Learn more about Esalen workshop leaders from past and present.
Josh Radnor has written, directed, and starred in two feature films,“Liberal Arts” and “happythankyoumoreplease.” He also plays Ted Mosby in the Emmy-nominated CBS comedy, “How I Met Your Mother.” He is passionate about the intersection of spirituality and cinema.
Aminah Raheem, PhD, is a transpersonal psychologist, diplomat of process work, and originator of Soul Lightening International, a non-profit organization dedicated to soul realization and wholistic health of the individual, family, and society. She is the author of Soul Lightning and Soul Return.
Ann Randolph has been described as "revolutionary," a "tour de force," "Whitmanesque," and "hilarious" for her award-winning solo performances. Direct from an Off-Broadway hit (produced by the late Anne Bancroft), Randolph teaches and tours extensively throughout the US.
John Ratey, MD, is an associate professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ratey is a leading teacher and researcher on the brain and personality, and is the author or coauthor of more than 60 scientific publications and 7 books.
Virginia Ray is a visual/conceptual artist known for her transformative art work exhibited in galleries and healing institutions around the Bay Area. Her studio is in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Saul David Raye is an internationally acclaimed teacher, healer, and spiritual activist known for his empowering and transformational approach to yoga. He holds certifications in yoga, bodywork, and energy healing, and is an ordained minister and musician who infuses his classes with healing music and chants.
Shiva Rea is a yogini firekeeper, sacred activist, global adventurer, and innovator in the evolution of vinyasa flow yoga that integrates the tantric bhakti roots of yoga, Krishnamacharya's teachings, and a universal, quantum approach to the body.
Mike Rechtien, MA, LPC, earned his Master’s from Lindenwood University in St. Louis. He is trained in the Internal Family Systems model of therapy, Hypnotherapy, and administering and scoring the Adult Attachment Interview. Mike is a primary therapist at Castlewood.
Daniel Rechtschaffen, MFT, is founding director of the Mindful Education Institute. He also organizes the Mindfulness in Education Conference and teacher training at Omega Institute. Daniel maintains a private psychotherapy practice in the San Francisco Bay Area where he integrates cutting-edge psychological techniques with ancient wisdom traditions.
Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as Secretary of Labor under President Clinton and is author of several books including Supercapitalism.
Peter Rengel is a heart meditation teacher and counselor specializing in assisting individuals and couples to transcend psychology in order to awaken their love and to live in harmony with life's spiritual rhythm.
Stella Resnick, PhD, psychologist, Gestalt therapist, and certified sex therapist in Beverly Hills, Calif., trains and supervises therapists in her full-spectrum approach to psychotherapy and sex therapy. Her latest book is The Heart of Desire: Keys to the Pleasures of Love.
Ellen Ressler Hoffman, MA, PC, is a licensed psychotherapist in Beachwood, Ohio. She is trained in the Maudsley approach and Gestalt Body Process Psychotherapy. Ellen is also a dancer with over 25 years of professional experience. She integrates her body wisdom with an evidence-based, embodied relational approach in her work.
Eliza Reynolds has led Mothering & Daughtering workshops with her mother Sil Reynolds, since she was 15 years old. She attends Brown University, and is a certified teen mediator and SOS-trained counselor with Planned Parenthood. With her mother, Eliza co-authored Mothering & Daughtering.
Sil Reynolds, RN, is a nurse practitioner and therapist who has worked with women and girls for 30 years. She is a graduate of Marion Woodman’s BodySoul Rhythms® Leadership training and a graduate of Brown University, where she majored in women’s studies. With her daughter, Sil co-authored Mothering & Daughtering.
David Richo is a psychotherapist in Santa Barbara and San Francisco. Dr. Richo is the author of How To Be An Adult In Relationships, The Five Things We Cannot Change And The Happiness We Find By Embracing Them, and others (Shambhala/Random House).
Adam Rinder has been blessed by incredible teachers who have supported him in the process of self-discovery and wakefulness. He offers the practices of yoga, Thai massage and kirtan as a gateway to the heart, and to facilitate personal transformation with the support of community.
Barry Robbins, a senior teacher of ITP and a student of George Leonard and Michael Murphy, is the cofounder of the longest-running ITP group in the country. Barry serves as vice-president of ITP International.
John Robbins is author of Diet for a New America and many other bestsellers, founder of EarthSave International, and one of the most popular bloggers on the Huffington Post. He is a recipient of the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, and dozens of other honors.
