Classes and Webinars
Upcoming Classes
Moving Through Trauma to Achieve Pleasure in Sex, Relationships, and Life
Are past traumas holding you back from experiencing pleasure in sex, relationships, and life? Join us a groundbreaking 5-class series designed to help you heal, reconnect, and thrive. Led by certified sex educator and trauma-informed coach, this series will empower you with the tools to reclaim joy and intimacy in every aspect of your life.
Class Details:
🗓 All classes run from 6:30-8:30 PM
📍 Location: The Sexploratorium, 1800 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210
🎟️ Pricing options: Several tiers to choose from, including couples deals and packages. If you purchase all together and miss a class, we can send you a video recording of the missed class!
If you are interested in the class, but cannot attend live or do not live in Denver, please sign up for the Pleasure Sage Solutions email newsletter to get notified when the online class is out. Scroll down or click to subscribe.
Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Pleasure
Date: 4/10/25 6:30 - 8:30pm
Do you struggle to feel safe in your own body? Do past experiences make intimacy, trust, or pleasure feel out of reach?
Trauma isn’t just something that happened in the past—it leaves lasting imprints on the brain, body, and relationships, shaping how we connect with others and experience joy.
In this foundational class, we’ll explore what trauma is, how it develops, and the profound ways it alters the brain and nervous system. You’ll learn about fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses, as well as the role of neural pathways in reinforcing trauma patterns. We’ll break down the differences between PTSD and Complex PTSD, helping you understand why some trauma responses persist for years. We’ll briefly dig into how these traumas impact all kinds of relationships and intimacy.
We’ll also cover how trauma affects physical health, from chronic pain and muscle tension to sleep disturbances and digestive issues. Understanding these effects is key to reclaiming a sense of safety and pleasure in your life. You’ll leave with practical grounding techniques, mindfulness exercises, and tools to begin rewiring trauma’s impact on your brain and nervous system.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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A deeper understanding of how trauma impacts the brain, nervous system, and body.
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Tools to calm your nervous system and build resilience.
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A clear foundation for beginning your healing journey.
Reclaiming the Body: Reconnecting with Sensation & Pleasure
Date: 4/17/25 6:30 - 8:30pm
Do you feel disconnected from your body, or struggle to recognize physical sensations? Does your body feel tense, numb, or unfamiliar?
Trauma often causes us to detach from our bodies as a survival mechanism, but reconnecting with sensation is essential for healing and pleasure. When we feel disconnected from our physical selves, it can be difficult to experience arousal, desire, and enjoyment in sex and intimacy.
This class will explore how trauma manifests physically, including its effects on sleep, digestion, chronic pain, weight fluctuations, and immune function—all of which can influence sexual well-being and pleasure. We’ll introduce somatic approaches to healing, giving you a chance to experience breathwork, gentle movement, and bilateral stimulation techniques that help regulate the nervous system and awaken sensation.
We’ll also discuss the science behind practices like meditation, yoga, and breathwork, and how they can help you feel safer and more present in your body—both in daily life and in intimate moments. By the end, you’ll have practical strategies to rebuild a positive relationship with your physical self, creating a foundation for deeper pleasure, arousal, and connection.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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A better understanding of how trauma impacts the body and physical sensations.
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Hands-on experience with somatic healing techniques.
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Mindfulness practices to help you reconnect with your body.
Healing in Relationships – (Re)building Trust, Intimacy & Connection
Date: 4/24/25 6:30 - 8:30pm
Do you struggle with trust, intimacy, or feeling safe in relationships? Do past wounds impact your ability to connect with others?
Trauma doesn’t just affect us individually—it can shape the way we engage with the people around us.
In this class, we’ll explore how early attachment experiences influence our relationships today, unpacking different attachment styles and how they affect intimacy, conflict, and communication. You’ll learn how to recognize common trauma triggers in relationships and develop strategies for navigating them.
We’ll also dive into essential relationship skills, including setting and maintaining boundaries, identifying negative self-talk, and practicing nonviolent communication. Through interactive exercises, you’ll build confidence in advocating for your needs and fostering healthier connections with partners, friends, and family.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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Insight into how trauma shapes attachment styles and relationship dynamics.
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Tools for recognizing and managing relationship triggers.
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Communication techniques for building trust and intimacy.
