Looking ahead to April 2023, spring births opportunities for renewal — a shift away from the cold stillness of winter into the inspiration of new beginnings. As the chill recedes, and the layers peel away, slough off the extra and create space for what you’re ready to focus on as some of our most popular teachers and courses return. Esalen's April workshops offer the tools and teachings to help you flourish and bloom.
Nourishing Life: Embodying the Five Phases of Chinese Medicine, April 3–7, 2023 with Jiling Lin
Our bodies reflect the natural world. The Five Phases of Chinese medicine (wu xing 五行) mirror our inner and outer terrain, reflecting our bodies, seasons, life cycles, and more. Embody the Five Phases through yoga asana, intuitive movement, creative expression, and nature connection. Experience how the Five Phases manifest within and around you. Personalize your Nourishing Life (yang sheng 養生) practices, adapt to changing seasonal rhythms, and come home to the wild beauty of your inner radiance.
The Heart of Who We Are: Personal Freedom and Collective Change, April 3–7, 2023 with Caverly Morgan
Join us on a journey that takes us from the personal to the collective. Explore how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative technologies designed for the realization of personal freedom can be applied collectively. Our daily meditation practice will serve as a framework onto which we weave teachings, personal reflections, solo and group exercises, as well as opportunities for discussions that inspire us to put values into action.
Yoga, Myth, and Inquiry: Opening to Possibility, April 7–9, 2023 with Hannah Muse
With enchanting storytelling woven into sessions of movement and inquiry, this yoga workshop offers a unique and playful opportunity to commune with the deeper aspects of self. This nourishing weekend will be a celebration of the deities and lore that promise new beginnings, balanced harmoniously with relaxing meals, community connection, and soaks in Esalen’s healing baths.
Inner Work for the Outer World, April 7–10, 2023 with Shelly Tygielski and Yolanda Ruiz
The best version of the world begins with the best version of each of us. Learn the tools you need to bridge the gap between the inner and outer world in a tangible way so that you can show up for this life fully and in your greatest totality. Interactive guided meditation, creative journaling, narrative healing techniques, mindfulness tools, and more can help us understand how to heal our personal and generational wounds — and lead us to directly address the problems of our world.
Primordial Qigong: Vibrant Health, Harmony with the Tao, April 9–14, 2023 with Kenneth Cohen
Enjoy learning all 12 movements of the Hunyuan (Primordial) Qigong system from Ken Cohen, one of the most respected qigong grandmasters in the world today. This comprehensive system of meditative energy exercises improves posture and breathing, purges the body of toxic or stagnant qi, clears the major acupuncture meridians, and teaches you how to gather and absorb qi from nature and the cosmos. Primordial Qigong is a key to vibrant well-being, resilience, and longevity.
Open Floor Movement: Community of Selves, April 10–14, 2023 with Andrea Juhan
There is an inner community inside of us, a community of selves. Some have a voice, and some are quiet. 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 facilitates a dynamic, non-judgmental, well-informed dance playground to embody these inner conversations.
Role Mate to Soul Mate: The Art and Discipline of Love, April 14–17, 2023 with Warren Farrell
Soul Mate opens with learning the practice of appreciating your partner with such specificity that it refills your reservoir of love. Couples then practice a method of hearing criticism without becoming defensive. For example, so you don’t have to fear “walking on eggshells” before sharing a concern, you and your partner learn how to emotionally associate criticism with an opportunity to be more deeply loved. Couples take home a concrete practice, and are invited to free group follow-up Zoom calls to reinforce it.
Esalen® Massage For Couples and Friends, April 14–16, 2023 with Dean Marson and Robin Fann-Costanzo
The rhythm of nearby ocean waves inspired the flowing pace of Esalen Massage. Methods include: Connection to the earth, self, and massage partner; an emphasis on presence rather than fixing; respect for our natural impulse toward health and healing. Participants learn optimal body mechanics and how to sense into the body and encourage release of tension. They also learn to receive. The effects of this exchange reach deep, repairing old wounds and awakening our joyful vitality.