Mike Robbins is the author of Focus on the Good Stuff and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken. He delivers seminars around the world, his books are translated into 12 different languages, and he writes for The Huffington Post.
Leslie Roberts has decades of experience offering Council trainings and nature-based awareness and wilderness programs. She has collaborated with and integrated Astonwork, Middendorf, Feldenkrais, and bioenergetics into her health care practice, and has developed Prayerforms, a breath-informed ceremonial movement practice.
Llyn Roberts, MA, is a teacher of healing and shamanism whose teaching style incorporates a background in psychotherapy, Tibetan Buddhism, and work with diverse, remote indigenous groups. Her Independent Publisher’s Award-winning book, Shapeshifting into Higher Consciousness, integrates shamanism with environmentalism.
Lorin Roche has meditated since 1968. He is the author of The Radiance Sutras, a new translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, and coauthor of Meditation Secrets for Women and Meditation 24/7. His other books include Meditation Made Easy, Breath Taking, and Whole Body Meditations.
Marina T. Romero is a therapist and teacher. She is a director of Estel, a personal growth center and school of integral studies in Barcelona, Spain. She coauthored Nacidos de la Tierra: Sexualidad Origen del Ser Humano.
Debbie Rosas is a Nia co-creator and leading fitness innovator, teacher, author, choreographer and artist whose work greatly influences thousands of women and men worldwide. Currently, Debbie leads Nia classes and trainings internationally and at Nia Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
Kim Rosen, MFA, is the author of Saved by a Poem and co-creator of four CDs of spoken poetry and music. Combining her devotion to poetry with her background as a spiritual teacher and therapist, she gives “Poetry Concerts,” lectures, and workshops internationally.
Tommy Rosen is a Vinyasa and Kundalini yoga teacher who focuses on yoga for addiction recovery. His blogs and articles have appeared in LA Yoga, Huffington Post, MindBody Online, and The Daily Love. Tommy’s first book is Recovery 2.0.
Jack Lee Rosenberg is in private practice in Venice, Calif. Founder and clinical director of the Rosenberg-Kitaen Integrative Body Psychotherapy Central Institute and the 12 IBP International Institutes, he authored Total Orgasm and coauthored Body, Self, and Soul and The Intimate Couple.
Scott Ross is founder, chairman, and CEO of Digital Domain, Inc., a multiple academy-award-winning digital production studio. In the 1980s, Ross was general manager of Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic. In 1991 he became VP of the LucasArts Entertainment Group. Currently he is producing a film titled YESHUA, about the Aquarian Gospels and the missing 18 years of Jesus’ life.
Ernest Rossi has received lifetime achievement awards from the Erickson Foundation, 1980; American Association of Psychotherapy, 2003; American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, 2008. He has published 38 books and 180 papers on therapeutic hypnosis, psychotherapy, dreams, art, beauty, truth, and creativity.
Kathryn Rossi, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and certified yoga instructor (RYT 500). She recently coedited the sixteen-volume Collected Works of Milton H. Erickson. She and Ernest Rossi are in private practice in Los Osos, Calif.
Donald Rothberg, PhD, the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World, is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council in Northern California, and teaches meditation, daily life practice, and engaged spirituality. He has practiced meditation since 1976.
Desiree Rumbaugh has more than 25 years of yoga practice and she continues to live her passion for yoga every day. She offers workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings internationally. She created the DVD series, Yoga to the Rescue.
Peter Russell is the author of ten books, including The TM technique, The Global Brain, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God. His work integrates Eastern and Western understandings of the mind, exploring their relevance to the world today.
Christopher Ryan, PhD, coauthored Sex at Dawn with Cacilda Jethá. An interdisciplinary and multi-cultural scholar, he specializes in the prehistoric roots of human sexuality and distinguishing the human from the cultural. He’s been featured on NPR, Oprah, in the New York Times, and elsewhere. http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-dawn.
MJ Ryan is the author of This Year I Will…and AdaptAbility: How to Survive Change You Didn’t Ask For, and many other books. A member of Professional Thinking Partners, she currently serves as an advisor to entrepreneurs, senior-level executives, and leadership teams, and leads workshops around the world.
Patricia Ryan Madson, an Emerita professor from Stanford, is the founder of the Stanford Improvisers and a certified Constructive Living instructor. Winner of the 1998 Dinkelspiel Award for innovation in undergraduate education, she is author of Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up.
Sy Safransky is editor and publisher of The Sun.