Rediscovering Pleasure – Cultivating Sexual and Emotional Intimac
Date: 5/1/25 6:30 - 8:30pm
Do you struggle with desire, pleasure, or feeling present during sex? Do you want to improve your intimacy but feel stuck or disconnected?
Pleasure isn’t just about sex—it’s about reclaiming joy, sensuality, and connection in ways that feel safe and fulfilling.
In this class, we’ll explore how trauma affects sexual and emotional intimacy, including its impact on arousal, orgasm, and overall enjoyment of sex. You’ll learn about responsive desire, desire variability, and how to create an emotional floorplan—a personalized map to help you access states of pleasure.
We’ll also dispel common myths about sex, explore different sexual archetypes, and discuss how changing bodies and aging impact pleasure. Through guided exercises, you’ll develop tools for deepening intimacy with yourself and your partner, including ongoing consent practices and ways to increase arousal and connection over time.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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A deeper understanding of desire, pleasure, and how trauma affects intimacy.
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Exercises for exploring and enhancing sexual pleasure.
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Tools for building long-term, fulfilling sexual relationships.
Sustaining Healing: Building a Life of Pleasure & Connection
Date: 5/8/25 6:30 - 8:30pm
How do you sustain healing and keep growing after trauma? How can pleasure become an everyday part of your life?
Healing isn’t a single event—it’s an ongoing journey of learning, growth, and self-discovery.
In this final class, we’ll integrate everything covered in the series, revisiting key concepts from brain science and nervous system regulation to somatic healing, attachment styles, communication, and pleasure.
We’ll revisit the foundations of understanding trauma (Class 1), reconnecting with your body (Class 2), healing within relationships (Class 3), and rediscovering pleasure (Class 4). Through guided reflection, you’ll explore your progress, identify what brings you joy, and develop rituals that support self-compassion, relaxation, and pleasure in your daily life.
We’ll also discuss how to cultivate resilience, maintain intimacy in relationships, and create a personalized roadmap for sustaining healing and pleasure long-term. This class is about celebrating how far you’ve come and giving you the tools to continue your journey with confidence.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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A comprehensive review of trauma healing and pleasure-building techniques.
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Strategies for sustaining growth and integrating pleasure into daily life.
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A personalized plan for ongoing healing and self-discovery.
Note: Each class stands alone, but together they create a powerful pathway to healing and growth. Reach out to the Sexploratorium for a couples discount and for a discount if you buy all five classes together.
Your Instructor
Marissa Zumbo (HSET, CSE) is sex educator and intimacy coach. After her own healing journey following a sexual assault, she realized how ill-equipped most people are to address sexual roadblocks. This realization led her to become a certified sex educator, life coach, and trauma-informed practitioner. Her training also includes somatic EMDR, breathwork, gender & sexuality, kink/BDSM, crisis counseling, and group facilitation. Overall, she specializes in helping individuals heal, rediscover their sexuality, and embrace joy.
Through her work, she empowers people to deepen their relationships with their bodies, develop self-compassion, and live pleasure-filled lives. Her mission is to guide those on a path of healing and self-discovery to cultivate greater awareness and authenticity in their sexuality and relationships.
Spaces are limited, so reserve your spot now. Our classes are research-based and educational, but are not meant to replace expert medical advice or care. All of our classes are intended for people 18 years of age and older.
Radical Self-Love: Body Image & Sexual Empowerment
Explore the complex relationship between body image and sexual well-being, uncovering how self-perception shapes pleasure and intimacy, and discover tools to cultivate confidence, joy, and better sex.
Class Details:
🗓 Date: April 27th, 2025 5-7:30pm
📍 Location: The Sexploratorium, 1800 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210
🎟️ Pricing: $60
Our relationship with our bodies deeply impacts how we experience pleasure, intimacy, and connection. In this 2.5-hour interactive class, we’ll explore the ways body image influences sexual experiences—shaping desire, arousal, and the ability to be fully present. We’ll unpack the cultural messages that contribute to body shame, examine how personal narratives around desirability and worthiness form, and discuss how these factors show up in partnered and solo sexual experiences.
This class will also include education on eating disorders (EDs) and their intersection with sexuality, including how disordered eating, body dysmorphia, and diet culture impact libido, arousal, and sexual satisfaction. We’ll discuss the physiological and psychological effects of EDs on sexual functioning, as well as how recovery can open pathways to reclaiming pleasure and embodiment.
