What is a Dakini? | Liv Pavlov on Tantric Bodywork and Sensual Alchemy Artwork

Sex, Drugs, & Soul

Welcome to Sex, Drugs, & Soul, where the sacred gets spicy, the growth gets real, and the self-discovery comes with a side of mischief. I’m Kristin Birdwell, author, host, & playful professional line-blurrer between the profane and the profound.

On this podcast, we break the rules, shed the shame, and get intimate through vulnerable conversations, sensual explorations, aaaand the occasional existential crisis.

I bring raw stories, deep wisdom, and unfiltered conversations with fellow seekers, sensual enthusiasts, experts, and pleasure revolutionaries. We’re talking sexuality, self-expression, psychedelics, spirituality, and all the beautifully messy things that make us human.

If you’re ready to rewrite your story, drop the ‘shoulds,’ and live a life that turns you on… join me for a fun ride of inspiration and reclamation.

IG: @kristinbirdwell_ | kristinbirdwell.com

YT: @SexDrugsSoul

All Episodes

Sex, Drugs, & Soul

What is a Dakini? | Liv Pavlov on Tantric Bodywork and Sensual Alchemy

November 03, 2025 • Kristin Birdwell • Season 4 • Episode 10

In this episode, Liv Pavlov, dakini, tantric guide, and sensual alchemist, returns for a third round to explore tantric bodywork. We dive into what it means to be a dakini, how trauma and desire manifest in the body, and how presence, breath, and pleasure can become a form of medicine.

Liv shares her four-step sensual medicine therapy process, how to expand your capacity to feel, and the truth about the body’s innate wisdom to heal through sound, movement, and conscious touch.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcoming back Liv Pavlov: the first three-peat guest
01:24 – What is a Dakini?
03:37 – Tantra defined: weaving together all parts of the self
06:02 – The deeper purpose of tantric bodywork beyond the erotic
07:28 – How to bring more presence into intimacy
08:54 – The power of breath and awareness
09:44 – Liv’s 4-step Sensual Medicine Therapy method
12:06 – Eros as life-force energy: reclaiming your erotic aliveness
13:10 – Tantric practices for mothers and busy women
15:34 – Mirror work and five-minute sensual practices
16:43 – Yoni eggs, postpartum healing, and energetic cleansing
18:08 – Trauma and ancestral memory in the body
20:23 – How Tantric touch releases tension and stored emotion
22:46 – Why the body doesn’t need the story to heal
24:39 – What to know before receiving Tantric Bodywork
26:16 – The naturalness of Tantra and returning to ancient wisdom
28:09 – Lightning Round: hips, pleasure, and peaking practices
30:19 – How to work with Liv and learn more

Connect with Liv:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/livlovetantra
Website: https://www.oliviapavlov.com/

Connect with Kristin:
Website
Instagram
YouTube