The Esalen Catalog s January–June 2015

Transcription

The Esalen Catalog
s
Januar y–June 2015
Be a Part of the Journey
ESALEN CAMPUS RENEWAL
Esalen has empowered individuals and communities to pioneer new paths of renewal and explore
the human potential for more than 50 years.
Now it’s time for our own renewal.
In 2015, we will begin the most significant campus renovation project in our history with facility
upgrades that will enhance our support for workshop faculty, groundbreaking educational
programs, and environmental stewardship of our sacred land while further enriching your
Esalen experience.
Thank you for your support!
As a mission-driven, non-profit educational institute that empowers individuals to ignite personal
and societal transformation, we rely on your support – today and in the future.
For more information, please visit Esalen.org/Renewal
Esalen is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization.
Ja n ua ry –Ju n e 2015
Volume liv, Number 1
contents
Friends of Esalen .......................................... 2
Welcome to Esalen....................................... 3
Guide to Workshops .................................... 4
Continuing Education Programs ............ 6
Faculty Spotlight ........................................10
Esalen Workshops .....................................12
ROBERT GARVIN
250-hour Esalen® Massage Cert. .......... 17
®
11th Annual Yoga Festival. ...................... 97
Faculty Index ............................................104
Work Study Program ..............................105
A
s we look forward to spring, a spirit of renewal and awakening is
already making its presence felt here at Esalen, from the seedlings sprouting
in our gardens to the inner growth experienced by our guests. This cyclical
rebirth will be reflected on yet another level as we embark upon the most significant
campus renovation in our fifty-two-year history.
The goal of our three-year renewal project is to enhance your Esalen experience
through upgraded facilities, greater levels of environmental sustainability, and
expanded capacity to deliver groundbreaking educational
programs to the personal seekers and cultural change-makers
of today and tomorrow.
At the center of Esalen’s campus renovation will be our iconic
Lodge, where we will preserve the Lodge’s unique atmosphere
while transforming the kitchen, dining area, deck, café,
bookstore, and guest reception. We’ll also add a second floor
with augmented meeting facilities and breathtaking views of the Big Sur coastline.
Additionally, the renewal project will include the rebuild of our critical South Coast
Center staff housing, guest room refurbishing, new construction of a six-room guest
building, and upgraded infrastructure in the areas of accessibility, roads, and utilities.
As we begin this journey of renewal, your presence, your spirit, and your support are
vital to sustaining Esalen’s mission to further the exploration and realization of the
human potential, a mission that is more vital now than ever before.
So today, I invite you to join us on this journey and experience the spirit of renewal and
awakening at Esalen and in your own life. I promise it will be one of transformation —
for all of us.
Tricia McEntee
Esalen CEO
Rates and Reservations ...........................110
General Information for Your Visit ......112
contact
Website: www.esalen.org
E-mail: info@esalen.org
Mailing Address: Esalen Institute,
55000 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920
General Information: 831-667-3000
Reservations: 9 am–7 pm every day.
Preregistration is required for all Esalen
programs.
s/NLINE www.esalen.org/workshops/
reservations.html
s0HONE Toll-free US: 888-8-ESALEN
(888-837-2536)
International: +1 703-342-0500
s&AX 831-667-2724
s-AIL See address above
Mail and fax reservations must include
a completed reservation form, available
online at www.esalen.org.
Support Esalen’s environmental sustainability efforts and reduce paper product usage by
viewing our catalog online. To discontinue
your print catalog subscription, please email
info@Esalen.org. Thank you for saving our
natural resources!
Become a Friend of Esalen
#ULTIVATING$EEP#HANGEIN3ELFAND3OCIETY
Y
our gift to the Esalen Fund helps make
the essential elements of the Esalen experience possible, including our ability to attract
ground-breaking workshop faculty; stewardship and
sustainable management of the grounds, farm and
garden; the Gazebo Park School for children aged
0-6; residential education programs; and financial
aid for work scholars and workshop participants.
Unrestricted funds provide for Esalen’s Center for
Theory & Research, which stages interdisciplinary
conferences and fosters partnerships among global
pioneers and thought leaders.
Each and every gift to the Esalen Fund makes a difference, because unrestricted contributions bridge
the gap between workshop tuition and operating
expenses. Your support benefits Esalen today and
helps secure Esalen’s long-term financial future.
As a token of thanks, donors who give $50 or more
to the Esalen Fund become a Friend of Esalen. As a
Friend, donors receive a $25 reduction on all catalog
workshops for one year and are eligible to book
a Personal Retreat at Esalen. We are grateful that
many Friends also consider Esalen as part of their
legacy by including a bequest or deferred gift in
their estate plans. A charitable bequest is one of the
easiest ways you can make a lasting difference to
the Institute. Thank you for your support.
To donate online: www.esalen.org/donate
Email: donations@esalen.org
Postal mail: Use the envelope attached in this catalog.
Questions? Contact Monique Baron, 831-250-1022,
ext. 255.
Friends Circle: $50+
Hot Springs Circle: $250+
Sustainers Circle: $500+
Benefactors Circle: $1,000+
Founders Circle: $5,000+
Partners Circle: $10,000+
Anniversary Circle: $25,000+
Coast Circle: $50,000+
Name ___________________________________________________________________________
Phone ___________________________________________________________________________
Esalen Board of Trustees:
Sam Yau Chair
Chip Conley
Bill James
Mary Ellen Klee
Jeffrey Kripal
Nancy Lunney-Wheeler ex officio
Tricia McEntee
Anisa Mehdi
Jay Ogilvy
Gordon Wheeler
Cofounder & Chair Emeritus:
Michael Murphy
Program Staff:
Cheryl Fraenzl, Director
Jerilyn Hesse, Programs Manager
Dawn Fielding, Programs Coordinator
Jennifer Jaffe, Scheduling Coordinator
John Larmour, Event Coordination
Stacy Carlson, Editor
Terry McGrath, Design and Production
Card No. _______________________________________________________________________
Esalen Department Managers:
Gordon Wheeler, President
Tricia McEntee, CEO
Patrick Sheridan, Operations
Elizabeth Stacey, Institutional Advancement
Kate Donlon, Marketing/Communications
Jan Sinclair, Guest Services
Phillip Burrus, Kitchen
Shirley Ward, Farm and Garden
Francis Clemens, Reservations
Deborah Medow, Healing Arts
Christina Dauenhauer, Grounds
Carolyn Shearer, Bookstore
Scott Stillinger, Human Resources
Dan Eyde, Technology
Exp. Date ______________________________________________________________________
The Esalen Catalog is published biannually by
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA 93920-9546.
Address ________________________________________________________________________
City___________________________________ State __________ Zip__________________
E-mail __________________________________________________________________________
Please make checks payable to Esalen Institute, in U.S. currency
drawn on a U.S. bank, or use one of the charge cards below:
MasterCard Visa American Express
Amount ________________________________________________________________________
Signature ______________________________________________________________________
Esalen Institute is a non-profit public charity corporation, exempt
from income tax under IRC section 501(c)(3). Contributions are
tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.
Printed on recycled paper.
©2014 Esalen Institute. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1088-2782
front cover photo: Cameron Jordan
back cover photo: Kodiak Greenwood
Share the magic of Esalen by connecting with Esalen’s &ACEBOOK community at
facebook.com/EsalenInstitute or on Twitter at twitter.com/EsalenInstitute.
Give Yourself Time to Reflect
%XPERIENCE%SALENTHROUGHONEOFOURSELFDIRECTED
immersion programs
!4IMETO2EmECT is a special opportunity to spend unstructured time at Esalen
nourishing your body, mind, heart, and soul. Enjoy optional daily yoga and movement
classes, massage, time in the meditation center, evening programs, and three
beautifully prepared meals each day. Luxuriate in the natural hot springs, and
explore Esalen’s culture of deep learning and growth.
DOUG ELLIS
During the first half of 2015, !4IMETO2EmECT will be offered on the following dates:
Jan 2–4
Feb 27–March 1
March 18–20
May 10–15
Jan 4–9
March 1–6
May 6–8
June 21–26
Jan 30–Feb 1
March 12–13
See page 13 for full program description.
2
Welcome to Esalen
S
ince 1962, The Esalen Institute has been
devoted to exploration of what Aldous
Huxley called the “human potential,” the
world of unrealized human capacities that lies
at the growing edge of consciousness. Esalen is
known for its blend of East/West philosophies,
experiential/didactic workshops, a steady influx
of expert teachers from around the world,
and its breathtaking grounds and natural hot
springs. Once home to a Native American tribe
called the Esselen, Esalen is situated on the
spectacular Big Sur coastline with the Santa
Lucia Mountains rising sharply behind.
There are many ways
to experience Esalen.
7ORKSHOPS
Weekend, five- and seven-day workshops and
seminars range in subject matter from Gestalt to
visual art. The Guide to Workshops on pages 4–5
provides a list of all programs by subject, and
the Seminars section contains full descriptions
of weekend, five-, and seven-day programs, listed
chronologically.
In addition to its structured
programs, Esalen has many
ongoing events and features
to enrich your stay.
Esalen®-ASSAGEAND"ODYWORK
Esalen has long been known for its unique
massage and bodywork modalities, developed by
innovative practitioners at the baths overlooking
the Pacific, and offered to guests during their
stay. Esalen Massage incorporates long flowing
strokes over the whole body, and helps release
the stresses of everyday life, leaving the receiver
feeling integrated and deeply relaxed. Other
modalities often available at Esalen include
Cortical Field Reeducation®, Craniosacral
Work, Rolfing, Shiatsu, Thai Massage, and
Transformational Kinesiology. Massage and
bodywork reservations must be made and paid
for in advance through Esalen Reservations. If
you are coming to Esalen for a massage only,
please call 831-667-3002.
(OT3PRINGS
Work Study programs provide an intensive
month-long course of study for those who want
to make a directed commitment to self-exploration, growth, and the Esalen community for a
longer period. See page 105 for a full description
of the Work Study program.
Esalen is the steward of a natural hot springs
overlooking the Pacific. The hot springs are a
source of relaxation and healing for those who
visit, and you may catch a glimpse into the life
of a sea otter, seal, or migratory whale while
you enjoy the baths. Swimsuits are optional,
and nudity common, in the hot springs and
massage areas.
0ERSONAL2ETREATS
$AILY-OVEMENT!RTS#LASSES
Personal Retreats offer the opportunity to
nourish body, mind, heart, and soul without
participating in a workshop. Those on Personal
Retreat structure their time at Esalen themselves,
and can participate in daily yoga and movement
classes, enjoy the hot springs, meditate, and
explore Esalen’s beautiful land. Personal Retreats
are open only to Friends of Esalen. See page 2
for details, and page 111 for Personal Retreat fee
information.
Every day, Esalen offers a schedule of free
classes open to everyone. Offerings can include
yoga, chanting, meditation, free-form dance,
and didjeridoo meditation at the baths. You
will receive a schedule when you arrive.
7ORK3TUDY
7EDNESDAY%VENING0ROGRAMS
Esalen hosts visiting scholars and teachers, who
interface with the rest of the Esalen community
in many ways. Usually there is a scheduled
program on Wednesday evenings for visiting
scholars, workshop leaders, or Esalen staff to
share their expertise with the larger Esalen
community.
&ARMAND'ARDEN
Esalen’s five-acre farm and garden produces
hundreds of varieties of vegetables for the
kitchen. In addition to enjoying the farm and
garden’s bounty during mealtimes, guests may
wander among the fields, enjoy the flowers during spring and summer, participate in farm- and
permaculture-oriented workshops throughout
the year, and volunteer with the farm and garden crew during their stay.
#HILDRENAND&AMILIES
Esalen welcomes families and offers a selection
of family-oriented workshops and child care.
See page 5 for a full listing of family-friendly
workshops. See page 111 for child care options.
!CCOMMODATIONS
Esalen offers several types of accommodations
including shared standard rooms, and private
premium rooms and Point Houses. For full
description and pricing, see page 110.
&RIENDSOF%SALEN
Friends of Esalen are supporters whose
donations of $50 or more will benefit Esalen
programs and help build Esalen’s long-term
financial base. Please see page 2 for a description
of the many benefits of becoming a Friend.
!CCREDITATIONAND
#ONTINUING%DUCATION
Many educational institutions recognize Esalen
programs as eligible for credit in their curricula;
check with your university or college. Additional
information can be provided if needed. Esalen
provides continuing education (CE) credit for
psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, nurses, bodyworkers, acupuncturists, and more. See page 6 for
details.
