of anxiety we're not in the future fear all those places that we live in the future or the past is mostly what's pulling us out of the present.”
7:59

Sexual Polarity and the Dance of Opposites

Emily explains the concept of sexual polarity and its importance in maintaining desire.

“We go into autopilot sometimes with our friends or talking to our parents or whatever it is.”
10:09

Balancing Masculine and Feminine Energies

The interplay between masculine and feminine energies is explored for enhancing intimacy.

“Even 30 seconds of this full body presence with our partner can shift the dynamic entirely.”
14:00

Initiating Spark in Relationships

Learn how to create contrast in relationships to ignite desire.

“because there has to be someone that's starting that spark.”
16:40

Navigating Mismatched Desires

Explore how to address and reconcile differing sexual desires with curiosity.

“First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other.”
17:33

Conversations for a Better Sex Life

Emily shares conversation starters and tools like the Yes or Maybe List to help couples communicate, explore new things, and avoid performing at the expense of their own pleasure.

“The Yes or Maybe List, which is a free guide for you.”
Show all 16 chapters
19:55

Creating a Shared Sexual Menu

Discover how to create a shared sexual menu for better communication in intimacy.

“We can help you go deeper wherever you're finding that you really want to work on because every single pillar matters, every single pillar.”
22:30

The Importance of Communication

Understand why ongoing communication is essential for a healthy sex life.

“You could share a new fantasy or desire with a partner who's going to do that.”
25:42

Establishing a Sexual State of the Union

Learn how to hold regular discussions about sexuality and desires in relationships.

“It's by doing it, by saying, I know this is awkward and comfortable.”
28:00

The Importance of Regular Intimacy Conversations

Learn why discussing your intimate life regularly can enhance relationship chemistry.

“Maybe you're like, we're going to go over spreadsheets and then we're going to go over fantasies.”
31:28

Seeking Professional Help for Somatic Practice

Explore options for somatic therapy and resources for enhancing your intimate life.

“Because you are never going to convince that partner to come on board.”
32:41

Upcoming Workshops and Personal Connections

Discover details about upcoming workshops focusing on self-knowledge and personal connection.

“You know, even if you think you don't, we all know stuff.”
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Transcript

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0:00Emily Morse: I am so excited to finally share this with you. I am going on tour. It is the best sex ever tour. And I hope you'll join me. And the show is all about you, the audience. Every night, I'm going to be answering your questions, win prizes, and leave with secrets to have the best sex ever. Every night is different because the show is all about you. So here's the dates. July 7th in Rosemont, Illinois at Zaney's. Then heading to Philadelphia on August 5th, Nashville on September 29th, and Austin on October 7th. More cities to come. Come with your partner, your friends. Fly solo. You'll leave with practical tools, plenty of laughs, maybe some surprises.

0:43Emily Morse: Well, definitely some surprises. Visit sexwithemily.com slash events for tickets and tour information. I will see you there. Can't wait to meet you. Two people are having sex together doesn't necessarily mean they are collaborating. One person leads, the other person follows. One person's giving, the other person's receiving. One commands, the other surrenders. The real chemistry is from connection, and connection comes from collaboration. Mismatched desire, the desire discrepancies, high libido, low libido, one person that's higher desire than the other one is going to happen in every relationship.

1:16Emily Morse: Communication is a lubrication. This really is also the communication pillar. Your sex life isn't going to get better by just closing your eyes and hoping for the best. It doesn't work that way.

1:29Emily Morse: Hey everyone, welcome to Sex with Emily. I'm Dr. Emily and my mission is to help you prioritize your pleasure and liberate conversation around sex. This show is all about you. It's about you having better sex, expressing your desires, and knowing exactly what you want. Also be sure to follow me on all social media. It's Sex With Emily everywhere. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for full episodes and my newsletter. You're going to love my newsletter. I've been told I give really good newsletter, if you know what I mean. It's sexwithemily.com slash newsletter. Finally, I am going on tour. And I hope you join me.

2:05Emily Morse: I'll be going all over the United States. And my first stop is in Chicago on July 7th. And the show is all about you. I'll be answering your questions live. We'll be playing games. There's giveaways. It's going to be such a good time. You can find that at sexwithemily.com slash events. All right, everyone. Enjoy this episode. Hi, everyone. One question I'm asked all the time is, Emily, what products do you actually recommend? And that's exactly why we created Shop Sex with Emily. Every product in the shop is something my team and I have personally researched and tested or recommended because we genuinely believe it can help you have better sex, stronger intimacy, and just more confidence in the bedroom.

