Esalen Massage Defined

The sound of the waves provides a soothing background for any massage session at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California. This sound, coupled with the cliffside natural hot springs and the educational community dedicated to exploring the "far reaches of human potentiality", inspires a unique approach to bodywork known worldwide as Esalen® Massage.

The ocean provides a slow-moving rhythm very much akin to the internal rhythms of the body. The receiver rests on the massage table, draped, and the practitioner's hands begin quietly, with presence, attending to breath, allowing the receiver to drop inward. The long, slow, t'ai chi-like strokes awaken awareness, and as the tissues open to the warm of touch, the contact deepens, nudging bound-up muscles, drawing forth expanded movement. A relaxing sigh resounds through the body, and the practitioner responds with integration strokes into related areas. The massage continues, seamlessly, wrapping the torso arms, legs, hands, feet, neck, and spirit into a united whole.

The practitioner brings a knowledge of strokes (many have roots in Swedish Massage), of muscles and bones, of movement, of listening to the body as well as the words. Prior to the session, he/she pays attention to his own physical comfort, and quiets down internal chatter to welcome inner guidance, or intuition. As he massages, the practitioner responds to the signs of relaxation: deepened breath, enhanced circulation, a sigh, perhaps flutters of the eyelids. Each session is unique, tailored by personal requests, comfort level, physical tension and release, the felt sense of intuition.

The effects of this intentional touch, loosely categorized as "wellness/stress management massage", range widely. For some, it brings a renewed sense of health and vigor, others may regain a sense of safety with regard to touch. Often old tension patterns break free and old emotions are released. It signals a return to one's nature, a switch from everyday consciousness into a calmer, more colorful space less inhabited by the constraints of time and place. An out-of-ordinary reality.

The sources of this rich work are endless: it was informed by sensory awareness, Swedish massage, oriental medicine, meditation, gestalt practice. The influence of, deeper work borrowed for Ida Rolf's teachings, Moshe Feldenkrais' sense of neural co-ordinates, Milton Trager's passive movement to awaken the mind, yoga stretches, somatic mind-body psychology, and more energetically based polarity massage and cranial-sacral work continue to "grow" the work. Each practitioner translates this into his/her personal art form.

At the heart of the session is a sense of empowering each individual to regain a sense of harmony, reverence, and balance, and to awaken inner resources for healing. It is not unusual to hear, "That was the most amazing massage I've ever received."

Read about our massage practitioners.

Massage and Bodywork Training

Esalen Institute is approved by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a catagory A provider of continuing education. Please see our Esalen Massage and Bodywork Association (EMBA) pages for information. Esalen offers three levels of massage and bodywork training:

• Introductory five day and weekend courses for the novice.
• Massage Practitioner twenty-eight day training, minimum 150 hours, leading to a certificate of completion under license of the State of California Department of Vocational Education.
• Advanced specialized training of weekend, five, or ten days. These can be added to the above massage certificate up to a total of 250 hours, or with an individual advisor, to the 500 hour certification.
• Begin your learning at home with the Esalen Massage DVD.

Off-Property Massage at Esalen

Esalen also offers massage for individuals who are not staying at Esalen. This is a unique opportunity to experience Esalen and our massage practitioners. Appointments are based on availability; we must give priority to our on-property guests.

Booking Information:

• You may book a massage up to one month in advance.
• Monday through Thursday and Saturday, massages are available at 9:30am, 11am, 4pm and 5:30pm.
• Friday and Sunday, massages are available at 8am, 9:30am, 11am, and 12:30.
• Other times may be available if more than two slots are open.

Additional Information:

• Massages are 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cost is $165.
• Massages are non-refundable, non-transferable, non-cancelable. NO CHANGES.
• Only individuals with a booked massage may come on property. NO GUESTS.
• Call us at 831-667-3002 to make a reservation. Please be prepared to tell us the names, mailing addresses, and telephone numbers of all the people for whom you are booking massages.
• Individuals with booked massages may be on property one hour before and stay one hour after their massage to soak in the Esalen Hot Springs Baths.