Meet Ianne Celeste Rivera of One Thread in North Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ianne Celeste Rivera.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As you consciously relinquish control of the narratives from your past, you reclaim the power of your divine story. Through pleasure, love, the essence of your sacred truth, is able to be wholly expressed and appreciated. The story of how I stepped into holistic pleasure coaching and pleasure activism is one of acceptance and trust.

Our lives are segmented by experiences that demand that we stand still, compassionately look into our own eyes, and forgive. In 2012, I had such an experience, which I consider to have been a spiritual awakening. Through a series of events, I was 29 years old and had no clue what I had done with my life; I was heartbroken, unfulfilled, and clueless as to how I would piece my life back together. Though my identity shattered into raw pieces, I had a sense that I was seeing myself for the first time. Early on, I made a pivotal admission. “I don’t feel like the woman I want to be”. Having fallen into depression, a series of co-dependent relationships, low self-esteem, and self-negligence, I realized I never felt like I was enough. How would I move forward? How could I feel enough? I didn’t have the answers, but I did have an intuitive knowing: that moment of discomfort and pain was ripe with opportunity.

As I reflected upon the source of the choices in my life, it dawned on me that most of my life’s decisions were made from fear. “This can’t be the only way to live?” I asked. I approached this answer cautiously. “Well, if fear wasn’t a factor, what have I always wanted to do?” With each adventure of exploration, I was cultivating the seeds that would become my coaching practice, One Thread. Through the wisdom of curiosity began an epic love affair with myself, freeing my mind and body from expectations and shame that stifled my joy.

I dove headfirst into spiritual practice, drinking in this new knowledge like water after a long thirst. My heart and mind came alive as I became a yoga teacher, a reiki practitioner, and a mindfulness meditation guide. There was a sense of freedom that was welling within and a trust that was compelling me to feel increasingly curious and courageous. This trust began to soften my body and heighten my sensuality as I awakened to the sacred pleasure and healing power of sex. In 2015, in the City of Dreams [New York City], while studying spirituality and psychology at Columbia University, there it was, like a brilliant beacon: sexuality and spirituality were of a singular source – the Divine. In awe and fascination, I was drawn into the study of eroticism and healing. Day by day, the pleasure of discovering, learning and engaging with this knowledge, myself, and others was expanding. From these early years of inquiry, One Thread was born in February of 2018. Every day, I’m in gratitude that I walk this path of intention and purpose.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
How we approach undiscovered paths are reflections of our beliefs and perceptions. These paths may be overgrown with doubt, uncertainty, and fear, but they’re also the unpaved pathways of potential. The greatest challenge I’ve overcome in my business is just this – to shift the experience of entrepreneurship from anxiousness to opportunity. Despite having cultivated a breadth of knowledge of pleasure and spirituality, when I first began One Thread, I was doubtful of my ability to guide and lead. “Why me? Can I really impact people’s lives? Who made me the authority?” What rang true was the feeling that I was answering a call. It became clear that when fear overpowered, the disavowal of this call was far more painful. The solution wasn’t effortless, at first, but the answer was obvious. Love.

Love is buoyant even in the weight of our own mental gravity. When I recognized this, I led my business with love. I began to hold myself in compassion as I leaned in the direction that spurred a deep sense of pleasure, conjured curiosity, and promoted a voluminous sense of wholeness. With every step into the source of my purpose, my conviction to guide other womxn to embrace the source of their pleasure, purpose and power blossoms.

Please tell us about One Thread.
To thrive is more dynamic than the attainment of assets and wealth. To thrive is to feel whole in the pleasure of aligning yourself with opportunities for wealth. The diligence and devotion to hone this practice is how we live into the promise of our greatness. As a holistic pleasure coach, I hold the vision of greatness for each of my clients as I guide them to explore their leadership through the lens of pleasure. Through immersive coaching experiences centered on the sacred practices of meditation, mindfulness, and sex, I guide my clients to explore their body’s sensual spectrum, to draw forth the experience of pleasure as a compass for wealth building, not merely as an afterthought or reward. This approach to leadership development is unconventional, for now, and sets me apart in the vast landscape of coaching. As such, I’m proud to be an activist in the Pleasure Revolution, shifting the tide of our understanding of both pleasure and leadership.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My maternal grandparents immigrated to Santa Ana, CA from Mexico in the 1950s, so many of my childhood memories are deeply connected to their first home in the US. Prior to immigrating, from a young age, my grandpa began a trade career as a baker and master tailor. Tailoring was a skill that he utilized to support his family in America while baking pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) was a delight reserved for his family.

One of my favorite childhood memories was the experience of my grandpa making pan dulce. I remember one of these days clearly. I played on the rust-colored swing amongst my grandma’s fern garden as the sound of Rancheras and the smell of dough and yeast emanated from the garage. There stood my grandpa in his classically pressed khaki dress pants, this time sans his signature button-up shirt and tie, simply adorned by a white tank undershirt, his gold chain with a pendant of Jesus on the cross, and a lit cigarette precariously hanging from his lips. It was a joy to watch him make bread, needing the dough with such purpose and care. Though this memory is brief, it’s one that I carry with me whenever I feel him around me.

Pricing:

• Lit From Within: an 8-week immersive 1:1 leadership program: $1800
• Holistic Pleasure Coaching Package: Three 90-minute individual sessions: $333
• Come As You Are: a monthly womxn’s group focusing on pleasure and sex (various locations): $10

Contact Info:

• Website: theonethread.com
• Email: info@theonethread.com
• Instagram: onethreadcoaching
• Facebook: One Thread Coach

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