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.
past workshop

American Detox: How to Heal in a Toxic World

October 27–31, 2025

Kerri Kelly

We are living through a polycrisis — a time of profound unraveling and emergence. Old systems and structures are collapsing while new possibilities stir beneath the surface. This shift isn’t just happening “out there.” It is alive within each of us, inviting us to transform inherited stories into new ways of being, relating, and belonging.

American Detox is a bold and embodied exploration of how we’ve been shaped by history, trauma, and culture and what it’s going to take to heal. Based on the critically acclaimed book by Kerri Kelly, this journey invites us to challenge the myths that have shaped our reality — separation, supremacy, and scarcity — so that we can move toward personal and collective wholeness. Through dynamic movement, radical inquiry, and creative engagement, we will:

  • Unlearn limiting beliefs, inherited stories, and toxic patterns of being and doing.
  • Explore transformative practices that move energy, disrupt patterns, and metabolize trauma.
  • Build greater capacity and resilience for the discomfort of change and the uncertainty of (im)possible futures.
  • Cultivate an everyday practice of collective care that ensures all of us can be well.
  • Reimagine ways of being, doing, surviving, and thriving together.

We are being called to rise to the occasion — to take stock of what is no longer serving us so that we can step into our full power and potential. This retreat is designed to facilitate just that — an awakening of the mind, body, and spirit that enables us to meet this moment and shape the future that we all deserve.

This workshop offers a limited number of faculty scholarships, including various room options to accommodate different financial capabilities. Please consider your social location and proximity to privilege when requesting scholarship/support to ensure equitable access. Link to financial assistance form. If you would like further financial assistance, you may also apply for an Esalen Scholarship.

Kerri Kelly

A  movement artist, wellness activist, and author of the book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for politicizing wellness and bridging personal transformation with collective change.

Full Bio