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.
LaVerne McLeod is a workshop facilitator, author, public speaker, theatrical presenter, educator, and founder of Bridge Building to Equity Workshops and Purple Feather Press.
Rodney Waters is a Jungian Analyst Diploma Candidate at ISAP Zurich who sees clients through The Center for Healing Arts and Sciences in Houston.
Up next:
Portals and Pathways: Ecstatic Experience, Music, and The Red Book
Diane Domondon is a Reiki Master with a private practice in NYC, where she teaches classes and treats clients in Usui Shiki Ryoho, the Usui Method of Natural Healing.
Up next:
Fundamentals of Reiki: Japanese Roots to Modern Practice
Dr. Mark Abramson is the founder of Stanford University Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. He teaches at Stanford, conducts programs in mindfulness for corporations, and has a private dental practice.
Sravana Borkataky-Varma studies Indian religions focusing on esoteric rituals and gender and lectures at Harvard Divinity School and University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
Sadia Bruce teaches and practices in the tradition of Krishnamacharya as transmitted by Desikachar. She draws on an array of movement modalities to share an understanding of yoga that is integrative and vitalizing.
Keith Edward Cantú is an academic, musician, and polyglot with a deep professional and personal interest in South Asian religion and spirituality, especially tantra.
Vikram Chandra is the award-winning author of numerous books, including Sacred Games and Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, The Code of Beauty. He teaches creative writing at UC Berkeley.
Dorothy Charles has been a student and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen co-founder Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory.
Mark Coleman is an author and Buddhist meditation teacher who has been teaching insight meditation for 20 years. He leads nature-based meditation retreats and mindfulness teacher trainings in the U.S. and Europe.
Raphael Cushnir is a leading voice in the world of emotional connection and present moment awareness. He lectures worldwide and has written six books, including Setting Your Heart on Fire.
Laura Davis is the author of seven bestselling books. With a heart to teach others, she’s helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft for more than twenty years.
Dustin DiPerna is a Harvard-trained scholar of world religions and adjunct professor at Stanford University. He is a senior teacher of Tibetan meditation in the Pointing Out The Great Way Lineage, and has authored numerous books.
A New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, ideation facilitator, and speaker, Bill assists both individuals and organizations in getting "unstuck."
Jennifer Dumpert is a San Francisco-based writer and lecturer, and the founder of the Oneironauticum, an international organization that explores the phenomenological experience of dreams as a means of experimenting with mind.
Dr. Deborah Egerton is a psychotherapist, an executive coach, and an inspirational Enneagram JEDI (justice, equality, diversity, inclusion) who teaches the value of the Enneagram for introspective self-discovery.
Eve Ekman, PhD, MSW, is a writer, teacher, and contemplative social scientist who is designing, delivering, and evaluating tools to support emotional awareness.
Zuza Engler is a teacher of Soul Motion® and Open Floor Movement, creatrix of Embodied Inquiry, and a long-term Buddhism and Gestalt practitioner.
Elissa Epel, Ph.D, is a best-selling author and a Professor at UCSF in the Department of Psychiatry. She is an expert on stress and contemplative practices, including mindful eating for optimal metabolic balance.
Robin Fann Costanzo has been practicing and teaching Esalen® Massage nationally and internationally since 1993. She has a background in dance, yoga, and somatic therapies, with a specialty in trauma resolution.
Erika Gagnon is a multi-racial ceremonial leader, wisdom keeper, medicine carrier and “curandera.” With the blessings of her elders, she leads a variety of healing ceremonies and personal healing sessions.
A dancer, poet, educator, author, and therapist, Daria Halprin is a leader in the field of somatic movement/expressive arts education and therapy.
Steven Harper is a wilderness leader, author, facilitator, and Big Sur resident. His work incorporates practices that cultivate awareness, grow somatic intelligence, and emphasize connection with nature as vehicles for awakening.
Devarshi Steven Hartman, ERYT, is the founder of the Pranotthan Yoga School and the former dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga.
Cari is the Vice Chair of the Esselen Tribe and medicine woman for the Esselen Tribe. She is a survivor leader and somatic therapist who extends her healing and reconciliation practice into mending the sacred hoop.
Paul Heussenstamm is a painter and teacher from Laguna Beach, California. His vibrant sacred art incorporates principles of many religious traditions, among them Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity.
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