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

Fundamentals of Esalen® Massage

November 28–30, 2025

Nora Matten and Whitney Bell

This workshop is a perfect opportunity for you to enjoy the natural beauty of Esalen’s land while gaining a foundation in Esalen® Massage. Senior teachers and staff will guide you in this experience of connection and presence translated to the massage table.

Through lecture, demonstration and practice with your fellow students, you  will be introduced to the essentials, including quality of touch, rapport, a respect for our natural impulse toward healing, and mindful body mechanics. You will listen to what is felt as well as what is said. You will learn how to comfortably drape and apply the foundational long, intentional strokes and gentle stretches. You will have plenty of time for guided practice and to effectively share your experience. At the end of the weekend, you will be able to give a simple massage to friends and family back home.

Esalen massage promotes feelings of wholeness and reconnects us with our natural state of being. Teaching tools include experiential exercises to awaken the senses, demonstrations, and tableside guidance appropriate for you. The class will enjoy an optional evening in the hot tubs, birthplace of Esalen® Massage. The class is appropriate for the new and curious as well as the professional who would like to rejuvenate their senses and the quality of their touch.

Nora Matten

Nora is passionate about teaching people to come more deeply into contact with themselves and others through the art of touching with presence, sensitivity and listening hands. She draws on twenty-three years of exploring body, mind, heart and soul as an Esalen® Massage practitioner and international teacher with focus on massage and embodiment.

Full Bio

Whitney Bell

Whitney Bell, a bodywork practitioner, educator, and Gestalt facilitator has practiced Massage and related healing modalities for over fifteen years.  As a backcountry snowboarder and Esalen community member, she integrates her experiences in somatic awareness, and her love for the mountains into her teaching.

Full Bio