Creating, Maintaining, and Rebuilding Long-Term Intimacy with Bella Krutik

Bella Krutik, a relationship nervous system and feminine embodiment coach, shares how she helps successful women and men rebuild trust, intimacy, and long-term connection. She reflects on her formative years as a rule-following, approval-seeking “good girl,” shaped by a first-generation Australian/Latvian immigrant family culture of playing small and staying safe.

Bella describes marrying at 20, divorcing four years later, then repeating similar patterns in a second marriage (people-pleasing, self-abandonment, blame, weak boundaries). Years after separating and divorcing her second husband (the father of her son), they reconciled and rebuilt a deeply honest, connected partnership after both did substantial work: she trained as a feminine embodiment coach; he stopped drinking, attended therapy and men’s circles.

They discuss how unrealistic cultural narratives about “perfect love” reduce self-responsibility and make normal human flaws look like red flags. Bella explains embodiment as shifting from living “neck up” into the body—tracking felt sensations, releasing “frozen tension,” and learning to respond rather than react in conflict. The episode also covers signs of “flatmate” relationships (logistics-only talk, screens, intimacy dropping), redefining sex as broader intimacy, practical reconnection via intentional touch and deeper conversations, gratitude as a practiced muscle, and how high-achievers must soften and drop control at home. Bella outlines how she helps clients discern whether to stay or leave without “should,” and how she protects herself by holding sessions in a “container” and using embodiment practices afterward.

00:00 Meet Bella Krutik

01:08 Formative Years

03:24 Immigrant Family Culture: Playing Small, Staying Safe

05:11 Embodiment & Learning Through Mistakes

07:04 Early Relationships: Unaware Patterns & a First Marriage at 20

09:49 Second Marriage, Same Patterns: The Myth of the ‘Ideal Partner’

12:43 Reconciliation After Divorce: Inner Work, Boundaries & Vulnerability

15:54 Society’s ‘Perfect Love’ Script

19:15 What Feminine Embodiment Means in Practice (From Head to Body)

25:29 Holding Pain to Access Pleasure

31:08 From Lovers to Flatmates

35:41 Redefining Sex: From Performance to Intimacy

37:24 Rebuilding Connection: Touch, Presence, and Turning Off Distractions

39:45 The Gratitude Practice: Training Your Brain to See the Good

43:42 Imperfect Love: Slipping, Repairing, and Embracing Messy Emotions

45:12 High Achievers at Home

50:28 Stay or Go? Untangling ‘Should’ and Taking Responsibility

55:03 Protecting the Helper: Holding a ‘Container’ for Clients’ Trauma

57:50 What’s Next: Career Vision, Partnership Without Remarriage, and a Possible Book

01:05:41 Final Reflections & Farewell

https://bellakcoaching.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bellakcoaching/

https://www.facebook.com/isabel.krutik

Lauren Venables on Safety, Somatics, and Dropping the Guard to Create Deeper Intimacy

Lauren Venables, a Sydney-based feminine embodiment and intimacy coach who supports high-achieving women in feeling safe enough to drop their guard and receive intimacy, pleasure, and devotion through somatic practices, nervous system work, trauma-informed coaching, grief, and relational healing. Lauren shares how she was shy, perfectionistic, and afraid to be seen as a teen despite being a dancer, and how bullying and a lack of safety in relationships shaped her early intimacy and self-expression.

She describes a major turning point after a nine-year relationship that lacked passion and polarity, followed by years of mindset work before discovering body-based nervous system practices.

She emphasizes creating safety in the body to support boundaries, communication, consent, and deeper intimacy, and outlines a practical approach for discussing desires with a partner: get clear on what you want, regulate through breath and somatic awareness, then speak from vulnerability without blame. The conversation explores redefining sex as intimacy and pleasure rather than penetration and performance. They address shame in the body, releasing emotion through somatic validation and feeling sensations, and the importance of self-pleasure for understanding desire and communicating preferences.

The host and Lauren discuss how BDSM/kink communities often model clearer communication and boundaries, and they examine how mainstream porn and sexualized media can distort expectations and harm self-worth. Lauren reinforces that it’s never too late to reconnect with libido, especially by restoring safety amid burnout, hormones, or menopause.

She also describes practitioner self-care, energetic boundaries, mentors, nature grounding, and her future aims to follow her “aliveness,” and continue living what she teaches through ongoing learning.

00:00 Meet Lauren Venables: Embodiment, Intimacy & Nervous System Safety

00:51 From Shy Teen to Confident Coach

03:15 Dancer in Her Head: Perfectionism, Bullying & Fear of Being Seen

04:43 Why High-Achieving Women Keep Their Guard Up in Love

07:06 Safety, Discernment & Finding Your Yes/No in the Body

08:24 When Success Masks Coercion: The Hidden Side of “Having It Together”

11:03 Lauren’s Turning Point

13:31 Learning to Ask for What You Need: Masculine Safety & Being Held

16:02 How to Talk About Desire Without Shame: Somatic Prep + Vulnerable Language

20:06 Redefining Sex as Intimacy: Beyond Penetration, Toward Connection

23:11 Feminism, Polarity & the Craving to Be Led (Without Losing Power)

26:13 Boundaries Without Walls: Discernment, Nervous System Clarity & Shame Release

30:38 Meeting Shame with Validation: Somatic Tools to Let It Dissolve

33:08 Why We Rush Self-Pleasure (and What We Miss)

34:12 Know Your Desire: Self-Exploration & Communicating Needs

35:46 What Kink Communities Get Right: Consent, Boundaries & Debriefs

37:58 Learning to Love Yourself Through Body Work

39:09 Porn, Media & Sexual Scripts: The Impact on Self-Worth

42:59 1:1 vs Group Work: Safety, Shame, and Going Deeper

44:48 “You’re Never Too Old”: Reclaiming Libido by Creating Safety

49:13 The Body Keeps the Score: Integrating Mind + Somatic Healing

51:04 Holding Space Without Burnout: Practitioner Self-Care & Boundaries

53:40 Grounding in Nature + Looking Ahead (Practice, Love, and Closing)

https://www.laurenvenables.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenvenables1/

Navigating Modern Therapy and Relationships with Briana Bass

In this episode, Briana Bass, a licensed professional counselor associate and board-certified clinical psychologist, shares insights from her unique background, combining high-level corporate experience and work in addiction centers.

She discusses the transformative power of modern, evidence-based therapy in addressing the challenges of today's high-pressure world. Briana reflects on her formative years and explains how modern therapy differs from traditional approaches by focusing on real-world issues such as chronic stress, gender roles, political climate, and technology.

She also touches on the loneliness epidemic, the impact of dating apps, and the importance of authenticity and communication in building deep, meaningful relationships.

00:00 Introduction to Briana Bass

00:45 Briana's Formative Years

02:35 Modern Therapy Explained

04:57 Challenges of Modern Life

07:33 The Impact of Technology on Relationships

16:41 Loneliness in a Connected World

17:30 Deepening Emotional Intimacy

22:25 Navigating Life Transitions

24:10 Navigating Life's Changes Together

25:02 The Power of Communication

25:41 Rebuilding Connection

26:04 Emotional Regulation and Vulnerability

27:34 Practical Tips for Reconnecting

30:23 The Impact of Modern Dating

38:47 Challenges of High-Pressure Environments

40:33 Balancing Personal and Professional Life

43:01 Maintaining Mental and Emotional Health

45:18 Final Thoughts and Reflections

https://brianabass.org/