Kerena Gordhamer Saltzman, LCSW, is a Gestalt therapist who founded the business Through Insight. The company works with UCSC students. Kerena and Soren Gordhamer are siblings and were former staff at Esalen in their twenties.
Clifford Saron is associate research neuroscientist at Center for Mind and Brain and MIND Institute at UC Davis. His main research directions are investigating effects of contemplative practice from a multidisciplinary perspective, and multisensory integration in children with autistic spectrum disorder.
Gahl Sasson has been teaching workshops on mythology, Kabbalah, and mysticism for more than a decade. His books have been translated into multiple languages and are endorsed by HH the Dalai Lama, Laura Day, and John Edward.
Carlos Sauer is a native of Brazil and a fourth generation healer in his family. His teachers in The US were Michael Harner and Nelson Turtle, a Cheyenne elder and Carlos’ adopted father. He was the coordinator for the Esalen sweat lodge for 7 years. He teaches in the US, Europe, and Brazil.
Jenny Sauer-Klein has been studying and teaching yoga, circus arts, and healing modalities for more than 13 years. As the co-founder of AcroYoga, she is fascinated with interpersonal dynamics, seeing truth as nurturing, and embracing depth of feeling as a vehicle for transformation.
Banafsheh Sayyad is a pioneer in her unique synthesis of dance and spirituality. A licensed acupuncturist with an MFA in Dance from UCLA, she teaches and performs worldwide a mesmerizing offering of the timeless sacred feminine inside a contemporary gypsy dervish.
David Schiffman has taught at Esalen for 40 years. His work combines creative elements ranging from sweet mischief to intelligent risk taking and including ceremony, music, movement, and inner work. He has been a consultant to California Institute for Integrative Studies and Saybrook Institute, in San Francisco.
Marilyn Schlitz, PhD, is the past president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences and its Ambassador for Creative Projects and Global Affairs, and senior scientist. She is the author of hundreds of professional and popular articles and four books, and she has lectured widely, conducted workshops, and taught around the world.
Meir Schneider, PhD, LMT, is the bestselling author of The Natural Vision Improvement Kit, Yoga for the Eyes, Meir Schneider’s Miracle Eyesight Method, Movement for Self-Healing, Vision For Life, and other books, tapes, and CDs. In 1980, Meir founded the School for Self-Healing in San Francisco, Calif.
Susan Schor is one of the three-person facilitating leader team at Eileen Fisher that “holds the whole,” facilitates company priorities and decision making, and leads Eileen Fisher in living its values-based mission. Previously, Susan was a professor and consultant of leadership and organization.
Robert Schrei is a certified advanced rolfer since 1985, biodynamic craniosacral therapist, artist, former Zen teacher, and the co-originator of SourcePoint Therapy® with his wife and partner in healing work, Donna Thomson. www.sourcepointtherapy.com.
Jon Schreiber is director of the Breema Center and the Breema Clinic in Oakland, Calif. The author of several books, he is also a licensed chiropractor. He has taught Breema worldwide since 1980.
Neil Schuitevoerder, Phd, Psychologist, MFT, is one of the co-developers of Compassionate Communication and its clinical application to psychotherapy. He practices clinical, organizational, and forensic psychology and supervises interns and psychological assistants. He has served as a consultant to many corporations.
Renée Schultz is co-founder of The Mother-Daughter Project, international speaker, and marriage and family therapist with a specialty in sex therapy. She coauthored The Mother-Daughter Project: How Mothers and Daughters Can Band Together, Beat the Odds, and Thrive Through Adolescence.
Lori Anne Schwanbeck is a mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapist. Lori developed Sense and Sensibility, a sensory-focused mindfulness treatment for emotional regulation, which she teaches internationally. She is cofounder of Mindfulness Therapy Associates, located in San Francisco. www.mindfulnesstherapy.org.
Alan Schwartz, author of Life Force: Death Force, pioneered the understanding of energetic dynamics and its relationship to Gestalt therapy. A student and colleague of Laura Perls, he also studied with Lowen and Pierrakos. He has taught the Gestalt approach worldwide since 1970.
Richard C. Schwartz is a systemic family therapist and an academic. Dr. Schwartz developed the Internal Family Systems model (IFS) and founded the Center for Self Leadership. A featured speaker for national professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz has published five books and more than fifty articles about IFS.
Stephan A. Schwartz is Senior Samueli Fellow for Brain, Mind and Healing of the Samueli Institute, research associate of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory of the Laboratories for Fundamental Research, and a BIAL Fellow. He is cofounder of Remote Viewing research.
