Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Esalen workshops are designed to facilitate self-exploration, personal growth, and healing in a group setting. They are led by visiting faculty who represent a spectrum of disciplines, experiences, and perspectives.

We offer need-based financial scholarships. Apply now.

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

Esalen workshops are designed to facilitate self-exploration, personal growth, and healing in a group setting. They are led by visiting faculty who represent a spectrum of disciplines, experiences, and perspectives.

We offer need-based financial scholarships. Apply now.

Forget the Plan, Follow the Beat

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Your Brain on Sound: Rewiring Through Resonance, Mantra, and Alchemy Crystal Bowls

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Deva Munay
Your Brain on Sound: Rewiring Through Resonance, Mantra, and Alchemy Crystal Bowls
October 20–24, 2025
October 20–24, 2025
October 20, 2025
October 20–24, 2025

Join us for a deeply nourishing sound immersion where sacred resonance becomes a gateway to transformation. In this weeklong workshop, we work with alchemy crystal singing bowls — instruments of subtle energy and crystalline intelligence — to harmonize the nervous system, soften emotional residue in the biofield, and awaken a more grounded, joyful state of being.

Each day includes spacious sound journeys designed to support theta brainwave states and foster deep relaxation, subconscious clearing, and intuitive insight. As we attune to the bowls’ harmonic field, we invite a gentle re-patterning of the nervous system and access to peace, presence, and embodied vitality.

Through practices in mantra (a Sanskrit word meaning “mind tool”), movement, voice, and reflection, we’ll explore how sound can:

  • Clear energetic stagnation.
  • Cultivate inner calm and self-trust.
  • Interrupt and rewire habitual stress loops.
  • Open pathways to awe, clarity, and inspiration.

You’ll experience seven alchemy crystal bowl sound journeys, heart-opening vocal practices, and a co-creative session in the Art Barn. We’ll also share journaling, partner work, and restorative space for integration. Midweek, we’ll be joined by Big Sur elder Damaris (Penny Vieregge), who will bring luminous presence and the poetry of Sufi mystic Hafiz to uplift our hearts.

Held within the elemental beauty of Esalen, where ocean waves, mineral springs, and towering trees invite deep renewal, this retreat offers space to soften, realign, and reconnect with your true self.

Come as you are. Leave radiant from within.

October
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Program is Full

Healing Waters: Return to One

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Douglas Drummond and Little Bear Tom Nason with Guest Musicians Sanga of the Valley, Nick Ayers and Guest Faculty Mac Murphy
Healing Waters: Return to One
November 10–14, 2025
November 10–14, 2025
November 10, 2025
November 10–14, 2025

We invite you to step into a powerful, immersive experience weaving the dynamic energy of 5Rhythms® movement with the deep wisdom of Indigenous traditions. Rooted in the teachings of the Esselen people, this workshop is an invitation to reconnect — with yourself, your community, and the natural world.

For millennia, rites of passage and sacred ceremonies have marked the transitions of life to foster deep connection and a sense of belonging. Today, many of these traditions have been lost or fragmented, leaving us yearning for meaning and community.. In this weeklong journey, we’ll honor the wisdom of the past while creating space for a new kind of homecoming — one that transcends gender, background, and experience.

Through guided movement, storytelling, and shared rituals, we’ll celebrate diversity and unity, embracing both what makes us unique and what brings us together. This is a space for authentic expression and deep listening, where every story and background is honored.

This workshop is a collaborative initiative as part of the healing and reconciliation process between Esalen Institute, participating faculty, and the Esselen Tribe.

What to expect:
  • Embodied movement to awaken self-awareness
  • Captivating storytelling that bridges cultures and fosters connection
  • Rituals and ceremonies celebrating our shared humanity
  • A welcoming space where you can fully express yourself

No prior movement experience is needed — just a willingness to explore and connect. No choreography, no expectations, only the freedom to move, feel, connect, and express.

Come as you are. Return to One.

This workshop includes an additional $110 of faculty tuition.

November
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Browse More Workshops

Are you looking to immerse yourself in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus without taking a workshop?

Choose Your Dates
Letting go of entrenched ideas — who we are, how the world works, our place in it — is a challenge. It takes energy. Time. Space. Security. This growth encourages us to examine ourselves and understand our connection to the whole. This more flexible, less structured model of change encompasses both personal and communal, aligning with the core of our mission. Self-Guided Explorations are designed to function outside of the group structures of our workshops for a more freeform, spacious healing journey. These experiences are for those who want to immerse themselves in the peace, space, and natural majestic beauty of our campus, exploring the edges of personal growth and open group classes when compelled. The beauty of our Big Sur campus supports serenity for the mind, the body, the spirit, and offers nourishment for all three. Exploring human potential.Our dynamic open class schedule changes weekly, but always features opportunities to sit in meditation and mindfulness, explore embodiment and movement practices, and connect with nature. An opening circle, hosted by an Esalen Staff member or a visiting teacher, welcomes you as you begin your stay. A closing circle on the final day provides a reflective conclusion to your time with us. Feeding mind and body.Savor three hearty, healthy meals per day. Our kitchen draws on global culinary traditions, using the fruits of the Esalen Farm & Garden and other local Big Sur providers to create delicious meals that support holistic health — for you and for the earth.Creating space for reflection.Esalen’s beloved mineral hot springs perch dramatically over the Pacific Ocean, a juxtaposition of intimate and infinite. A core part of Esalen from its inception, the baths and tubs are an ideal place to reflect, find clarity, and set new intentions.
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