2:47Emily Morse: Whether you're shopping for yourself, your partner, or both of you, we've made it easy to find products that actually work. Head to shopsexwithemily.com and discover your next favorite bedroom essential. Fall never arrives all at once. First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, An old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season. You create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way at Ross. So good to see all the familiar faces here joining me.

3:33Emily Morse: Love seeing everybody. We are going through the pillars of sex IQ, which I love that we are really diving into them. all the pillars of sexual intelligence. So today is collaboration. That's number three of the pillars of sexual intelligence. Now, first one, go back and watch embodiment. The second one is health. And this is collaboration. And this is where everything really gets to deepen. This is about where we are all like in collaboration with someone else. How do we co-create a relationship intimate and otherwise that is effective and healthy and bringing our full self to the table, inviting our partner to do the same without like all the pressure, without performance, but with like presence and intention and curiosity.

4:30Emily Morse: Like how do we create that relationship that we want so badly that we hear about, that we read about, but it just feels out of reach. That's what collaboration is about. I have to remind us all that nobody taught us how to be in relationships. No one taught us how to be intentional. There's a good chance our parents' examples wasn't really a relationship. We love them. We, you know, they did their best, but it wasn't the kind of relationship that we want, right? So let's talk about what collaboration really means. But first, I would love to take a moment and do a little bit of breath work. I'm just going to set my timer here just for like a minute, minute and a half.

5:13Emily Morse: Everyone with me? So before we get more into the pillars of collaboration, let's just take, I'd love us all to breathe in. We're going to breathe in through our nose for four. We're going to hold for four and we're going to exhale for six. We're going to hold for four. Inhale. Just follow along with me. We'll just do this for about a minute and a half. Let's breathe in for four. two three four we're gonna hold two three four we're gonna exhale two three four five six take a few at your own breath at your own pace breath work good to just remember on your own too if you want to like your exhales be a little bit longer than your inhales it's helpful right i love doing breathwork talk about collaboration i'll do it with a partner i'll be like let's just breathe together for 10 seconds let's just kind of land in the room together think about it we're all coming going trying to make stuff on time you know life is intense so when we breathe it's presence we literally are not anywhere else we're not in the past where there's a lot of anxiety we're not in the future fear all those places that we live in the future or the past is mostly what's pulling us out of the present.

6:28Emily Morse: We're worried that this thing's going to happen again. We're worried about what's going to happen later. So just helps land the plane there. So collaboration. Let's remember this, you guys. Just because two people are having sex together doesn't necessarily mean they are collaborating. That is the problem. We're not even really communicating at all. We're just kind of making assumptions oftentimes that our partner, we were thinking about them. We're worried, are they having a good time? We're worried about ourselves, how our body looks, but are we really collaborating? You know, I know that for me, for many years, I'm just going to get in the dark, close my eyes, hope for the best.

7:05Emily Morse: Hopefully this is working. Hopefully we're all, you know, in this together. And I'm telling you, I just, I just, I just want to say that you are not wrong that this is like maybe the first time you've actually thought about it or your relationship hasn't felt like it's a collaboration. What it really means is we are co-creating our sex life and we're not just going along for the ride. We're not just hoping for the best. It means that we are talking about sex before it happens, during sex, after, and we are getting playful and curious. We're not just checking the boxes off. Did I have an orgasm?

7:42Emily Morse: Did you have an orgasm? Did we have sex 1.2 times this week? We are playful with our sex life. We're curious about it. How do we make it interesting? How do we stay connected? And we are also prioritizing each other's pleasure, including our own pleasure. We're not defaulting to autopilot, which is so easy to do. Listen, we go into autopilot with work. We go into autopilot sometimes with our friends or talking to our parents or whatever it is. Like autopilot is safety. Autopilot is like, I have so much going on. I know how to do this. But if we're really engaged and we really want to have a long lasting intimacy, we can't just go into the autopilot.

8:20Emily Morse: Most of us, again, are not taught how to collaborate in bed. We're taught to guests, to assume, to hope that chemistry is there, to hope we know how to get back to the chemistry from the past. And I'm telling you, so much of our relationships are based on this early stage chemistry. The honeymoon phase, when we had all those feel-good hormones raging, we're like, can we go back to that? Can we go back to that? And remember, that is a point in time in our lives, in our relationship, where we had all the dopamine, the serotonin, the oxytocin, all that stuff was working for us because it's a new relationship.