Suzanne Scurlock-Durana, author of Full Body Presence, CranioSacral therapy instructor since 1987, and creator of the Healing From the Core training series, specializes in conscious awareness and its relationship to the healing process. She has taught with the Upledger Institute, and at Esalen since 1994.
Eva Selhub, MD, is board certified in internal medicine and trained in Eastern medical practices. A clinical associate of the Benson Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she has a private practice and is an instructor at Harvard Medical School. www.theloveresponse.com and www.drselhub.com.
Paul Selig's channeled books are I Am the Word: A Guide to the Consciousness of Man’s Self in a Transitioning Time and The Book of Love and Creation (Tarcher/Penguin, 2012). A conscious channel, intuitive, and empath, Paul also directs the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College. www.paulselig.com.
Heather and Benjy Wertheimer are the musical duo Shantala, which leads kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide, with soul-stirring vocals, sacred lyrics, and exotic instrumentation. The weaving of Benjy’s Indian classical singing and instrumentation with Heather’s soaring vocals is freshly original and profoundly moving.
Dani Shapiro is the author of the memoirs Devotion and Slow Motion, and two novels. Her next book, Still Writing: The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life, will be out in 2013. Her work has been published widely and she has taught at Columbia, NYU, and elsewhere. www.danishapiro.com.
Shauna Shapiro, clinical psychologist and associate professor at Santa Clara University, researches mindfulness meditation and has published more than 60 articles and co-authored The Art and Science of Mindfulness.
Neil Sharp, MD, finds the neuroscience, learning, and creativity of the Anat Baniel Method forges his diverse passions into a common purpose. He has collaborated with Ms. Baniel since 2006, teaching private sessions, groups, and doing research. He also is a professional musician.
Paula Shaw, a professional actress and acting teacher for more than 40 years, has conducted workshops for those interested in expanding their self-expression, well-being, and creativity, in the US, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
Robert Sheeler editor of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, has been studying Tai Ji and Qi Gong for several years. He has spoken extensively on a variety of topics at both traditional medical conferences and conferences on complementary and integrative therapy.
Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author of 10 books, including Science Set Free. He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University, a Research Fellow of the Royal Society, and from 2005-2010 the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project for research on unexplained human abilities.
Margery Shelton, LCSW, BCD, is the director of training for The Relational Center's Organizations and Communities Concentration and adjunct faculty at the USC School of Social Work. She has led workshops and trainings internationally and her private practice at Larchmont Associates focuses on psychotherapy and organization work.
Sianna Sherman is an inspired storyteller, devoted yogini, community activator, and innovator of Mythic Yoga Flow, which weaves mythic consciousness into the embodied art of yoga. Her lineage stems from a multitude of yogic disciplines and her years of dedicated study to Tantra.
Michael Shermer, PhD, is the publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, an adjunct professor at Claremont Graduate University and Chapman University, and the author of The Believing Brain.
Marci Shimoff is a transformational leader and New York Times bestselling author. Her books include Happy for No Reason, Love for No Reason, and six titles in the Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul series. Marci is a featured teacher in the The Secret and the host of a PBS show on happiness.
Dan Short, PhD, practices in Scottsdale, Ariz., and teaches the dynamics of therapeutic relationships to interns and professionals. He authored Transformational Relationships, coauthored Hope and Resiliency, and currently serves as executive director for the Milton Erickson Institute of Phoenix.
Stephen Sideroff is a clinical psychologist and peak performance consultant in Santa Monica, Calif., assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA’s School of Medicine, and director of Moonview Sanctuary. He also founded the Stress Strategies Center at Santa Monica Hospital.
Tobin Simon, poet and educator, has been collaborating with Linda Trichter Metcalf since 1977. Coauthor of Writing the Mind Alive, he is cofounder of the PW Center, and is a poetry teacher and writing coach of more than 30 years.
Annellen M. Simpkins, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice who, with her husband C. Alexander Simpkins, specializes in study and research of mind and brain. Together they teach widely on meditation and hypnosis, have written twenty-four books, and live in San Diego, Calif.
C. Alexander Simpkins, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice, and, with Annellen M. Simpkins, is the author of twenty-four books. Together they study and research mind and brain, teach meditation and hypnosis in seminars and workshops, and live in San Diego, Calif.