For additional details
about your stay at Esalen,
please see pages 110–112.
Esalen is a center for experimental education.
We offer neither psychotherapy nor assurances
of change.
3
V
Guide to Workshops
T
his is a guide to the workshops
offered in this catalog. Many of them
defy easy categorization and could
be cross-referenced across many disciplines;
most are listed in one or two main subject
areas.
S
ARTS & CREATIVITY
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*ANUARYn&EBRUARY
Spend six weeks immersed in massage practice and theory. Designed for those who plan
to professionally practice massage, the HOUR%SALEN®-ASSAGE#ERTIlCATION0ROGRAM
is an in-depth experience of bodywork as an
aspect of transpersonal growth, reflecting the
rich history of the Esalen approach. As students develop competence during the course
of this training in Esalen Massage methodology, they will be also be exposed to modalities
such as Sensory Awareness, Gestalt Process,
yoga, and meditation — all practices focused
on supporting the embodiment of presence
and awareness as we touch others. This course
meets all core California Massage Therapy
Council requirements for certifications;
graduates will need to take an additional 250
hours of training to obtain their CMP status.
BODY & MOVEMENT
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For more information about Esalen Massage,
visit www.esalen.org/page/massage-healing-arts.
S
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5
Continuing Education Programs
E
All approved weekend workshops qualify for 10 hours of CE units, and
approved five-day courses qualify for 26 hours of CE units. Please check
workshop listings online at www.esalen.org for any updates to CE credit
offered. In order to receive a certificate for continuing education units,
participants must meet the following requirements:
Attend and sign the attendance sheet for all sessions (please see leader)
Fill out the evaluation form distributed by the leader and turn it in to
the Esalen main office with a $25 processing fee
Workshops for which CE credit has been approved are listed below and
also noted in the Workshops section. For questions regarding continuing
education, contact ce@esalen.org.
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*Acupuncture and dietitian workshops are approved on a case-by-case basis.
Please refer to the Esalen website prior to registration for updated CE status.
03
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salen’s status as a provider of continuing education is approved
by the following boards:
Psychologists; American Psychology Association (California
psychologists are required to report their hours to the MCEP
Accrediting Agency)
MFT/LCSW; California Board of Behavioral Sciences
(Provider No. PCE1594)
Massage practitioners and Bodyworkers; The National Certification
Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (Provider No. 043062-00)
RNs; California Board of Registered Nursing (Provider No. 01152)
Registered Dietitians; Commission on Dietetic Registration*
Acupuncturists; State of California Acupuncture Board
(Provider No. 946)*
Jan 2-4
New Year’s Retreat for Couples
Mar 1-6
Dream Descent: Archetypal Dreamwork
Apr 26-May 1 Abandonment to Healing
Jan 2-4
Self-Renewal in the New Year
Mar 1-6
Embodiment and Meditation
Apr 26-May 3 Intro. to CFR
Jan 4-9
Rhythms®: Heartbeat
Mar 1-6
Not For the Feint of Heart
May 1-3
Find Your Focus
Jan 4-9
Start Over: Aliveness and Intimacy
Mar 1-6
Full-Spectrum Gestalt Sex Therapy
May 1-3
Mindfulness in Relationship
Enhance Your Brain to Reach Your Potential
Jan 4-9
Fundamentals of Esalen® Massage
Mar 6-8
Getting the Love You Want
May 1-3
Jan 9-11
Esalen® Massage for Couples
Mar 6-8
The Dynamic Spine: Yoga
May 1-3
Gay Men Thriving in Mindfulness
Jan 9-11
Respite, Reflect, Release: Hospice Care
Mar 6-8
Arrive Already Loved
May 3-8
Taoist Sexual Secrets
Jan 11-16
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) Training
Mar 8-13
Qigong for Springtime Renewal
May 3-8
ArtLife
Jan 11-16
Self-Compassion in Relationships
Mar 8-13
Shamanic Cosmology
May 8-10
The Neuroscience of Self-Care
Jan 11-Feb 22 250-hour Esalen® Massage Cert.
Mar 8-13
Radical Aliveness: Core Energetics
May 8-10
Building Collaborative Relationships
Esalen® Massage for Couples
Jan 16-18
Plugging Into Body Intelligence
Mar 8-13
Painting From the Source
May 8-10
Jan 18-23
The I in the Storm: Self-Leadership
Mar 8-13
Intro. to Esalen® Massage
May 10-15
EMDR (Part 3)
Jan 18-23
Esalen® Massage and Reiki
Mar 13-15
What’s Next? Revisioning Our Lives
May 10-15
Liberating Your Essential Self
Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice
Jan 23-25
The Writer’s Journey
Mar 13-15
Opening the Pelvis, Balancing the Core
May 15-17
Jan 23-25
Awakening Joy
Mar 18-20
Massage Retreat for Couples
May 15-17
Consciousness and Healing Dreams
Jan 25-30
Intro. to Rolf Structural Integration
Mar 20-22
Mindfulness through Qigong
May 17-22
Awakening the Creative: Painting
Taiji (T’ai Chi) and Qigong
Jan 25-30
As Above So Below
Mar 22-27
Brilliant Body
May 17-22
Jan 30-Feb 1
Mindfulness and Yoga
Mar 22-27
Relational Gestalt Practice
May 17-22
Transforming the Judgmental Mind
Jan 30-Feb 1
The Art of Seeing
Mar 22-27
Mindfulness and Meditation
May 17-22
Love and Belonging
Esalen® Massage and Essential Oils
Jan 30-Feb 1
Soul Motion™ and Embodied Inquiry
Mar 27-29
Mindfulness and Trauma
May 17-22
Jan 30-Feb 1
Emotional Mindfulness for Gay Men
Mar 27-29
Esalen® Massage
May 22-24
Mind, Mood and Happiness
Feb 6-8
Living Deeply
Mar 29-Apr 3 Healing Art of Deep Bodywork
May 22-24
Couples’ Communication Retreat
Feb 6-8
Psychedelic Medicines and the Mind
Mar 29-Apr 3 Integral Way Tai Chi
May 22-24
Taiji (T’ai Chi) and Qigong
Feb 6-8
Expanding the Practice of Sex Therapy
Apr 3-5
Open Floor Encounter
May 24-29
Gestalt Practice and CFR
Feb 8-13
SomatoEmotional Release 2
Apr 3-5
Mindfulness and Heartfulness
May 24-29
CranioSacral Therapy 1
Intro. to Mindfulness Meditation
Feb 8-13
Trauma, Memory and the Self
Apr 3-5
The Magical Family
May 29-31
Feb 8-13
Women’s Sexual Stories
Apr 3-5
Advanced Esalen® Massage
May 31-June 5 More Than a Communication Workshop
Feb 13-15
Love, Sex and Intimacy
Apr 5-10
Yoga and Yoga Psychology
May 31-June 5 A New Beginning
Feb 13-15
Finding True Love
Apr 10-12
Wired for Love
June 7-12
The Shaman’s path into Illumination
Feb 15-20
Romancing the World: Soulcraft
Apr 10-12
A Future Unexpected: For Women
June 7-12
Deep Tissue Skills for Massage
Feb 15-20
Healing through Hypnosis
Apr 12-17
Self-Acceptance: The Heart of Healing
June 12-14
Hold Me Tight Workshop for Couples
Feb 15-20
Cultivate Romantic Intelligence
Apr 12-17
Esalen® Massage and Meditation
June 12-14
Dynamic Woman Qigong
Feb 15-20
Spiritual Massage
Apr 17-19
Getting Unblocked
June 12-14
Awake in the Wild - Meditation in Nature
Feb 20-22
Medical Qigong
Apr 19-24
June 19-21
The Power of Grace
Feb 20-22
Resilience and Success
Apr 19-24
I–You–Us 1
June 19-21
Feb 20-22
Mindful Eating Awareness
Apr 19-24
Spinal Awareness with Humor
June 19-21
Radiance Sutras Playground
Feb 22-27
Divinatory Cards: SoulCollage®
Apr 24-26
Meditation: Research and Practice
June 21-26
Inner Power Qigong
Feb 22-27
Hanna Somatics
Apr 24-26
Tasting Life: For Men 1
June 26-28
Love Yourself - For Everyone Else’s Sake
Feb 22-27
Enlivening Meditation Practice
Apr 24-26
Close Yet Free
June 26-28
Love, Sexuality, Relationship
Feb 22-27
Zero Balancing II
Apr 24-26
ITP: Essential Esalen Experience
June 26-28
Intro. to Esalen® Massage
Feb 27-Mar 1 The Science of Happiness
6
Apr 26-May 1 5Rhythms : Heartbeat
®
0UTTINGTHE3CIENCEOF(APPINESSINTO0RACTICE
We all want to be happy, but where do we begin?
Emiliana Simon-Thomas,
GGSC Science Director
Join two celebrated teachers from UC Berkeley’s award-winning Greater Good
Science Center (GGSC) to find out what science can teach us about happiness.
Emiliana Simon-Thomas and Dacher Keltner will illuminate recent findings in
psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology and teach specific happiness
practices designed to maximize the benefits that science can offer us.
This workshop builds on material from the GGSC free online course, The Science
of Happiness, but the course is not a prerequisite for this program. During this
property-wide event, join the entire Esalen community in the practice of happiness.
See 0UTTINGTHE3CIENCEOF(APPINESSINTO0RACTICE on page 39
for full program description.
Dacher Keltner, GGSC
Founder and Director
C A MERON JORDAN
At Esalen y Working Together toward Peace
A
t any given moment at Esalen, people are changing their lives and
communities by taking workshops, personal retreats, and more. But there are
programs at Esalen that you might not know about, including one that
invites Israeli and Palestinian Arabs and Jews to come together specifically to express
and release trauma and anguish, and together open a door toward healing.
Together Beyond Words (TBW) is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 by
nine Arab and Jewish women from Israel to promote peace-building. In 2006, TBW
co-founder and dance therapist Nitsan Joy Gordon was at Esalen as a visiting lecturer.
She spoke about her peace-building work at the teacher’s cocktail hour, where she met
Nancy Lunney-Wheeler, then programs director. From that meeting, TBW’s connection with Esalen was born. In honor of this work, Esalen continues to donate space
and faculty support for TBW participants. The annual TBW group at Esalen undertakes a form of healing in which participants embark on a dialogue journey that has
room for everyone and every feeling or part. Their aim is to create deep connections
that go beyond all that may separate them, and then support one another in pursuing
peace in their home, community and country.
For more about Together Beyond Words, see www.en.beyondwords.org.il.
For a powerful video, see vimeo.com/95725168.
7
February 1–6
Inspired by
Ancient Wisdom,
Grounded in
Modern Science
During The Sutras of Science, join philosophers,
scientists, and scholars to explore a new angle in the quest
for spiritual meaning, one in which ancient texts inform
the basis of modern science, and quantum physics offers
new direction on the spiritual path.
Esalen and Science and Nonduality (SAND) are delighted
to offer this five-day-long dialogue at the leading edge of
philosophical and scientific understanding.
Deepak Chopra is a pioneer in the
field of mind-body medicine and wellness. A prolific, bestselling author,
Chopra is a fellow at the American College of Physicians, adjunct professor at
Columbia University, and senior scientist
at the Gallup organization. He founded
The Chopra Foundation.
Peter Russell blends scientific rationale, global vision, and intuitive wisdom
to bring a sharp, critical mind to the challenge of self-awakening. He has degrees in
theoretical physics, experimental psychology, and computer science, and his books
include From Science to God: A Physicist’s
Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness.
Robert Thurman is professor of IndoTibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia
University, and president of the Tibet
House US, a non-profit organization dedicated preserving and promoting Tibetan
civilization. The author of many books, in
1965, Thurman became the first American
ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk.
Richard Miller is a clinical psychologist, author, researcher, yogic scholar, and
spiritual teacher who has devoted his life
to integrating nondual wisdom teachings
with Western psychology. He is founding president and CEO of the Integrative
Restoration Institute and author of Yoga
Nidra: The Meditative Heart of Yoga.
Michael Murphy is cofounder and
chairman emeritus of the Board of Esalen
Institute. He is the author of four novels
and his nonfiction works include The Life
We Are Given (with George Leonard) and
The Future of the Body. Murphy and his
work have been featured in the media
worldwide.
