Esalen opens May 3, 2024

Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.

Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.

Learn more.

Faculty at Esalen

Esalen faculty represent a spectrum of disciplines, experiences, and perspectives — our faculty members have included Premal Shah, founder of Kiva.org; Robert Walter, Joseph Campbell’s longtime editor; mindfulness researcher Shauna Shapiro; and Wisdom 2.0 creator Soren Gordhamer.

Browse all past and present faculty below, or use the site search to look for someone specific.

Kamini DesaiA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kamini Desai

Kamini Desai is the author of Yoga Nidra: The Art of Transformational Sleep, and creator and education director of the Amrit Method Yoga Nidra curriculum. Kamini lectures and trains internationally, uniquely combining Eastern philosophy with Western psychology and science.

Karen AxelrodA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karen Axelrod

Karen Axelrod, MA, CST-D, CMT, is a certified somatic therapist specializing in CranioSacral Therapy. She teaches CST internationally for the Upledger Institute and maintains a private practice in Redondo Beach, California. Her passion is helping clients connect to inner resources necessary for healing body, mind, and spirit.

Karen CookA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karen Cook

Karen Cook is an acupuncturist with more than 25 years of experience in the movement arts. She has been teaching yoga since 1997, influenced by Thomas Fortel Yoga and SpectorDance. Her love of movement is her joy and invites all to open to their divine light.

Karen ElyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karen Ely

Karen Ely is the founding director of A Woman’s Way, one of the country’s premiere women’s retreat programs, and the author of Daring to Dream: Reflections on the Year I Found Myself, A Retreat of My Own, Breathing Space, and A Safe Place to Stand.

Karen NelsonA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karen Nelson

Karen Nelson is the co-founder and executive director of Writing By Writers, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a rigorous and compassionate environment to learn the art of reading and writing from accomplished authors.

Kari BernardiA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kari Bernardi

Kari Bernardi, the Super Natural Chef, is the owner of Super Natural Foods Company and co-director of Living Light International. For over 30 years, Kari has shared her culinary expertise to help people thrive on a plant-based diet.

Karishma DarbyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karishma Darby

Karishma Darby is a licensed psychotherapist in private practice in the Sierra Foothills, California. Her passion is awakening consciousness within and in relationship with others. She facilitates workshops, active and silent mediation, and relationally centered psychotherapy groups.

Karla McLarenA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Karla McLaren

Karla McLaren, MEd, is an award-winning author, researcher, and pioneering educator whose empathic approach to emotions revalues even the most “negative” emotions and opens new pathways into self-awareness and healthy empathy. She is the author of The Art of Empathy.

Katalin KálmánA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katalin Kálmán

Kata Kálmán is a mindfulness trainer and coach with multinational clients including Audi, Wendy's, Coca Cola, and GE. Her work has led her to the most prevalent disorders of our times: depression and anxiety. Kata practices Thich Nhat Hanh’s Buddhist mindfulness-based tradition.

Katchie AnandaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katchie Ananda

Katchie Ananda is an internationally recognized yoga and dharma teacher whose leadership in yoga and social change prompted Yoga Journal to name her one of five top yoga teachers making change in the world.

Kate FloreA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kate Flore

Kate Flore, MPH, OTR, CMP, is a somatic and bodywork practitioner, educator, and Gestalt facilitator. She is co-founder of TensegrityU, a scholarship-based practitioner education program weaving the teachings of movement and body sciences with Rolf Structural Integration, the Feldenkrais Method, and Gestalt Relational Process into contemporary trainings.

Kate MacKinnonA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kate MacKinnon

Kate MacKinnon is a diplomat-certified CranioSacral Therapist through the Upledger Institute, and a licensed physical therapist in California and the United Kingdom. She is a passionate advocate of CranioSacral therapy and of the importance of healthy touch.

Kate MungerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kate Munger

Kate Munger has devoted herself to creating non-hierarchical, collaborative models for singing, community building, and fellowship since 1973. She founded the first of 160 Threshold Choirs, an organization for those who sing in service at the bedsides of people who are dying.