8:52Emily Morse: And then we hope that we can get that back. And we don't necessarily go back to that stage. That's a unique time. But how do we continue to keep it going? How do we stay connected? And I'm telling you, it's from the healthy collaboration. So the real chemistry is from connection and connection comes from collaboration. So let's talk about two of the main elements to magnetic collaboration. The first one is an energetic connection. Now this is just, this is not just about our physical touch. It's about presence. It's about being there with our partner, not in our head, not in the mental to-do list.

9:31Emily Morse: And this is where we can make mental eye contact. We can match our breath together. We can place a hand on our chest, place on their chest or yours and just feel and stay connected. These are the basic premises of like talk about being a tantric master or tantric sex. Tantric sex is really about eye contact and breathing. If you could just do that when you're with a partner and just be like, before we, you know, start having sex or even like ending our day together, like, let's just look into each other's eyes for 20 seconds. I'll put my hand on your chest. You'll put it on mine. Or we can each just kind of monitor our own breath and breathe together.

10:10Emily Morse: Even 30 seconds of this full body presence with our partner can shift the dynamic entirely. I mean, think about how that breath work that we did for like two minutes at the top of it can change everything. Imagine if you did that with a willing partner, right? And so it's just a game changer. I mean, there have been so many times where I was with a partner, and I know I've said this to you before, but I just can't emphasize enough that even for me, sex starts happening. And I'm like, wait a minute. Because now I know. I'm like, I'm not present. There's a loop that's not closed from the day. I'm worried that I didn't send this text back.

10:48Emily Morse: I'm not present with the sex that's happening. And instead of continuing with it because I already started it or my partner wants the sex or I feel bad about stopping, I know that I've made a commitment to be a conscious collaborator in the relationship with my partner. And so if I'm not present, I'm not holding up my end of the bargain. Does that make sense? And so I would say to my partner, let's just stop for a minute. Can we just stop and breathe for a minute? and he's like, okay. So I just like, we'll turn on my breathing app or we'll just breathe together for a few minutes and I'll hold, you know, we'll hold hands or we'll look into each other's eyes and it's an immediate reset or immediate reset.

11:27Emily Morse: So just energetics, breath work, eye contact, slowing down, making sure that you are both on the same like level playing field before any intimacy starts. The next, the next part of magnetic collaboration is sexual. Now, when I talk about polarity, that is the dance of opposites. That's what creates the charge and the magnetism. Sexual polarity is the spark. And that's a thing that creates that. Like, I want to rip your clothes off. I want to be sexual. That's the energy between two people. And at its core, it's about the dance between the masculine and the feminine. When we say that, and this is a new concept to you, I don't want to get into it too much here.

12:07Emily Morse: Like I'm not going to spend the whole, I could talk to you about masculine feminine energies for six hours but this has nothing to do with gender we all have a masculine inside of us we all have feminine energy inside of us these are the energies we carry and they show up differently different times a day they show up differently at work but just to remember this the masculine is about direction and presence and holding space it's grounded and focused and the feminine is the part of it that's flow expression like feeling being alive, it's movement, it's emotion, it's radiance. And when these energies are opposite and complementary, that's where desire thrives.

12:47Emily Morse: So the tension is like the magnet. It's the north and south poles. They're pulled together when we can be in our feminine, our partners, and our masculine, or vice versa. And that's the sexual polarity. The problem is in long-term relationships, we get busy, we lose the polarity, we slip into the sameness. We're both in doing mode, like I've got the kids and you've got the laundry. Like I'm going to pick up dinner and you're going to clean the house. I'm going to do this. I'm going to finish up work and you're going to. So that's the masculine. Like I'm in my masculine. Most of the time running a business as a CEO, even right now I'm like directed, I'm purposeful.

13:25Emily Morse: I'm not in my feminine right now doing breath work. I was more in my feminine. Does that make sense? I was like, does that, if you guys have questions about this, but I was like, I do that to kind of match my energy. But most of the time, a lot of us in this world, we got businesses, even being a parent is very masculine. Like as a mom, the feminine is the energy that we let flow to receive. So when it comes to sex, someone has to always be leading and someone has to be following. If you're both in your masculine or you're both in your feminine, you're not going to create, be able to create that spark.

