Esalen has reopened effective Monday, March 27! CalTrans is authorizing local residents and registered guests of Esalen to pass through the Road Closed sign as a “soft” closure is still in place to the north of us, while crews complete road work. A hard closure boundary, meaning no public traffic permitted, is still in effect just south of Esalen.
Please plan to arrive between 2:00pm and 5:00pm. You will need to notify the CA Highway Patrol officer at the closure barricade that you are staying at Esalen Institute. All workshops and programming will continue this week as scheduled.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we manage through these weather challenges, and look forward to welcoming you to Esalen!
Our approach is one of working with each other as human beings, meeting in the present moment, listening, loving, and responding to what emerges naturally. Our practitioners strive to empower you to regain a sense of harmony and to awaken inner resources for healing.
Because all of our massage sessions, visitor passes, and alternative services tend to sell out, we recommend booking your sessions at least three weeks in advance.
An Esalen Massage is an inward journey rather than a therapeutic treatment. Through long strokes, a slow pace, and pauses, you are invited to return to your natural state of balance and alignment. Transformation occurs not through deep-tissue work but rather through an active participation between giver and receiver. As your practitioner’s hands direct your attention, this awareness evokes relaxation and change. Then your practitioner can apply deeper, more specific work as needed. The massage developed here at the hot springs recognizes that the body releases into pleasurable sensation. The body and mind are one.
An Esalen Massage is an inward journey rather than a therapeutic treatment. Through long strokes, a slow pace, and pauses, you are invited to return to your natural state of balance and alignment. Transformation occurs not through deep-tissue work but rather through an active participation between giver and receiver. As your practitioner’s hands direct your attention, this awareness evokes relaxation and change. Then your practitioner can apply deeper, more specific work as needed. The massage developed here at the hot springs recognizes that the body releases into pleasurable sensation. The body and mind are one.
Esalen Massage® is best described as the meeting and merging of form, energy, structure, and soul. With its nurturing contact, long strokes, and detailed attention to the whole body, an Esalen Massage provides a state of deep relaxation and healing. Our holistic modality, designed to enhance awareness and balance, achieves therapeutic effects without deep-tissue techniques.
Practitioners combine a full-bodied presence with slow, focused muscle work to release everyday stresses, still the mind, and leave you feeling integrated and relaxed. They are dedicated to connecting deeply with each client, and can usually accommodate specific requests and preferences.
Our sessions strive to empower you to regain a sense of harmony and to awaken inner resources for healing. It is not unusual for us to hear, "That was the most amazing massage I've ever received."
Massage sessions are 75 minutes long and take place in semi-private rooms at the Esalen baths. Weather permitting, massages may also take place outside on the upper deck.
75 minutes / $230*
Sessions are 75-minutes long and take place in semi-private rooms at the baths, or weather permitting, outside on the massage deck.
How to book: After you've registered for your stay, you'll receive a link to book your massage session online. Subject to availability, massages are offered throughout the day beginning at 7:30 am until 6:30 pm. For best availability, we recommend booking at least three to four weeks in advance.
When booking sessions for your day of arrival, please keep in mind that your reservation at Esalen begins at 2:00 pm and schedule your massage for 2:45 pm at the earliest. On departure days, please schedule no later than 1:15 pm. This helps us ensure that guests who may be departing the day you arrive or arriving the day you leave will have access to massages.
* Price includes 18% gratuity. Guests may add additional gratuity, if desired, at booking or checkout.
75 minutes / $357*
Offered in limited numbers to visitors who are not already on campus for a workshop or overnight experience, the pass gives you access to the Esalen grounds including the hot springs from 8:45 am – 4:30 pm. Late departures will be charged an additional $345 per person. Please be sure to check out at the gate when you leave to avoid a late fee.
Enjoy your 75-minute massage, a full buffet-style lunch, and complimentary access to any open classes taking place during the hours of your visit.
