A travel advisory is in effect for Highway 1 to our north. Learn more about repairs at the baths.
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.

Workshops

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Unmute: Your Story Matters

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Ann Randolph
Unmute: Your Story Matters
February 22–26, 2027
February 22–26, 2027
February 22, 2027
February 22–26, 2027

What would happen if you stopped editing yourself before you began?

This embodied writing workshop is designed to get you out of your head and into your body — where the stories that refuse to stay quiet live. Through writing, movement, and deep listening, participants access material often buried beneath politeness and perfection. This is where the censoring mind loosens, and something truer emerges. The stories we avoid are often the ones most worth telling.

Writers and non-writers alike are welcome. No experience is required, and sharing is always optional. Presence — not perfection — is the practice.

During this workshop, participants will:

  • Learn to access their voice through guided writing exercises before the censoring mind takes over.
  • Use gentle movement and experiential exercises to unlock insight held in the body.
  • Explore irreverence and reverence side by side, creating safety for vulnerable material.
  • Practice deep listening to self and others, cultivating trust and creative permission.

Leave emboldened, with trust in your own voice and a renewed sense of boundless creative expression. Come as you are. This is where you unmute it.

Recommended Reading: War of Art by Steven Pressfield

February
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Holotropic Breathwork®: Expanded States of Consciousness

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Stacia Butterfield
Holotropic Breathwork®: Expanded States of Consciousness
February 22–26, 2027
February 22–26, 2027
February 22, 2027
February 22–26, 2027

For thousands of years across many cultures, expanded states of consciousness have been used intentionally as a strategy for meaningful transformation and deepening one’s connection to self, community, and the natural world.

In this workshop, we will gather in the rich field of community for an immersive experience and personal exploration of  these unique states. Our time together will include strategies for navigating, integrating, and preparing for these experiences. Holotropic Breathwork® will be our experiential modality offering a dynamic method for turning inward and working with deeply personal material as it emerges, uniquely, from one’s own intrinsic intelligence.

We will be supported by time-honored practices that are simple, yet powerful. These unique states can offer us unmediated access to the self as a deep source of healing, insight, and evolutionary potential. Participants will experience four Holotropic Breathwork sessions, with two as “breather” and two as “sitter.” Your time assisting others in “non-ordinary state” space will complement your personal exploration. Additionally, contemplative practice, movement, expressive arts, and time in community will support the integration process throughout the week.

Originating from the pioneering psychedelic researcher, Stanislav Grof, and his late wife, Christina Grof, Holotropic Breathwork is a particularly useful practice for those interested in or training to work in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

This workshop is suited for all those of heart who are curious about exploring enhanced states of consciousness and opening to an evolutionary process of unfolding. New or novice explorers/breathers are very welcome, along with experienced navigators/breathers. The fundamental urge to grow, to heal, and to be transformed in a truly authentic way drives us not outward but inward, toward the depths of our own being, toward a deep mystery within. This inward journey strengthens and nourishes our senses in a way that can revitalize our daily lives with creative and emergent energy.

This workshop includes an additional $75 of faculty tuition.

February
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Unmute: Your Story Matters

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Ann Randolph
Unmute: Your Story Matters
February 26–28, 2027
February 26–28, 2027
February 26, 2027
February 26–28, 2027

What would happen if you stopped editing yourself before you began?

This embodied writing workshop is designed to get you out of your head and into your body — where the stories that refuse to stay quiet live. Through writing, movement, and deep listening, participants access material often buried beneath politeness and perfection. This is where the censoring mind loosens, and something truer emerges. The stories we avoid are often the ones most worth telling.

Writers and non-writers alike are welcome. No experience is required, and sharing is always optional. Presence — not perfection — is the practice.

During this workshop, participants will:

  • Learn to access their voice through guided writing exercises before the censoring mind takes over.
  • Use gentle movement and experiential exercises to unlock insight held in the body.
  • Explore irreverence and reverence side by side, creating safety for vulnerable material.
  • Practice deep listening to self and others, cultivating trust and creative permission.

Leave emboldened, with trust in your own voice and a renewed sense of boundless creative expression. Come as you are. This is where you unmute it.

Recommended Reading: War of Art by Steven Pressfield

February
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Make Peace with Your Judging Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Help Free You from the Inner Critic

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Mark Coleman
Make Peace with Your Judging Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Help Free You from the Inner Critic
February 26–28, 2027
February 26–28, 2027
February 26, 2027
February 26–28, 2027

Have you noticed the painful effects of self-judgment? Do you feel tormented by negative critical self-talk and the harsh words of the inner critic?  Are you prone to judging everything you do as not good enough, not quite right, or not up to some impossibly high standard? Do you find yourself harshly judging your meditation, your practice, or your other spiritual practices?