Catherine Pepin is a senior research
scientist at the Institut de Physique
Théorique, CEA-Saclay, France. She is a
quantum field theorist in the field of condensed matter physics. She belongs to the
tradition pioneered by Schrödinger and
Pauli for whom the notion of separation
between science and mystical experience
is an illusion.
Menas Kafatos is professor of Computational Physics and Director of Excellence
at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.
He has worked at NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center, and authored numerous
books, including The Conscious Universe:
Parts and Wholes in Physical Reality.
8
Y
oga practice cultivates mindfulness, physical and emotional resilience, spiritual wisdom,
compassion, and leadership. Esalen hosts a remarkable range of yoga workshops.
Come evolve your practice! Here’s a sampling of this season’s offerings.
The
Alchemy
of Yoga
0ATHOF$EVOTION
!9OGA4EACHER4RAINING
In this special two-week-long immersion
program designed for aspiring and certified yoga
teachers and long-time students of yoga, *ANET3TONE and
3IANNA3HERMAN will guide and inspire you to deepen your journey
on the path of yoga. February 8–22. See page 28.
%SALENSTH!NNUAL9OGA&ESTIVAL3UMMER3OLSTICE3ADHANA
*ANET3TONE and 3IANNA3HERMAN return with 3AUL$AVID2AYE to welcome the return
of the light. Join them for five days of yoga, kirtan, meditation, dance, and community.
June 14–19. See page 97.
Other yoga workshops include !SHAYA9OGAgYdXD_TT>_bYQ^``""+9OGAAND:EN/NE"RIGHT*EWEL with
Tias Little and Henry Shukman, p. 20; 'RAVITYAND'RACE9OGAFOR,ONGEVITY with Peter Sterios, p. 56;
,EAN)NWARD9OGAAND,EADERSHIP with Michele Hébert and Mehrad Nazari, p. 78; and 4HE!RTAND3CIENCE
OFTHE9OGA3EQUENCE with Ulrika Engman, p. 86.
Please see the full range of yoga offerings in the Guide to Workshops
on page 4.
SERR A LYNN SMICK
Stories of Support from Esalen Faculty
I came to Esalen as a young talent in the field of intuition and healing. When, as my son puts it,
I was a “worst seller”, Esalen stuck with me and when I was a New York Times best seller, I gave
back to Esalen-attracting large workshops and giving philanthropically. In twenty-eight years of
teaching at Esalen, Esalen has stood by me with generous support in all of my incarnations. Now
more than ever, Esalen relies on our support to thrive and function.
Laura Day
People often ask me why I support Esalen. Esalen is the crème de la crème of such institutions. Esalen attracts a smart,
dedicated group of students who challenge and inspire me to be a better teacher. Students come to Esalen with a desire to
learn, and change themselves and our world for the better. Many have a sophistication that enlightens every teacher about
their own work. Extended Students participating in Esalen’s residential education program come from all over the world.
They leave with a tool kit of inclusive humanistic approaches to life, and have taken my work to other countries and places
that I hadn’t thought of, from prisons to monasteries.
Perched between the ocean and mountains and dotted with jasmine, natural healing hot springs, colors of the Farm and
Garden, impromptu musicians, and deities – being at Esalen is deeply nourishing for the soul. It is also one of the most
beautiful places on earth, where real people come to learn how best to awaken and share their unique gifts while reveling
in the sacred land and healing waters. Esalen is the standard of excellence, a unique place where teachers and students alike
can focus on learning, healing, and growing.
Bestselling author Laura Day will teach 0RACTICAL)NTUITION&ULL%FFECTIVENESS,IVING June 5–7. See page 93 for details.
Thank you, Laura Day, and all Esalen faculty for your contributions, volunteerism and philanthropic support.
9
faculty spotlight: A Closer Look
#HRISTOPHER'ERMERAND+RISTIN.EFF
Chris Germer
and Kristin Neff
are long-term
practitioners of
insight meditation dedicated to
integrating the
ancient wisdom
of Buddhist
psychology with
the modern
knowledge of Western science. Kristin is a pioneer in the
field of self-compassion research, while Chris has played a
key role in bringing mindfulness and compassion into the
world of psychotherapy. The two met while attending a
meditation retreat for scientists in 2008. During the drive
back from the retreat center, their conversation went something like this: “Kristin, you do such great research on
self-compassion, you should create a training program to help
people learn to be more self-compassionate in their daily
lives.” “Chris, are you crazy? I’ve never taught a workshop in
my life. This is what you do for a living. You should create a
training program...” At that moment, the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program was born, and MSC is now being
taught around the world. Join Chris and Kristin at Esalen for
an intensive week of mindfulness and self-compassion
practices, and the positive ripple effect that they bring into
our communities and lives.
See -INDFUL3ELF#OMPASSION-3#4RAINING January 11–16.
+ATIE(ENDRICKS
Katie Hendricks considers the
awakening of deep body intelligence
the central human skill needed to
authentically recognize our fellow
humans, to dissolve the deep feartrance gripping much of the world,
and to co-create essential bridges for
healing the larger planetary body. She
believes that when we are at home in
our bodies and love ourselves deeply,
10
we see others as our allies and co-creative partners in quantum
growth and quantum joy. The nature of conscious movement—
getting the mind in the muscles and bones — has been the core
practice in the living laboratory of her personal and professional work for more than forty years.
From the age of four, Katie could see/feel energy, though she
didn’t know what to call it. In college, she graduated with an
independently generated major in Kinetic Emotional Communication, and she was Joan Chodorow’s first dance/movement
therapy apprentice, and Mary Whitehouse’s protégé. Now, as
co-founder and director of training at the Hendricks Institute,
she delights in expanding the transformational possibilities of
love personally, and in ten books, over a million frequent-flyer
miles, and many workshops and trainings.
See 0LUGGINGINTO"ODY)NTELLIGENCE,OVE9OUR"ODY,IVE
9OUR$REAMSAND,EADTHE#HANGE January 16–18.
.ORA"ATESONAND-ARK7ATTS
In January, Nora Bateson and Mark
Watts will lead a unique journey into
the heart and soul of Esalen. They’ll
carve a lively path into the Esalen
audio archive, which holds the voices
of many of the Institute’s most
pioneering minds, including those
of their own fathers: psychologist
Gregory Bateson and philosopher
Alan Watts. Join two exceptional
guides to explore the ideas, paradoxes,
humor, and revelations that permeated
Esalen during its formative years and
inform its continuing relevance today.
Both Mark and Nora have completed
biographic films about their fathers
within the past few years, and are
currently involved in numerous
projects around these works. Nora
lives in Stockholm, Sweden, and
develops research, art, and writing projects with the collaboration of the International Bateson Institute. Together with a
team of scientists, thinkers, and artists, she’s generating a new
form of inquiry called “transcontextual research” in ecology,
economy, social change, health, education, and art.
Mark lives north of San Francisco, and is currently involved in
filmmaking, growing the Alan Watts Mountain Center, and
shepherding the historic performances and vital ideas of the
human potential movement into the future.
We are endlessly busy and yet we often don’t accomplish our
most important priorities. We do the things that scream the
loudest, rather than the things that are most important to us
and our lives.”
See "ATESONAND7ATTS-ISCHIEF-AKERSINTHE#ULTURAL
-ETAPHOR January 25–30.
Peter’s Esalen workshop offers the opportunity to gain a
bird’s-eye view of your life — what you’re doing, where you’re
spending your energy, how your time is spent — and then
refocus, descending back into your life in a way that maximizes
your talents and gifts to achieve your most important priorities
— with the courage and direction to live fully.
$APHNE2OSE+INGMA
Daphne Rose Kingma became an
apprentice in the emotional and
spiritual mysteries of love at her family
kitchen table. There, through the
compelling and beautiful interactions
of five siblings, an artist mother, and
an English professor father, she
became the enthralled observer of
what people do with each other, how
they do it, and why. In time, this early
fascination with the delicate and tragic nuances of human
interpersonal engagement became the spawning ground for
more than a dozen books about love and relationships, among
them the best-sellers Coming Apart and The Future of Love, as
well as a long career as a psychotherapist and teacher of
relationships as a spiritual art form.
“At the core of my teaching,” writes Daphne, “is an intention to
make Love visible, not only in our engagements with others,
but also with ourselves; and through that vivid awareness to
forge a path to living with clarity and passion, and in a creative
dialogue with life itself.”
Daphne has taught at Esalen for seventeen years, and this
season we are proud to introduce her new weekend workshop
for women.
See &INDING4RUE,OVE February 13–15 and !&UTURE5NEXPECTED7OMEN#REATINGAN5NIMAGINED,IFE April 10–12.
0ETER"REGMAN
“As a business leader, writer, speaker,
teacher, and the father of three young
children, I know what it’s like to get
distracted,” writes Peter Bregman. “We
live in an ADD world where there are
few, if any, boundaries. We can be
reached anywhere, anytime. We can
do work anywhere, anytime. And we
end up exhausted and overwhelmed.
He is the author, most recently, of the best seller, 18 Minutes:
Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done,
winner of the gold medal from the Axiom Business Book
Awards, named the best business book of the year on NPR.
See &IND9OUR&OCUS-ASTER$ISTRACTIONAND'ETTHE2IGHT
4HINGS$ONE May 1–3.
2OBERT0ENG
9^!)'!Y^dXUSYdi_VHYQ^WdQ^
Hunan province, at the height of the
Chinese cultural revolution, Robert
@U^W]UdXYcaYW_^W]QcdUbHYQ_IQ_
B_RUbdgQcUYWXdQ^THYQ_IQ_Q
highly realized Buddhist monk, was
eighty-four, although he looked and
acted like a much younger man. The
dg_RUSQ]UVbYU^TcQ^T_ÛTQiHYQ_
Yao offered to teach Robert the martial
arts, an illegal activity at the time. Robert eagerly accepted and
RUSQ]UHYQ_IQ_ćcUSbUdTYcSY`\U
?fUbdY]UHYQ_IQ_Y^YdYQdUTB_RUbdY^d_dXUXUQ\Y^WQbdcQ^T
advanced meditation practices. As a teenager, Robert performed a 100-day water fast in a dark stone chamber under a
remote temple that was perched atop the snow-capped mountains of Hunan province. During that experience, he underwent many transformative ordeals, culminating in a state of
consciousness known as Small Death Big Life, during which
all of his vital signs virtually disappeared. After eight days in
this state, Robert developed unique healing gifts including the
ability to emit a form of bio-energy that feels like a strong
electric current. Today, Robert uses his spiritual experience in
his qigong practice.
During his two Esalen workshops, Robert will introduce the
foundational principles and practices of qigong that he learned
Vb_]HYQ_IQ_
See 'UARDIAN1IGONG"OOST9OUR)NNER0OWER June 5–7, and
1IGONG%MPOWERMENTAND(EALING)NTENSIVE June 7–12.
11
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Esalen Workshops
7EEKENDOF*ANUARYn
#REATIVITY/N$EMAND(OWTO)GNITE
AND3USTAINTHE&IREOF'ENIUS
Michael Gelb
Creative energy is our ultimate resource.
Throughout history, geniuses such as Leonardo
da Vinci, Marie Curie, Nikola Tesla, and others,
had an intuitive understanding of how to
connect with and utilize this energy. Based on
Michael Gelb’s new book, Creativity On Demand:
How to Ignite and Sustain the Fire of Genius, this
program guides you to access, cultivate, store,
and express creative energy. Through
meditation, “Qi for Creativity,” and other
exercises, you can experience a dramatic
empowerment. Gelb has worked with many of
the world’s leading masters of qigong, yoga, and
aikido, and has asked them each to contribute
their single most powerful practice that the
12
average person can do to raise his or her
baseline of creative energy. Gelb has combined
these practical energy cultivation exercises with
more than thirty-five years of experience
teaching the creative process. The result is a
unique, energizing, and transformational
program. Join Gelb for this opportunity to
master the art of creative thinking. He will
guide you in an exploration of your mind’s
potential that is entertaining and illuminating.
Recommended reading: Gelb, Body Learning:
An Introduction to the Alexander Technique, How
to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, and Creativity
On Demand: How to Ignite and Sustain the Fire of
Genius.
-ICHAEL*'ELBis an authority on the application
of genius thinking to personal and organizational development, and the bestselling author of 14 books. A
pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, innovative
leadership, and mind-body-spirit integration, Gelb
is a speaker and organizational consultant. www.
michaelgelb.com
4HE3HARED(EART.EW9EARS2ETREAT
for Couples
Joyce Vissell & Barry Vissell
Imagine your relationship expressing the true
depths of your love and commitment. If you are
in love, this retreat is an opportunity to rise
even higher in love. If you are in crisis, it is an
opportunity for healing on the deepest level.
