Hi! I'm Haylin.
I'm a trauma-informed health educator, sexuality expert, bodyworker, and pleasure witch offering youth and adult psychoeducation from an evidence-based and intersectional mind-body-spirit perspective.
With over a decade of hands-on experience developing award-winning health education programming and providing capacity-building trainings for clinicians, educators, and activists, Iâve dedicated my life to teaching people of all ages practical skills for healthier, more pleasurable lives.
My mission is to support everyoneâregardless of backgroundâin living their best and healthiest lives. All you have to do is ask.
In addition to my work as a health promotion professional, I have experience as a freelance writer, a workshop facilitator, a public speaker, a yoga instructor, an independent podcaster, and more. I'm a practicing witch and professional Tarot reader currently living in Baltimore, MD with my cat, Princess Walter.
Principles of Practice
I am a psychoeducation provider with expertise in queer-inclusive and pleasure-based comprehensive sexual health education and social-emotional development for youth and adults. I am trained in, and train others in, trauma-informed practice in educational, organizational, and clinical settings. My approach is based in the biopsychosocial model of wellbeing, applying frameworks of intersectionality and neurodiversity, among others. Additionally, I use secular witchcraft as a prevention and intervention tool for addressing the spiritual impact of trauma and promoting psychosocial wellness.
Education & Training
I am not a licensed clinician, and am therefore not qualified to provide psychotherapy or psychiatric services.
I received my B.A. in Anthropology from Columbia University in 2015 and expect to receive my M.S. in Counseling Psychology from University of Baltimore in 2028. I am a certified Ashtanga yoga instructor with additional certification in trauma-informed yoga and Mental Health First Aid.
My work is informed by and integrated with extensive (non-certification) training in and study of therapeutic modalities including Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Polyvagal Theory. My spiritual practice is additionally influenced by time spent at Blue Cliff Monastery.
media + press
ââThe consequences of not talking about pleasure with young people are all of the things that we are most scared of happening to young peopleâabusive relationships, sexual violence, physical violence, all of these things are a part of what happens when you deny people information about themselves based on a political and moral and misogynistic agenda.ââ
ââ[Witchcraft] is a way of developing my self-knowledge and self-trust and obviously self-care,â Belay said. âIt doesnât really matter to me â and this is why I say that my skepticism and my witchcraft can coexist â if itâs fake. The fakeness or realness of it isnât the point.â
The point of practicing witchcraft is that it brings her joy. â
âOf course, even with witchcraft becoming increasingly common, there are still many who are skeptical of witchcraft. Belayâs take? âA lot of times, on dates, Iâll get questions from guys being like, âOh, witchcraftâ are you really into that? Is it âfor realâ?â The place I always go with that is: it really doesnât matter if itâs real. It really does not matter if itâs literally, actually True with a capital T. [...] In my subjective experience of the world, witchcraft is useful, itâs helpful to me, and it actively contributes to my quality of life. Iâve long since given up any attachment to the idea of ârealâ or âtrueâ or âauthenticâââ
âAfter graduation, Haylin hopes to continue writing and educating people. Sheâs been applying to editorial positions at publications with a health beat; her dream job is âbeing paid to talk about sex.â So sheâs not worried about her sex column popping up in her search resultsâin fact, she says itâs a representation of her values. âAs someone whoâs experienced a lot of slut-shaming and negative attention about sex, I think at a certain point I hit a nadir and said, âOkay, Iâm choosing not to let this affect me anymore.â As long as everyoneâs being healthy and making smart choices and everythingâs consensual, then sex should not be something that anyoneâs ashamed of.ââ
Watch my web series: How to Sex Toy (Cosmpolitan)
Below are selected video interviews and features.
Web Profile: Huffington Post
âHow Witchcraft Helped This Woman Heal from Traumaâ
Web Profile: Ozy Magazine
"Spells for the Modern Day Sorceress"
Web Interview: Cosmopolitan
âThe Sex Ed Crisisâ[âVirginity-Focused Sex Ed Shames Victimsâ]
TV Interview: Sex. Right. Now.
"Ladies of Sex Tech" [trailer]
TV Panel Interview: The Daily Show
"Sexual Racism: When Preferences Become Discrimination"
Listen to my podcast: On Deck withâŚ
Below are selected podcast interviews and profiles.
