Shel Ryan, he/him/his
Founder & Practitioner

Shel Ryan started his professional career in 2005 as a music therapist serving terminally-ill patients and their loved ones through hospice care. After a massive emotional upheaval in 2010, his views of life and the world around him were turned upside down and inside out, leaving him raw, vulnerable, broken-hearted, and emotionally fragile. He pursued yoga, meditation, and psychotherapy to cope with the stresses of his personal recovery, and devoured books about “new thought” and holistic health and wellness. He attended his first workshop with The Body Electric School in 2011, where he was introduced to erotic bodywork and sex education/coaching in group and individual settings; he has participated in numerous workshops since then as a participant, staff assistant, and co-facilitator. Workshops included exposure to and education about power dynamics, expressing desire, discussing consent, and receiving gifts of touch. Shel began working with a naturopathic doctor and intuitive healer in 2016, and was introduced to Ayurveda, spiritual laws and truths, homeopathy, and flower essence remedies. In 2019 and 2020, he studied Reiki and became a Level II Reiki practitioner through the Usui System of Natural Healing. He is continually mentored by well-established erotic bodyworkers, Sacred Intimates, and BDSM Pro Doms/Dommes. Shel routinely attends self-discovery workshops and trainings, and has ongoing studies related to his practices.

Given his clinical background, along with his approach to holistic self-care and exploration, Shel feels called to hold space for others as a “Chief Permission Giver”. He offers something for those looking to broaden their horizons through honest exploration, intentional pleasure, and radical vulnerability in order experience increasingly authentic relationships with oneself and others.