Esalen Video Shorts

This December, creative healing practitioner and executive coach Didier Sylvain returns to Esalen for a week-long workshop, Seeding Self-Renewal. His workshop, co-faciliated with ceremonial artist, Chun-mui Miller is designed to help seekers meet the moment with courage and clarity. With practices that weave together guided inquiry, movement, breath, ritual, and community connection, participants explore longings, fears, and the deeper truths waiting to emerge. Rooted in the power of nature, ceremony, and vulnerable community, this immersive week offers space to release old patterns and reconnect with inner guidance.

Dr. Hazel-Grace Yates is a somatic educator and relationship coach who specializes in helping people stay connected when communication feels hard. Her Art of Repair framework offers a clear, compassionate approach to addressing conflict with presence and care. In this short video, she introduces her six-step REPAIR process, a practical tool for rebuilding trust and strengthening relationships.

Musician Shahzad Ismaily continues to be deeply passionate about his three-decade musical journey, sharing joy and playfulness with every collaborator along the way. From projects with Sam Smith and Feist to Lou Reed, each connection enriches his artistry and spirit. This mutual exchange of inspiration makes every encounter a two-way journey, as one where both musician and collaborator grow, learn, and discover together. Whether through sound or silence, the essence of companionship and shared experience lies at the heart of his music.

Laugh, play, and awaken your inner child with Laraaji and Arji! This dynamic duo has created an experiential journey that helps people tune into what they truly want to allow in their lives — through movement, chanting, laughter, and sound. Join Laraaji and Arji this December for Laughter, Sound, and Consciousness.

All of us who descend down the hill to experience Esalen come here for a variety of personal reasons. We spoke with a few Esalen faculty and Esalen board members about how their journey and time here have impacted their lives and led toward greater collective experiences.

This multimedia lecture explores the earlier history of the Esalen Institute, specifically 1970's through the 1980s, as American culture underwent tumultuous social and political changes.

During the pivotal period of the 1960's, Esalen emerged as a hub for the pursuit of human potential and the exploration of the self. Against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the rise of hippie counterculture, and the subsequent shifts into the 1970s and the Reagan-era 80's, Esalen remained proudly unique and wide-ranging in its focus. From parapsychology to Rolfing to Gestalt Therapy for Dentists, no topic was left unexamined. Marathon encounter groups, The Zen of Tennis, and Creative Divorce all had their place alongside more traditional inquiries into psychology, spiritual practice, and self-development. Central to this exploration was Esalen's "No One Captures the Flag" ethos, ensuring that no single ideology or belief system would dominate the discourse, allowing a diversity of thought to flourish.

Through Esalen’s storied archival photos and video, we’ll examine how Esalen navigated a changing social landscape, fostering a vibrant community that embraced the strange and the unconventional while still reflecting the institute's commitment to exploring the frontiers of human experience. We will analyze how Esalen's pursuit of the "Future of the Body" and its exploration of feminism, California culture, and geopolitical conflict resolution contributed to its enduring legacy.

Sam Stern is a Senior Content Creator at Esalen Institute and the host of the "Voices of Esalen" podcast, a deep-dive interview program focused on Human Potential with over 1 million downloads to date. The unofficial historian of all things Esalen, Sam is fascinated by the future, and teaches weekly about AI and Creativity at Esalen. He is a cum laude graduate of Brown University, '99, and received his MFA in Critical Studies and Integrated Media from CalArts, '05.