Workshops

What innate potential lies dormant within you? What dreams are yearning to be expressed? What does it look like to be fully alive, live an integrated and embodied life, and become an engaged part of the larger ecosystem of nature and community? It’s time to meet your future self and find out.

This workshop focuses on creating a robust, loving relationship with the best future version of you — the one who can help you pivot the direction of your life toward your heart’s vision. We will learn how to communicate with and embody that future self while mapping out the new terrain of your life in a process we call “futuremaking.” Using the sciences of imagination, transformation, and hope, you’ll chart a course for your next chapter.

Join us for a four-day workshop where we will engage in futuremaking experiences, including talks to spark insights; small and large group discussions to ground learning; guided imagery, meditation, and creative processes to connect you with your deeper wisdom; and movement and deep engagement with the beauty of Esalen to renew your spirit.

As we weave cutting-edge science with deep experiential practices and rich connection with kindred spirits, you’ll move forward — not back to “normal” or even a “new normal” — but ahead into a new extraordinary. Your future self is calling for you!

Recommended Reading: Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life by Marilyn Schiltz and Cassandra Vieten.

This workshop has an additional $30 of faculty tuition.

Join us for an enriching exploration into the transformative potential of the Enneagram and discover its profound capacity for fostering reconnection and oneness. As we commemorate the two-year anniversary of Dr. Deborah Egerton’s impactful best-seller, Know Justice Know Peace, we will explore the art of coming together through compassion, kindness, healing, and self-awareness.

For this special event, we extend an invitation for you to unlock the wisdom of the Enneagram and transcend individual boundaries to contribute to a collective vision of unity. Driven by the belief that the future of humankind hinges on the fusion of inner spiritual growth and outward social impact, this gathering promises to be a dynamic journey of self-discovery and meaningful connection.

During this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to:

• Explore each of the nine points of the Enneagram through the basic fear and basic desire, core motivation, levels of development, and the connections to the system’s other energies.
• Use the Enneagram to create an internal and external expansion opening our mind-body-spirit connection.
• Stand in love against “othering,” and explore the ways that we can heal across differences.
• Engage with presence to become more familiar with patterns that contribute to “othering” and learn how to release the underlying emotions of anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, shame, and blame.
• Share personal experiences that allow us to become aware of when we may be dropping into toxic behaviors and reactions which can provide a wake-up call to better manage our responses to challenges.
• Address complications around navigating difficult conversations in strained relationships or heated debates on social issues.

As human beings, our innate longing for connection forms the very fabric of our survival and prosperity as a species. Regrettably, internal and external divides have created wounds of bias, bigotry, and hatred within ourselves and our communities. To mend these fractures, we must embark on a journey to explore the roots of our disconnections — both within and around us — to pave the way for personal healing and, in turn, the healing of humanity.

Together, we can cultivate a world where belonging and thriving are shared experiences for all.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. — Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi

Partners Ihab and Ora Balha, a Muslim man and a Jewish woman, are trained in the Mevlevi tradition of Jelaluddin Rumi, one of the greatest mystics and poets the world has ever known. Together, they will share the wisdom of the whirling dervishes, which has been passed down for 750 years.

Each day will include:

• A taste of the sweetness of the mystical philosophy and heart-centered mindfulness techniques of Sufism.
• Daily instruction on traditional whirling and chanting.
• Nightly Dhikr, one of the major rituals of Sufi spiritual practice, where attendees can sing and dance with live musicians in ecstatic union with the Divine.

The whirling dervishes, mystics who believe one’s path is to God, are devoted to developing one’s abilities and capacity through emotional, intellectual, and physical practices. This workshop will deepen your connection to love, creating an internal peace that brings harmony and healing to the world.