We all carry some degree of negative programming from our past, and there are loving and
effective ways to transform this programming
into a positive and vibrant celebration of our
connection.
During this workshop you will experience exercises and practices for you to do with each other,
therapeutic coaching of each couple by the Vissells, the support of other couples, and time for
sharing after each practice.
Participants are given tools for deeper appreciation and communication building, including
healthy communication of feelings, our partner
Register online at www.esalen.org or by calling 888-8-ESALEN (888-837-2536).
as a mirror, understanding and respecting each
other’s differences, conflict resolution, healing
past hurts, sexual wellness, inner child/inner
parent, taking responsibility, and developing a
true inner connection. For more information,
visit www.SharedHeart.org.
Recommended reading: Vissell and Vissell,
Light in the Mirror.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see page 6.
*OYCE6ISSELLis a masters-level nurse/psychotherapist who, with her husband Barry, founded the
Shared Heart Foundation dedicated to changing
the world one heart at a time. Together they write
a syndicated column for 80 periodicals worldwide.
www.sharedheart.org
"ARRY6ISSELLis a psychiatrist who, with his wife
Joyce, practices the medicine of unconditional love
worldwide. He and Joyce have coauthored many
books, including The Shared Heart, Models of
Love, Meant To Be, and A Mother’s Final Gift,
among others. www.sharedheart.org
Rarely, however, do we allow ourselves the time
to stop and look at what is changing and what
will prepare us for the next phase. Drawing on
psychological principles and ancient wisdom
traditions to guide us, we will create a unique
environment in which peers can come together
for a rare opportunity of deep personal learning
and exploration. Our goal is renewing the self,
and designing and creating the year and the life
we want.
heart of the dance circles of Brazil, currently Cida
teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mestre Beiçola is a native of Brazil and 30-year
master of capoeira, an African-Brazilian martial art
and dance form. Now based in East Palo Alto, Calif.,
Beiçola has taught capoeira, Brazilian dance, percussion, and stringed instruments at Stanford, UC
Berkeley, and elsewhere. www.brazivedas.com
You will develop a set of tools, practices, and
intentions as a foundation for the next year and
next stage of life. Together we will create a supportive community to make this experiential
workshop safe, enlivening, and nurturing.
7EEKOF*ANUARYn
-ARK.ICOLSONis an organizational consultant
based in Silicon Valley, Calif. He specializes in
leadership development and in the effectiveness of
teams and organizations. He is also the co-founder of
Ventana Group, LeadershipDNA, and the Tutu Peace
Ambassadors. www.leadershipdna.com
!4IMETO2EmECT
This is a special opportunity for people to
experience Esalen without taking a workshop.
During this period, we have a limited number of
spaces available for people who would like to
participate in the Esalen learning culture in
their own unstructured way. Deeply nourish
your body, mind, heart, and soul through
beautifully prepared and healthy meals, daily
yoga and movement classes, the hot springs and
massages, time in the meditation center, tea
with new friends, or even an evening program,
lecture, or open workshop session, when
available. Space in the program is limited, so we
recommend you register early.
We recommend that you bring the following:
journal, digital camera, art supplies, hiking/
walking shoes, a good book, and a map of the
Big Sur coast. A discounted workshop fee applies. Please contact Esalen Reservations for
details.
$ESIGNINGTHE,IFE9OU7ANT
3ELF2ENEWALINTHE.EW9EAR
Mark Nicolson
You have never been where you are today. You
have never been the age you are today, or had the
experience you have today. The river of life
flows and we find ourselves in places we have
never been before. At times, you must pause and
reflect: Have you created the life you want? Are
you going in the right direction? Are you who
you want to be?
4HE"RAZILIAN3OUL
$ANCEAND$RUMMING
Cida Vieira & Mestre Beiçola
Drumming inspires people to connect.
Nationalities and individual agendas disappear; what remains is the grounding presence
of our transformed selves — our spirits
lightened and empowered. Join Cida Vieira
and Mestre Beicola on this journey of joy
straight into the heart of Brazilian dance and
music. This hands-on (and “feet-on”) workshop
explores the instruments, rhythms, music, and
the samba dance jeitinho brasieliro (“of the
Brazilian way”) in an inclusive and safe
environment. Cida writes: “My teaching
focuses more on movement than on technical
aspects, so that participants can achieve a lively
workout and, most importantly, have fun.” This
workshop is for everyone aged 14 and up who
enjoys and wants to learn more about Brazilian
dance and music and its impact in their soul.
Please bring drums and/or any instruments (if
you have them), along with a significant item
to place on a communal altar as a way of
sharing your essence. Expect nothing and be
ready for everything! No previous dance or
drumming experience is necessary. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an
adult.
has choreographed and performed in
the US, South America, and Europe, with dance
groups and artists including Xuxa, Ray Charles,
Daniela Mercury, and Airto Moreira. Born at the
Cida Vieira
2HYTHMS® : Heartbeat
Lucia Horan
Love is not a mood, but a dynamic way of being.
—Gabrielle Roth
The spontaneous heart is one that knows how
to love and be loved. The Heartbeat map is a
guide to how our emotional energy moves and
morphs. In this practice we embody the art
of being a fluid emotional athlete. This map
teaches us how to navigate the emotional terrain of life without getting stuck, holding on, or
pushing away.
We will explore how the body has been shaped
by our emotions and we will learn to track
when the heart is open and when it is closed.
As waves of feeling move through us, we learn
how to trust the dance to lead us in a healthy
and creative way. Through the embodiment of
this practice, you will be shown skills to take
home and use in your daily life. This workshop
is designed for everyone, of every age, and shape.
No experience is required. All workshop hours
contribute to 5Rhythms® teacher training prerequisites.
Recommended reading: Roth, Sweat Your
Prayers, Maps to Ecstasy, and Connections.
CE credit for massage; see page 6.
,UCIA(ORANwas born into the family of the
5Rhythms® and raised at Esalen Institute. She became a 5Rhythms® teacher in 1997, is now internationally recognized, and a current faculty member
of Gabrielle Roth’s Moving Center School, NY.
www.luciarose.com
4AKING2EFUGE#OMMITTINGTOTHE
0RACTICESAND0RINCIPLESOF!WAKENING
Noah Levine
We are always taking refuge in something,
and for most this means seeking safety and
happiness in material things and sensual
pleasures. Of course, we are always disappointed
13
See pages 110 –111 for reservations, fees, accommodations, scholarship information, and discounts.
in the material or sensual promises because
they never actually provide the inner satisfaction we were hoping for. Those of us who have
seen the truth that our happiness will never
come from outside ourselves begin to seek a
reliable internal refuge, a way of practice and
lifestyle that supports being wise and compassionate. In Buddhism this is called “taking
refuge” in our own potential for awakening
(Buddha), in the path that leads to awakening
(dharma) and in the community that supports
us on the path (sangha).
In this retreat, participants will be taught the
core teachings of the Buddha’s Four Noble
Truths, will be guided in meditation practices,
and will have the opportunity to formally commit or recommit to the path of Awakening.
Dave Smith, a Buddhist meditation teacher and
addiction treatment specialist, will join Noah as
a special guest presenter.
.OAH,EVINEis the founder of the Against The
Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, and has created
a process of addiction recovery based on the teachings
of the Buddha called Refuge Recovery. He is the author of Dharma Punx, Against the Stream, Heart
of the Revolution, and Refuge Recovery. www.
againstthestream.org
"ORNTO"E-E#REATINGAN!UTHENTIC
,IFEOF0ASSIONAND0URPOSEFOR7OMEN
Karen Ely
If you’ve ever asked yourself, “What are my
dreams — or, did I ever have any?” or “What do
I really want to do with the rest of my life?”
then you are not alone. After a life of being
everything to everyone else, there can come a
point when we wake up and ask ourselves,
“Who am I besides the roles I play?”
As women, we may have been on remote control, living the same kind of lives as our mothers
and grandmothers, or maybe forging our own
path. But there is still a moment when we recognize that we might be more than the roles we’ve
been playing. After this revelation, we often
find ourselves unable to move in any direction
because we have no idea how to enact change,
where we want to go, or whom to ask for support in the process.
This workshop for women offers the unique
opportunity to step back from your day-to-day
busy-ness to cultivate clarity about the woman
you were born to be. We will walk quietly in nature, sit joyfully in circle, journal, meditate, and
work experientially in small and large groups.
Over the course of the workshop, you will be
14
nurtured, supported, and guided toward learning to “see” with new eyes and find the tools you
need to move powerfully back into your life
with a deeper sense of yourself.
+AREN%LY is the founding director of A Woman’s
Way, one of the country’s premiere women’s retreat
programs, and the author of Daring to Dream: Reflections on the Year I Found Myself, A Retreat
of My Own, Breathing Space, and
A Safe Place to Stand (forthcoming).
www.awomansway.com
3TART/VER#HOOSE!LIVENESS
AND)NTIMACY
Mary Goldenson
One day you finally knew what you had to do,
and began.
–Mary Oliver
Start over: The resilient brain is always starting over. Aliveness: Show up, speak from your
heart, suspend judgment, and be open to outcome. Intimacy: Move closer to yourself and
someone else with the possibility that you could
be forever changed by the experience. We have
all experienced moments of feeling totally alive,
yet much of our life is spent in a half-asleep:
half-committed state of being. While there are
many life-situations beyond our control, we
choose how we respond to these events. The
choice to be passionately alive is an act of courage.
To choose life is to open ourselves to all of life:
suffering, joy, success, failure, love, and grief. It
is to fully acknowledge the truth of who we are,
commit to living our deepest values and dreams,
define what we must change in our relationships, and learn new ways to heal, forgive, and
communicate. This workshop is designed to
bring to awareness our unconscious choices of
how we deaden ourselves and to create the possibility for new aliveness and passionate involvement. It provides insight into starting over,
aliveness, and intimacy for clinical work, using
the practices drawn from cognitive behavioral
therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, psychodynamic, and Gestalt methods.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time: No
One’s Coming to Save You.
CE credit for psychologists; see page 6.
-ARY'OLDENSON, PhD, is the author of It’s Time:
No One’s Coming to Save You. She is a clinical
psychologist currently specializing in the resilience
we need to live life. She has a private practice in Los
Angeles focusing on relationships, transitions, and
mediation. Mary has been working with Esalen for
almost 40 years. www.drmarygoldenson.com
1IGONGFOR(EALTH#REATIVITYAND
Empowerment
Michael Gelb & Roger Jahnke
“Qi cultivation strengthens your vitality, and
enhanced vitality is a key to liberating
creativity,” writes Michael J. Gelb in Creativity
On Demand: How to Ignite and Sustain the Fire of
Genius. Gelb explains, “The fire of genius isn’t
just a metaphor, it is qi.” In the research for this
book Gelb interviewed and studied with many
of the world’s leading qigong masters including
Dr. Roger Jahnke, author of The Healing Power of
Qi. Jahnke writes, “The average human being
has a longing to create but is not necessarily
well enough, or energized enough, to fulfill it.
For many people, qi cultivation provides a
missing link in their quest to realize their
creative potential.” Jahnke adds, “With greater
vitality we are able to think, feel, and act more
creatively. And these practices awaken the
aspect of our self that is completely unlimited
and free of influence from any bias or preconception — the eternal self or spirit — thus
summoning the transcendental energy of
higher creativity.”
In this innovative program, Jahnke and Gelb
will guide you to summon, store, and utilize
this transcendental energy to experience an
empowerment of your wellness, vitality, and
creativity. No prior experience is required, and
this workshop is perfect for qigong, tai chi, and
yoga practitioners, as well as artists, writers,
performers, health professionals, students of
traditional Chinese healing practices, and all
those who seek healing.
-ICHAEL*'ELBbio on page 12.