Massage sessions are offered at 9:10 am, 10:50 am, or 2:45 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Monday and Friday, sessions are available at 9:10 am or 10:50 am.
How to book: Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance by emailing massage@esalen.org. For best availability, we recommend booking at least three to four weeks in advance.
All guests are required to provide a negative test result before coming onto the campus. Read our complete COVID guidelines for specific requirements.
*Price includes 18% gratuity for the massage. Guests may add additional gratuity, if desired, at booking or checkout.
We recommend arriving to the baths at least 10 minutes prior to your massage reservation time to shower and soak, keeping in mind it may take 5–10 minutes to walk down the hill from your guest room or parking spot.
Please note: the baths are clothing optional and gender-inclusive, including changing areas and restrooms.
Leave valuables locked safely in your room or your car, as there are no lockers in the changing areas.
We recommend removing silver jewelry before soaking, as the minerals in the water will cause it to tarnish.
Following your session, please feel free to enjoy a post-massage soak after showering off the massage oil.
75 minutes* / $285
Offered in limited numbers to visitors who are not already on campus for a workshop or overnight experience, the pass gives you access to the Esalen grounds including the hot springs from 8:45am – 4:30pm. Enjoy your massage at 9:10am, 10:50am or 2:45pm, a full buffet-style lunch, and complimentary access to any open classes taking place on the day of your visit.
How to book: reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance by emailing massage@esalen.org. Visitor passes are available Tuesday – Friday only.
For guests staying at Esalen, we offer a variety of alternative services to deepen your experience, enhance self-awareness, and facilitate healing for your body, mind, and spirit.
Please view the menu for more detailed information about the sessions and practitioners.
Realigning With Reiki with Liz Andolong — 75 minutes / $230
Sessions are available Monday and Friday, only from September 4 – October 21, 2022.
How to book: once you've registered for your stay, you'll receive a link to book appointments online. Please note that not all services are available every day.
* Please note: all Healing Arts alternative services include an 18% gratuity. Guests may add additional gratuity, if desired, at booking or checkout.
75 minutes
,
$195
When one aspect or archetype of our nature has been “hurt” it tends to remain hidden or stuck, and frequently attracts lessons to itself for further awareness and growth. AstroSoma Is a cutting-edge modality that combines a gentle form of energy muscle testing with the guidance of one’s natal astrological chart. AstroSoma helps to find where these stuck energies are and what content needs to be brought into light to set things in motion for the general improvement of your life and goals.
* Sessions must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. Please provide your date, time, and place of birth as well as your current place of residence at the time of booking.
2 hours
,
$250
Since ancient times, the heavens have offered a mirroring understanding of unfolding events through the mapping of one’s birth chart. Astrology readings portray the intrinsic configurations of personal gifts and challenges, illuminating the journey of the inner Self, offering personal tools for life navigation, and helping adjust your creative compass towards greater understanding and wellbeing.
* Sessions must be booked at least 24 hours in advance. Please provide your date, time, and place of birth as well as your current place of residence at the time of booking.
2 hours
,
$250.00
Ritual is an agent of resilience, an experience outside of linear time, reminding us of our natural wholeness and the greater organic spheres to which we belong. This herbal steam poultice treatment — with a consultation of deep reflective listening — delivers the original nature of herbal medicine bundling practiced by many ancestral cultures. Experience the warm presence of whole, living plants and tea compresses placed directly on the body in a grounding ritual of integration, connection, and renewal.
90 minutes
,
$85
Dive into a personal question and allow the synchronicity of the cards to illuminate your answer from many perspectives. This Jungian approach to tarot features a full Celtic Cross reading.
60 minutes
,
$60
90 minutes
,
$195
75 minutes
,
$195
Based on the Ageless Wisdom, tranformational kinesiology combines energy muscle testing with a detailed inquiry process to rewire the gaps that form in the electrical/nervous and cognitive system of trauma, promoting healing in a seamless, transformative, and permanent way.
2 hours
,
$250
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org