“When you plant a tree every leaf that grows will tell you, what you sow will bear fruit. So if you have any sense, my friend, don’t plant anything but love, you show your worth by what you seek.” — Rumi

Recommended Reading: The Last Barrier: A Journey into the Essence of Sufi Teachings by Reshad Feild, Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks, Rumi Comes to America: How the Poet of Mystical Love Arrived on Our Shores by Bruce Miller

We all long to be happy. Happy as in deep contentment. We all long to feel at ease, to be at peace, to know that we’re okay and that we belong. Most of us are deeply habituated to believing ourselves to be separate, and that we must fix ourselves in order to earn and experience deep connection. Being separate and broken though are illusions. We forget that belonging is already seated in the heart of who we are — and that it’s always available if only we look within. When we do, we can transform far more than just our own lives.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever touched this peace, this contentment, this deep return to belonging?
• Have you ever struggled because you recognized the world around you did not reflect this experience of humanity’s true nature?
• When faced with the enormity of the collective problems before us, how can one individual’s spiritual practice make a tangible difference in our world?

These questions will guide our time together on retreat as we explore how meditation, mindfulness, and contemplative technologies designed for the realization of who we truly are can — and must — be applied collectively. Our daily meditation practice will serve as a framework onto which we will begin to weave teachings with personal reflections. You will have the opportunity to connect to yourself and others and the world beyond in solo and group exercises, and discussions that inspire us to put our values into action.

We hope you will join us in this return to belonging, this remembering of the deepest truth of who we are, with the intention of using this understanding to transform our own lives and the world we share.

Immerse yourself in a restorative workshop designed specifically for male-identifying people of color. This unique experience offers a sanctuary for growth and self-discovery, fostering a supportive community where participants can connect and build meaningful relationships.

Black boys and men of color have limited opportunities to engage in mind-body healing practices, and there are not nearly enough representations of Black male wellness; this workshop provides tools for transformation, healing, and empowerment while also addressing the interconnected issues of mental health, racial disparities, and community well-being.

Danny and Darnell combine meditation, yoga, and reflective writing to create a nurturing space for participants to explore their inner selves and cultivate mindfulness. Through guided meditations and intention-setting exercises, participants will center their energy and focus on their personal growth journey.

This workshop features:

• Rejuvenating Hatha Yoga sessions, engaging participants in gentle stretches, balancing poses, and breathing exercises to promote physical and mental well-being.
• Yoga Nidra sessions to provide deep relaxation and inner exploration for a meditative state of consciousness.
• Reflective writing sessions to offer a profound opportunity for self-discovery and life visioning, guided by thoughtful prompts.
• Shadow work writing sessions to confront and integrate repressed aspects of the self for holistic healing.
• Somatic movement, breathwork, and primal movement exercises to facilitate healing and emotional release.
• Healing circles to enrich the experience, fostering support and collective healing energy.

With reflective writing and a closing circle, participants will be able to process their experiences, express gratitude, and set future intentions to carry them well beyond Esalen.

“Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “What is important to me?”

Asking yourself these questions will activate your inner authenticity and allow you to move forward and live your life in alignment with your truest self. The answers to these questions will help you navigate life’s journey with direction, motivation, and inspiration. Perhaps the greatest regret of the dying is that they lacked the courage to live a life true to themselves.

In this workshop, you will reconnect with your authentic self through a series of exercises — such as guided meditation, self-inquiry, journaling, Emotional Freedom Technique (also known as tapping) — and one-on-one and group sharing and embodiment practices. This curated process is designed to allow you space to get clear about:

• Your purpose
• Your core values
• Your message
• Your big vision

With that clarity, you can create your manifesto, a written statement declaring who you truly are. Let that sink in: We will first uncover this hidden self, and then, together, we will manifest this being into reality.

Together, we will explore:

• Guided meditation to calm the mind and tap into your inner guidance and higher potential.
• Self-inquiry to explore the powerful questions that connect with your true self and what matters most to you.
• Journaling with a focus on cognitive processing to reduce stress, improve memory, boost mood, regulate emotions, increase physical vitality, and improve relationships.
• EFT tapping to clear subconscious blocks and rewire your subconscious mind.