Awakening the Creative: The Painting Experience, April 16–21, 2023 with Stewart Cubley
Through listening to your intuition — the color that calls to you; the placement of the brush on the paper; the shape, the form, and the image that wants to be born — process painting invites you to touch the essence of your own unique expression. Whether you are a veteran painter or picking up a paintbrush for the first time, this experience will be about the creative process rather than technique, training, or expertise.
Welcoming Spring with Fresh, Fun, and Renewing Yoga, April 21–23, 2023 with Ulrika Engman
Winter sluggishness, begone! Kick your heels up and welcome the spirit of renewal with this fresh, fun, cleansing yoga workshop for springtime. Usher out the cold remnants of last season lingering in your body with energizing movements, prana pulsing, coconut oil joint rejuvenation, simple chi activation, the art and science of dry brushing for healthy skin, and tension-clearing yoga.
Big Sur Wilderness Experience: Springtime, April 24–28, 2023 with Steven Harper and Gary Marcoccia
Participants in this weeklong workshop will venture out into the emerging springtime magnificence of Big Sur on day-hikes between four to eight miles. Steven and Gary will draw from a wide range of contemporary and age-old wisdom traditions, borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido, and the natural sciences to weave together a holistic experience of self and the natural world.
Graceful Exit: Preparing for a Good Death, April 28 – May 1, 2023 with Andrew Holecek
With preparation, we can work to transcend death, turning the greatest obstacle into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, stretching to attain enlightenment. This workshop offers a wide array of resources and teachings to help participants address that final unfinished business and make the most out of every moment that comes before it. Join us as we celebrate the preciousness of life, and ready ourselves and others for this final journey.
Are you looking to immerse yourself in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus without the structure of a workshop? We've recently opened dates in April 2023 for Self-Guided Explorations.
Ready to renew and jumpstart your metamorphosis? These exciting upcoming programs still have openings. Reserve now before they fill up!
We have even more workshops for healing and self-exploration. Enroll now, or join our waitlist!
Microdosing: The Safe, Surprising, and Emerging Psychedelic Frontier, January 14, 2023 with James Fadiman and Adam Bramlage
In the wake of America’s psychedelics prohibition and the dismantling of this nation’s War on Drugs, there are exciting, life-changing plant medicine conversations happening here at Esalen. Join legendary psychedelics researcher and the father of the modern microdosing movement, James Fadiman, PhD, and microdosing educator and coach Adam Bramlage as they teach live from Esalen Institute in Big Sur. Together we will learn about the most current and best practices for microdosing psychedelics and plant medicine.
What would happen if you pressed pause on your everyday life and gave yourself four full weeks to evolve and transform at Esalen? If you’re ready to take the LEEP, we’re accepting applications for these exciting programs.
The Essence of Esalen: Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit, Community, December 17, 2022 – January 13, 2023 with Sadia Bruce, J.J. Jeffries, Cara Chandler, Douglas Drummond
Introducing a signature Esalen experience of personal growth and embodiment through community building. Take a month to lean into the richness and diversity of Esalen homegrown programming infused by Esalen’s history and current culture. In addition to working in service operationally, and within the behind the scenes departments of Esalen, drop into workshop classes designed to support the process of healing, transformation, and joy. Experience Gestalt Awareness Practice, Esalen-style “check-ins”, breathwork, yoga, inspirational writing practices, 5Rhythms dance, and more!
Becoming Fully Alive through Yoga, Conscious Dance, and Sound Meditation, January 14 – February 10, 2023 with Jovinna Chan
When we choose to live in a way that generates aliveness and compassion, our own evolution holds the potential to help change the world. Choose to nurture and unleash your own fulfillment and well-being through the embodiment practices of yoga, dance, and sound meditation. Together we will carefully cultivate the clarity and courage to transmute the limiting beliefs and patterns that dampen life force, creating space for deeper love, awareness, vitality, and creativity.