2OGER*AHNKE, OMD, has dedicated his professional
life to sharing the powerful ancient healing traditions of China. He is the director and chief instructor
of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, in
Santa Barbara, Calif., and a cofounder and recent
chairperson of the board of the National Qigong Association. www.feeltheqi.com
&UNDAMENTALSOF%SALEN® Massage
Dean Marson & Nora Matten
This workshop introduces the core concepts of
Esalen Massage. Through brief lectures and
demonstrations, and with plenty of personal
supervision of hands-on work, the workshop
presents essential tools and information,
including the long, balancing strokes and
gentle stretches that are the foundation of
Esalen Massage. The principle elements of
bodywork, including breath and sensory
awareness practices, grounding, movement,
and quality of contact will also be introduced
and practiced, creating a firm foundation for
learning massage. This workshop is especially
useful for those in the helping and healing
professions in working with their clients and
patients.
Come prepared to enjoy the healing waters of
the natural hot springs and the magical beauty
of the Esalen property. All levels of experience
are welcome.
CE credit for nurses; see page 6.
teaches Esalen® Massage and Ocean
Yoga. He integrates meditation, movement, and
bodywork practices to assist people in enlivening
!4IMETO2EmECT
This is a special opportunity for people to experience Esalen without taking a workshop. Please
see page 13 for full description.
7EEKENDOF*ANUARYn
4HE2HYTHMS®AND&OUNDATIONS
of Mindfulness
Lucia Horan & Noah Levine
In order to understand the dance one must be still.
And in order to truly understand stillness one
must dance.
—Rumi
In this weekend of meditation and dance, will
we integrate the stillness of Buddhist mindfulness meditation with the moving meditations
of the 5Rhythms. The Buddha encouraged us
to bring wise attention to every aspect of our
lives. In sitting meditation, we have the op-
DOUG ELLIS
Dean Marson
their bodies and their lives. He has led workshops at
Esalen and internationally for more than 20 years.
www.beEnlivened.com
.ORA-ATTENis a member of the Esalen Massage
crew and an Esalen® Massage teacher. As part of
the Esalen Movement staff, she teaches dance and
yoga. Her work draws on Forrest yoga, Soul Motion,
vipassana meditation, Gestalt Awareness Practice,
and the Diamond Approach, among others. www.
noramatten.com
15
C A MERON JORDAN
portunity to observe the mind and body at rest
through silent introspection. In the practice of
the 5Rhythms, we engage in mindfulness while
in motion. The 5Rhythms is a map that teaches
how energy moves. The two polarities of moving and sitting meditation together mirror the
dance of life. In this journey we are always moving between these two spectrums. If one learns
to not cling or avoid, one can hold the place of
the silent witness and be with all that life offers.
Noah encourages meditation students to practice mindful dancing in order to bring balance
and insight into their lives. Lucia invites dancers to engage in sitting meditation in order to
embody integration, balance, and insight. Join
them for the groundbreaking union of these
two deep and wise practices.
,UCIA(ORANbio on page 13.
.OAH,EVINE bio on page 14.
&ULLY!LIVE3ET9OUR.EW9EAR
in Motion
Jovinna Chan
Who am I? What is my purpose? How do I live
fully? These are perfect questions to ask yourself
16
at the start of the new year. According to
the Bhagavad Gita, an ancient yogic scripture, it
is better to live your own dharma (calling)
imperfectly, than to live someone else’s dharma
perfectly. Sometimes, however, the greatest
challenge is recognizing your dharma.
The Gita and your own body offer guidance.
In this experiential program, cultivate your
authentic self through the transformative practices of yoga and free-form movement. If you’re
feeling stuck, if you’re ready to pursue your
calling, if you want to re-imagine your life, or if
you simply love yoga, this program invites you
to come alive. Through an empowering series
of yoga practices, build the courage to listen to
your inner calling. Once you experience the
physical and felt sense of being in alignment
— your breath flows, your body experiences
freedom, you are fully engaged — you can draw
on this embodied knowing to discern your passions and dharma. Return home with simple
principles drawn from yoga and your inner
wisdom to transform your everyday life and
set your new year in motion. No experience
required. Bring a yoga mat and journal.
*OVINNA#HAN, E-RYT 500, is co-founder of Shakti
Initiation and leads transformational programs
around the world. She is a faculty member of Pranotthan School of Yoga, served as the assistant dean,
200-and 500-hour teacher trainer for the Kripalu
School of Yoga, and she’s also certified in LetYourYogaDance and Soul Motion™.
www.jovinna.com
Esalen®-ASSAGEFOR#OUPLES&RIENDS
OR&AMILY-EMBERS
Brita Ostrom & Oliver Bailey
A tender touch can do wonders for any
relationship by easing stress and deepening
subtle communication skills. Enjoy the beauty
of Big Sur as you and your partner — friend,
lover, or relative — learn to give each other an
effective massage. Emphasis will be on
“hearing” with the hands, asking for what you
need, and taking the time to truly nurture
yourself and your partner. Sessions will include
basic centering exercises, brief demonstrations,
at-the-table guidance, and plenty of time for
practice and feedback.
This weekend of mutual giving and receiving
is for those who wish to learn the essential ele-
ments of Esalen Massage; no prior experience is
necessary. Please join us for a pleasurable time
of relaxation, renewal, and re-connection with
your partner and the planet. This workshop is
especially useful for those in the helping and
healing professions in working with their clients and patients.
"RITA/STROMhas led massage and somatic work-
shops at Esalen and internationally for more than 40
years. She is a founding member of the Esalen Massage School, practices Gestalt awareness work, and
participated in Esalen’s two-year somatic education
program. She is also a licensed psychotherapist.
/LIVER"AILEYis a practitioner and instructor of
Esalen® Massage. His background includes training
in Gestalt Practice, neurolinguistic programming,
intuitive work, and meditation.
2ESPITE2EmECT2ELEASE
4HE4HREE2SFOR(OSPICEAND
0ALLIATIVE#ARE0ROFESSIONALS
Charlea Massion
We care deeply for others, but how about
ourselves? Health professionals (nurses,
physicians, chaplains, and social workers) who
work in hospice and palliative care have the
highest rates of burnout and compassion
fatigue. Both in our training and our everyday
work, we focus on patients, families, and their
communities. Daily we encounter people who
are in pain, often intensely suffering at the
interface of life and death. As professionals, we
are expected to not only apply knowledge and
technical expertise, but also respond with
empathy and compassion, regardless of our own
physical, emotional, and spiritual difficulties.
Often there are too few opportunities to
“metabolize” the grief, sorrow, and discomfort
we intimately experience in our work.
This interdisciplinary workshop for health professionals will focus on identifying, exploring,
and improving our own health and self-care
practices. We will evaluate our risks for burnout
and compassion fatigue, discuss more effective
strategies for work-life balance, and share stories
and reflections from our challenging and gratifying work.
#HARLEA-ASSIONa family physician, is the medical
director of a community hospice and an inpatient
palliative care consultant in Santa Cruz, Calif. She
has taught Esalen workshops on self-care and worklife balance for health care professionals since 1998.
*ANUARYn&EBRUARY
HOUR%SALEN® Massage
#ERTIlCATION0ROGRAM
Deborah Anne Medow & Perry Holloman
Esalen offers numerous levels of basic
massage certification. For an overview of
these offerings, please visit www.esalen.org/
page/esalen-massage-certification-programsoverview.
This 250-hour massage certification course
is designed for those who plan to professionally practice massage, or to combine
Esalen Massage skills with another
body-mind discipline. It will provide an
in-depth experience of bodywork as an
aspect of transpersonal growth, reflecting
the rich history of the Esalen approach: an
interweaving of disciplines focused on the
integration of body, mind, and spirit. As
students develop competence during the
course of this training in Esalen Massage
methodology, they will be also be exposed
to approaches such as Sensory Awareness,
Gestalt Process, yoga, and meditation —
all practices focused on supporting the
embodiment of presence and awareness
as we touch. This six-week immersion is
an in-depth experience of Esalen Massage
theory and method, teaching students how
to move beyond technique and embrace
this form as a true healing art.
Through lecture, demonstration, and visual aids, students will study massage as
a holistic approach to optimal health and
functioning. The course offers 250 hours of
comprehensive core massage instruction,
including relevant anatomical and physiological exploration directly linked to the
practice of massage. Students will have
ample time for supervised practice with
each other, emphasizing body mechanics,
self-care, and innovation.
The massage curriculum includes centering skills, Esalen long stroke methods
effective in whole-body integration, draping, detailed structural work, passive joint
movement and stretches, and techniques
that energetically balance a massage. Students will also be taught communication
skills for interacting with clients in a clear,
compassionate manner, including education in difficult ethical situations that
sometimes arise in massage practice.
This 250-hour certification training satisfies the core requirements for CAMTC
certification; all students seeking the
California CMT will need 250-hours of
additional coursework at Esalen or at
another school. It is also open to professionals seeking an immersion-style course
in this effective healing art. Beginners are
welcome, including those not necessarily
interested in professional massage practice, but in a deeper experience of their
own embodiment.
Upon satisfactory completion, and after
documenting thirty additional massages at
your home site, a State-Approved Certificate of Completion for 250 hours will be
issued. The certification fee is $115. Esalen
is an approved school by the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary Education (school
code 2700571).
This is a professional training with limited
admission and is especially useful for those
in the healing professions in working with
their patients and clients. To request an
application form and tuition information,
send e-mail to massagecert@esalen.org or call
831-667-3005. Scholarship assistance may
be available.
Tuition: Shared standard accommodations:
$7500; Shared bunk bed dorm: $5600.
(An additional $20 materials fee is
paid directly to the leader)
$EBORAH!NNE-EDOW, longtime Esalen
workshop leader, yoga instructor, and
bodywork practitioner, teaches yoga, massage,
creative movement, awareness practices, and
related healing disciplines throughout the
US, Europe, and Japan. She is also a certified
nutrition educator, Zumba® dance instructor,
and manager of the Esalen Healing Arts
Department.
0ERRY(OLLOMANhas been a teacher and
practitioner of Esalen® Massage, Deep
Bodywork, and body-oriented approaches to
Gestalt work for more than 20 years. He teaches
in the US, Asia, and Europe, and makes his
home in Big Sur, Calif. www.deepbodywork
.com
17
7EEKOF*ANUARYn
-INDFUL3ELF#OMPASSION-3#
Training
Kristin Neff & Christopher Germer
Self-compassion is the heart of mindfulness. It
is warm-hearted, connected presence during
difficult moments in our lives. Self-compassion
provides emotional strength and resilience that
allows us to admit our shortcomings, motivate
ourselves with encouragement, forgive ourselves
when needed, care for others, and be more fully
ourselves. Rapidly expanding research shows
that self-compassion is strongly associated with
emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety
and depression, healthy habits such as diet and
exercise, and more satisfying personal
relationships.
Fortunately, self-compassion is a skill that can
be cultivated by anyone. You will learn how to:
Practice mindfulness and self-compassion in
daily life
Understand the science of self-compassion
Handle difficult emotions with greater ease
Motivate yourself with kindness rather
than criticism
Transform challenging relationships, old
and new
Manage compassion fatigue
Practice the art of savoring and selfappreciation
Teach simple self-compassion practices to
others
This program is an intensive training program
rather than a retreat. It is a condensed version
of the eight-session, empirically-supported
Mindful Self-Compassion training developed
by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff. MSC
is an experiential journey — an adventure in
self-discovery and self-kindness — supported
by the beautiful Esalen campus. This program
fulfills a prerequisite for becoming a MSC
teacher.
Note: Registration for this program is through
the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. Please
go to http://www.centerformsc.org/Esalen2015 to
register. Please email kristy@centerformsc.org
with questions. Only after you have registered
with the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion,
and paid tuition fees, will you be able to reserve
accommodations at Esalen. For accommodations pricing chart, see http://www.esalen.org/
page/partner-program-pricing. This workshop is
limited to 70 participants.
18
Recommended reading: Neff, Self-Compassion:
The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself; Germer, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion
CE credit for psychologists in Massachusetts; see leader.
3EE&ACULTY3POTLIGHT, page 10.
+RISTIN.EFF0H$is an associate professor of human
development at the University of Texas at Austin. She
is a pioneering researcher into the psychological health
benefits of self-compassion. She is the author of SelfCompassion and Self-Compassion: Step-by-Step,
and is featured in the book and documentary The
Horse Boy. www.self-compassion.org
#HRISTOPHER'ERMER, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice, a clinical instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School, and a founding
faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and
Psychotherapy. He leads workshops internationally
on mindfulness and self-compassion, and is author
of The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion.
www.MindfulSelfCompassion.org
3ELF#OMPASSIONIN)NNERAND/UTER
2ELATIONSHIPS
Richard Schwartz
This five-day retreat is open to anyone —
currently in a relationship or not — who is
interested in exploring the idea that it is
possible and optimal to bring one’s full heart to
any important relationship. In a safe and
supportive environment, this experience will
offer ways to work with the parts of ourselves
that stand in the way of giving and receiving
love fully.