13:57Emily Morse: So if you're always in control, work, house, plans, try softening, try like learning, receiving in the bedroom, because there has to be someone that's starting that spark. Whoever is initiating sex is in their masculine. Whoever is receiving is in their feminine. Like if you're usually the laid back, like for example, okay, so if you're in control of work and house and plans, you could try softening, receiving, letting go in the bedroom. Or if you're usually the laid back one, take the lead at night. Shift the energy. Create a new current between you. And this is not about playing roles. it's about it's about just creating that contrast that's going to spark the desire that we all crave one person leads the other person follows one person's giving the other person's receiving one commands the other surrenders again not about gender orientation it's about energy and i try even when i was writing my book like masculine and feminine trips people up but even people in same-sex relationships are playing with the masculine feminine.

15:01So play with contrast,

15:04Emily Morse: switch up the roles, bring in dominance or softness or mystery. This is the spark that is so important for this magnetic collaboration. So in practice, collaboration, like what do I mean by that? Like what are some examples? It's like talking about what you want, talking about, am I curious to try this? Do you want to try this, you know, practice? even would you be open to playing with our magnetism? Would you be open to playing with polarities? It's about navigating our mismatched desires. Listen, mismatched desire, desire discrepancies, high libido, low libido, one person has higher desire than the other one is going to happen in every relationship.

15:46Emily Morse: But how do we approach it with curiosity and not with shame? How do we say, I noticed that you're wanting sex seven days a week and I'm wanting it like once a week how do we find a way to to both be satisfied and filled up and connected how do we get curious about how to problem solve this together not blaming or shaming i always find there's like one person in the relationship who's like you know in charge of kind of fixing the sex when really it's the two of you in it together in a collaboration you can also make a shared sex menu. You know I love the sex, the yes, the sex, no, maybe. That's actually funny.

16:25Emily Morse: I've never called it the sex, no, maybe. It's the yes, no, maybe list, but maybe I should rebrand it as a sex, no, maybe.

16:37Fall never arrives all at once. First the air, then the light, and slowly the things you love begin to find each other. A jacket meets a dress, a hoodie slips beneath a blazer, An old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season. You create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way at Ross.

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17:39Emily Morse: I love that. The Yes or Maybe List, which is a free guide for you. Maybe that becomes your sexual menu. And you guys take that. You take it again or you go back to it if you guys filled it out. Is this a yes? Is this a no? We have it in the chat here. Is it a maybe? This is your next date night if you haven't done it yet. We also did a great workshop at the beginning of the year about like planning for your sex life, planning for your year. Like what are we into? Also, inviting your partner in instead of performing for them, right? Performance. We don't want to just perform. It's okay to want to please our partners, but we don't want to do it at the expense of our own pleasure.

18:17Emily Morse: So some phrases that could help. Would you want to try something new with me tonight? Like what would make this even hotter for you? Is there anything you've been wanting to explore but you haven't quite said out loud yet? Small conversations lead to the biggest breakthroughs. I mean, these conversations, small conversations everywhere lead to big breakthroughs. You know, most of the things that we're not dealing with that we're not talking about is actually causing us so much harm. But once we actually have the conversation, I mean, has anyone here who's been part of this community like had a conversation, right?

18:53Emily Morse: And it just made a difference. So you tried one thing new. Again, because of all the shame around this, we just don't even try. But this would be huge just to practice it. And if you want to explore what conversations look like in the bedroom, you got to check out Danae Logan's workshop that she did a few months ago, Bedroom Authenticity and Breakthroughs. It's one of our most popular workshops here on Smartest. She impacts the nuances of honest communication, talks about novelty. She explains how working together in the bedroom can create deeper connection and trust. So we love something, Nate Logan.

19:29Emily Morse: And again, we've done so many great, we've had so many great speakers on here and workshop leaders that I want to remind you that it's not a one-time conversation. It's not a one-time course. It's not a one-time workshop with me. It's ongoing. And so we're really working intentionally to build a community that is, that has all the resources for you. If you're like, oh yeah, collaboration is the pillar that I really need help with. Like we've got you here. We've got you covered. We can help you go deeper wherever you're finding that you really want to work on because every single pillar matters, every single pillar.

