Derek Januszewski has sat with Ayahuasca more than 150 times and is the founding pastor of Pachamama Sanctuary in Maine. A father of three and a survivor of profound trauma and addiction, Derek came to the medicine in 2017 and has since devoted his life to service, healing, and integration work.

In this conversation, Derek addresses purge fears, explains how the medicine works on the body, mind, and spirit. Derek walks us through ceremony prep and everything that goes down at a Pachamama Retreat weekend.

We also explore other sacred medicines offered at Pachamama Sanctuary, including Hapé, Bufo, and Kambo, and why integration—not the ceremony itself—is what helps us grow, heal, and remember who we truly are.

Even if you have zero desire to ever sit with Ayahuasca, there is deep wisdom here for anyone seeking to live with more intention, compassion, clarity, and devotion to their own life force.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• What Ayahuasca actually does in the body, mind & spirit
• Purging myths & fears (and why they’re misunderstood)
• How to prepare for an Ayahuasca ceremony
• Retreat weekend logistics & what to expect
• Other medicines: Hapé, Bufo & Kambo
• Why integration is where real healing happens

More about Derek

Derek Januszewski is the founding pastor of Pachamama Sanctuary in Maine. After surviving severe abuse and a decade-long battle with addiction, Derek found healing through deep inner work and service to the medicine. He now dedicates his life to helping others heal, integrate, and walk their own path toward wholeness.

🔗 Learn more about Pachamama Sanctuary:
pachamamasanctuary.org

Discussed in the episode

I Greet This Day With Love in My Heart: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-greatest-salesman-in-the-world-by-og-mandino/252850/#isbn=055327757X

This episode is for anyone curious about Ayahuasca, plant medicine, psychedelic healing, ceremony, integration, and conscious spiritual growth.

"The Woo Report Podcast" explores all the unseen energies of the #universe and maps how this magic helps us grow and live better.

Watch the conversation on YouTube

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thewooreport

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Laura Scarpati is an Award-Winning filmmaker and producer. After a life-changing NDE (Near Death Experience), Laura launched Chelsea Park Films, a boutique production house creating and supporting projects that spread light and encourage healing on all sides of the frame. By re-framing her trauma as an opportunity, Laura is now using her unique skillset to explore all the unseen energies of the universe and mapping how this magic helps support us all on The Woo Report Podcast.

Thank you for subscribing, liking, sharing and rating this podcast! So grateful you are here.

Often spirituality pulls us up and out. We often wanna connect into the crown chakra, the ether, the beyond. But somatic work, the practice of tuning into the body’s sensations, brings us right back in. Back into this miracle suit we live in, this body that carries us through our entire human experience.

Tierra Karoua, is an embodied movement guide helping people reconnect somatically to their inner power, to the truth that lives in the tissues, in the breath, in the subtle shifts of energy we often ignore.

In this ep we get into Movement and somatics- ways we can begin to heal on a cellular level - we also get into primal movement...the raw, ancient, unfiltered expression most of us (especially women) are not encouraged to access.

Tierra radiates light. She is truly a bright spark in this world. This conversation with made me want to move. To reconnect. To remember that spirituality isn’t just happening somewhere “out there.” It’s happening here, in the body, in the bones, in the breath.

This episode brought me right back into myself. And I hope it does exactly that for you as well.

More About Tierra

Tierra Karou is a certified Dance Alive Movement Instructor & Coach with over 15 years of dedicated practice in the Dance Alive System. She is a burst of sunshine, bringing warmth, enthusiasm, and love of life everywhere she goes. She truly believes that movement is some of the GREATEST medicine there is, and has a deep commitment to bringing movement into the world! She teaches “Ride The Wave” classes LIVE ON THE BEACH once a month in Laguna Beach and weekly “Ride The Wave” classes online! She holds a degree in Holistic Health Studies from UCSC, and lives in Laguna Beach with her husband Ki Karou (who she met in her first Dance Alive class!) and her two daughters!

Follow Tierra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/movement.mama

EVERY TUESDAY LIVE Dance Alive Virtual Class: https://ridethewave.vhx.tv/products/ride-the-wave-single-class-tuesday

LAGUNA CLASSES: https://www.dancealive.com/programs/movement-laguna-beach

"The Woo Report Podcast" explores all the unseen energies of the #universe and maps how this magic helps us grow and live better.

Watch the conversation on YouTube

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thewooreport

YouTube⁠: http://youtube.com/@thewooreportpodcast

Join the mailing list: https://thewooreportpodcast.com

Laura Scarpati is an Award-Winning filmmaker and producer. After a life-changing NDE (Near Death Experience), Laura launched Chelsea Park Films, a boutique production house creating and supporting projects that spread light and encourage healing on all sides of the frame. By re-framing her trauma as an opportunity, Laura is now using her unique skillset to explore all the unseen energies of the universe and mapping how this magic helps support us all on The Woo Report Podcast.

Thank you for subscribing, liking, sharing and rating this podcast! So grateful you are here.

Ayahuasca - an ancient Amazonian plant medicine. A brew made from two plants that somehow unlocks a portal to your inner world.

People drink ayahuasca for many reasons - to heal trauma, to understand their purpose, to peel back layers that life has piled on.

It is not a casual trip. It’s not cute. It’s profound, humbling, and, yes, it can get messy, maybe you've heard about the purge...and we get into that more in this episode...but Ayahuasca is also one of the most powerful invitations to transformation we have on this planet.

This episode is mostly limited to my experience while on the medicine - with a smattering of context here and there, and as always when I’m with matt I feel like it’s a little off the rails - so sorry about us.

There is just so much to explain! But later this month, Derek from Pachamama Sanctuary (where I went both times) is coming on the podcast to get into the experience in way more detail. He's sat with Ayahuasca over 150 times and he's seen it all. So stay tuned for that!

HOUSEKEEPING

- A heads up - I was all flustered at the beginning of this interview and didn’t press the record button on the mics until 3 minutes in - so please bare with the first 3 minutes of bad audio, I promise it kicks in in no time.

- If you're feeling called to do Ayahuasca and want to discuss - I am happy to chat about it with you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Email: Laura@TheWooReportPodcast.com

DM: @theWooReport

AYAHUASCA RETREAT CENTER

Pachamama Sanctuary in Maine

Discussed in the episode

"I Greet This Day With Love In My Heart" Scroll from The Greatest Salesman In The World

"The Woo Report Podcast" explores all the unseen energies of the #universe and maps how this magic helps us grow and live better.

Watch the conversation on YouTube

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thewooreport

YouTube⁠: http://youtube.com/@thewooreportpodcast

Join the mailing list: https://thewooreportpodcast.com

Laura Scarpati is an Award-Winning filmmaker and producer. After a life-changing NDE (Near Death Experience), Laura launched Chelsea Park Films, a boutique production house creating and supporting projects that spread light and encourage healing on all sides of the frame. By re-framing her trauma as an opportunity, Laura is now using her unique skillset to explore all the unseen energies of the universe and mapping how this magic helps support us all on The Woo Report Podcast.

Thank you for subscribing, liking, sharing and rating this podcast! So grateful you are here.