Belén Sánchez Hidalgo

and the story behind intiphlora

“Through Intiphlora, I advocate for a world where we create space for healing and deepening our human bonds, while thoughtfully using technology to enhance rather than replace these precious connections.”

I was born into a traditional Catholic family in Ecuador.

My father had once prepared for priesthood before meeting my mom. As a young girl, I learned to suppress my sensuality and relationship with my body, carrying fears and insecurities that would take years to unravel.

But life had different plans for my spiritual journey.

When I was 19, my parents' divorce cracked open my understanding of spirituality. My mom, in her own awakening, gave me a precious gift – the blessing to explore beyond the confines of our Catholic traditions and find my own path to the Divine. This began a beautiful decade-long quest through zen meditation, yoga, tai chi, and vipassana while therapy helped me heal the abandonment wounds left by my father's departure.

My 20s-30s was a time of professional success and sensual adventure.

I went from early graduation to an MBA in Germany, from global work and travels to Harvard, all while quietly revolutionizing my approach to intimacy. I chose radical honesty and unconventional relationship exploration, mastering unattachment and removing social constraints that might limit love's expression. Looking back, I'm moved by the intuitive wisdom that guided me to approach sexuality with such openness, especially given my conservative upbringing.

Then came Zaki, matched by an algorithm but feeling like destiny.

Our love started easy, and grew fast, and after 2 years, we were ready to commit to a long-term union.  But pandemic isolation, cultural and family dynamics, and the deep pain of fertility challenges left permanent marks on our soul. When we finally surrendered to a life without children of our own – we discovered something profound: our intimacy needed healing.

Years of goal-oriented intimacy and fertility treatments had dimmed our spontaneity and sensual connection.

We found ourselves in an unexpected place: highly successful professionals who had lost touch with pleasure and playfulness in our marriage. This led us to explore tantric practices, but what we discovered went far deeper than sexual techniques. We had to heal our relationship with our bodies, transform how we communicated sex, and forgive past wounds that subtly shaped our intimacy.

What began as a personal quest has become my life's purpose.

My heart now calls me to help others build sacred unions where love, pleasure, and sexuality are honored as the divine gifts they are. I have experienced first-hand the transformative power of intimate healing - not as a one-size-fits-all journey, but as a deeply personal exploration unique to each soul.

This work matters more than ever because we're at a crucial moment in human history.

As technology reshapes every aspect of our lives, including our most intimate connections, we face a choice: Will we allow artificial intimacy to replace human connection? Or can we create a future where technology enhances our capacity for real, sacred human bonds?

My journey – from a Catholic girl suppressing her sexuality to a woman embracing radical honesty in intimacy; from a tech professional to an intimacy coach – has prepared me for exactly this moment.

This calling brings together all parts of me – the spiritual seeker, the tech professional, the woman who has known both deep loss and profound love. Through Intiphlora, I advocate for a world where we create space for healing and deepening our human bonds, while thoughtfully using technology to enhance rather than replace these precious connections.

This is my offering to the world – born from my wounds, nourished by my healing, and strengthened by my professional expertise. It's my way of ensuring that as we step into an AI-transformed future, we don't lose touch with the sacred human connection that makes life truly meaningful.

A bit more about Me…

  • I live in Beautiful Paradoxes

    I'm a data scientist who practices tantra, bringing together the logical and the mystical. In corporate meetings, I'm quietly working to lead more from my feminine energy, while also creating AI tools like IntimaGuard to make emotional technology more ethical and human-centered.

  • My body has been my teacher throughout my life

    I spend my childhood in tutus, practiced capoeira for 10 years, and aerial arts for 4. These days, I have a special ritual when I'm feeling lost or uncertain - I close my eyes, connect with my womb and yoni, and let their subtle pulsations guide my next moves. It's my personal inner compass!

  • My path as a community builder started early

    As a scout, I learnt valuable lessons about leadership, environmental stewardship, and community service in nature's classroom. I later co-founded an NGO in Ecuador focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, and watched it grow and impact countless lives.

  • I carry a rich tapestry of cultures within me

    As a mestiza, I lived with the Caranquis in my early twenties, an indigenous community in northern Imbabura, Ecuador. I've lived and worked in Germany, UK, Honduras, and throughout Central America. My home is filled with Spanglish, and my husband is half Sri Lankan, half Danish, grew up in the US, and is one of the kids who won "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego"!

  • For my 30th birthday, I gave myself a profound gift:

    a journey to India that culminated in my first 10-day Vipassana meditation course in Igatpuri. This experience marked a significant milestone in my spiritual path. Today, this spiritual foundation helps me be present with life's deepest transitions - I've found a peaceful relationship with death and can now hold space with love for people and families going through these passages.

Professional Bio

Belén Sánchez Hidalgo is a VITA™ Certified Coach in Sex, Love, and Relationships, dedicated to guiding individuals and couples toward deeper intimacy and authentic connection.

Through Intiphlora, she offers a unique approach to intimate healing that bridges ancient wisdom with modern science, helping clients awaken their sensual energy, foster emotional depth, and create sacred unions.

Drawing from her personal journey with Tantra and holistic pleasure practices, Belén creates safe, transformative spaces where clients can explore and heal their relationship with intimacy. Her approach is particularly powerful for those navigating significant life transitions, seeking to deepen their connections, or healing from past experiences that have impacted their capacity for intimacy.

What sets Belén's practice apart is her distinctive understanding of how technology impacts modern relationships. With over 7 years of experience in the AI industry working at companies like DataRobot and Credo AI, she brings unique insight to the challenges of maintaining deep human connections in our digital age. Her work in AI has been recognized by Forbes and VentureBeat, which honored her with the Women in AI Awards 2022.

She is the creator of IntimaGuard, an innovative tool that helps users understand how AI models are responding to intimate, emotional and sensitive conversations and shows how ethical guardrails can help these models respect and support human interactions.

Her vision for Intiphlora encompasses both art and science: The Art of Intimacy, focusing on coaching and transformative experiences, and The Science of Intimacy, advancing research on ethical technological integration in human relationships. This dual approach is informed by her extensive background, including her role as an Edward Mason Fellow at Harvard University, where she earned her Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Belén's global perspective, shaped by living and working across cultures (including Germany, the UK, and throughout Central America), enriches her understanding of diverse approaches to intimacy and relationships. She holds an MBA from Leipzig University and has completed advanced training in both intimate healing practices and artificial intelligence through organizations including DeepLearning.AI and BlueDot Impact.

For more about Belén's work in AI and her contributions to the field, see her features in Forbes and VentureBeat.

Education

Graduate Studies

Master in Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School (Edward Mason Fellow)

MBA in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development, Leipzig University

Focus: Development Economics and International Development

Undergraduate Studies

Bachelor of Business Management, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

Major: Financial Management, Business Administration and Management

Certifications

Intimacy & Coaching

VITA™ Certified Coach in Sex, Love, and Relationships

Artificial Intelligence & Data Science

Data Scientist Certification, General Assembly (Data Science Immersive Program)

Deep Learning Specialization, DeepLearning.AI

AI Safety Fundamentals: Governance, BlueDot Impact

AI Safety Fundamentals: Alignment, BlueDot Impact