Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.

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

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.

Interested in teaching at Esalen? Learn more.

Featured Faculty

Current and Recent Faculty

Mark AbramsonA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Mark Abramson

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.

Ihab and Ora BalhaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Ihab and Ora Balha

Ihab and Ora Balha, a Muslim man and a Jewish woman, have been teaching the Sufi path for 20 years in the midst of the Holy Land. They are trained in the Mevlevi tradition of Jelaluddin Rumi.

James BarazA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
James Baraz

James Baraz is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He has been teaching the popular “Awakening Joy” online course since 2003. His books include Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness and Awakening Joy for Kids.

Barbara BogatinA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Barbara Bogatin

Barbara Bogatin is a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony, chamber music performer, and a mindfulness educator.

Sravana Borkataky-VarmaA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Sravana Borkataky-Varma

Sravana Borkataky-Varma studies Indian religions focusing on esoteric rituals and gender and lectures at Harvard Divinity School and University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

Lindsay BranhamA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Lindsay Branham

Lindsay Branham is a psychologist focused on embodied and erotic ecology. She is trained as a Buddhist eco-doula and is finishing her PhD in psychology focused on the reciprocal, embodied relationship between humans and the Earth.

Sadia BruceA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Sadia Bruce

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.

Stacia ButterfieldA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Stacia Butterfield

Stacia Butterfield is a certified Holotropic Breathwork® practitioner with 15 years of dedicated service and close work with Stanislav Grof, the originator of Holotropic Breathwork and a pioneering psychedelic researcher.

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

Keith Edward Cantú is an academic, musician, and polyglot with a deep professional and personal interest in South Asian religion and spirituality, especially tantra.

Jovinna ChanA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Jovinna Chan

Jovinna Chan, E-RYT 500, YACEP, is a trained personal transformational facilitator, yoga teacher trainer, conscious dance teacher, and performing artist.

Amy ChanA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Amy Chan

Amy Chan is the founder of Renew Breakup Bootcamp. The Observer calls her "a relationship expert whose work is like that of a scientific Carrie Bradshaw.'' Her New York Times-featured book was an instant bestseller.

Dorothy CharlesA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Dorothy Charles

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.

Cristi ChristensenA small white oval over a larger white oval, meant to represent a person.
Cristi Christensen

A former elite gymnast and diver, Cristi overcame a severe injury and advanced-stage cancer, inspiring her teachings on resilience and healing. She leads global programs emphasizing body-rooted practices and women's empowerment.