Dr. Jasmonae Joyriel - Ignite Anew

Are You Ready To Date After Your Divorce? Here Are Signs and Red Flags To Look Out For

A couple shares a kiss in a snowy forest surrounded by tall pine trees. They’re bundled in winter coats, scarves, and hats, smiling as the man playfully dips the woman backward in the snow. The scene feels romantic, cozy, and joyful, capturing the warmth of connection on a cold winter day.

Divorce doesn’t just close a chapter. It rewrites the story you thought you were living. It shifts the way you see yourself, how you relate to others, and what you expect from love. And once the dust settles, the question many people quietly ask themselves is: Am I truly ready to let someone in again? […]

Creative Austin Date Nights to Reignite Your Relationship

Neon pink sign in Austin reading “Taquero Mucho” with a glowing taco illustration, creating a playful and romantic ambiance — perfect for a fun date-night vibe.

Something that couples often struggle with the longer they’re together is how to stay connected, have fun, and continue to deepen their intimacy. Date nights have completely stopped. And it’s one of the first things I tackle in couples therapy. After the initial limerence phase (that head-over-heels, butterflies-in-the-stomach season) passes, and the realities of career […]

Why Your Sex Life Needs an Erotic Pantry

A stylish couple in an intimate, playful pose—she stands confidently with her leg on his lap while he gazes up at her with desire. The image evokes connection, confidence, and curiosity, reflecting the themes of erotic exploration and reigniting passion from The Erotic Pantry blog.

Imagine walking into your kitchen hungry, only to find… two sad options: a box of stale crackers and the same can of soup you’ve eaten three nights in a row. What are the chances that this picture is your erotic pantry, too? This is what many people’s sex lives feel like.A couple of go-to moves, […]

Hate The Relationship With Your Parents? How to Deal With Difficult Parents

An emotional scene in a warm, modern living room showing tension between an adult daughter of color and her older mother. The daughter, appearing sad and frustrated, looks down with furrowed brows and crossed arms, while the mother stands behind her with an angry, judgmental expression. The image captures the strain and distance between them.

How to heal, grieve, and set boundaries with your parents as an adult When the Relationship with a Parent Feels Strained How to heal, grieve, and set boundaries with your parents as an adult When the Relationship with a Parent Feels Strained How to heal, grieve, and set boundaries with your parents as an adult […]

How to Reconnect When You Feel More Like Roommates Than Lovers

Couple hugging and kissing ear, smiling and holding each other as they reconnect after feeling distant in their relationship.

The relationship isn’t dead. You’re just…disconnected. You didn’t wake up one morning and decide to stop feeling close and start feeling like roommates. It happened gradually. One rushed morning. One missed kiss goodbye. One “we’ll talk about it later” that never happened. Over time, the things that once made you feel alive together faded into […]

Three Signs You Shouldn’t Have Sex Right Now (Even If You Love Them)

Too often, we focus on all the reasons we should be having sex. We study how to set the mood, find new positions, and bring back the spark when things start to fizzle. But I’m a firm believer that the best sex often starts with saying no. Before we can fully make space for the […]

The Pomegranate Theory: What Love Really Looks Like Beneath the Skin

TikTok may have turned peeling pomegranates into a love language, but the real magic of this metaphor runs much deeper. When I first saw the pomegranate theory circulating online, the comment sections were full of people swooning: “He peeled a pomegranate for me without me asking…that’s love!”And yes, it’s sweet. But if we stop there, […]

Crushes and Relationships: What They Reveal and How to Navigate Them

Crushes don’t disappear when we grow up or commit to someone, and when handled thoughtfully, they can illuminate our needs and even deepen intimacy. You’ve felt it before: the secret smile, the inside joke, the “just because” thought that lingers longer than you expected. Suddenly, there’s a spark, and it feels delicious. But what happens […]

Redefining Sex and Pleasure: How to Reconnect with Your Body and Desire

If you’re like me, you never got the course on how to have and maintain an amazing sex life. You learned bits and pieces of what “great” sex was from high school whispers, awkward health classes, rom-com storylines, and maybe a few late-night Google searches. And somewhere along the way, we picked up a script […]

When Safe Feels Scary: How to Stop Waiting for Your Healthy Relationship to Become Toxic

You survived something that nearly broke you. And now, even in an undeniably healthy relationship, you catch yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop. While you’ve left the toxic relationship behind, you still can’t seem to let your guard down. That hyper-vigilance once kept you safe; it was your armor. But here’s the problem: […]