0021: Fervor Friday With Che Che Luna
Sexuality and spirituality are linked the passion and intimacy you cultivate in your relationship can deepen your whole spiritual life. Body, soul, and spirit are one being and work together naturally if we do not separate them and judge them as sinful or taboo. When our raw passionate energy is refined and channeled upward to higher energy centers, it becomes the power behind love, creativity, and communion with Universal Love
Sexual energy manifests our entire life. - Psalm Isadora
Ladies & Gentleman it is with great pleasure on this fervor Friday to bring to you the phenomenal Che Che Luna . Che Che was a competitive gymnast since age 3, and see now that being able to express my body through that sport was something that saved my life. It was where I channeled all my feelings of isolation, confusion, and frustration.
I also grew up knowing that I was magnetically drawn to other women. Yet every night before bed - I would “pray” and attempt to wish away my queerness. I was so afraid of being bullied or abandoned for who I actually was.
When I left home for college, everything began to change. I started professionally dancing for a company full of empowered, queer souls who mirrored all my desires right back to me. Showing me it was OK to be myself. I started exploring sex with all different genders + queer folks. But the moment I had sex with a woman is when my whole life suddenly felt like it made sense. It was the moment where I took my sexuality back. Where I realized that I could experience infinite pleasure. That I could feel desire in my body and still be safe. That I could be queer as fuck and still powerful in this world.
For me, sex was not suddenly earth-shattering, but instead a slow and steady strip tease - removing the countless layers of protection I had built over the years. Each experience bringing me closer to home. Each full body YES teaching me something. Each full body NO reminding me of my strength + helping me build empowering boundaries. This path has been messy, but I look at how far I’ve come and let myself melt to the floor in pride and happy tears - for I have reached a place of feeling absolutely unstoppable in my own skin.
My journey has led me to becoming a sex educator, sensuality coach, and movement teacher - guiding self-identifying women + femmes in dismantling limiting beliefs they carry surrounding sex, and supporting them in replacing these beliefs with miracles of pleasure, connection and intimacy.
First of all, I want to thank you for taking time to do this interview, my first questions is, who is Che Che Luna?
Thank you so much for having me! I always struggle with this question. My first intuitive answer is - I am a multi-dimensional human who is passionate about the power of pleasure. My curiousty for sexuality, sex, spirituality and healing has led me to becoming a sex educator, sensuality coach, and movement teacher - guiding self-identifying women, femmes + non-binary folx in dismantling limiting beliefs they carry surrounding their bodies, and supporting them in replacing these beliefs with experiences of pleasure, connection and intimacy. I also identify as a queer bruja, professional dancer/choreographer and writer. My pronouns are she/they, and I pride myself in being an embodiment of radical self-love. Also, one of my favorite things to witness in the whole world is someone’s sexual homecoming!
Moreover, at this moment, how do you spend your days?
Mmm...I spend my days asking myself this question over and over again: “In this moment, how can I choose pleasure over pressure?”
I spent so much of my life grinding and hustling and falling into the masculine construct that our culture resides in. I was tired all the time. I would push through pain I was experiencing in my body. Ignore my intuition. Repress my desires. Overbook my schedule. Constantly put others before myself. And I reached a point a few years ago where I was like, “What am I doing?” I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, ya know? So...with the guidance of many amazing mentors and coaches, I started to slow down. Relearn how to prioritize self-care. How to set healthy boundaries. How to listen to my body. And how to welcome pleasure back in.
Logistically, my days usually look like this: I wake up around 8am, journal, drink water, do my breathwork practice, meditate, choose some form of movement - yoga, stretching, cardio, dancing, etc.. Then I shower and make myself breakfast. I prepare myself for client calls. And in-between calls make time for self-pleasuring, nature, tea dates with friends and creative play. I usually have a rehearsal of some kind for an upcoming show in the evenings. And then love to pull some tarot cards, make love with my partner, journal and do some mirror work before sleep.
How would you define yourself and what purpose inspires you?
I define myself as a pleasure activist. A soul having a human experience. An empath. A witch. A sexually liberated being. And a modern spiritual influencer. Patriarchy’s worst nightmare. Self-love inspires me. It inspires me because healing the world starts with ourselves. I believe self-love + self-compassion are political acts of rebellion - setting a new way of living in motion that shatters the patriarchal norms. A way of living where sex is medicine. Our bodies are sacred. And our healing matters.
Can you tell us about your up bringing’s?
I had a pretty dark upbringing. A spiritual coach once told me that if you were to put a visual to my up-bringing, it would be me as a small child at the bottom of a well looking up at the light. Even through the darkness, I always knew the light was there. And I was going to figure out how to reach it. I experienced sexual trauma at a very young age. I also knew as a child that I was queer - but would spend my nights trying to pray it away, in fear of being abandoned or bullied for my gayness. Aside from the dark undertones, I also experienced a lot of magic growing up. I have always been really creative and kinetic. My parents supported me in my art and my passion for movement. And I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA right by the ocean. Love always surrounded me, even when I felt alone.