With the beauty of the Pacific coast to support
and nurture their process, participants have the
opportunity to explore many aspects of selfcompassion in the following ways:
Learn about the Internal Family Systems
model of psychotherapy and gain skills that
make self-exploration engaging and deeply
satisfying
Address the question, “Who am I in a
relationship?”
Use tools to understand the nature of
relational burdens and let go of old ways of
relating
Engage in deep personal work that can lead to
the development of new beliefs about oneself
Support and be supported with others on a
similar journey
Increase courage to take new risks in
connecting
2ICHARD3CHWARTZ, PhD, is a systemic family therapist and an academic. Dr. Schwartz developed the
Internal Family Systems model (IFS) and founded
the Center for Self Leadership. A featured speaker for
national professional organizations, Dr. Schwartz
has published 5 books and more than 50 articles
about IFS. www.selfleadership.org
7EEKENDOF*ANUARYn
9OGA0RACTICE2ElNINGAND
-AGNIFYING"ODY-INDAND3PIRIT
Thomas Michael Fortel & Karen Cook
One of the fundamental tenets of yoga
philosophy is that every human being is, at the
core, an expression of divine light and love.
The yogis refer to this as the Supreme Self or
Inner Self. Many of us glimpse this from time
to time, yet a primary focus of our journey is to
honestly address the physical, mental, and
emotional heaviness which covers up our
inner luminosity. This is a necessary paradigm
shift as we move into a fuller expression of our
true nature.
Yoga practice is a double-edged sword requiring both effort and surrender. Effort is necessary as we purify, refine, and integrate body,
mind, emotion, and spirit. Surrender is critical
in the face of alchemical transformation; letting go leads us into the restoration and edification of our true nature, divine light. These
principles unfold in the yoga room as we place
our bodies into postures (asanas), focus our
awareness on breath (pranayama), and enter
the sanctuary of the heart (meditation or
dyana).
Everyone is welcome. Please have a minimum
of three months of recent yoga experience, and
bring a yoga mat.
4HOMAS-ICHAEL&ORTELis a longtime yoga
practitioner/teacher, influenced by the Iyengar,
Ashtanga, and Anusara styles of Hatha yoga, and
drawing from his devotional experience in Bhakti
yoga. He travels widely, sharing his love for yoga.
www.thomasfortel.com
+AREN#OOKis an acupuncturist with more than
25 years of experience in the movement arts. She has
been teaching Yoga since 1997, influenced by Thomas
Fortel Yoga and SpectorDance. Her love of movement
is her joy and invites all to open to their divine light.
www.cookswellness.com
DOUG ELLIS
0LUGGING)NTO"ODY)NTELLIGENCE
,OVE9OUR"ODY,IVE9OUR$REAMS
AND,EADTHE#HANGE
Katie Hendricks & Lamara Heartwell
Humans have the opportunity to make the shift
now from fear-focused, adrenaline-fueled living
to full-body-intelligent living. Body intelligence
expands our perspective beyond fear to the rich,
millennia-long wisdom we carry in our cells.
Body intelligence is the direct, consciously felt
experience of being alive, from the flow of blood
and sensation to the feelings and mental shifts
that interweave with our responses to being in a
body, relationships, work, and the world.
If you’re ready to increase the level of energy,
joy, clarity, and connection in your life, this
seminar can help you discover your true body
intelligence, including the following elements:
Recognize your inner signals for yes and no
Increase your band-width for receiving and
acting on the messages from your body
Navigate the flow of your day with vitality
and balance
Create more fun with work and more pleasure
in general
Shift easily from stress and fear to creativity
and collaboration
Expand your capacity for giving and
receiving love
Heal our collective 2000-year-old myth that
the body is less intelligent than the mind
At the Speed of Life, Centering and the Art of
Intimacy, Conscious Loving, The Conscious
Heart, and Lasting Love.
www.hendricks.com
Lamara Heartwell is a body intelligence expert
who inspires women to claim their bodies as
an essential source of intelligence, power, and
pleasure. She is the founder of Santa Barbara
Dance Tribe, holds a coaching certification from
the Hendricks Institute, and completed counseling
training from the Interchange Institute.
www.lamaraheartwell.com
3ACRED#OMMERCE
"USINESSASA0ATHOF!WAKENING
+ATIE(ENDRICKS0H$"#$-4has been a pio-
Matthew Engelhart & Terces Engelhart
neer in the field of body-mind integration for more
than 40 years. She leads seminars and trainings in
the core skills of conscious living. Her books include
Are you engaged in relationships with staff,
co-workers, or business partners? Have you
experienced frustration in these relationships?
19
What if awakening consciousness was the
context at your workplace? What if conflicts in
your work community were acknowledged as
opportunities to heal collective wounds? What
if the mission of your business was to usher in a
sustainable, spiritually fulfilling society? Sacred
commerce is practicing presence in a
commercial environment.
Matthew and Terces Engelhart are the owners
of Café Gratitude, LLC, a school of transformation in the setting of an organic vegan restaurant chain in California. During this workshop,
with their characteristic humor and passion, the
Engelharts will train participants in the following areas.
How to incorporate simple but profound tools
to help transform your working environment
How to re-create an organization so that
it appreciates in value while its workforce
collectively keeps its attention on the
successful flow of source and supply
How to heal the split between “making a
living” and creating a self-realized, fulfilled,
and vital life
Activities include lectures, partner work, coaching, and demonstrations.
Recommended reading: Engelhart and Engelhart, Sacred Commerce.
7EEKOF*ANUARYn
9OGAAND:EN/NE"RIGHT*EWEL
Tias Little & Henry Shukman
This yoga immersion uncovers the fundamental
common essence of dhyana (meditation) and
asana (posture) practice. We will focus on
cultivating meditative awareness through
internal listening and subtle attunement while
on the mat and also while walking outside at
Esalen. Then, we’ll bring it all to the meditation
cushion. This combination of asana, pranayama
20
KENT WISNER
-ATTHEW%NGELHARTis co-owner of Café Gratitude.
He has coauthored 3 books with Terces Engelhart,
and when they are not on the road speaking or
teaching, he and Terces live on “Be Love” Organic
Farm where they grow food for their 7 restaurants.
www.cafegratitude.com
4ERCES%NGELHARTis co-owner of Café Gratitude.
She has coauthored 3 books with Matthew Engelhart, and when they are not on the road speaking or
teaching, she and Matthew live on “Be Love” Organic Farm where they grow food for their 7 restaurants.
www.cafegratitude.com
(breath), and clear and poignant teachings from
the Zen tradition (poems, koans and lore), helps
us deepen and accelerate our practice. Dhyana,
or Zen Buddhism, has a deep connection to the
natural world, and can help us discover that our
practice is not different from the natural course
of wind, rivers, mountains, and ocean waves.
The aim of this week-long immersion is to
discover our own intrinsic embodiment of this
spirit of naturalness in meditation, yoga
postures, pranayama, walking meditation, and
deep/slow floor unwinding practices. During
the course of this week we will practice
bringing mind and body together in order to
experience greater radiance, love, and joy in our
hearts. Please bring a yoga mat.
combines Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa
yoga in his teaching practice. Also a licensed massage
therapist, he has been influenced by Ida Rolf, Moshe
Feldenkrais, and Thomas Hanna. Tias is a long-time
student of Tsoknyi Rinpoche in the Dzogchen practice of Tibetan Buddhism. www.tiaslittle.com
(ENRY3HUKMANassociate Zen master of Sanbo
Zen, teaches at Mountain Cloud Zen Center in
Santa Fe, NM, and Sonnenhof in Schwarzwald, Germany. He is also a prize-winning poet and novelist,
and frequent contributor to Tricycle and the New
York Times. www.mountaincloud.org
Tias Little
4HE)INTHE3TORM"RINGING3ELF
,EADERSHIPTO%VERYDAY,IFE
Richard Schwartz
This workshop introduces the Internal Family
Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy, and
teaches healing professionals and all who
are interested how to apply it to their own
countertransference. Richard Schwartz
developed IFS over the past twenty-five years as
he learned to set aside his trained assumptions
and truly listen to his clients. IFS is a highly
efficient and effective way of guiding people to
a state of inner clarity and compassion (called
the Self) from which they know how to heal
themselves. From the Self, one can calm and
transform troubling inner voices, the critical
and anxious chatter, the compulsive distractions, and feelings of vulnerability, inadequacy,
and overwhelm. These parts of the psyche are
surprisingly responsive and resilient when
addressed with respect and patience.
A therapist’s ability to remain steady, centered,
and open-hearted in the face of their clients’
extreme emotions or predicaments is central
to his or her effectiveness. By utilizing IFS,
therapists and laypeople can hold this Self state
of loving kindness that allows others to heal
themselves.
At the end of this workshop, participants will
have the tools to understand the role of the Self,
discuss the role of mindfulness in self-awareness, recognize the essential features of the IFS
model, and understand the ways therapists any
anyone can help clients achieve Self-Leadership.
This workshop is for everyone.
2ICHARD3CHWARTZ bio on page 18.
,EADERSHIPASA0ATHTO!WAKENING
Terces Engelhart & Matthew Engelhart
“Leaders are stewards of the collective consciousness who steer the community toward
what is sacred,” write Terces and Matthew
Engelhart. “Leaders hold the seat of love even
when the stormy weather of doubt, fear, or
scarcity rolls through any entity. While the
collective shadow clings to appearances, the
leader-shaman uses his or her tools to distinguish and reveal the illusion disguising itself as
real. Somewhere in the community, someone
has taken too much ‘separation medicine’ and
the leader is the doctor on call.
“In this workshop, you will receive coaching
to be the most transparent person in the room.
Your process and the demons you are wrestling
with will serve as inspiration for others to reveal
and work with their own shadows. Ultimately
you will be able to hone your ability to never
waver on the leadership path by holding space,
listening, taking 100% responsibility, and humbly rousing people from their resignation and
cynicism. Wherever you are, the awakening of
love is transpiring! Come take your seat for this
empowering course.”
($20 materials fee paid directly to the leaders)
Recommended reading: Engelhart and Engelhart, Sacred Commerce and The Abounding River
Logbook.
4ERCES%NGELHARTbio on page 20.
-ATTHEW%NGELHARTbio on page 20.
Komyo Reiki Kai Level 1 certification will be
issued upon completion of the course.
($10 fee for manual and certificate)
#HAR0IASa member of the Esalen massage staff
since 1980, teaches internationally, focusing on bodywork’s energetic, emotional, and spiritual aspect. She
is a Reiki teacher, a Circle of Life facilitator/coach,
and a licensed graduate of The Center for Spiritual
Healing. www.piasoma.com
3ILVIA'UERSENZVAIGis a certified Esalen® Massage
teacher. Astrologer and educator since 1977, she counsels internationally and is a bilingual practitioner
and teacher of Transformational Kinesiology from
Polaris International College, Denmark. She created
Openstars, Somatic Astrology at Esalen in 2000.
www.openstars.com
Esalen®-ASSAGEAND+OMYO2EIKI+AI
2EIKI
Char Pias & Silvia Guersenzvaig
Char Pias and Silvia Guersenzvaig invite you to
step into the New Year by participating in a
five-day journey to renew your body, mind, and
spirit. Silvia says, “The interface of reiki and
Esalen Massage is best described as the dance
between form, energy, structure, and soul.” With
its nurturing contact, long integrating strokes,
and passive rotations, Esalen Massage provides a
state of deep relaxation. Through brief lectures
and supervised hands-on practice, we will focus
on common areas of tension, while addressing
posture, breath, and intention, providing a
continuous experience of presence and healing.
Reiki is an easy-to-learn form of energy work.
Char will teach first-degree Komyo Reiki Kai;
the lineage comes directly from Japan and
contains the original teachings of its founder,
Mikao Usui. The foundation of the practice is
cultivating one’s own spiritual light through
various meditations and receiving four reiki
attunements. Participants will be shown how
to give reiki energy treatments to others and to
themselves. Char will also incorporate simple qi
gong exercises, along with the sounds of crystal
singing bowls.
The intention of this week is to offer tools and
techniques that allow you to give a whole body
massage from a place of ease within yourself
and in the flow of the loving reiki presence.