Katharina Sophia VolzA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katharina Sophia Volz

Katharina Sophia Volz is a medical researcher and entrepreneur. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of OccamzRazor, a start-up in San Francisco that looks to identify cures for Parkinson's Disease using machine learning.

Katherine Woodward ThomasA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katherine Woodward Thomas

Katherine Woodward Thomas is author of the New York Times bestseller, Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After and the national bestseller, Calling in “The One:” 7 Weeks to Attract the Love Of Your Life. She is a licensed psychotherapist and has taught hundreds of thousands to find greater happiness in love.

Kathie SwiftA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kathie Swift

Kathie Madonna Swift, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, is an inspiring educator, innovator, and practitioner in the field of integrative and holistic nutrition, and education director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s nutrition trainings.

Kathlyn HendricksA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kathlyn Hendricks

Kathlyn (Katie) Hendricks, PhD, BC-DMT, is an evolutionary catalyst and contextual disruptor who creates transformational collaboration around the world. A pioneer in the field of body intelligence and conscious loving, she has coauthored 12 books with Gay Hendricks, including Conscious Loving, At the Speed of Life, and Ever After.

Kathy AltmanA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kathy Altman

Kathy Altman, co-founder of Open Floor International, has taught conscious dance worldwide for over 40 years. She empowers authentic expression, emotional resilience, and community building through embodied movement, fostering health and creativity in life and on the dance floor.

Katie HafnerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katie Hafner

Katie Hafner is the author of the memoir, Mother Daughter Me, which was featured by the New York Times and Oprah. Hafner was on staff at the New York Times for more than a decade, and she is the author of five previous books.

Katy ButlerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Katy Butler

Katy Butler is the author of Knocking on Heaven's Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death, a New York Times Notable Book of 2013. Her award-winning personal essays have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, Best American Essays, and Best Buddhist Writing.

"Kayenta" Kelly MaglebyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
"Kayenta" Kelly Magleby

Kelly “Kayenta” has been practicing and teaching earth-based pottery for 15 years. Her style embodies the concept that pottery made in the old way has profound lessons to teach us. 

Kay TrimbergerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kay Trimberger

E. Kay Trimberger, PhD, is professor emerita of Women’s & Gender Studies at Sonoma State University and author of The New Single Woman. She is an ever single woman and single mother, who has taught classes on single women and written articles and blogs on singleness.

Keith Edward CantúA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Keith Edward Cantú

Dr. Keith Edward Cantú is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School. He is an emerging historian of religions, a musician, an esoteric practitioner, and the author of Like a Tree Universally Spread: Sri Sabhapati Swami and Śivarājayoga.

Kelly BoysA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kelly Boys

Kelly Boys is a mindfulness trainer and author of The Blind Spot Effect. She has created mindfulness programs for UN humanitarians and veterans with PTSD, and directed a teacher training for Google. She has worked with the United Nations Foundation, Search Inside Yourself Institute, and the Integrative Restoration Institute, and is the founding advisor for the Simple Habit meditation app.

Ken DychtwaldA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Ken Dychtwald

Ken Dychtwald is a long-time Esalen lover, a gerontologist, psychologist, educator, author, lecturer, consultant and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Age Wave and has been a leading thinker on aging-related issues since 1974.

Ken KolesA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Ken Koles

Ken Koles is an acupuncturist who developed the use of CranioSacral Therapy (CST) and Oriental medicine in private practice and as an instructor with The Cleveland Healing Arts Institute. He studied Oriental medicine in Japan, China, and Taiwan, and has studied CST since 1979.

Kenn ChaseA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kenn Chase

Kenn Chase, founder of Integral Way Tai Chi™, has taught Yang-style tai chi since 1969. He is a certified Feldenkrais practitioner and integrates Awareness through Movement® into his unique teaching approach. Teaching locally and internationally, he consults with corporations, hospitals, and privately.

Kenneth CohenA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kenneth Cohen

Ken Cohen, M.A., is a world-renowned qigong and tai chi grandmaster. A former collaborator with Alan Watts, he is the author of The Way of Qigong and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Energy Medicine.

