Built around 1963, the freshwater pool we submerge in today is a replacement of a rectangular hot spring water-filled pool of the Big Sur Hot Springs era. By the 1980s, a heat exchange was installed to warm the fresh water with heat from the hot springs. In the late 1990s, Esalen switched to salt water chlorination while still providing heat through our innovative hot springs system.
The pool area, a.k.a. the Chungliang “Al” Huang deck, is named for the tai ji master who first came to Esalen through the invitation of his friend Alan Watts circa 1963. His weaving of tai ji sequence with dance was legendary, as was his mother, Mama Huang. They started each day in community, welcoming the sun before sending her off again at dusk.
Embodying the Esalen ethos of “nobody captures the flag,” Chungliang, or “Uncle Al” as folk know him, took the more traditional tai ji first taught at Esalen by Gui-Fu Feng and offered a more liberated approach. Rather than follow any one dogmatic school of thought or guru, Chungliang popularized the Chinese lineage practice with metaphoric storytelling and humor. His presence was frequent. Each March, he could be found on campus teaching and dancing alongside Joseph Campbell at the writer and philosopher’s annual birthday celebration.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org