True Self Mastery: The Art and Practice of Living Well, February 11 – March 10, 2023 with Anne Van de Water
It is possible to cultivate a new path of true self mastery, practicing the art of living well as your true self, aligned with your full potential no matter what you have been through. Through a blend of coaching, embodiment practices, self-inquiry, guided visualization, and sharing, we will first uncover your innermost true self, and then support you in manifesting that being into reality.
The Essence of Esalen: Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit, Community, March 11 – April 7, 2023 with Sadia Bruce, J.J. Jeffries, Cara Chandler, Douglas Drummond
Introducing a signature Esalen experience of personal growth and embodiment through community building. Take a month to lean into the richness and diversity of Esalen homegrown programming infused by Esalen’s history and current culture. In addition to working in service operationally, and within the behind the scenes departments of Esalen, drop into workshop classes designed to support the process of healing, transformation, and joy. Experience Gestalt Awareness Practice, Esalen-style “check-ins”, breathwork, yoga, inspirational writing practices, 5Rhythms dance, and more!
“Remembering to be as self compassionate as I can and praying to the divine that we're all a part of.”
–Aaron
“Prayer, reading, meditation, walking.”
–Karen
“Erratically — which is an ongoing stream of practice to find peace.”
–Charles
“Try on a daily basis to be kind to myself and to realize that making mistakes is a part of the human condition. Learning from our mistakes is a journey. But it starts with compassion and caring. First for oneself.”
–Steve
“Physically: aerobic exercise, volleyball, ice hockey, cycling, sailing. Emotionally: unfortunately I have to work to ‘not care’ about people or situations which may end painfully. Along the lines of ‘attachment is the source of suffering’, so best to avoid it or limit its scope. Sad though because it could also be the source of great joy. Is it worth the risk?“
–Rainer
“It's time for my heart to be nurtured on one level yet contained on another. To go easy on me and to allow my feelings to be validated, not judged harshly. On the other hand, to let the heart rule with equanimity and not lead the mind and body around like a master.”
–Suzanne
“I spend time thinking of everything I am grateful for, and I try to develop my ability to express compassion for myself and others without reservation. I take time to do the things I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy. This includes taking experiential workshops, fostering relationships, and participating within groups which have a similar interest to become a more compassionate and fulfilled being.“
–Peter
“Self-forgiveness for my own judgments. And oh yeah, coming to Esalen.”
–David B.
“Hmm, this is a tough one! I guess I take care of my heart through fostering relationships with people I feel connected to. Spending quality time with them (whether we're on the phone, through messages/letters, on Zoom, or in-person). Being there for them, listening to them, sharing what's going on with me, my struggles and my successes... like we do in the Esalen weekly Friends of Esalen Zoom sessions!”
–Lori
“I remind myself in many ways of the fact that " Love is all there is!" LOVE is the prize and this one precious life is the stage we get to learn our lessons. I get out into nature, hike, camp, river kayak, fly fish, garden, I create, I dance (not enough!), and I remain grateful for each day, each breath, each moment. Being in the moment, awake, and remembering the gift of life and my feeling of gratitude for all of creation.”
–Steven
“My physical heart by limiting stress and eating a heart-healthy diet. My emotional heart by staying in love with the world and by knowing that all disappointment and loss will pass.“
–David Z.
Today, September 29, is World Heart Day. Strike up a conversation with your own heart and as you feel comfortable, encourage others to do the same. As part of our own transformations and self-care, we sometimes ask for others to illuminate and enliven our hearts or speak our love language.
What if we could do this for ourselves too, even if just for today… or to start a heart practice, forever?
If you’ve always wanted to visit Esalen but couldn’t find the room in your budget, do you know about our scholarship program?
Looking ahead to April 2023, spring births opportunities for renewal — a shift away from the cold stillness of winter into the inspiration of new beginnings. As the chill recedes, and the layers peel away, slough off the extra and create space for what you’re ready to focus on as some of our most popular teachers and courses return. Esalen's April workshops offer the tools and teachings to help you flourish and bloom.
