Episode #175: Unashamed | Bringing Sexuality Alive in the Birthplace of the Kama Sutra

In a country that birthed the Kama Sutra and Tantra, why are so many people terrified to talk about sex?

In this conversation, Christine and Neha Bhat walk straight into that contradiction: the body as a battlefield between desire, duty, and silence. Neha breaks down trauma responses in bed, tells raw stories from her practice, and shows how art, breath, and ritual can turn “I’m broken” into “I’m finally here.”

Neha Bhat, ABT, ATR-P, is a Sexual Trauma Psychotherapist, Entrepreneurial Coach, Clinical Supervisor, and Bestselling Author of Unashamed. As an internationally renowned speaker in decolonial psychotherapy, sexual trauma recovery, and creative arts-based wellness methods, Neha goes by Indian Sex Therapist on social media. This channel is her public offering where she offers free trauma therapy tools & in-depth videos on healing from sexual trauma, especially within the Indian psyche. 

Having worked in sexual-assault-trauma care at the University of Michigan & the Art Institute of Chicago, she employs trauma-focused therapy for people who have survived and perpetrated sexual violence. 

Neha consults on films and documentaries focused on intimacy for Amazon Prime Video and Netflix US. Neha's first book, Unashamed, addresses how mental health challenges and questions of sexuality can be addressed in a rapidly changing India. 

Listen in if you’re curious about what happens when shame loosens its grip and you start to live as one whole, unashamed self.

In this episode, we cover so many topics, including:

• Why “Unashamed”, and the Indian Sex-Negative culture

• India and the US: Two Perspectives

• High‑relational culture and the matriarchal gaze

• Defining Trauma & the 4F responses (Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn)

• 4Fs applied to sex

• Case Study: Kusha & Somatic + Art Therapy

• Sex as Gateway to Deeper Connection

• Myth, Archetype & Trauma Work as a Doorway to Spirituality

• Retreats and Relationships as Containers

• Gen Z’s thoughts on Social Media distortion

• Reconnection Therapy

• Chakra System & Base Centers 

• How to Choose Safe Containers

• Queerness in India today

• Cultural Exchange

• The Temple of 64 Yoginis

All Love,

Christine Marie Mason

Host, The Rose Woman on Love and Liberation: 

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Founder, Rosebud Woman