This workshop is open to beginners and those
who wish to refresh and inspire their current
practice of bodywork or reiki. This workshop
is especially useful for those in the helping and
7EEKENDOF*ANUARYn
4HE7RITERS*OURNEY
#RAFTING0ERSONAL3TORIESTHAT
ARE6IVID#OMPELLINGAND4RUE
Laura Davis
Many of us hold a deep dream of writing. We
want to write so we can understand ourselves
more deeply and so that we can be seen. We
sense that there are stories living inside of us
that need to be told, but in our busy lives, we
have not been able to create the time, space, or
circumstances in which to do so. This workshop
will give you that time. In our hours together,
we will create a vibrant, supportive writing
community. Through creative exercises, guided
meditations, and evocative writing prompts, you
will learn to transform scraps of memory into a
rich written legacy. You can walk away with a
myriad of strategies for writing with fresh
immediacy about events that happened years
ago. We will alternate periods of writing with
listening to each other — not from a place of
judgment or analysis — but from a place of
focused attention and deep acceptance. Both
new and seasoned writers are welcome to
attend.
Recommended reading: Goldberg, Writing
Down the Bones.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see leader.
Laura Davis is the author of seven best-selling books,
including The Courage to Heal and I Thought
We’d Never Speak Again. Founder of The Writer’s
Journey, she leads retreats worldwide and specializes in the use of writing as a transformational tool.
www.lauradavis.net
21
!SHAYA9OGA™ !LIGN9OUR"ODY
!WAKEN9OUR(EART
Todd Norian
Ashaya (AH-shy-ah) is a Sanskrit word that
means “abode of the heart.” Ashaya Yoga
blends precise, biomechanical alignment
techniques with empowering and spiritually
uplifting heart virtues that support a total
awakening and harmony of body, mind, and
spirit. This transformational yoga is more than
just a yoga workout. In addition to building
strength, balance, flexibility, and healing
chronic pain, Ashaya can leave you focused
and inspired to live the best version of
yourself. When you are happy, everyone
becomes happier around you.
During this weekend, you have the opportunity
to:
Receive precise, skillful, and safe alignment
instructions that promote healing
Increase your strength, flexibility, and balance
Practice a wide range of transformational
postures including standing poses, hip
openers, backbends, hand balances, inversions,
forward bends, and twists
Explore the revelatory philosophical teachings
from the Tantra tradition
Release accumulated tensions and limiting
beliefs that bind the heart
Deepen your integration through partner
work, chanting, group sharing, contemplation,
and journaling.
developing gratitude, learning to love yourself,
opening up to the hard stuff as a path to joy, and
finding joy in the happiness of others. Perhaps
you can’t imagine yourself skipping through
a meadow with childlike exuberance. Don’t
worry. Truly happy people are not happy all
the time. They feel sad and angry and have the
whole range of human emotions. Joy is a general feeling of aliveness and well-being that is
characterized by engagement with life, meeting
its ups and downs with authenticity and perspective. It can look very different from person
to person, from a quiet sense of contentment
to bubbly enthusiasm. Identifying how joy expresses itself uniquely through you is one of the
discoveries that awaits.
Note: You do not have to be a “joyful person” to
benefit from this workshop, though you might
have fun anyway.
Recommended reading: Baraz and Alexander,
Awakening Joy: 10 Steps That Will Put You on the
Road to Real Happiness; Foster and Hicks, How
We Choose to Be Happy.
ity. Learn the discipline of carving on a lathe,
turning carving mallets, lamps, weed-pots, and
more, while also discovering the meditative
state that turning takes you to. The final project
is turning a bowl; create your own vessel, a symbol of both holding and releasing.
In a relaxed, informative, and pragmatic style,
Jerry will share his love of trees and the beauty
they hold within. His style of woodturning is
based on the ability to allow the wood to be cut,
rather than forcing it to the turner’s will.
All materials, including mini-lathes and carving
chisels, are supplied, with two people sharing
each lathe. The activities will be individual and
shared, increasing the exchange of ideas. Let
your spirit soar with the shavings, all in the Art
Barn at the edge of the Pacific.
($60 materials fee paid directly to the leader)
*ERRY+ERMODE is a woodturning artist and teacher
in Sebastopol, Calif. He is known as much for his
sense of humor and friendly manner as for his ability with the chisel. He helps people understand the
subtle nuances of cutting wood without fear or trepidation. www.jerrykermode.com
*AMES"ARAZhas been teaching meditation since
1978. He leads workshops internationally, is a
founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center
in Woodacre, Calif., and has taught his popular
online Awakening Joy course since 2003. James
coauthored Awakening Joy with Shoshana
Alexander. www.awakeningjoy.info
*ANE"ARAZ has been practicing meditation since
1976 and leads Awakening Joy workshops internationally. She served on the board of directors at Spirit
Rock Meditation Center and helped start the Spirit
Rock Family Program. Jane is a life coach who helps
women live with more purpose, balance, and fulfillment.
7EEKOF*ANUARYn
!SHAYA9OGA™3TUDY2ETREAT
Todd Norian
7ITHTHE'RAIN4HE!RTOF
.ONVIOLENT7OODTURNING
Ashaya (AH-shy-ah) is a Sanskrit word that
means “abode of the heart.” Ashaya Yoga blends
therapeutic alignment techniques and positive
heart virtues with the empowering teachings of
Tantra philosophy. This transformational yoga
of body, mind, and heart not only supports the
deepening of your yoga practice, but serves as a
tangible means of developing the capacity to
meet life’s challenges off the mat with poise and
equanimity.
!WAKENING*OY
Jerry Kermode
During this retreat, you have the opportunity to:
James Baraz & Jane Baraz
Enjoy an opportunity to learn the ancient craft
of woodturning during this weekend of
hands-on instruction in technique and
philosophy. Bring together the thrill of creating
with the sensuality of working with wood, as
you peel away the exterior to find the art within.
Deepen your understanding of how the fibers
lie within the wood and how the chisel slices
those fibers. Learn to make utilitarian items in
which the spirit of the wood and your own
spirit commingle.
Learn the foundational techniques of the
Ashaya Yoga method
Embody precise alignment techniques that
promote healing
Explore philosophical teachings from the
uplifting Tantra tradition
Practice a wide variety of beginner to
advanced asanas safely with step-by-step
instruction
Develop an at-home practice of kriyas,
pranayamas, mantras, and meditation
The true path of yoga always leads you back
Please bring a yoga mat.
4ODD.ORIAN, E-RYT 500, is an open-hearted and
inspirational yoga teacher. Founder of Ashaya Yoga™,
Todd creates a sanctuary of sublime transformation
in which students step into the power of their heart.
He combines precise technique, warmth, and humor.
www.ashayayoga.com
True happiness is not about acquiring anything,
but rather opening to the natural joy and
aliveness right inside of you. Awakening Joy is
based on a popular ten-month course taken by
thousands since 2003, and designed to develop
our natural capacities for well-being and
happiness.
Learn basic principles and experiential exercises drawn from Buddhist philosophy, and
other supportive practices which are presented
in a user-friendly way. Explore techniques for
22
Jerry Kermode will assist you in using breath,
posture, and attitude to change fear into curios-
C A MERON JORDAN
home to your heart, where you discover the
unique gifts only you can offer the world.
4ODD.ORIAN bio on page 22.
"ATESONAND7ATTS-ISCHIEF-AKERS
INTHE#ULTURAL-ETAPHOR
Nora Bateson & Mark Watts
You are an aperture through which the universe
is looking at and exploring itself.
—Alan Watts
What pattern connects the crab to the lobster, and
the orchid to the primrose and all four of them to me?
And me to you?
— Gregory Bateson
This workshop is a séance of sorts, a tipping
open of the treasure chest that is the Esalen
archives. It is a portal into the rich and formative moment in Esalen’s history when brilliant,
unconventional minds gathered in Big Sur to
dream, think, play, and co-create their way out
of stifling cultural norms of the 1950s. It is a
time that has so much to offer us now.
As we grapple with notions of change, and
bump against limitation in the rigid forms our
culture has carved into our lives, it is a great gift
to refill our gumption through a study of these
riotous characters, and their shameless visions
of what might be possible.
Two bright bards of those early days were anthropologist/ecologist/psychologist Gregory
Bateson and philosopher Alan Watts. They are
both gone now, whispering epiphanies through
the steam of the hot springs, but their unpublished and taped lectures and papers remain,
along with remarkable unseen footage of their
more serious — and playful — moments. Nora
Bateson and Mark Watts will host this gathering, which aims to explore and unpack their
culture-shifting fathers’ talks into the oxygen of
conversation, in order to make a place for new
connections, new ideas, and new analysis to
bubble up.
.ORA"ATESONis president of the International
Bateson Institute, Sweden. She is a filmmaker, lecturer, researcher, writer, and educator. Nora wrote,
directed, and produced the award-winning documentary, An Ecology of Mind. She lectures and teaches
internationally, and has advised for EU policy makers, created curricula for schools, and written for
several journals.
-ARK7ATTSis the son of philosopher Alan Watts.
He is a filmmaker and archivist, and currently is
growing the Alan Watts Mountain Center in
Pt. Reyes, north of San Francisco, Calif.
23
!N)NTRODUCTIONTO2OLF3TRUCTURAL
Integration
Edward Maupin
!S!BOVE3O"ELOW
4HE!LCHEMYOF$ESTINY
Required reading: Maupin, A Dynamic Relation
to Gravity (to order, please email edmaupin@usa.
net.The book also will be available in the Esalen
store). Please bring this book to class.
In every life, there are times when Heaven and
Earth meet. At these moments, we know who
we are and why we are here. Our lives have
meaning, purpose, and passion. How can we
bring more intention to these chance meetings
of Above and Below? How can we play a more
active role in the manifestation of our destiny?
Edward Maupin, a psychologist who was an Esalen
scholar-in-residence from 1966 to 1970, has practiced
Rolfing since 1968, when he was trained by Dr. Ida
Rolf. His early research in Zen Buddhism strongly
influenced his approach to the Rolf Method. www.
edmaupin.com
Benjamin Fox & Lorie Eve Dechar
In ancient alchemical traditions, the goal of
the Great Work was the marriage of Spirit and
Matter, an embodied life directed by a divine
mandate. The achievement of this union was
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
This workshop is an introduction to the
principles of Rolf Structural Integration,
especially designed for body-therapy and
health professionals. Strongly influenced by
his research in Zen Buddhism, Ed Maupin
considers the Rolf Method a meditation on
physical presence as well as a physical therapy.
This approach, based on forty years of Rolfing
practice, strongly emphasizes movement,
balance in gravity, and receptive touch. The
workshop will combine regular movement
classes with hands-on instruction in the first
three sessions of Ida Rolf’s original ten-session series. Nonprofessionals are also
welcome.
24
the true gold of the alchemical quest. This workshop opens us to the celestial maps that guide
our lives, while offering skills and tools that
will allow us to read these maps as we journey
toward the fullest expression of who we are.
Turning to Evolutionary Astrology, Taoist and
archetypal psychology, dream work, plant-spirit
medicine, and story-telling, we’ll explore the
unique patterns and myths that organize our
lives. In the process, we’ll support one another
in transforming the stuck places of our relationships, our work, our health, and our creativity
in order to live more fully in integrity with our
true selves.
Recommended reading: Dechar, Five Spirits:
Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and Spiritual Healing; Forrest, The Inner Sky; Johnson,
Inner Work: Using Dreams and Active Imagination
for Personal Growth.
CE credit for MFTs and LCSWs; see leader.
"ENJAMIN&OXis a licensed massage therapist, cer-
tified Zero Balancer, and Evolutionary astrologer.
He is a co-founder of A New Possibility, Inc., whose
mission is to transform people’s lives through healing,
education, and community-building.
www.anewpossibility.com
,ORIE%VE$ECHARis the author of Five Spirits:
Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and
Spiritual Healing. Her work as an alchemical healer is supported by 25 years of Chinese medical practice and extensive training in Jungian and Gestalt
psychotherapy and Focusing-oriented psychotherapy.
www.fivespirits.com
$RAWINGONTHE2IGHT3IDEOFTHE"RAIN
Lynda Greenberg
For many, drawing seems to be a mysterious
process reserved for the “talented” few. Drawing
on the Right Side of the Brain has debunked
this myth.
Welcoming students who are convinced they
have little talent for drawing and those who
wish to expand their current artistic abilities,
this workshop offers an intensive combination
of discussion and studio exercises. The class is
designed to awaken the perceptual skills for
drawing with confidence.
