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.
past workshop

Fear of Dopeness: Surrendering to Your Own Greatness

March 16–20, 2026

Didier Sylvain

Your crown has been bought and paid for. All you have to do is put it on. — James Baldwin

Most people don’t actually fear failure; they fear their own brilliance. In this weeklong journey, we’ll explore how subtle self-sabotage, shrinking, and doubt prevent us from claiming our gifts. Through coherence coaching, embodied exercises, and radical self-honesty, you’ll discover the courage to live as the powerful being you already are.

Participants will:

  • Engage in guided movement and meditation to release constriction and embody expansive power.
  • Use reflective journaling prompts to surface patterns of self-betrayal and write new declarations of possibility.
  • Practice storytelling and peer coaching circles that mirror back wholeness, strengths, and hidden capacities.
  • Enter creative play exercises to rehearse new ways of showing up boldly.
  • Make commitments to sustained daily practices that anchor your dopeness as a lifestyle.

When we embrace our greatness, we move beyond fear into freedom, clarity, and contribution. You’ll receive practical tools and experience a supportive community for the embodied confidence to live your dopeness with courage and joy.

Didier Sylvain

Didier Sylvain is a multidisciplinary facilitator, executive coach, somatic practitioner, writer, and musician whose work blends embodied practice, creative depth, and transformational inquiry to help people and groups move with greater attunement, aliveness, and purpose.

Full Bio