You can also stream these episodes on my Spotify playlist, âFeaturing: Haylin Belayâ.
Panel Discussion: 92nd St Y
"The Future of Sex: Cosmopolitan's Jessica Pels and Esquire's Michael Sebastian with Haylin Belayâ
Profile: Witch Wave Pod
â#74: Haylin Belay, Pleasure Witchâ
Profile: Sex Ed In Color
âFighting a Sexual Apocalypse with Haylin Belayâ
Profile: Real Talk Radio
"Haylin Belay on Sex Education, Modern Witchcraft, and Relationship Anarchy"
Profile: Juicy Bits
"Sexpert Haylin Belay"
Profile: Biology of the Blog
"Haylin Belay"
Profile: The Turn On
âEpisode 10.5 | The Turn On x Haylin Belayâ
Interview: Another Round
"Dearest Y'all, We Have Some News."
Interview: Flash Forward
"How Is Babby (Not) Made"
Interview: Sex Ed with DB
"Meet Your Students Where They're At"
Interview: MetroFocus by WNET
"The Physical Effects of Racism" [Part 1][Part 2]
Read my writing: Articles & Essays.
Below are selected interviews and features about me and my work.
Featured in...
Profile: Religion Unplugged
âThe Spiritual Journey of a Modern Witchâ
Profile: Garden Collage
"Haylin Belay on Practicing Witchcraft in NYC"
Two-Part Profile: AYO Magazine
"Health Educator Haylin Belay Wants You to Be Okay With Sex" & "Witchcraft As Black Feminist Practice: Part II With Educator Haylin Belay"
Profile: Blue & White Magazine
"Campus Character: Haylin Belay"
Quoted in...
iHeartRadio, "2018 Psychic Predictions: Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Britney Spears, & More"
WHEDCo.org,"JAM Empowers Middle and High School Students through Sex-Ed"
InStyle,"Sexual Consent: Why We Still Havenât Gotten the Conversation Right"
Bustle, âWhat is New Relationship Energy? 7 Ways to Make It Lastâ
Flavorwire, âTeaching Trigger Warnings: What Pundits Donât Getâ
Podraland, âThe Tuesday Pod: Sex Education, Witchcraft, and Healingâ
select talks & presentations
Sex Down South 2023 âBecoming a Trusted Adultâ
SisterSong 2022 âKinkcraftâ ; âCreating Consent Cultureâ
Modern Witches Confluence 2021 âPleasure Magic & the Shadowâ
Golden Dome School 2020 âAbolitionist Witchcraftâ
Sex Down South 2019 âSex-Positive Yogaâ; âTalking to Youth About Pleasureâ
Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit 2018 [Panel] "Beyond Consent: Power, Pleasure, Profit"
Black Girl Project Sisterhood Summit 2018 "The Sacrament of Yes: Creating a Positive Consent Culture"
[Keynote] Northwest Magic Conference 2018 "What Feels Right: Intuition & Pleasure In Magical Practice"
[Workshop] "Mind, Body, & Spirit: Bodywork for Healing Intuition"
Access Matters Leading the Way Conference 2018 [Panel] âBeyond the Yes Means Yes Consent Modelâ
Civil Liberties and Public Policy 2018 [Panel] "Power, Pleasure, Profit: Radical Visions of Consent"
National Sex Ed Conference 2017 "Creating, Maintaining, and Repairing Safe Spaces"
SisterSong 2017 [Plenary Panel] "Power, Pleasure, Profit: Radical Visions of Consent"
Columbia University Scholars Program Symposium 2014 "Alcohol use and risky sexual behavior among young adults living in Nantes, France"
BACCHUS Initiative General Assemblies 2012/2013/2014, Regional Assemblies 2013/2014, IvyAlcohol Symposium 2014 "Responsible Communities @ Columbia: Peer Education Models for Alcohol Education"
Private workshops, education consulting, and professional development for BâWell Counseling ; Creative Tools Therapy ; Avenues: The World School ; Dr. Drew ; Salem State University ; Denison University ; Modern Manhood ; NY Interschool ; The Doula Project ; Terrace Club at Princeton University ; SHAG(18+);Girls Inc of NYC ; Ali Forney Center ; Gwen Shockey Fine Art at Amos Eno Gallery ; and others.