Esalen Massage

Shot on Location at Esalen Institute, this hands-on instructional program presents a complete, full-body session (approximately 75 minutes) designed to guide you step-by-step from head to toe. Follow along with your partner as you are watching the tape or DVD, and with practice, you will find yourself getting better and better at giving a wonderfully soothing Esalen Massage.

Order for yourself or as a gift! Call 831-667-3049 or send e-mail to bookstore@esalen.org

As reviewed by Steve Eabry RRP, in Energy

Thirty-five years in the making, Educational consultants include the best: Bernie Gunther, Ida Rolf, Charlotte Selver, Charles Brooks, Moshe Feldenkrais, Milton Trager, Tom Hanna, Bill Liles, Peggy Horan, Don Johnson, Deane Juhan, Alexander Lowen, Judith Aston, Jim Asher, Brita Ostrom, Dub Leigh, Marion Rosen, George King, Vicki Topp, Deborah Medow, Laurie Parizek and many, many, others.

Esalen massage is more a philosophy than a specific technique and this philosophy is very well expressed in words and pictures. I recommend this video to professional bodyworkers and to those who have never attempted to give a massage. The work, narration, sound, background and the editing is exceptional. Many beautiful settings are used as well as many practitioners and clients. The result is visually beautiful and always interesting in addition to being educational.

Esalen is about human potential and massage is one of the tools used to seed and root awareness in the body and then to nudge, prod, and encourage it to grow. The video emphasizes the need for grounding of the practitioner; of nurturing intent; the quality of contact; listening , feeling, and seeing with your hands; and the long, lengthening, integrating strokes with full hand contact which can bring awareness to the body. It explains how the long strokes are also a way to assess the client's body and to learn where to direct attention during the session.

Pauses are important to let the body reflect upon and integrate what it is experiencing. While not identified as such, many Polarity Therapy principles, holds, and gentle rocking are demonstrated.

While this video is wonderful, I have one criticism and that is with the disclaimer and contraindication statement. I suspect that this was written by a lawyer with no knowledge of massage at Esalen. I can't imagine any of the Esalen massage crew refusing a person with AIDS, a woman with breast cancer, someone with chronic back troubles, a post-surgery heart bypass patient or a client with her broken leg in a cast. It is time that we ended the blanket prohibition of massage for many of the common ailments for which massage can be helpful. The good thing here is that the disclaimer goes by so fast that it is impossible to be read without repeated rewinding and probably this reviewer is the only person who has paid attention to it.

This video is a bargain. It is longer and cheaper than most and it delivers full value every minute. If you haven't been there yet, you will view it several times just to get a feel for Esalen, the Big Sur coast, and the wonderful work that happens there.

For more information, call 831-667-3049 or e-mail bookstore@esalen.org.