Kerena SaltzmanA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kerena Saltzman

Kerena Gordhamer Saltzman, LCSW, is a leadership coach and licensed psychotherapist. She has presented at Wisdom 2.0, Omega Institute, and IEEE Leadership for Women. She teaches relational skills with her husband, Ben Saltzman.

Kerri KellyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kerri Kelly

A  movement artist, wellness activist, and author of the book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for politicizing wellness and bridging personal transformation with collective change.

Kerry D’AmbrogioA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kerry D’Ambrogio

Kerry D’Ambrogio is a lecturer, author, physical therapist, osteopath, and board-certified acupuncture physician. He is the president and director of Therapeutic Systems, Inc. (TSI). TSI is an internationally known seminar company as well as a treatment center.

Kes HarperA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kes Harper

Kes Harper is a native Big Sur local, a graduate of Esalen’s Gazebo School, and recent graduate of UC Santa Cruz. He studied technology management at university and is passionate to learn and explore his interests in technology, entrepreneurship, team building, and everything beyond.

Kevin CannA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kevin Cann

Kevin Cann is a lifelong metaphysical explorer and retired U.S. Navy nuclear engineer. He created Platonic Surrealism, a metaphysical language and creative technology for navigating the unknown. Kevin co-authored a chapter on autism and perception in Jeff Kripal’s How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.

Kevin DockeryA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kevin Dockery

Kevin Dockery, MFA, is an artist and teacher of the Feldenkrais Method and contact improvisation. His teachings are informed by his pursuit of the question: How can we come alive to the moment through movement? He teaches workshops internationally and is on the faculty of TensegrityU in Nevada City, CA.

Kia MillerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kia Miller

Kia Miller is a Kundalini yoga teacher who has an ability to translate the subtle teachings of Kundalini in a highly accessible way. Kia’s study of yoga began when she was 15. She is also certified in Hatha yoga and teaches workshops, retreats, and teacher trainings throughout the world.

Kimberly GilbeyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kimberly Gilbey

Kimberly Gilbey, PhD, is an executive coach, strategy consultant, and organizational anthropologist working with individuals and organizations to realize their fullest potential. She has previously served as a business professor and supported executives within Fortune 100 companies, private universities, and global nonprofit organizations.

Kimberly LeeA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kimberly Lee

Kimberly Lee, JD, is a SoulCollage® facilitator and creativity coach with a passion for nurturing imagination and guiding others to discover their inner wisdom. Author of the thriller Have You Seen Him, she is a Stanford and UC Davis graduate who teaches at literary centers, conferences, and retreats.

Kim Blue-FalveyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kim Blue-Falvey

Kim Blue-Falvey, PT, CFRp, is a physical therapist integrating insights from over 30 years of practice. She blends biomechanical understanding with compassion, curiosity, and the principles of Cortical Field Re-Education to help facilitate freedom from patterns of moving, thinking, and being that no longer serve.

Kim KransA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kim Krans

Kim Krans is an artist, author, and the creator of the New York Times bestseller, The Wild Unknown Tarot. She teaches events and workshops that activate the forces of creativity and radical transformation through creative practices, meditation, and movement.

Kim MooneyA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kim Mooney

Kim Mooney has worked for more than two decades in the field of dying, death, and grief, with hospices; families; and spiritual, medical, caregiver, and mental health communities. She provides practical and emotional guidance on navigating grief and loss personally and professionally.

KirtaniyasA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kirtaniyas

Kirtaniyas is a global collective of kirtan musicians, producers, and dancers. Since 2009 they have toured internationally, infusing the ancient tradition of kirtan with youthful spirit and energy. Kirtaniyas combines melodious electronic dance music and subsonic bass with the call and response singing of ancient Sanskrit mantras, accompanied by live acoustic instruments.

Kirti SrivastavaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kirti Srivastava

Kirti Srivastava builds connections between the arts and healing to provide a holistic approach to honoring the whole being in all areas of life in order to heal, grow, and expand.

