Bernadette Pleasant
SHE / HER / HERS
Bernadette Pleasant is an expert on Somatic Emotional Release, and a Sacred Grief Ritual Facilitator, promoting emotional freedom through movement and empowerment. A fiery and sensual speaker, she is the Founder of The Emotional Institute, where she created Femme!, a mind-body wellness program, as well as 400 Years, a somatic-based anti-racism program.
There are no good or bad, light or dark emotions — only ones that need to be acknowledged and fully expressed.
Popular Talks
Grief
Trauma
Somatic Movement
Speaking, Workshops & Coaching
Femme! Experience
You will be led through a movement experience that passionately fuses primal movement, sensual dance, meditation, creative visualization and celebration of the human form. Inspired by African, Tribal and Free Dance interwoven with the somatic and primal healing arts, this session will create a sacred, safe space in which you can reclaim and boldly display your power.
400 Years
It’s time to come together and unlearn racism, through our body, storytelling and deep listening, so that we can heal the divide between races and stand united, for and with each other. 400 Years explores how to unlock and unlearn racism from our bodies, by gently tending to our wounded spirit, ego, and privilege. This is an in-depth and interactive, experiential program inclusive of every skin color. We are creating a safe and supportive environment for you to explore and reflect upon your own experiences and beyond.
Grief Ritual
In our modern world, grief, death and loss are considered taboo topics; they are not to be discussed or expressed. Not only that, but if acknowledged, grief is considered a private matter, only to be experienced alone. But when we don’t grieve, we end up living numbed-out, half-lived versions of our lives. And when we only grieve alone, we miss out on the support and healing available to us when we grieve in community.
Private Coaching
For individuals ready for emotional release and fuller emotional expression; Offered as a one-time / entry session called AIR (90 minutes) and NEW BEGINNING (3-month Package).
“Like most women, I was taught to conceal my deep-seated anger and grief. [Bernadette] has inspired me to liberate myself from feeling any shame for having a full range of emotions. In her Femme! class, we move out EVERRYTHANNG from sadness to FLIRTATIOUSNESS! Her one day experience “Emotion in Motion” and her luscious retreat in Jamaica were the revolutionary medicine supporting me in moving out all of the loaded feelings I was carrying my first year of motherhood. Learning to accept and love the many gorgeous facets of myself has helped me remove the judgment and, instead, set my body on fire!”
— Leora Edut, Author of Goddess on the Go: Rituals to Help You Slow Down and Slay
“With Bernadette in the house, you will explore and feel every square inch of your divine, sensual temple, and never think of leaving it again. She’ll take you on a journey we all recognize, starting at the edge of your seat in anticipation, to receiving well-deserved news that you [have] reached the top of your personal Mt. Everest, triumphantly, only to retreat back into your shell and under your rock shortly after, to protect others unable to take in your light and joy. After getting the depth of this collective tragedy, she gets you out of your seat, and with her signature Femme! moves and drumming ensemble, she masterfully gets EVERY SINGLE MEMBER in the revved-up audience to cross the ocean with their hips and rediscover and inhabit their bodies in brand new ways so that no woman or girl, including YOU, will never dim your light again for ANYONE.”
— Loraine Van Tuyl, PhD, Award-Winning Psychologist, Author, Shamanic Practitioner, and Founder of the Sacred Healing Well
“The moment Bernadette takes the stage, the energy in the room goes up. She is so fully alive inside her body it intoxicates the entire audience. I was awestruck by her power to open and move me as she shared her story. Bernadette is a wonderful example of a woman who has given herself permission to express her own truth even on a cellular level.”
— Prasanna Diana Manuela, Inspirational Speaker & Author
Spirited and energetic, Bernadette Pleasant is a fiery and sensual speaker, an expert on Somatic Emotional Release, and a Sacred Grief Ritual Facilitator, promoting emotional freedom through movement and empowerment.
She is Founder of The Emotional Institute and Creator of Femme!, a mind-body wellness program and 400 Years, a somatic-based anti-racism program.
She is known for channeling her personal journeys and radical empathy into transformative, immersive experiences that support and celebrate people of all genders, colors, ages and sizes. She has transformed the lives of thousands of people around the world, inspiring them to become more self-expressed and empowered as their own badass selves.
With certifications in Emotions-Centered Coaching, Somatic Healing, Integrated Energy Therapy and studies in African, Tribal, and Free Dance, Bernadette promotes emotional freedom through movement and empowerment. She also facilitates deep and refreshingly real dialogues on emotional healing, grief rituals and unlearning racism.
A woman of color, Bernadette comes from a long line of natural healers who have used touch and movement to help others find peace and wellness. Her classrooms, both online and in person, welcome participants without judgment, supporting all to experience comfort and pleasure in their own skin.
Let’s collaborate to ensure a transformative experience.