If you wish to be free from the influence of the inner critic, this workshop offers tried-and-tested methods for overcoming the challenges of self-judgment.

During this course, you will be shown:

  • How to recognize judging thoughts.  
  • To deal effectively with inner critic attacks.
  • How to distinguish between negative judgment and wise discernment.
  • The importance of self-acceptance, self-compassion, and  love as antidotes to the critic.
  • The need and role of humor in helping us with the critic.
  • To cultivate forgiveness in response to judgment.

The course will be a combination of talks, interactive exercises, mindfulness, self-compassion, loving kindness techniques, and meditations. This will be a practical and experiential course taught with lightness, compassion, humor, and the need to not take ourselves too seriously.

Recommended reading: Make Peace with your Mind – How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Help Free You from the Inner Critic, by Mark Coleman

This workshop includes an additional $100 in faculty tuition.

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Self-Guided Explorations | Esalen

Are you looking to immerse yourself in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus without taking a workshop?

Choose Your Dates
Letting go of entrenched ideas — who we are, how the world works, our place in it — is a challenge. It takes energy. Time. Space. Security. This growth encourages us to examine ourselves and understand our connection to the whole. This more flexible, less structured model of change encompasses both personal and communal, aligning with the core of our mission. Self-Guided Explorations are designed to function outside of the group structures of our workshops for a more freeform, spacious healing journey. These experiences are for those who want to immerse themselves in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus, exploring the edges of personal growth and open group classes when compelled. The beauty of our Big Sur campus supports serenity for the mind, the body, the spirit, and offers nourishment for all three. Exploring human potential.Our dynamic open class schedule changes weekly, but always features opportunities to sit in meditation and mindfulness, explore embodiment and movement practices, and connect with nature. An opening circle, hosted by an Esalen Staff member or a visiting teacher, welcomes you as you begin your stay. A closing circle on the final day provides a reflective conclusion to your time with us. Feeding mind and body.Savor three hearty, healthy meals per day. Our kitchen draws on global culinary traditions, using the fruits of the Esalen Farm & Garden and other local Big Sur providers to create delicious meals that support holistic health — for you and for the earth.Creating space for reflection.Esalen’s beloved mineral hot springs perch dramatically over the Pacific Ocean, a juxtaposition of intimate and infinite. A core part of Esalen from its inception, the baths and tubs are an ideal place to reflect, find clarity, and set new intentions.
All Workshops Yoga Movement Mindfulness Spirituality Creativity Culture Nature Sustainability
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
September
September
September
September
September
September
August
August
August
August
August
August
August
August
Self-Guided Explorations | Esalen

Are you looking to immerse yourself in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus without taking a workshop?

Choose Your Dates
Letting go of entrenched ideas — who we are, how the world works, our place in it — is a challenge. It takes energy. Time. Space. Security. This growth encourages us to examine ourselves and understand our connection to the whole. This more flexible, less structured model of change encompasses both personal and communal, aligning with the core of our mission. Self-Guided Explorations are designed to function outside of the group structures of our workshops for a more freeform, spacious healing journey. These experiences are for those who want to immerse themselves in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus, exploring the edges of personal growth and open group classes when compelled. The beauty of our Big Sur campus supports serenity for the mind, the body, the spirit, and offers nourishment for all three. Exploring human potential.Our dynamic open class schedule changes weekly, but always features opportunities to sit in meditation and mindfulness, explore embodiment and movement practices, and connect with nature. An opening circle, hosted by an Esalen Staff member or a visiting teacher, welcomes you as you begin your stay. A closing circle on the final day provides a reflective conclusion to your time with us. Feeding mind and body.Savor three hearty, healthy meals per day. Our kitchen draws on global culinary traditions, using the fruits of the Esalen Farm & Garden and other local Big Sur providers to create delicious meals that support holistic health — for you and for the earth.Creating space for reflection.Esalen’s beloved mineral hot springs perch dramatically over the Pacific Ocean, a juxtaposition of intimate and infinite. A core part of Esalen from its inception, the baths and tubs are an ideal place to reflect, find clarity, and set new intentions.
All Workshops Yoga Movement Mindfulness Spirituality Creativity Culture Nature Sustainability
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
December
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
November
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
September
September
September
September
September
September
August
August
August
August
August
August
August
August