Discover practices to connect and practical tools to reprogram your subconscious mind and heal your connection with your truest, deepest, highest self. You will also learn to apply these insights for authentic interactions with others. As you deepen the embodiment of your native self, you’ll experience the freedom of simply being you. This is one of the greatest victories possible: living a courageous life true to yourself — with no regrets.

Please bring a journal and pen to every session.

Recommended Reading: Everyday Initiations by Anne Van De Water

A journey to heal oneself and awaken deeply from within. Through meditation, yoga, and time in nature, we will tap into the stories our bodies have to tell and develop skills to nourish ourselves in 2024.

This workshop focuses on the transition from one year to the next as an opportunity to purposefully cultivate a sense of renewal. During our time together, you will be guided to explore and experience what this means for you personally.

Ritual invocations of energy and the power of the Esalen grounds themselves will support your healing journey by providing an intentional space for you to reflect on all you have experienced individually and collectively within your community during the past year.

Throughout the weekend, we will share new ways of grounding and connecting to the sacred energy of nature and the elements constantly surrounding us.  This supports the act of renewal, cultivates greater presence, and creates capacity to build and replenish energy throughout the coming year to support continued health and well-being.

In this workshop, all participants are invited:

• To understand themselves at a much deeper level.
• To begin deep personal transformation and discover tools to support their work.
• To gain a heightened sense of awareness and presence in ritual practice.
• To experience new ways of relating to nature, to receive the energy around them, and to form relationships with the natural world.
• To experience how healing resonates within a community.

Explore your unique creative process and express your human potential in a weekend deep dive with The Brothers Koren.

Discover your distinct creative personality and how to find harmony and coherence in your own creative process.

The brothers specialize in facilitating a safe space for you to move beyond the inhibitions and align to your authentic expressive impulse by identifying and supporting your distinct voice and creative code.

By using their embodied voice techniques, creative process design flow, and collaborative games, you will learn how to hold a space for playfully encountering your own brilliance and bring your creative expression to life.

Bring your voice, your ideas and your curiosity. All creative modalities are welcome. Art, music, voice, entrepreneurship, anything!

The brothers believe that almost everything we do in life involves a level of creative energy; from writing a song or painting a picture, to choosing what to wear in the morning and having a conversation – we are constantly improvising and using our creative life force.

However, many of us feel disconnected, blocked  and disempowered in our creative process. Some of us end up feeling stuck or shut down in different stages of our creations, whether experiencing trouble starting or finishing ideas.

What might be possible for you if your creative process was back in flow? The brothers are ready to help you reframe what it means to be creative, and to connect back to the way nature intended it. Life is a radically creative act. Join them and explore what is possible!

No creative experience necessary.

Have you created the impact you want? Are you showing up the way you’d like? Are you going in the right direction? You have never before been where you are right now. You have never been the age you are today, never had the experiences you now possess. This is your time to pause and reflect. We rarely allow ourselves the opportunity to stop and look at what is changing — or discover what we truly need to feel fulfilled.

This very interactive workshop will include lots of experiential exercises. Though we will cover valuable theory and there will be plenty of reflection time, this will not be a series of talks/lectures. There will be movement, coaching, a little dance, and lots of activity. All participation will be voluntary at all times.

Our goal is to step back from our lives and renew. We will create a courageous community to both challenge and nurture ourselves. Participants will have the opportunity to learn what brings them joy and purpose, and then cultivate a vision to serve as a foundation for both the next year and next phase of life.

We will engage in a progression of individual and group exercises focused on reflection, movement, and listening to our inner wisdom. We’ll discover how to navigate major life transitions and learn skills to access our intuition. We will uncover the behaviors that support our overall success, and reveal which ones undermine our goals and fulfillment. If you are passionate about having a more powerful and authentic impact on the world around you, this program of renewal will be especially valuable.