Now more than ever, it is important we build practices to strengthen our internal resolve and self-resourcing amidst a dynamically shifting society. Together, we will listen to our heart’s wisdom in this rich four-day journey (Friday to Monday) through sound, ceremony, and self-discovery.

In this intimate and transformative workshop, you will have the unique opportunity to experience multiple East Forest’s live music performances. Additionally, Radha will lead us in embodiment practices of Self-Awakening Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Breathwork to create an all-levels and accessible doorway to inner insights. Through the primacy of our own heart-opening and felt experience, we can discover the inner pathways to fortitude and healing.

• Intimate live musical performances by East Forest
• Group co-creative musical process with East Forest
• Yoga and meditation practices
• Awe-inspiring time in nature
• Breathwork
• Meditation and group insight exercises
• Journaling
• Dance party

East Forest and Radha would like to offer a certain amount of scholarship to those in need. Please apply with this form. If further assistance would be helpful, you may also apply for an Esalen scholarship.

Workshop Disclaimer: While some of our workshops explore the history and potential of psychedelic tools and altered states, Esalen workshops do not involve the use, provision, or facilitation of any psychoactive substances.

This workshop includes an additional $350 faculty tuition.

Through yoga and intentional music crafted from ancient beats, we’re thrilled to gather for our annual celebration of our inter-dependence.

We’ll dive into meditation, pranayama, chanting, yoga asana, dance, hot baths, lovingly prepared food, open time, and space for connection, creativity and collaboration.

Meet us at sacred Esalen on the cliffs, in the hot baths, in the redwoods, on the mat, and in the heart. In this divisive time, let’s lean into the power of connection through community.

10 hours of Continuing Education hours are available with Yoga Alliance; See leader.

‍This workshop includes an additional $100 faculty tuition.

Embark on a Personal Journey of Self-Discovery and Renewal

Self-Guided Explorations is a retreat designed to help you reconnect with yourself, your dreams, and your desires. Whether awakening dormant passions, healing past wounds, or simply remembering the joy of being alive, this experience provides a supportive and nurturing environment for transformation. Cultivate a sense of vitality and well-being through embodiment practice and writing, solitude and quiet enjoyment of the land, or whatever you need to reset, refresh, and recalibrate.

To Choose Not To Choose

Opening and closing circles with your cohort bookend a journey that presents you with options. You might take advantage of the opportunity to deepen your yoga practice, explore breathwork and meditation, enjoy conscious dance, immerse yourself in the creative arts, attend presentations by guest faculty, take a long soak under the stars, and so much more — or much, much less. Elevate your self-discovery journey with Esalen® Massage and/or a selection of holistic healing services offered by compassionate practitioners.

With an array of classes, activities, and therapeutic modalities to choose from, you have the freedom to tailor your experience to your individual needs and interests. Your Esalen experience is shaped by your own intuition and curiosity.

We all have a story to tell. But turning your life into an engaging and meaningful narrative requires both keen self-awareness and a working knowledge of basic storytelling. This experiential workshop invites writers at all levels, from personal journalers to published authors, to cultivate the skills needed to tell the most compelling — and truest — story.

We’ll begin each day with a short burst of early morning free writing, taking advantage of what author Ruth Ozeki calls “the liminal state,” when the brain is most flexible and the internal judge is still asleep. Everyone will be invited to share their morning writing in small groups that foster a safe and supportive environment.

We’ll follow with a mix of craft talks, incorporating examples from published works, and several sessions of prompted free writing to help us sharpen our skills and access the deepest part of our own stories.

Time will be set aside every afternoon to share our writing with the group at large. Workshop participants will leave with a clear sense of where their story lies — and how to get it on the page.

Have you ever felt, even momentarily, that all is well within and around you? How do we cultivate this sense of deep presence and start to sustain it?

This sense of presence is the foundation of awakening. The ancient practices of qigong, meditation, and breathwork open and harmonize the energy body so we might experience ourselves at ease and in connection with all that is.

In this five-day retreat, we will explore:

• Inner qigong, “where the mind goes, the energy flows,” including “the microcosmic orbit” and “the double butterfly.”
• Outer qigong, a 20-minute short form and a 40-minute full form of wai dan gong.
• Easy-to-learn and energizing movement, sound, and visualization exercises.
• Walking, standing, sitting, and supine(lying down) meditations, including “standing as a tree,” “the three treasures,” and “metta/loving-kindness.”
• Breath practices that strengthen the lungs, calm the mind, and rest the heart.
• Full-body meridian self-massage, including sequences for hands and feet.

No experience is necessary. All levels are very welcome. Please come with the intention to relax deeply and shine from the radiance that you are

Recommended Reading: The Way of Qigong, by Kenneth Cohen

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive. — Howard Thurman

There is a vital force in the universe — the spark of life itself.  It’s in the blade of grass bursting forth from seemingly dormant ground after a long winter. It’s the instinct that calls the baby bird to launch from the nest. It’s the aliveness that guides us to our deepest truth, the illuminator of the precious present and our truest path. When we follow its call, life begins to move through us with greater clarity, courage, and purpose.