20:07Emily Morse: And it's not to make it like more pressurable that there's five pillars of sexual intelligence, I want to remind you that I created these pillars. So it actually makes it easier. So you can be like, okay, well, I'm feeling more embodied lately, thanks to my breath work and movement practice. But I actually haven't been collaborating a lot. My partner and I have been leading separate lives. So that's when we have to work on together. And maybe you realize that the health pillar is one where you're like, okay, I've seen my hormone doctor, but I haven't been working out as much, right? So it just allows you to troubleshoot your desire and your arousal, which is why we're all here to have enhanced.

20:47Emily Morse: And, you know, you have to remember that the study of human sexuality and connection is still fairly new. The fact that we're even talking about it. So it's okay that like, you know, so breaking it out into all these areas, I think is going to really help you hopefully not overwhelm you. So that's why we are really giving you as much as we can so you can become your own sex expert troubleshooter with whatever is uh whatever is getting in your way so also you guys remember if you are solo you still get to collaborate it doesn't mean that you are you know you can't practice collaboration we do some wonderful work in in relation to others but it starts with you so what a great moment to think what turns you on physically, mentally, emotionally?

21:37Emily Morse: Which roles feel naturally and exciting to you? Are you more of a leader? Are you a follower? How can you, you know, are you want to dominate? Do you want to be more submissive? And how can you practice expressing what you want, even when you're playing solo? Like you are building an incredible foundation for partner or partners in the future by collaborating truly with your own body now. And I'll remind you, like, I learned so much about my own sexuality, being solo, like figuring out my best path to orgasm and all the different ways, you know, I could experience pleasure. I couldn't have multiple orgasms.

22:17Emily Morse: I couldn't have all these things before I practiced on my own. So, so important, you guys. So action steps, this is some action steps around collaboration, and I'm going to open this up to you guys for some questions, pick one collaborative action to try this week. You could share a new fantasy or desire with a partner who's going to do that. You can try 60 seconds of eye contact and breath before 60 seconds. Game changer. I almost can't do it without that now. I'm like, I need to breathe. I need to connect with you because otherwise we're coming in separate from our days, from our energies. Ask the simple question.

22:58Emily Morse: That's not my happy simple. Ask specific question. What do you want more of in our sex life? Create a shared sex menu, download the yes, no, maybe, and do it, do it, do it. People love it. People like it's a great conversation starter. And then if you're solo, just try journaling about what dynamics turn you on and why. So remember this, that collaboration is so crucial for connected, playful, satisfying sex life. So when you learn to consciously co-create and to create with somebody, it's not for them and at them. It's for both of you. So try out any of those sexual acts of collaboration. It could be a big one or a small one.

23:39Emily Morse: Just try one because the best acts of your life is happening when you guys are co-creating it and building it together. So if you guys have any questions about this, please, please send me your questions. Natalie, I love that you used Emily AI to practice a conversation before speaking to your husband. Guys, Emily AI is just for you guys, just our community. We've recently launched it. You guys seem to be loving it. I love it. It's literally my 20 years of everything I've ever said. However, I've helped people. I've had a billion downloads of my podcast. I've answered God knows how many questions, how many articles I've written, how many times I've been interviewed.

24:23Emily Morse: I have 5 ,000 podcasts, my books. It's all in there. And it's pretty freaking good. And we waited a long time before we released it to you because I wanted to make sure that it was accurate and helpful. And I'm so glad you're loving it. So only you guys, part of this community, have access to it now. So I hope you will use it to help you with conversations, like to help you remind you of things or to give you like step by steps for the week or how you can talk to a partner. So I think that is really incredible. Questions here about collaboration, about magnetism, about communication. I mean, you know that I would say communication is a lubrication.

25:05Emily Morse: This really is also the communication pillar. This is about having conversations that seem challenging or maybe scary, but finding the right time to do it. It's about making sure that your sex life isn't on the back burner anymore. I mean, I can tell you after 20 years, this is the problem is that couples put it on the back burner. They've never talked about it. Maybe this is you and you can't imagine how are we going to rework and talk about it now? And what are we going to do? You can start today. Today can be the first day of the rest of your sex life, but it's a really important part of it.

25:41Emily Morse: It's like, you know, people always ask, how are you comfortable talking about sex? It's by talking about sex. It's by doing it, by saying, I know this is awkward and comfortable. We haven't talked about sex before, but can we do this now? Can we start now? It's a really important part of our lives, of our overall well-being. It's going to help us enhance. And your sex life isn't going to get better by just closing your eyes and hoping for the best. It doesn't work that way. I think that's why you're all here. So please let me know if there are any questions at all about this. Natalie's going to try the 60-second eye contact and breathe.

