However, Highway 1 south of Esalen is closed indefinitely. Don't let this stop you — there are other routes to reach us. Please review these alternate route driving directions and allow for a little extra travel time while on your transformational and healing journey.
We look forward to welcoming you to Esalen.
Esalen workshop leaders have paved the way for broad cultural acceptance of meditation, yoga, body-based psychotherapy, lifelong experiential learning, and the pursuit of personal and social transformation. Luminaries and cutting-edge change agents from all over the world come to teach, inspire, and pass on their individual work. They are creators and weavers of magic.
Are you an innovative and dynamic teacher? Does your work align with Esalen’s mission? Take a moment to read through the Esalen Journal to see if your work is kin with ours. If it is, we’d love to meet you.
Esalen is a precious space, and we curate our workshops rigorously. Your proposal is the most effective tool for telling us about yourself, the work you do in the world, and how you’d translate that into an Esalen workshop.
We consider proposals on a rolling basis for both weekend (3-day) and weekday (5-day) workshops and conferences, and occasionally for longer formats.
Proposals are reviewed for a number of factors including mission alignment for personal and social change; subject relevance and uniqueness; the presenter's experience, exposure, and expertise; and space availability. Experienced presenters are encouraged to treat Esalen as a laboratory where they can push their (and learners’) boundaries, and those newer to teaching can use it as an opportunity to hone in on their passions and clarify their thinking.
We are deeply committed to diversity, justice, and equitable inclusion, and are always looking to elevate the work of presenters who are speaking to the collective good but may not have had their chance to shine yet.
Please read our FAQ for workshop leaders, and submit your best proposals using the link below. We are not able to accept every proposal, nor can we follow up with each applicant to inform them of their status. If we’d like to explore your proposal further and consider scheduling it, our team will contact you.
Launched in 2020, the Teacher in Residence program is a new Esalen offering that welcomes educators and leaders across an array of experiences and perspectives. Example disciplines include yoga, meditation, creative expression, writing/journaling, sound healing, nature awakening, etc. Balanced with independent time to explore and create, teachers will spend 8-10 hours of time each week leading classes available to all guests and staff. While the program features a grounded blueprint, teachers are encouraged to bring their own unique approach.
The program residency is funded by Esalen. This includes access to the Esalen campus and facilities, private accommodation, and meals across the duration of one's time in the program. Program participants will also have the opportunity to have their work highlighted across Esalen's social media, online channels, and other communications.
We are currently reviewing applications for late 2021.
Esalen usually works with faculty who have a deep understanding and level of experience in their field; extensive presentation experience isn’t required. The demonstrated ability to bring a depth of understanding to the room, as well as the ability to create and hold a safe space for our guests and students to thrive and learn in, is paramount. Often, faculty have an existing student base and/or a wide appeal. Topics can be very general or specific but all need to be aligned with our mission and vision.
A weekend workshop generally consists of 10 hours of class time; a 5-day workshop generally consists of 26 hours; a 7-day workshop generally consists of a total of 36 hours.
Esalen provides basic audio/visual equipment for our workshops and private conferences. If a workshop has more complex AV requirements, arrangements must be discussed during the contracting process, and finalized no later than 30 days before the workshop begins. Due to our remote location and limited bandwidth, most meeting rooms lack internet access, and no live streaming or extensive data downloading is possible anywhere on campus.
Philosophers, artists, theologians, writers, scientists, musicians, psychologists — they all help us expand our understanding of who we are, and Esalen has been informed and shaped by all of them. Early leaders like Ansel Adams, Timothy Leary, Gia-fu Feng, Virginia Satir, B.F. Skinner, and Buckminster Fuller. Scholars-in-residence Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, and Stanislav Grof. Workshop instructors Susan Sontag, Ray Bradbury, Moshé Feldenkrais, Ken Kesey, and Aldous Huxley. An Esalen faculty list doubles as a list of some of the most transformative luminaries of the 20th century.
Hero photo: Angie Smith
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Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org
Copyright © 2023 Esalen Institute and Esalen Center for Theory & Research. All rights reserved. Esalen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. View our Tax ID#, 990, and additional information.