Nourishing Life: Embodying the Five Phases of Chinese Medicine, April 3–7, 2023 with Jiling Lin
Our bodies reflect the natural world. The Five Phases of Chinese medicine (wu xing 五行) mirror our inner and outer terrain, reflecting our bodies, seasons, life cycles, and more. Embody the Five Phases through yoga asana, intuitive movement, creative expression, and nature connection. Experience how the Five Phases manifest within and around you. Personalize your Nourishing Life (yang sheng 養生) practices, adapt to changing seasonal rhythms, and come home to the wild beauty of your inner radiance.
The Heart of Who We Are: Personal Freedom and Collective Change, April 3–7, 2023 with Caverly Morgan
Join us on a journey that takes us from the personal to the collective. Explore how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative technologies designed for the realization of personal freedom can be applied collectively. Our daily meditation practice will serve as a framework onto which we weave teachings, personal reflections, solo and group exercises, as well as opportunities for discussions that inspire us to put values into action.
Yoga, Myth, and Inquiry: Opening to Possibility, April 7–9, 2023 with Hannah Muse
With enchanting storytelling woven into sessions of movement and inquiry, this yoga workshop offers a unique and playful opportunity to commune with the deeper aspects of self. This nourishing weekend will be a celebration of the deities and lore that promise new beginnings, balanced harmoniously with relaxing meals, community connection, and soaks in Esalen’s healing baths.
Inner Work for the Outer World, April 7–10, 2023 with Shelly Tygielski and Yolanda Ruiz
The best version of the world begins with the best version of each of us. Learn the tools you need to bridge the gap between the inner and outer world in a tangible way so that you can show up for this life fully and in your greatest totality. Interactive guided meditation, creative journaling, narrative healing techniques, mindfulness tools, and more can help us understand how to heal our personal and generational wounds — and lead us to directly address the problems of our world.
Primordial Qigong: Vibrant Health, Harmony with the Tao, April 9–14, 2023 with Kenneth Cohen
Enjoy learning all 12 movements of the Hunyuan (Primordial) Qigong system from Ken Cohen, one of the most respected qigong grandmasters in the world today. This comprehensive system of meditative energy exercises improves posture and breathing, purges the body of toxic or stagnant qi, clears the major acupuncture meridians, and teaches you how to gather and absorb qi from nature and the cosmos. Primordial Qigong is a key to vibrant well-being, resilience, and longevity.
Open Floor Movement: Community of Selves, April 10–14, 2023 with Andrea Juhan
There is an inner community inside of us, a community of selves. Some have a voice, and some are quiet. 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 facilitates a dynamic, non-judgmental, well-informed dance playground to embody these inner conversations.
Role Mate to Soul Mate: The Art and Discipline of Love, April 14–17, 2023 with Warren Farrell
Soul Mate opens with learning the practice of appreciating your partner with such specificity that it refills your reservoir of love. Couples then practice a method of hearing criticism without becoming defensive. For example, so you don’t have to fear “walking on eggshells” before sharing a concern, you and your partner learn how to emotionally associate criticism with an opportunity to be more deeply loved. Couples take home a concrete practice, and are invited to free group follow-up Zoom calls to reinforce it.
Esalen® Massage For Couples and Friends, April 14–16, 2023 with Dean Marson and Robin Fann-Costanzo
The rhythm of nearby ocean waves inspired the flowing pace of Esalen Massage. Methods include: Connection to the earth, self, and massage partner; an emphasis on presence rather than fixing; respect for our natural impulse toward health and healing. Participants learn optimal body mechanics and how to sense into the body and encourage release of tension. They also learn to receive. The effects of this exchange reach deep, repairing old wounds and awakening our joyful vitality.
