Have a few minutes? Explore Foria's Sex Educator, Kiana Reeves, journey in sex education and wellness in this short yet empowering interview. From early adventures with friends to founding The Tulip and shaping Foria's principles, Kiana discusses breaking cultural conditioning and the challenges of single parenthood. Discover her favorite ingredients and insights on love and join us for a casual conversation on embracing sexuality for healing and empowerment.
Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your journey with sex education – what sparked your passion?
A: It's been a very long and interesting journey so far! Sexuality was always something I was very drawn to, even in high school and college. In college, I remember buying speculums for my friends and me, and we all looked at our cervixes for the first time. It ultimately became a real passion of mine after I became a mama, and I experienced how much had changed in my body, psyche, and the way the world responded to me. I ended up starting a company called The Tulip with my sister, which was focused on bringing traditional pelvic care practices and education around female sexuality. That experience brought me to some of my first teachers in this space: Kimberly Johnson, who wrote the 4th Trimester, Ellen Heed, who is one of the deepest wells of body knowledge, and Deep and Uma from the Institute of Somatic Sexology. From there, I started a private practice and also joined Foria to help build the brand and support all of our messaging and content so that it really spoke to the needs of our audience and invited them into the conversation. I think at the heart of why I love this work so much is that sex & sexuality still has so much cultural conditioning and shame connected to it, yet it has immense healing potential. So using our sexuality as a way to work with the places where we have the most emotional blocks (which are usually centered around how we relate to those who are closest to us), and seeing what happens on the other side of that work, when someone feels really free in their self-expression, embodied, and connected to their pleasure, it just feels like the most rewarding and impactful work in the world.
Q: What is something most people don't know about you?
A: I think most people don't know that I spent many years of my life being a single parent and that it was specifically the difficulty and challenge of raising two young boys while still focusing on my purpose & career that forged so much of my strength and capacity to be with uncertainty while still being brave and taking healthy risks.
Q: What mantra do you live by?
A: I don't know if it would actually be considered a mantra, but something I've been feeling over and over again is this… if you get good at one thing in your life, let it be learning how to love well. Loving yourself well, your family well, your partner well. And ruthlessly seek out anything that consciously or unconsciously would get in the way of you showing up for those relationships with all of the love in your heart. In the end, it truly is the only thing that we do that really matters.
Q: What are some of your top favorite sexual wellness product ingredients?
A: I obviously am a huge fan of all of the Foria products. We have an amazing product team that sources the highest quality, most potent, organic ingredients to use. I think what also sets us apart aside from quality is our effectiveness. We don't really follow the rule book of what other brands are making or what is already out there. From the beginning, we've always looked at how to innovate and create formulas for needs that were totally unmet in the market; that is how we made Awaken, our Relief & Intimacy Suppositories, and our most recent launch Booty Melts. I also love that Foria is totally dedicated to pleasure and supporting the full spectrum of female sexual wellness, from menstruation through menopause. Some of my favorite ingredients that we use are kava, cacao, CBD, and castor oil. There are so many amazing botanicals that we use; these ones show up in a lot of our formulas because of their effectiveness and versatility in how they support the body.
Q: How do you respond to concerns or stigmas surrounding the use of CBD/hemp in your products?
A: Most people we interact with actually aren't too concerned about CBD or hemp; they just are looking for more education on how those compounds actually work in the realm of sexual wellness. We really try to support our community with lots of education to empower them to understand their body more and to learn how to work with plants in a way that will naturally support their sexual experiences.
A heartfelt thank you to Kiana for generously sharing her time, experiences, and insights with us. Your openness and commitment to promoting positive transformations in sex education and wellness have truly made the conversation enlightening. We appreciate you and look forward to continued inspiration from your journey. Thank you, Kiana!
