Hello!
My name is Mikai'el Jade (they/them)
I'm a relational intimacy guide and Certified Somatic Sex Educator, based out of Portland, Oregon. I support people through the peaks and valleys of cultivating intimacy and body sovereignty. From rituals to roughhousing, I bring playfulness, movement, live music and trauma-responsive touch to help people lean into their growth edges and find erotic belonging in their bodies. Curious about how we could work together? Let's talk!
More details...
My life has been a series of coming outs, from middle school gayness to gender divergence, from loving multiple partners to working in the therapeutic sex industry. This journey has shown me:
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I am lovable
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I can change
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and I am not alone.
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Growing up genderqueer without the internet, I spent pre-puberty exploring body pleasures and fantasies in wild abandon. I was blessed with parents who didn’t shame me for masturbation. I found ease in relating to other humans, and my senses were often turned on. But once puberty hit, body dysphoria and self-harm set in. My body’s topography no longer felt like mine. I began making decisions around sexuality and relationships from a disconnected place, letting self-disgust run in the background. This left me open to abusive relationships, lending my body to other people’s insecurities and pleasures. I didn’t think I had any other choice.
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I will never forget the moment my realization of this dropped into my pelvis. I was at a Reframing Racism class, and suddenly the damage was clear. At puberty, I learned how to separate and control my pleasure-centered approach to life. I had locked up my erotic playfulness, and thus, couldn’t truly be in solidarity with others. Seeing other people in liberation forced me to feel the pain of my own constrictions. This learning was terrifyingly refreshing, and led me to listen more intently to my ancestors (Ashkenazi Jews and Romani people). I sought out ethical and intimate practitioners to receive hands-on support to unwind the relational trauma I had endured while disconnected. Things started to make more sense again.
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I continued to strengthen the connections between my body, my communication with others, and the play I was drawn to explore. The next step was to heed the call and gain practical skills in supporting this intimate process for others. After a powerful full moon prayer with ancestors at my back, I was released from the non-profit industrial complex. I waited for more direction, and kept hearing the word "sex". After many conversations with folx in the field, I enrolled at the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education and met kickass mentors, wise colleagues, and opportunities to experience this work exponentially. This is when the words erotic belonging came together. This was when my youthful aliveness found a rooted, full-bodied home.
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My practice centers gender creatives, queers and folx under the LGBTQ+ rainbow, but I also work with straight, cis clients who appreciate queer magic. I also facilitate in-person workshops, dance events, and online playscapes. When I'm not working, you can find me making melt-in-your-mouth pancakes, jumping into rivers, or going to drag shows.
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Certified Somatic Sex Educator and Sexological Bodyworker from the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education, taught by captain snowdon, Kai Cheng Thom, Caffyn Jesse, Katie Spataro, and Corinne Diachuk
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Inner Pelvic Attunement with Ami Opal
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The Fascial Feel: Trauma-Informed Myofascial Release with Ailsa Keppie
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Neurobiology, Attachment and Secure Relationships with Dr. Diane Poole Heller
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Trauma Essentials for Spiritual Practitioners with Ori Aguila
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Emotions in Motion​: Storytelling Through Movement Part 1 and 2 with Siddhi Tapkir
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Mental, Physical and Spiritual Self-Defense with Harmony Lee
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Interpersonal Neurobiology of Racism designed by Danette Gillepsie-Otto and Marc Otto
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Can You Hear Me? workshop for white queer folx Holistic Resistance
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Mortal Course with Alua Arthur and Caitlyn Doughty
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Reframing Racism Intensive with the Center for Equity and Inclusion
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Community Development Undergraduate Degree at Portland State University
Teachers
Ethics
I'm a member of the Somatic Sex Educator's Association, and pledge
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My chief focus and primary ethical responsibility is on my client’s wellbeing
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I will work to support my client in the experience of embodiment and empowered, enthusiastic consent​
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When touch is included in Somatic Sex Education it is for the purpose of the client’s learning and growth​
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During the session I am fully and consistently at the service of the client’s personal growth and learning​
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I commit to my own professional development and ongoing self care​
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I am aware of the potential for attraction within the client-practitioner relationship and ensure the focus is always on my client’s growth and learning​
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I practice in a way that is free of narcissistic focus on power, admiration, or sexual gratification​
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Entering into a client-practitioner relationship involves an intake process in which limits and boundaries are clearly set out and agreed to.
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Do you have questions about my boundaries or ethics? Please contact me here.
Values
The nitty gritty of what guides me in this work
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Values:
Dynamism, accountability, emotional attunement, commitment
Actions:
Centering potential, celebrating changing needs, inviting feedback
Values in action:
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Dynamically centering potential and celebrating changing needs while drawing from a rich tapestry of embodied teachings
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Accountable to ethics and the ongoing practitioner-client relationship, inviting feedback and check-ins around power dynamics and process
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Emotionally attuned to non-verbal cues, capacities, goals/intentions and learning zones
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Committed to continuity, consistency and a reliable arc of care
Interview on Sex Ed for the Modern Bed:
Testimonial
Jade has the qualities that I need most from a practitioner to feel safe with. They are super calm, grounded, and their attunement was really perfect for my needs; be it their body position, eye contact, intake, listening and mirroring skills. It felt spacious. Because I felt held and safe, I had an "ah-ha" moment; it was to see that sometimes, I can be shy still to ask for exactly what I want especially in my intimate sex life. As if part of me is afraid to be either too dirty, too vanilla or too demanding! It was a good thing to see. I felt more alive and calmer in my body afterwards.
-M.T.