Awakening the Creative: The Painting Experience, April 16–21, 2023 with Stewart Cubley
Through listening to your intuition — the color that calls to you; the placement of the brush on the paper; the shape, the form, and the image that wants to be born — process painting invites you to touch the essence of your own unique expression. Whether you are a veteran painter or picking up a paintbrush for the first time, this experience will be about the creative process rather than technique, training, or expertise.
Welcoming Spring with Fresh, Fun, and Renewing Yoga, April 21–23, 2023 with Ulrika Engman
Winter sluggishness, begone! Kick your heels up and welcome the spirit of renewal with this fresh, fun, cleansing yoga workshop for springtime. Usher out the cold remnants of last season lingering in your body with energizing movements, prana pulsing, coconut oil joint rejuvenation, simple chi activation, the art and science of dry brushing for healthy skin, and tension-clearing yoga.
Big Sur Wilderness Experience: Springtime, April 24–28, 2023 with Steven Harper and Gary Marcoccia
Participants in this weeklong workshop will venture out into the emerging springtime magnificence of Big Sur on day-hikes between four to eight miles. Steven and Gary will draw from a wide range of contemporary and age-old wisdom traditions, borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido, and the natural sciences to weave together a holistic experience of self and the natural world.
Graceful Exit: Preparing for a Good Death, April 28 – May 1, 2023 with Andrew Holecek
With preparation, we can work to transcend death, turning the greatest obstacle into a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, stretching to attain enlightenment. This workshop offers a wide array of resources and teachings to help participants address that final unfinished business and make the most out of every moment that comes before it. Join us as we celebrate the preciousness of life, and ready ourselves and others for this final journey.
Are you looking to immerse yourself in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus without the structure of a workshop? We've recently opened dates in April 2023 for Self-Guided Explorations.
Ready to renew and jumpstart your metamorphosis? These exciting upcoming programs still have openings. Reserve now before they fill up!
We have even more workshops for healing and self-exploration. Enroll now, or join our waitlist!
Microdosing: The Safe, Surprising, and Emerging Psychedelic Frontier, January 14, 2023 with James Fadiman and Adam Bramlage
In the wake of America’s psychedelics prohibition and the dismantling of this nation’s War on Drugs, there are exciting, life-changing plant medicine conversations happening here at Esalen. Join legendary psychedelics researcher and the father of the modern microdosing movement, James Fadiman, PhD, and microdosing educator and coach Adam Bramlage as they teach live from Esalen Institute in Big Sur. Together we will learn about the most current and best practices for microdosing psychedelics and plant medicine.
What would happen if you pressed pause on your everyday life and gave yourself four full weeks to evolve and transform at Esalen? If you’re ready to take the LEEP, we’re accepting applications for these exciting programs.
The Essence of Esalen: Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit, Community, December 17, 2022 – January 13, 2023 with Sadia Bruce, J.J. Jeffries, Cara Chandler, Douglas Drummond
Introducing a signature Esalen experience of personal growth and embodiment through community building. Take a month to lean into the richness and diversity of Esalen homegrown programming infused by Esalen’s history and current culture. In addition to working in service operationally, and within the behind the scenes departments of Esalen, drop into workshop classes designed to support the process of healing, transformation, and joy. Experience Gestalt Awareness Practice, Esalen-style “check-ins”, breathwork, yoga, inspirational writing practices, 5Rhythms dance, and more!
Becoming Fully Alive through Yoga, Conscious Dance, and Sound Meditation, January 14 – February 10, 2023 with Jovinna Chan
When we choose to live in a way that generates aliveness and compassion, our own evolution holds the potential to help change the world. Choose to nurture and unleash your own fulfillment and well-being through the embodiment practices of yoga, dance, and sound meditation. Together we will carefully cultivate the clarity and courage to transmute the limiting beliefs and patterns that dampen life force, creating space for deeper love, awareness, vitality, and creativity.
True Self Mastery: The Art and Practice of Living Well, February 11 – March 10, 2023 with Anne Van de Water
It is possible to cultivate a new path of true self mastery, practicing the art of living well as your true self, aligned with your full potential no matter what you have been through. Through a blend of coaching, embodiment practices, self-inquiry, guided visualization, and sharing, we will first uncover your innermost true self, and then support you in manifesting that being into reality.