Goddess I see that you where a competitive gymnast since age 3, and that sports was something that saved your life, can you tell us a little more on how sports saved your life?
Yes! Gymnastics was such a gift. I feel that it especially saved my life as I began moving through puberty. Feeling insecure about my body’s changes. My period. My sexuality. My desires. It all felt like way too much - but every day, I would spend 4 hours at my gymnastics gym training for my upcoming competitions. Movement became my favorite language. A way to express myself when I didn’t have the words. And a way to reconnect with the body I inhabited. I was incredibly strong, disciplined, flexible, driven and talented - so gymnastics became something in my life that I was really good at. It boosted my self-esteem and mood, and ultimately taught me so much about what it means to trust my body and intuition. Instead of exploring substances or experiencing sexual pursuits like most high schoolers were doing, I focused all of my attention on this sport. Allowing it to be my guide when I didn’t know where to step next.
Goddess dancing is therapeutic; I understand that you are a professional dancer, How do you feel dance helped you in your journey?
Right before college, I had to make the decision whether or not to continue gymnastics. It was a really emotional time for me because I was still so in love with the sport, but my body was also moving through a lot of intense injuries. I knew I needed to step away and open a new door for how to express myself through movement. This is where dance came in. To me, dance is telling any narrative through your body. It is not dependent on technique, or training, or how long you’ve been doing it - but on feeling. It is about vulnerability. Dance became a way for me to tell stories. To release what I no longer wanted to hold. It also was something that I started to explore in multiple areas of my life. What happens if I dance through sex? What happens if I let me body move while I’m on a client call? What happens when I bring twenty people together to liberate their bodies through dancing?
Dance brought me back home to my pleasure. My sensuality. And my sexuality. It’s reminded me again and again how beautiful and pleasurable my body is. It is one of my absolute favorite ways to celebrate this life and connect with others.
A dance practice that has been incredibly healing for me is giving myself a prompt to dance to - so that my movement has intention behind it. Some of my favorites are: Dance as if you are a queen that loves to be watched. Dance as if you are already healed. Dance as if you are the epitome of sex. Dance as if you are casting a spell. Then, filming myself dance to these prompts and intentionally picking out one thing that I love about the film. This ritual has really helped me fall back in love with the ways that I move. And has also supported me in accessing a lot more confidence in my body.
Goddess can you tell us a little about your sensual dance workshops?
I would love to! My Sensual Dance Workshops are inclusive, radical spaces to remember how powerful we really are. They are gatherings that center around liberating our sexualities and celebrating our sensual bodies. These workshops are a 4-hour guided journey of tender self-love, using dance as a tool for healing. A way to explore what happens when pleasure becomes our compass. My workshops are open to ALL LEVELS (no prior dance experience required) and welcome ALL genders, non-binary beings, and trans folks - including all body sizes, abilities, races, identities and sexualities.
Will you ever take your work shops on the road and if so what cities or other countries will you be offering your teachings?
I will! I am beginning to tour these workshops and so far it has been absolutely awe-inspiring. So far I have held them in Portland and the Bay Area, but plan to host them in as many places as I possible can! Some upcoming locations that I want to visit are LA, Seattle, New York, and San Francisco. I don’t have set dates yet but keep an eye out on my website: https://www.checheluna.com/workshops
Let’s talk about sensual dance, can you tell us why it’s so empowering and why do you feel society deems it dirty?
When we unapologetically take up space with our sensual bodies, we are saying - yes. yes we are worthy of pleasure.
Our society tries so hard to keep us small. Disconnected. Disempowered. Making us believe that we have to attain happiness/love/beauty/(insert all our core human needs here) by some external source. But sensual dance is revolutionary because it awakens us to the truth - that all we need is to love ourselves. That we can actually cultivate everything we are seeking inside our own bodies. Indulging in sensual dancing shatters the systems of oppression that we live in by moving us from a space of believing we are “not enough”, “too much” or “broken” to believing we are whole, complete, and always enough.
Our society fears beings who are empowered. Beings who no longer need to buy into capitalist structures. Why? Because then they loose profit, control and power. We are so bombarded with both spoken and unspoken messages through the media, medical industry and organized religions about what is “right” or “wrong”. It’s exhausting. Sensual dance is an extension of sexual liberation, therefore falls under this outdated taboo topic - sex. And the only way we can dismantle this taboo is to take up space. Rewrite beliefs that make us feel good. And come back to the truth that our innate sensuality is a fucking life-giving super power.
What are your thoughts on recent reports of Instagram shadow-banning sex-positive post?
