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

Lessons in Liberation: Power, Surrender, and Choice

September 8–12, 2025

Betty Martin and Marcia Baczynski

Power without surrender is force. Surrender without power is collapse. True freedom comes from knowing how to embody both.

BDSM is often misunderstood as only rough sex or kink, but at its core, it’s the consensual exploration of power dynamics. It can include play with dominance and submission, sensation, and restraint — but ultimately, it’s about trust, communication, and the courage to feel deeply.

In this experiential workshop, we’ll explore power and surrender as embodied states, not just ideas. Using the Wheel of Consent® as our foundation, we’ll uncover how these dynamics show up in our desires, boundaries, and interactions. Through guided exercises, movement, and deep noticing, you’ll gain tools to navigate these energies with clarity and confidence — in erotic and everyday contexts.

You’ll be invited to:

  • Engage in structured practices to embody power, surrender, and choice.
  • Explore the emotions, sensations, and meanings behind these states.
  • Use breath, sound, and movement to expand your awareness.
  • Practice dynamics like take/allow, serve/accept, and lead/follow.
  • Discover how power and surrender can bring connection, agency, and pleasure.
  • Develop a deeper trust in yourself — unafraid of power, unafraid of surrender, and ready to claim both.

This workshop is somatic and participatory, with options to learn through touch and simple props like rope or blindfolds. All participation is optional — your consent always leads the way.

Please Note: This workshop will not include:

  • Nudity
  • Sexual activity
  • BDSM technique tutorials
  • Anything you do not enthusiastically consent to

Recommended reading: The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent, by Betty Martin

Betty Martin

Dr. Betty Martin has had her hands on people professionally for over 40 years, as a chiropractor, a certified surrogate partner, and a somatic sex educator. Her explorations in somatic-based therapy informed her creation of The Wheel of Consent®.

Full Bio

Marcia Baczynski

Marcia Baczynski is a coach, educator and facilitator, focusing on sexual communication, boundaries, consent, and desire. Marcia is the co-author of Creating Consent Culture: A Handbook for Educators and teaching faculty at the School of Consent and Shakti Shiva Academy.

Full Bio