Mariabruna Sirabella, LMFT, MS, is an artist, educator, and SoulCollage® trainer. Her clinical work blends ancient wisdom and Jungian humanistic psychology aimed at soul mentorship. She founded BodYnvocations™: Imagination in Motion.
Caleb Smith is an artist/blacksmith who resides in Santa Fe, NM. He creates custom architectural ironwork and also works as a glass artist and woodworker. He loves to bring all of these skills together to create artwork. He loves to teach and spread the joys of metal work whenever possible.
Fritz Smith is a physician, osteopath, cranial osteopath, certified acupuncturist, and founder of Zero Balancing. He is the author of Inner Bridges: A Guide to Energy Movement and Body Structure, and Alchemy of Touch.
Gerald Smith is a licensed psychologist who has maintained a private practice in San Mateo, Calif., since 1964. He has led more than 100 workshops at Esalen since 1966. Now 80, he is the author of Couple Therapy and Hidden Meanings.
Heidi Sormaz, PhD, is the founder, owner, and director of Fresh Yoga. A senior Forrest Yoga Mentor, she has been practicing and teaching since 1996. As a yogi, she teaches embodied self-care as a response to the uncertainty of life.
Jessica Spain brings a background in food justice, natural building, animal husbandry, orcharding, and homesteading to her role as farmer and teacher at Esalen. She is a graduate of the UC Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology, and has farmed in Colorado and California.
Tom Spanbauer has published four novels: Faraway Places, The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon, In the City of Shy Hunters, and Now Is the Hour. Tom has been teaching Dangerous Writing classes for more than 17 years and is a scheduled guest for Ira Glass' radio show This American Life.
Claude Stein has 29 years of experience blending psychology and voice training. His clients include RCA, Warner Bros., Sony, Atlantic, Island Records, Juilliard, the New York Actors Institute, Sprint, Siemens, JPMorgan, N.A.S.A and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Brother David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk, psychologist, and author, has lectured on five continents. He was Spiritual Teacher in Residence at Esalen, and is concerned with the unique challenges and opportunities of our time.
Susan C. Steiner, trained as an occupational therapist, has been affiliated with The Upledger Institute since 1989, and has been an instructor for CranioSacral Therapy and SomatoEmotional Release II since 1994. She maintains a private practice in Providence, R.I.
Greg Steltenpohl, founder and former CEO of Odwalla, Inc., values environmental sustainability, employee empowerment, creative corporate culture, and community-based marketing. Greg currently spearheads projects that bring value-added products from farm producers to the consumer.
Peter Sterios is an internationally recognized yoga instructor. His DVD, Gravity & Grace, was selected in the ‘top 15 yoga videos of all time’ by Yoga Journal. For the last three years, he has been invited to the White House to teach yoga for Michelle Obama's anti-obesity initiatives.
Suzanne Sterling is an ecstatic vocalist, innovative teacher, and sacred composer whose music has been commissioned for film and theater. Her work as a ritual designer has been incorporated into curriculums and trainings nationwide, and as a co-founder of Off the Mat, Into the World®, she trains activist-leaders worldwide.
Mark Stevens is a licensed psychologist and director of university counseling services at California State University, Northridge. Former president of the APA's Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity, Mark coauthored In the Room with Men: A Casebook of Therapeutic Change.
Janet Stone traveled to India in 1996, where she dedicated herself to a conscious evolution through yoga. Janet blends a wealth of knowledge and yoga experience to create a unique, vigorous-yet-sumptuous approach to Vinyasa yoga. She teaches in San Francisco, and leads retreats internationally.
Cheryl Strayed is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Wild, the advice/essay collection Tiny Beautiful Things, and the novel Torch. Her writing has appeared in the Best American Essays, O Magazine, Vogue, the Missouri Review, and elsewhere. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Dave Stringer is an innovative artist of the new kirtan movement. His sound marries the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments with the exuberant, groove-oriented sensibility of American gospel. An articulate and engaging public speaker, Stringer probes the dilemmas of science and spirit with a wry and unorthodox sense of humor.
Andrea J. Sussel, LCSW, specializes in the treatment of people with eating disorders, addictions, depression, anxiety, and sexual orientation issues. She enriches her work with mindfulness-based practices and compassion.
Jim Tamm, a former judge who has mediated more than 1,500 disputes, is the author of Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Reduce Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships. He is on the faculty of the International Management Program at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® (PACT). PACT is a fusion of neuroscience, attachment theory, and arousal regulation. His books, Love and War and Wired for Love, are about his approach to couples.