Whew. This is a tender topic for me - and so many of us right now. And I’m so grateful you are asking this question! The shadow banning and censoring that’s been taking place on Instagram is terrifying and so disheartening. I have watched so many incredible sexual healers, sex workers and sex educators get their profiles deleted unannounced. And I hold my breath every time I login to the app, releasing my exhale when I see that my account is still there. Instagram is literally my livelihood right now. It is how I enroll clients and therefore bring in income. And the thought of that being taken away brings up a lot of anxiety. They can’t erase us. They can’t silence us. No matter how hard they try. We will keep taking up space and getting louder. This old conservative energy is fearfully reacting to the uprising they see happening. And the anti-movement to this censorship calls us to courageously stand our ground and lift each other up.
Why do you think Instagram is targeting woman’s sexual empowerment?
Because women’s sexual empowerment is unstoppable once awakened. It’s no mistake that the places women have been taught to fear the most (periods, sex, child labor, menopause, sexuality, pleasure) are all centered around our genitals + our sexual nature. When a woman is disconnected from her sexual power, she often stays small, remains complacent, gives of her body to others, lives a life of shame, and spends her money trying to reach an unreachable “standard” of beauty. BUT, when a woman is connected to her sexual power - she’s dangerous. She finds her voice. Her gets loud. She reclaims her body. She is untamable. And that is exactly what company’s like instagram are so afraid of.
Tell me about how these challenges have empowered you as an activist?
The fire in me is roaring. It has inspired me to go back to school to become a certified sex educator. To give scholarships to as many people as I can. To make sure that I am creating and joining in-person groups, communities and circles that are doing this work alongside me. And to just keep being unapologetically myself. This is my favorite mantra right now:
EVERY TIME I CRITICIZE MYSELF, I AM FEEDING THE PATRIARCHY. SELF-LOVE IS REVOLUTIONARY.
Do you think we’ll ever over come this- will sexuality ever be accepted by mainstream?
I do believe so. It may be hard to feel or see at the moment, but the progress we are making together is incredibly rapid. Everything is coming to the surface. We are reconstructing a whole new foundation to stand on. We are getting pushback because we are moving in the right direction. There is hope. Healing is happening. Healing is possible. We are the agents of change. And this is our time.
What does sexual empowerment mean to you? Moreover, how do you believe sex educators and pole fitness/dance can empower others to find their sexual authenticity?
Sexual empowerment to me means feeling sexually free in your body, mind and soul. Not to say that we aren’t all simultaneously moving through fear, insecurities and constant growth - but there is this deep peaceful and consensual relationship within you that informs everything you experience. It is a reclamation. A coming home.
I think it’s really important for sex educators and pole/dance teachers to not yuck someone else’s yum (inspired by Emily Nagoski). In other words, realizing that the way one person expresses and embodies their sexual authenticity is going to look a lot different than yours. I’m all for creating inclusive spaces for everyone to individually express their sexuality, while making sure there are no “right” or “wrong” ways to do so. It can be easy to fall into teaching styles that function via imitation (do it like this/don’t do it like this/THIS is sexy) - but that is not actually empowering. Because every single body and human’s sexual expression is so unique. And there is not a box where one size fits all. Give people creative freedom to find what turns them on. Witness them. Celebrate them. Hold space for them. This work is so needed.
When you are caught up in your head or just really busy/distracted in life, how do you get back to earth (and into your body)?
Being in nature naked! Digging my hands in the dirt. Walking barefoot. Touching and smelling flower petals. Meditating (I use the Calm app and LOVE it). Intuitive movement - putting on music and letting my body unwind how ever it wants to. Deep belly breaths. Tapping my body while saying an affirmation like “I am safe.” Eating a warm earthy meal. Chanting. Soaking my body in water.
Do you have a favorite ritual?
Right now my favorite ritual is SO simple, but SO profound. Every night before bed, I stand in front of my full length mirror naked and say, “I love you.” This daily practice has brought so much sweetest and tenderness to my life. It literally takes me like 10 seconds, and has easily become one of my favorite parts of my routine.
What do you want to tell woman who are seeking to take on their own passion projects, and make them their career?
Whatever you feel called to do, THAT is your calling. Honor it. It’s why you’re here. Also, baby steps!!! If I want to write a novel, I’m not gonna sit down at my desk and say, “okay, I’m gonna write a novel now.” That is way too overwhelming! But, I can sit down and say, “okay, I’m gonna write the introduction to my book now.” Break your projects up into bite size pieces. YOU GOT THIS!
Che Che Luna, thank you for sharing your time and energy with us where can the Kinktra lovers find you?
My pleasure.
I will actually be enrolling 1:1 clients the whole month of June for my Sensuality coaching program, so if that’s something that interests you, you can apply here: https://www.checheluna.com/coaching
My instagram is @che.che.luna
And my email is hello@checheluna.com - feel free to email me if you have any questions!
All my love,
Che Che