If you’ve ever longed to feel more alive, more aligned, or simply more you, this workshop offers a space to rediscover the spark that lives within. Through a blend of writing, reflection, and somatic practices, weaving together aikido, meditation, and psychology, you’ll be guided back into a deep connection with yourself.  

In the company of a supportive community, your truth will be witnessed — gently, openly, and without judgment. These accessible practices are designed for every body and ability to help you come into direct contact with your aliveness, center into your body’s wisdom, and build the embodied presence that allows life to lead.

Gather with us under the waxing full moon for a weekend of embodied ritual and communal celebration. While the flowers are in full bloom, the moon is bright, and the sun reaches its highest arc in the sky, we will circle together to honor the fullness of the light with sacred ceremony, flower baths, folklore, green magic, herbcraft, sound healing, communal dreaming, self-inquiry, and sensory delight.

The first full moon after the Summer Solstice is a dreamy threshold, a liminal space to tend to our dreams and visions. Drawing on ancestral practices from Celtic, Nordic, Grecian, and respectfully informed Indigenous animistic solstice practices from around the world, this gathering is a weaving of ancestral wisdom and earth-based spirituality. Celebrate the flourishing of Summer, welcoming the light into our lives, bathing in sacred springs, making wreaths of flowers and offerings of gratitude to the earth and sky.

During our time together, we will honor the Light with:

• A ceremonial flower bath in hot spring waters
• Harvesting from the garden and hands-on herbcraft
• Adornment with herbs and flowers
• Sound healing ritual and frolicking together under the waxing solstice full moon
• Offerings of gratitude to the earth, water, and sky
• Dreams and visions to rekindle your magic

This is a space for reconnecting, nourishing, and illuminating your spirit and your dreams.

This workshop includes an additional $25 for materials.

Letting go of entrenched ideas — of who we are, of how the world works, of our place in it — is a challenge. It takes energy. Time. Space. Security. This growth asks us to examine ourselves and understand our connection to the whole. This model of change encompasses both personal and communal, and it’s always been at the core of Esalen.

Guided explorations are an evolution of programming designed to function outside of the group structures of our workshops. These experiences are for those who want to immerse themselves in the peace, space, and natural beauty of our campus to do the work of their own personal growth. 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. The dynamic 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, while a closing circle on the final day provides a mindful way to conclude your experience.

• Feeding mind and body. Savor three healthy meals a day. Our dynamic kitchen draws on global culinary traditions, using the fruits of the Esalen Farm & Garden and other local 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 over the Pacific Ocean, a juxtaposition of intimate and infinite. A core part of Esalen from its inception, they’re an ideal place to reflect, find clarity, and set new intentions.

The artist is essentially a channel. — Piet Mondrian

Explore the nature of creativity — what fuels it, where it comes from, and how we live with it. Is inspiration something we receive from beyond or something we shape from within? Do artists create, channel, or both?

In this workshop, we will consider the creative process not only as a soaring flight of inspiration, but also as a grounded practice of returning, refining, and working with what lands. Through meditation, movement, writing, and dialogue, we’ll explore the terrain where art, channeling, and creation intersect. We will build upon William James’ notion that our stream of consciousness alternates between flights and perchings.

Together, we will:

• Delve into the latest neuroscientific studies that explain what happens during experiences of insight and flow.
• Discuss parallels between artists and mediums — from Jack Kerouac and Zora Neale Hurston to Edgar Cayce and Helena Blavatsky.
• Investigate techniques for overcoming blocks to creativity.
• Engage in movement and meditation practices and for creativity.
• Develop our personal “creativity lotus” by sampling multisensory activities as well as expressive writing and drawing.

This workshop holds space for those curious about the origins of creativity and for those who want to engage more fully with how inspiration appears — and disappears — in the rhythm of a creative life.

Somewhere inside you — buried deeply, or maybe just below the surface — there is a story you’ve been wanting to tell. Like every great story, the creative process follows an arc: a beginning where inspiration stirs, a middle where challenges arise, and a resolution where something new takes shape. This workshop is an opportunity to explore that arc — both in your storytelling and in yourself — through movement, mindfulness, and writing.

Through carefully curated practices, we invite you to step into your creative flow with curiosity and openness. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just beginning to explore your voice, this space is for you.

During this weeklong experience, we will step away from our daily routines and immerse ourselves in the open air of Esalen. You will have the opportunity to move your body, find your breath, observe your mind, and engage with your words in a new way. Writing sessions will offer guidance and gentle encouragement to move past fear, explore your creative edges, and deepen your connection to storytelling.

This workshop will include:

• Journaling and creative writing exercises to explore the arc of your personal story
• Creative pathways to support in discovering and shaping your narrative
• Hatha-inspired yoga movement and Yoga Nidra practices to invite the connection of body, mind, and intuition
• A supportive and playful community to nurture your creative process

As educators, storytellers, and lifelong learners, Darnell and Cara believe in the power of storytelling and movement to awaken creativity. Just as every story unfolds in its own way, so too does our creative path. This workshop is an invitation to explore that unfolding, to experiment with new creative practices, and to discover what feels most alive for you. You will be encouraged to develop techniques and rituals that support your creativity, with the possibility of weaving them into your daily life in ways that feel natural and sustainable.