Why We Prefer “Expanded” (and Other Touchy Topics)


PODCAST

Touch with Substance – Episode 7: Language, Contact, and Consciousness with Sabrina Santa Clara & Suz Vera Burroughs

Dear Community,

This episode is a nerdy and nourishing deep dive into something deceptively simple: the words we choose and why they matter so much when we’re talking about touch, transformation, and expanded states of consciousness.

Sabrina and I unpack:

  • The difference between altered and expanded states
  • How language can reinforce or resist cultural norms about what's "normal"
  • Drawing from our work in somatics, psychedelic care, and trauma-informed practice, we examine how these terms point to implicit frameworks, and how they can both clarify and complicate our understanding of what’s happening in embodied, expanded state experiences.
  • How this shapes research, conversations, and client experience

If you've ever wondered how small word choices shape big shifts in psychedelic and somatic care, this episode is for you.

We’re not just playing semantics. We’re practicing integrity and curiosity.

With care,
Suz
Unwind Learning

P.S. Feel free to reach out if you have questions or need support accessing the podcast!


Beginner's Body: An Introduction to Ketamine-Assisted Therapeutic Myofascial Bodywork

A comprehensive and insightful
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Unwind

Our body holds more than tension; It holds stories waiting to be heard. At Unwind Oakland, we honor the body as aguide and storyteller by embracing the language of ethical and attuned touch.We value inclusive, co-created experiences wherejoy is sacred, fear is companioned, and humor is transformative.Through psychedelic integration bodywork and Ketamine-Assisted Therapeutic Myofascial (KATM) Bodywork, we work alongside you in your journey toward deeper connection with yourself and others as fellow Earthlings. Committed to doing our own work and deeply knowing this terrain, we strive to meet the unique needs of our clients with expansive approaches to psychedelic care. Here, you are invited to explore to restore, integrate, and fully inhabit your embodied experience—changed, yet whole.

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