The Essence of Esalen: Heart, Mind, Body, Spirit, Community, March 11 – April 7, 2023 with Sadia Bruce, J.J. Jeffries, Cara Chandler, Douglas Drummond
Introducing a signature Esalen experience of personal growth and embodiment through community building. Take a month to lean into the richness and diversity of Esalen homegrown programming infused by Esalen’s history and current culture. In addition to working in service operationally, and within the behind the scenes departments of Esalen, drop into workshop classes designed to support the process of healing, transformation, and joy. Experience Gestalt Awareness Practice, Esalen-style “check-ins”, breathwork, yoga, inspirational writing practices, 5Rhythms dance, and more!
“Remembering to be as self compassionate as I can and praying to the divine that we're all a part of.”
–Aaron
“Prayer, reading, meditation, walking.”
–Karen
“Erratically — which is an ongoing stream of practice to find peace.”
–Charles
“Try on a daily basis to be kind to myself and to realize that making mistakes is a part of the human condition. Learning from our mistakes is a journey. But it starts with compassion and caring. First for oneself.”
–Steve
“Physically: aerobic exercise, volleyball, ice hockey, cycling, sailing. Emotionally: unfortunately I have to work to ‘not care’ about people or situations which may end painfully. Along the lines of ‘attachment is the source of suffering’, so best to avoid it or limit its scope. Sad though because it could also be the source of great joy. Is it worth the risk?“
–Rainer
“It's time for my heart to be nurtured on one level yet contained on another. To go easy on me and to allow my feelings to be validated, not judged harshly. On the other hand, to let the heart rule with equanimity and not lead the mind and body around like a master.”
–Suzanne
“I spend time thinking of everything I am grateful for, and I try to develop my ability to express compassion for myself and others without reservation. I take time to do the things I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy. This includes taking experiential workshops, fostering relationships, and participating within groups which have a similar interest to become a more compassionate and fulfilled being.“
–Peter
“Self-forgiveness for my own judgments. And oh yeah, coming to Esalen.”
–David B.
“Hmm, this is a tough one! I guess I take care of my heart through fostering relationships with people I feel connected to. Spending quality time with them (whether we're on the phone, through messages/letters, on Zoom, or in-person). Being there for them, listening to them, sharing what's going on with me, my struggles and my successes... like we do in the Esalen weekly Friends of Esalen Zoom sessions!”
–Lori
“I remind myself in many ways of the fact that " Love is all there is!" LOVE is the prize and this one precious life is the stage we get to learn our lessons. I get out into nature, hike, camp, river kayak, fly fish, garden, I create, I dance (not enough!), and I remain grateful for each day, each breath, each moment. Being in the moment, awake, and remembering the gift of life and my feeling of gratitude for all of creation.”
–Steven
“My physical heart by limiting stress and eating a heart-healthy diet. My emotional heart by staying in love with the world and by knowing that all disappointment and loss will pass.“
–David Z.
Today, September 29, is World Heart Day. Strike up a conversation with your own heart and as you feel comfortable, encourage others to do the same. As part of our own transformations and self-care, we sometimes ask for others to illuminate and enliven our hearts or speak our love language.
What if we could do this for ourselves too, even if just for today… or to start a heart practice, forever?
If you’ve always wanted to visit Esalen but couldn’t find the room in your budget, do you know about our scholarship program?
Looking ahead to April 2023, spring births opportunities for renewal — a shift away from the cold stillness of winter into the inspiration of new beginnings. As the chill recedes, and the layers peel away, slough off the extra and create space for what you’re ready to focus on as some of our most popular teachers and courses return. Esalen's April workshops offer the tools and teachings to help you flourish and bloom.
If you’ve always wanted to visit Esalen but couldn’t find the room in your budget, do you know about our scholarship program?
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org