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

Community of Selves

August 25–29, 2025

Andrea Juhan and Kathy Altman

There is an inner community inside of us: a community of selves. Some have a voice, and some are quiet. Some are known through sensation, emotion, and thought. Other selves have agendas, advice, and accusations.

Each of these selves has a history, an emotional state, and a felt sense in the body. Each represents a particular aspect or part of our (mostly) Unified Self. This weekend, we’ll notice our habitual reflexes, our “go-to” responses both on and off the dance floor. We’ll learn to find our inner selves and build our capacity to access the most useful ones for any given moment.

In mindful movement, we can substantiate selves that have been hiding or cast out. We can learn to calm the selves that work overtime, find unknown selves, and embody a self we have been waiting to become.

Andrea and Kathy facilitate a dynamic, non-judgmental, well-informed dance playground embodying these inner conversations. This practice is not only fun and awakening; the creativity of movement illuminates new possibilities and choices. Exploring distinct parts of our personalities can help illuminate all that is held within.

Andrea Juhan

Andrea Junan is a licensed psychotherapist with a PhD in Dance/Movement Therapy. She is fascinated by the journey of becoming an attuned, skillful inhabitant of a human body. Her embodiment approach is channeled through bodywork, yoga, dance, psychotherapy, meditation, professional trainings, academic programs, and constant dedicated practice.

Full Bio

Kathy Altman

Kathy Altman, co-founder of Open Floor International, has taught conscious dance worldwide for over 40 years. She empowers authentic expression, emotional resilience, and community building through embodied movement, fostering health and creativity in life and on the dance floor.

Full Bio