Still Showing Up. Still Feeling Everything.


PODCAST

Touch with Substance – Episode 5: Holding the Light When the World Feels Too Much with Sabrina Santa Clara & Suz Vera Burroughs

Dear Community,

In this episode, Sabrina and I sit together in the rawness of the moment. We talk about how to keep showing up for clients, for loved ones, for the work when the world feels like it’s burning at the edges.

This isn’t a strategy session. It’s a reflection on how we hold the complexity of our roles without losing ourselves to despair, numbness, or performative steadiness.

We explore:

  • How to stay committed to your work when everything feels overwhelming
  • The cost of being in a “therapist” or “healer” role while also being human
  • What it means to honor pain without living inside it
  • Choosing not to let fear be the director of your life
  • Grounding into values like joy, kindness, and tenacity not as escape, but as defiance

This episode is less about answers and more about a shared pause. A place to feel what’s real and remember you’re not alone in it.

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
exploration of this innovative approach, providing
practical guidance and inspiration for facilitators and clients alike.

Peerimenopause Circle

Perimenopause is real. Messy. Mysterious. Often misrepresented, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. And, rarely discussed with nuance.

Free eBook

Navigate & Integrate Your Psychedelic Experiences with The Psychedelic Mindbody Integration Coloring Book!

Are you ready?

Take our self-assessment to gauge your preparedness for integrating post-psychedelic bodywork into your practice.

17 Glen Eden #6, Oakland, CA 94611
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Unwind Learning - Touch with Substance

Suz is the Managing Owner at Unwind Oakland, Unwind Learning, and Touch with Substance. Designed above-ground Ketamine-Assisted Massage Therapy and bodywork (KATM) in partnership with KAT and KAP providers as well as developed psychedelic/entheogenic preparation and integration bodywork methods. In 2023, published the first NCBTMB board approved continuing education course for massage therapists and bodyworkers on the topic of psychedelics and entheogens: Introduction to Psychedelic Conversations and the Massage Table. Completed core facilitator training at Sacred Garden in 2024. She is continuing with their Ordained Facilitator Training (in progress). Active participant in the process of crafting the details of California Senate Bill 1012. Suz stands for equitable access to services, a broad pool of facilitators, and the protection of sincere religious practice including indigenous autonomy. Teaches workshops such as Ethical Safety and Support Touch for Guides, Traditional Healers, Psychotherapists, and Witnesses in multiple languages and in cross-cultural groups. Working with Ethical Psychedelic International Community (EPIC) to seed public guidelines and resources on psychedelics and touch. Producing the upcoming Touch with Substance Conference (2024). When she’s not at the office, she’s enjoying time with her dog and exploring Oakland where she’s lived since 2003.

Read more from Unwind Learning - Touch with Substance

Psychedelics & Pain Symposium 2025 Dear Community, The Psychedelics & Pain Symposium 2025 is the only conference highlighting past, current, and ongoing investigations into how psychedelics can treat a broad set of new indications like chronic pain and related physical conditions, such as neurodegenerative, autoimmune, and infection-acquired chronic illness. This online event is hosted live on September 27 & 28, 2025, with sessions occurring from Noon to 6pm ET. Standard registration is $75...

Thank you forSharing Unwind! I want to take a moment to thank you not just for trusting me with your own care, but for extending that trust by referring friends, family, and colleagues to my practice. Every time someone new walks through my door and shares that you sent them, I feel a quiet ripple of gratitude. Your recommendation isn’t just a kind gesture. That trust is something I hold with the utmost respect. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making this work possible not just for...

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