26:17Emily Morse: What else, you guys? What else are you going to try? I gave you a few prompts. What do you want more of in your sex life? Are you going to journal about it? Are you going to share a fantasy with a partner? How are you going to co-create? How are you going to collaborate this week, like this weekend with your partner? We don't want to sit on this. Was there any sparks here? Anyone inspired or have a question more about, you know, how to best collaborate? Journaling sounds like a great idea. Yeah, there's so much science now in studies that talk about journaling as such a healing modality that when you're actually writing down the words of what you want and saying it and expressing and practicing it, Like it helps us psychologically.

27:01Emily Morse: It helps us make sure that these things happen. It helps us get clearer. It also empties from our mind, whatever is sort of holding us back. It's such a great practice. It allows you to get clearer. Let's make some commitments. Nina, hi, Nina. My husband, I've been exploring new things and I think journaling and you think you'll journal about something. Great. And Christine's going to share the embodied couple with my husband. Amazing. Thanks, Christine. Does it help just to make the commitment? Christy, your boyfriend and I got to plan some sort of desire night. Just like how we go over finances monthly.

27:34Emily Morse: We do the same practice before our sex life. Yes, I love that. I call it the sexual state of the union. The sexual state of the union is such a wonderful practice for partners. Let me share this with you. This is my sexual state of the union talking points. So basically, you do it once a month, once a week. If you have your finance call, you could tap me. Honestly, if you have a finance meeting with your partner, their husband, maybe this is the dessert from that. Maybe you're like, we're going to go over spreadsheets and then we're going to go over fantasies. So you want to like, it's okay to, it's basically a monthly conversation discussing things you want to try, explore.

28:15Emily Morse: You have those desires and fantasies, the ways you could be better lovers to want each other. It is a non-judgmental conversation about sex. so basically it's a you know i know it's a catchy catchy phrase but it just basically you can keep it short it can be 10 minutes it doesn't have to be a whole thing it doesn't have to be a presidential state of the union you don't want to carve out like half a day talk about your sex life and in fact if you keep it short you're gonna you're more likely to keep doing it and you're gonna get your points across you're planting the seeds for your sex life to come you're not doing it on one shot.

28:49Emily Morse: You don't have to figure out your entire sex life. At the end of your finance conversation, let's talk for 10 minutes. How are we doing with our intimate life? I think it's really important. I want these conversations to normalize talking about sex. So setting it free from expectations. You don't have to do it right after sex or before sex. Do it when you're already having one of these calls. It might be awkward. I get it. It might feel unsexy because you're nervous. This isn't like a foreplay exercise. Like this might not be to do it. So you guys are getting turned on. It's literally like, what are we going to do to make sure that we are conscious collaborators in our relationship?

29:30Emily Morse: How are we going to make sure that our intimacy, that we don't become another statistic about a couple who stops having sex? Like this is important. We are in our masculine talking about our sex life. And the great thing is, is that these regularly scheduled sexual state of the unions, they're not about solving like a specific problem in the bedroom. It's not about like grievances or criticism necessarily, or even sex therapy. It's just a way to also help you like, let's just normalize talking about sex. And then once you get more comfortable with it, communicating about sex, better sex will follow.

30:06Emily Morse: It's like, I'm thinking when you talk about your finances, your finances are in good shape because you guys talk about it every month or week or what's our budget. Why would our sex lives be any different if we don't talk about it? I mean, just think about it. You know, why? Why would it be better if you've never prioritized it, paid attention to it, or collaborated on it? It's not working that way. So it's regular. I'm just going through the sexual state of the union here. I just have my little checklist for the state of the union. My goal, this was just from the New York Times. I actually just pulled it up because they did a piece on this of my sexual state of the union a while ago.

30:44Emily Morse: Something you talk about in your relationships with the same level of comfort, normalcy, and intention as planning a vacation or where to go on a fun night out. Try scheduling this sex talk and the state of the union. You can say, look, I know this is new for us, but I want us to have a growth mindset around our sexual connection. Honestly, if you need to make a slideshow, You need to have props. You need to show them something that's hot. Like, do it. Make it your own. But the bottom line of collaboration is making sure that you both have a growth mindset around sex. It is just important. And it's a whole other thing.