Additionally, we’ll cover foundational sexuality education, including responsive desire, the dual control model, and nervous system regulation, to help participants better understand how arousal works and how to create conditions that make pleasure more accessible. By deepening self-awareness and shifting toward acceptance, participants will gain tools to cultivate greater confidence, increase pleasure in solo and partnered intimacy, and build a more connected and fulfilling relationship with their bodies.
Through guided exercises, reflective prompts, and practical strategies, we’ll explore how to shift toward a more compassionate, pleasure-centered relationship with our bodies. Whether you struggle with self-consciousness in the bedroom, want to deepen your connection to sensation, or are looking for ways to support yourself or a partner in reclaiming body confidence, this class provides a trauma-informed, sex-positive space to learn and grow.
If you are interested in the class, but cannot attend live or do not live in Denver, please sign up for the Pleasure Sage Solutions email newsletter to get notified when the online class is out. Scroll down or click to subscribe.
Your Instructors
Marissa Zumbo (CSE) is sex educator and intimacy coach. After her own healing journey following a sexual assault, she realized how ill-equipped most people are to address sexual roadblocks. This realization led her to become a certified sex educator, life coach, and trauma-informed practitioner. Her training also includes somatic EMDR, breathwork, gender & sexuality, kink/BDSM, crisis counseling, and group facilitation. Overall, she specializes in helping individuals heal, rediscover their sexuality, and embrace joy. Through her work, she empowers people to deepen their relationships with their bodies, develop self-compassion, and live pleasure-filled lives. Her mission is to guide those on a path of healing and self-discovery to cultivate greater awareness and authenticity in their sexuality and relationships.
Molly Harris (LCSW, CST) is a sex therapist working in private practice specializing in decreasing shame, increasing mind-body connection, and using a biopsychosocial approach to treatment. She works with both individuals and couples, particularly enjoying exploring relationships. Molly discovered her interest in human sexuality early in life, curious about how there was an abundance of sex in the world yet not much conversation around it. She worked in an eating disorder treatment center for three years where she was exposed to the harms of not acknowledging gender and sexual identities. Molly then turned her focus to weight stigma and societal messaging as it relates to body size, body functionality, and mind-body connection. Molly has found her passion in helping folks accept themselves and uses a number of modalities and trainings to help clients find peace in their identities and their bodies. She prioritizes growth, pleasure, authenticity, and resilience in her personal and professional life.
Past Classes
Moving Through Trauma to Achieve Pleasure in Sex, Relationships, and Life
Are past traumas holding you back from experiencing pleasure in sex, relationships, and life? Join us a groundbreaking 5-class series designed to help you heal, reconnect, and thrive. Led by certified sex educator and trauma-informed coach, this series will empower you with the tools to reclaim joy and intimacy in every aspect of your life.
Class Details:
🗓 All classes run from 6:00-8:00 PM
📍 Location: The Sexploratorium, 1800 South Broadway, Denver, CO 80210
🎟️ Pricing options: Several tiers to choose from, including couples deals and packages. If you purchase all together and miss a class, we can send you a video recording of the missed class!
If you are interested in the class, but cannot attend live or do not live in Denver, please sign up for the Pleasure Sage Solutions email newsletter to get notified when the online class is out. Scroll down or click to subscribe.
Understanding Trauma and Its Impact on Pleasure
Thursday, 1/9/25
Trauma impacts more than just our memories—it influences how we feel, connect, and experience pleasure in every aspect of our lives. In this foundational class, we’ll begin by defining trauma, exploring its common causes, and understanding how it manifests in both the body and mind. From there, we’ll dive into the nervous system, breaking down fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses, and how these survival mechanisms shape your sense of safety and ability to connect with others.
We’ll also examine the profound ways trauma disrupts your ability to feel pleasure—not just sexual pleasure but also joy in relationships, intimacy, and everyday life. This class is designed to help you understand the "why" behind these challenges and start building the tools to overcome them. You’ll learn grounding techniques and simple safety practices that serve as a critical foundation for healing.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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A deeper understanding of trauma’s effects on your body, mind, and relationships.
-
Practical techniques to calm your nervous system and feel more grounded.
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A clear starting point for moving toward pleasure and connection in your life.