Konda MasonA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Konda Mason

Konda Mason is co-founder and CEO of Hub Oakland, a co-working space connecting socially engaged changemakers and social entrepreneurs to bring their projects to life. A human equity advocate, certified Kripalu yoga instructor, and meditation teacher, Konda’s work is driven by the vision of realizing in her lifetime a genuinely just and sustainable world.

Krishna DholakiaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Krishna Dholakia

Krishna Dholakia, MS, RDN, CDCES, CDN, is a nutritionist, diabetes educator, yoga teacher, and mindfulness teacher who specializes in women’s health. Her private practice specializes in integrative nutrition therapy, yoga and bodywork, and mindfulness-based therapy.

Krista BremerA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Krista Bremer

Krista Bremer is the author of A Tender Struggle: Story of a Marriage and the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, and elsewhere.

Kristi FunkA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kristi Funk

Kristi Funk, MD, board-certified breast cancer surgeon, best-selling author, and co-founder of the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills, and has helped thousands of women through breast cancer treatment, including celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Sheryl Crow.

Kristi Henricksen PerryA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kristi Henricksen Perry

Kristi Henricksen Perry completed Phillip Moffitt’s Life Balance Strategist Training in 2022. In her work as a Certified Strategist, she draws on professional wisdom from decades of business management as well as deep personal experience from being the mother of two young adults and 25+ years of marriage.

Kristin HodsonA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kristin Hodson

Kristin Hodson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. She is founder and executive director of The Healing Group mental health clinic in Salt Lake City and co-author of Real Intimacy: A Couples Guide for Genuine, Healthy Sexuality.

Kristin NeffA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kristin Neff

Kristin Neff, PhD, is an associate professor of human development at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a pioneering researcher into the psychological health benefits of self-compassion. She is the author of Self-Compassion and Self-Compassion: Step-by-Step, and is featured in the book and documentary The Horse Boy.

Kristi PanikA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kristi Panik

Kristi Panik, MD, is chief of psychiatric services of the University Student Health Services at UC Berkeley.

Kyla PearceA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Kyla Pearce

Kyla Pearce teaches yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to people with brain injuries, caregivers, and health professionals through her work with the LoveYourBrain Foundation. Kyla is passionate about empowering people to become more active participants in their healing process through self-inquiry practices.

Lama DrimedA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lama Drimed

Lama Drimed offers awareness teachings from Great Perfection/Dzogchen and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. His Tibetan teacher, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, recognized Lama Drimed as his lineage holder in 1995. His vision is to open dialogues that include current discoveries and the ancient tantric arts.

Lama Palden DrolmaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lama Palden Drolma

Lama Palden Drolma was authorized as a Buddhist lama in 1985 after completing the traditional three-year-long retreat. She has been teaching ever since. She also is a licensed psychotherapist, and believes that the spiritual path is most effective when mind, body, and psyche are integrated.

Lamara HeartwellA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lamara Heartwell

Lamara Heartwell is a body intelligence expert who inspires people to claim their bodies as an essential source of intelligence, power, and pleasure. She is the founder of Santa Barbara Dance Tribe, holds a coaching certification from the Hendricks Institute, and completed counseling training from the Interchange Institute.

Lansing Barrett GreshamA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lansing Barrett Gresham

Lansing Barrett Gresham, founder of Integrated Awareness, is a teacher, healer, philosopher, and visionary able to beautifully transmit the possibilities of human experience. His inspirations were Moshe Feldenkrais, John Upledger, Jean Pierre Barral, Fritz Smith, June D’Estelle, and Milton Erickson.

LARAAJI A small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
LARAAJI

Laraaji is a visionary musician, composer, and mystic. Having emerged as a pioneering figure in ambient and new age music after a chance encounter with producer Brian Eno in the 70s, his music transcends conventional boundaries, seamlessly merging ambient textures with cosmic vibrations, creating an immersive and deeply introspective sonic journey.

Lara ZilibowitzA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lara Zilibowitz

Lara Zilibowitz is an internationally touring yoga teacher and artist with a passion for creative expression through the body. She offers a fluid and dynamic teaching style delivered with heartfelt poetic prose, as well as cosmic creativity and mandala art.