31:19Emily Morse: If you're in a relationship with someone who's like, I don't want to talk about it. Why are you always bringing it up? That's where I would say therapy would be super helpful for you. Because you are never going to convince that partner to come on board. Not never. I don't like speaking in superlatives like that, but it's tough if you've been with someone for a while and they just keep shutting you down and saying, I don't want to talk about it or why should we have to talk about it? I just hear that all too often, and that's really hard. I'm talking about partners who are consciously collaborating and co-creating.

31:52Emily Morse: That's what we want here. Now, I love that we've all made commitments here to each other. That is so great. I love it. But Raymond asked, if you were to reach out to someone about somatic stuff, who would you recommend I reach out to? Do you mean like having a somatic practitioner, like someone you could work with? I would reach out to Dolly Josette. I think it's Dolly. I think it's thepleasuremuse.com. See if she could see you as an independent client, coaching practice with her. She's totally available. And if she can't, I mean, she's available, but she's a great resource. Pleasure Muse. All right, all of you, I love that you're all here.

32:32Emily Morse: And next week's workshop, I'll be discussing on Tuesday, the 22nd, I'll be discussing pillar number four, which is self-knowledge. And that's how well do I know myself? Do I know my turn-ons? Do I know what I like? You know, even if you think you don't, we all know stuff. We all know enough. And I'm going to help you figure out what you actually know at this point, what else there is to know. But that's a great one. And then Wednesday, I'm so excited. I'm doing, it's a very special day because I'll be doing a workshop with my oldest, my first friend. Our parents have been best friends. Our grandparents are friends.

33:07Emily Morse: We grew up a mission together. Her name's Tammy Colton, Tamara Colton. She's actually a rabbi, but she, and we talk about, we're gonna be talking about love. We're gonna be talking about connection. We have a great vibe. She's a healer for sure. It's nothing to do with like Judaism or anything. It's about discovering your inner child and how to actually do that. What does that mean? What does it mean? And to women who grew up together, we just have a great chemistry. And we've talked about doing something together for a long time. And you're going to fall in love with her. So that's what we're going to be up to, you guys, next week.

33:42Emily Morse: I hope that I will see you all. If there's any other questions here, please put them in. Otherwise, I will see you next week for two super special workshops that I'm excited to take on with you. please join us for Tamara Colton you will love her and then join me for self-knowledge alright everybody thank you for everything thank you for showing up I hope you all have a beautiful rest of your day love you all thank you

34:12fall never arrives all at once first the air then the light and slowly the things you love begin to find each other a jacket meets a dress A hoodie slips beneath a blazer. An old cap finds a new scarf. Because you don't simply step into the season. You create it layer by layer until it finally feels like fall. Find fall your way at Ross.

34:42When it comes to my policy, Farmers gives it to me straight. So there's no surprises. It's your coverage. You should never be confused. You hear that? An insurance provider with a conscience. We're a choir, but yes, we have that too. Straightforward coverage you can literally understand. That's what you get when you have farmers. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Learn more at Farmers.com. Underwritten by Farmers Truck or Fire Insurance Exchanges or Affiliate. Products not available in every state.

From the publisher

Are you and your partner really collaborating in bed, or just going through the motions? In this episode, I'm diving deep into the third pillar of Sexual Intelligence: Collaboration. I break down why two people can be having sex without truly connecting, how sexual polarity creates that magnetic charge we all crave, and why desire mismatches don't have to drive a wedge between you and your partner. I also walk you through one of my favorite practices — the Sexual State of the Union — and share simple, actionable tools like the Yes!No!Maybe? list and 60-second eye contact to help you and your partner start co-creating the sex life you actually want. Whether you're partnered or flying solo, this episode will change the way you think about intimacy.

ABOUT EMILY:

Emily Morse is a Doctor of Human Sexuality, author and host of the #1 rated Sex with Emily podcast. Known as a renowned sexologist, Dr. Emily has helped millions of people around the world navigate their sex lives. Her candid and often funny conversations challenge cultural taboos, misinformation and awkward sex talks to create a future where people can deeply connect and embrace pleasure-filled lives. Because, life is too short for bad sex. 

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Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Sex With Emily

4:00 Breathwork to Build Presence

5:29 Why Sex Doesn't Always Mean Collaboration

08:09 Energetic Collaboration

10:36 Sexual Clarity

14:08 Examples of Collaboration

21:47 Emily AI

23:17 Why Talking About Sex Changes Everything

25:24 The Sexual State of the Union

29:55 Somatic Healing & Next Week's Workshop
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