Reclaiming the Body – Understanding Body Responses and Sensations
Thursday, 1/23/25
Trauma can create disconnection from your body, making it feel like an unfamiliar or unsafe place. This class is about gently reconnecting with your physical self in ways that feel safe and empowering. We’ll start by exploring how trauma shapes your relationship with your body and affects how you perceive and experience physical sensations.
Through guided exercises, you’ll practice somatic techniques like breathwork and gentle movement to ease back into bodily awareness. Mindfulness practices will help you stay present with sensations and emotions, creating space for safety and curiosity. You’ll also learn strategies to develop a “safe space” within your body, allowing you to reconnect with sensations and build a pathway to pleasure.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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An understanding of how trauma influences body awareness and physical sensations.
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Somatic tools for grounding and reconnecting with your body.
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Mindfulness practices to help you feel present and embodied.
Healing in Relationships – (Re)building Trust and Closeness
Thursday, 2/6/25
Trauma doesn’t only impact your inner world—it can also affect your relationships, creating challenges around trust, intimacy, and vulnerability. In this class, we’ll unpack how trauma triggers arise in relationships and how to recognize and navigate them. You’ll learn about the role of attachment styles in shaping your approach to closeness and connection and gain practical tools to rebuild trust.
Setting and maintaining boundaries is key to creating safer, healthier relationships. We’ll guide you through the process of identifying and asserting your needs, helping you advocate for yourself while fostering mutual respect. This class also includes hands-on practice with communication tools designed to promote safety and understanding, creating a solid foundation for meaningful relationships.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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Insight into how trauma affects relationships and triggers.
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Skills to set boundaries and rebuild trust in a way that feels authentic to you.
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Communication techniques that foster connection and safety.
Rediscovering Pleasure – Cultivating Sexual and Emotional Intimacy
Thursday, 2/20/25
Pleasure is not just a destination—it’s a powerful tool for healing. In this class, we’ll explore the healing potential of pleasure, including how to rediscover it in safe and empowering ways. You’ll learn about responsive desire and desire variability, inspired by the work of Dr. Emily Nagoski, helping you understand and embrace your unique path to intimacy.
We’ll focus on building intimacy through ongoing consent, offering exercises to strengthen communication about needs and boundaries with partners. You’ll also discover simple, gentle practices to re-engage with sexual pleasure and emotional closeness, always with an emphasis on patience, self-compassion, and reclaiming pleasure on your own terms.
What you’ll gain from this class:
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Tools to rediscover pleasure as a source of healing and connection.
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Insight into responsive desire and how it can enrich intimacy.
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Exercises to deepen communication and consent with partners.
Integration and Growth – Creating a Life Rooted in Pleasure
Thursday, 3/6/25
Healing is a lifelong journey, and this final class is all about integrating what you’ve learned into a sustainable, pleasure-filled life. Together, we’ll reflect on the progress you’ve made and explore strategies for continuing your growth. You’ll identify what brings you joy, both in your relationships and your daily life, and create rituals that support pleasure, self-compassion, and relaxation.
This class is a celebration of your resilience and a chance to plan for the future. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap for sustaining your healing journey, fostering joy, and embracing pleasure as an essential part of your life.
What you’ll gain from this class:
-
Strategies to sustain healing and integrate pleasure into your life.
-
Tools to identify and cultivate sources of joy and self-compassion.
-
A personalized plan for ongoing growth and self-discovery.
Note: Each class stands alone, but together they create a powerful pathway to healing and growth. Reach out to the Sexploratorium for a couples discount and for a discount if you buy all five classes together.
Your Instructor
Marissa Zumbo (HSET, CSE) is sex educator and intimacy coach. After her own healing journey following a sexual assault, she realized how ill-equipped most people are to address sexual roadblocks. This realization led her to become a certified sex educator, life coach, and trauma-informed practitioner. Her training also includes somatic EMDR, breathwork, gender & sexuality, kink/BDSM, crisis counseling, and group facilitation. Overall, she specializes in helping individuals heal, rediscover their sexuality, and embrace joy.
Through her work, she empowers people to deepen their relationships with their bodies, develop self-compassion, and live pleasure-filled lives. Her mission is to guide those on a path of healing and self-discovery to cultivate greater awareness and authenticity in their sexuality and relationships.
Spaces are limited, so reserve your spot now. Our classes are research-based and educational, but are not meant to replace expert medical advice or care. All of our classes are intended for people 18 years of age and older.
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