Based on the pioneering work of Dr. Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
invites participants to see and think differently
by tapping into the non-verbal (non-dominant)
side of the brain. Set in Esalen’s Art Barn on
a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this
workshop will provide students with a host of
stunning views to draw and contemplate. In a
carefully sequenced process, participants will
explore the strategies of seeing that will enable
them to draw with a high degree of skill. By
workshop’s end, participants will have finished
drawings and gained new thinking strategies
to help enhance their general problem-solving
capacity.
Please register early; enrollment is limited
to twenty. A materials list will be sent upon
registration. All exercises will be preceded by
demonstrations and followed by assessments of
individual progress.
Recommended reading: Edwards, Drawing on
the Right Side of the Brain.
,YNDA'REENBERGhas been practicing art for 30
years and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree. She
teaches at Antelope Valley and Harbor colleges,
among others. She was trained by Dr. Betty Edwards,
author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
www.lyndagreenberg.com
7EEKENDOF*ANUARYn
&EBRUARY
Cultivating Meaning and Happiness
THROUGH-INDFULNESSAND9OGA
Ira Israel
Many of us would benefit from learning how to
dis-identify with the mental chatter in our
heads and cultivate equanimity and nonreactivity. These qualities help us make healthy,
long-term decisions and engender loving,
positive, secure, and supportive attachments to
other people. We must learn to transcend any
blunt tools we developed over the years —
negative self-talk, over-reactions, judgments,
facades, fears, expectations, passive-aggressive
behavior — and replace them with precise tools
such as authentic communications, loving
relationships, balanced lifestyles, commitments
to personal integrity, and yoga and/or
meditation practices.
In this workshop we will explore specific practices that bode favorably for creating meaning
and happiness in our lives. We will determine
our long-term goals and the skills we should
cultivate to realize them. There will be all-level
vinyasa flow yoga classes as well as restorative
yoga classes and we will practice myriad mindfulness meditations to cultivate non-reactivity
in order to reduce drama and de-escalate conflicts. Most importantly, we will learn how to
replace the resentments that our minds create
with gratitude. Please bring a yoga mat.
Ira Israel, LPCC, LMFT, E-RYT500, is a psychotherapist, certified yoga therapist, and the author of
several books, including Mindfulness Meditations
for Anxiety. He has graduate degrees in psychology,
philosophy, and religious studies, has taught mindfulness to thousands of fellow therapists, and writes
about mindfulness and yoga exclusively for the Huffington Post. www.IraIsrael.com
4HE!RTOF3EEING)NTEGRATING
/UR%YES"RAINAND"ODYFOR
Better Wellness
Sam Berne
Today, the fear of losing our eyesight is
escalating because of an increase in many
deteriorating visual conditions. Current
allopathic medical approaches offer little hope.
In this workshop, you will be taught The Berne
Method®, an evidenced-based system designed
to reconnect us to the most important sense
organ we have: our eyes.
Sam Berne has spent more than twenty-five
years developing his method, which teaches that
neuroplasticity exists within us. Topics include:
Primordial movements that relax the reptilian
response that is so ingrained in how we use
our eyes
Vestibular-visual relationship as it relates to
orientation and balance
Therapeutic lenses and prisms that can
enhance peripheral vision and depth
perception
Color and light therapy that can balance our
visual system and improve function in the
endocrine, nervous, and fluid systems
Medicinal essential oils that can strengthen
eye and general well-being
As we begin to match present consciousness
with present seeing, we can ignite our vitality
and awaken our creativity. Trusting the eyes
as a primary navigational system can release
body tension and give us a sense of freedom.
This workshop is especially useful for those in
the helping and healing professions in working
with their clients and patients.
Recommended reading: Berne, Creating Your
Personal Vision (2011 edition) and Without Ritalin: A Natural Approach to A.D.D.
25
CE credit for RD and DTR; see page 6.
CE credit for acupuncturists; see page 6.
3AM"ERNE, OD, is a pioneer in the field of vision
science and holistic health. He is a behavioral optometrist, certified medicinal aromatherapist, certified
craniosacral therapist, and authorized Continuum
teacher. www.drsamberne.com
,IVING0RESENCE3OUL-OTION™ and
%MBODIED)NQUIRY
Zuza Engler & Scott Engler
What if one day, you woke up smack in the
midst of the human condition with absolutely
no need to fix, deny, solve, or transcend
anything? What if you knew how to offer your
friends, family, co-workers, children, clients,
patients, or students (and yourself!) a spacious,
centered presence that could meet every feeling,
ache, joy…and impermanence itself?
Step through the portals of conscious movement and embodied exploration into a direct
experience of this messy, mysterious, and magnificent human life. Let the inquiries of Soul
=_dY_^7UcdQ\d@bQSdYSUQ^TR_TiRQcUT]UTitation take you on a wild ride into the heart of
creativity, community, and connection.
This is just a beginning, not another quick fix –
mainly because there’s nothing to fix. Ours is a
journey with no destination, a whimsical dancing path into a more fully embodied experience
of life. All are welcome.
:UZA%NGLERhas been on the spiral path of
kinesthetic investigation into consciousness for close
to three decades, in motion, stillness, and process
inquiry. She is a Soul Motion™ teacher and trainer,
designer of Embodied Inquiry, and a long-term
practitioner of Buddhism and Gestalt Practice.
www.transformativedance.com
3COTT%NGLER a long-time student of presence and
healing, is a practitioner of Biodynamic Craniosacral
Therapy and Lomi Somatic Education. He holds a
second degree black belt in Aikido and lives in Petaluma, Calif., with his wife Zuza.
,OVE9OURSELFANDTHE2EST7ILL&OLLOW
Mike Robbins
Self-love is one of those things that many of us
know is important on our personal journey, yet
can be challenging to embody and experience
in an authentic way. This workshop explores
why it can be hard for us to genuinely love
ourselves—the familial, cultural, and personal
influences, the thoughts and fears that lead us to
believe that we are not good enough and that
self-love is arrogant or narcissistic, and the
difficulty we may have practicing true loving
kindness towards ourselves. With fun and
vulnerability, we delve deeply into some specific
and powerful ways to experience love towards
ourselves, which in turn impacts our
relationships, work, personal growth practices,
and lives in a profound way. The ideas and
exercises laid out in this interactive program
give you specific practices to:
Make peace with and forgive yourself
Accept and appreciate all of who you are
3QbUV_bQ^TêbdebUi_ebcU\VY^Q^
authentic way
Experience and express your authentic self
Deepen your capacity to love others
Recommended reading: Robbins, Focus on the
Good Stuff and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already
Taken.
-IKE2OBBINSis the author of Focus on the Good
Stuff and Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already
Taken. He delivers seminars around the world, his
books are translated into 12 different languages, and
he writes for The Huffington Post.
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Warning! Common side-effects include increased enthusiasm for being present; spontane-
ous relaxation of body and mind; the re-opening
of curious eyes, ears, and heart; and sustained
moments of genuine contact with yourself and
others.
26
!4IMETO2EmECT
This is a special opportunity for people to
experience Esalen without taking a workshop.
Please see page 13 for full description.
%MOTIONAL-INDFULNESS#ONNECTION
AND(EALINGFOR'AY-EN
Ron Frederick & Timothy Beyer
Why is it so hard for us as gay men to feel
present in our lives and closer to those we love?
For many, the main reason is fear; we’re afraid of
being emotionally present with ourselves and
with others. It’s this fear, often outside of our
awareness, that keeps us from learning how to
tap into our emotional experience. We avoid our
feelings and end up stuck, detached from the
wisdom and power inside us. But it doesn’t have
to be this way. Grounded in contemporary
neuroscience and drawn from a variety of
healing and growth models, this highly
experiential workshop teaches a proven
approach to cultivating “emotional
mindfulness” that will help you:
Recognize the ways you unknowingly cut
yourself off from your emotional power
Tame anxiety and fear and feel more in control
Connect with your true emotions, make use
of their inherent resources, and heal
Authentically and comfortably express
yourself and feel more connected and
receptive to others
You will return home with tools that can help
you break free from old patterns, open your
heart, and transform your life. Clinicians will
be taught an approach to emotional mindfulness that can be integrated into their work with
clients.
Recommended reading: Frederick, Living Like
You Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your
Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want.
2ONALD*&REDERICK, PhD, is a psychologist and
author of the award-winning book Living Like You
Mean It: Use the Wisdom and Power of Your
Emotions to Get the Life You Really Want.
He lectures and facilitates workshops nationally.
www.cfcliving.com
4IMOTHY*"EYER, PhD, is a psychologist and cofounder of the Center for Courageous Living in Beverly Hills, Calif. In practice for more than 16 years,
his passion lies in helping others clarify and achieve
their personal goals and realize their best life.
4HE%CSTASYOF3OUND
!-USICAND(EALING7ORKSHOP
Jennifer Berezan
At the core of all that exists in the universe is
vibration. Many cultures have long believed
that the world itself was created through sound.
Some peoples believe that illness is a musical
problem, a result of a lack of harmony in the
system. This workshop will explore music as a
spiritual practice and a path to opening one’s
heart and uncovering one’s true nature.
Participants will engage in a wide range of musical experiences, from traditional and contemporary traditions, designed to open the heart and
create equanimity, joy, ecstasy, and healing. The
workshop will include sessions of toning, chanting, harmony and rhythm, improvisational
sounding, meditation, and silence, in a safe,
humorous, and sacred environment. No musical
experience is necessary.
*ENNIFER"EREZANis a singer/songwriter, teacher,
and activist. Her groundbreaking work as a
recording artist and teacher has established her
as a leading voice in the field of music, ritual, and
healing. She has released 8 albums and produces
large-scale multicultural, ecstatic ritual events.
www.edgeofwonder.com
7EEKOF&EBRUARYn
4HE3UTRASOF3CIENCE3CIENCEAND
.ONDUALITY2ETREAT
Deepak Chopra with Robert Thurman, Michael
Murphy, Menas Kafatos, Peter Russell, Richard
Miller, Catherine Pepin & friends
The notion that science and spirituality are
somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice
to both.
— Carl Sagan
Science and spirituality have been at odds since
the time of Galileo because of dogma and lack
of dialogue. Yet they are two primary lenses
through which we can explore who we are and
illuminate the mysteries of the universe, while
attempting to solve the current problems facing
humanity.
A new paradigm is emerging today in spirituality, which is grounded in direct experience
and informed by the latest scientific findings.
Ancient spiritual concepts are more and more
directly intertwined with modern-day science,
especially quantum physics. In fact, the founders of quantum mechanics, Heisenberg, Bohr,
and Schrödinger, were avid readers of the Vedic
texts and observed that their experiments in
quantum physics were consistent with what
they had read in the Vedas. Vedic texts such as
the Bahgavad Gita and the Upanishads were collectively considered the most influential books
ever written by eminent people like Thoreau,
Kant, Schopenhauer, Schrödinger, Heisenberg,
Tesla, Einstein, and others.
During this workshop, we’ll explore the seeds
of scientific understanding in ancient scriptures from the traditions of Vedanta, Kashmir
Shaivism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Yoga Nidra,
while addressing such questions as the following: What do science and spirituality have in
common today? How can science inform us on
our spiritual path? How can spirituality expand
the reach of science? How can the study and exploration of consciousness today bring science
and spirituality closer to a space from which
they can mutually benefit?
We will explore all these questions thought
talks, dialogues, exercises, meditation, yoga,
and dance, and connect with one another while
soaking in Esalen’s healing waters.
Note: Tuition for this program differs from other
five-day workshops by an additional $35.
$EEPAK#HOPRA is the author of 70 books translated
into more than 35 languages, including 21 New
York Times best sellers. A pioneer in the field of
mind-body medicine, he is founder of The Chopra
Foundation, and cofounder and chairman of The
Chopra Center for Wellbeing.
For full faculty bios, see page 8.
7EEKENDOF&EBRUARYn
,IVING$EEPLY4HE!RTAND3CIENCE
of Transformation
Cassandra Vieten
We are each always changing, always growing.
But sometimes we encounter moments or
periods of life that are so potent, and so full of
potential, that they transform our consciousness, fundamentally shifting our worldview, our
motives and priorities, and how we relate to
ourselves, others, and the world. Where we have
been limited, we expand. We become more
open, balanced, and aligned with our true
values. Compassion for self and others arises
more naturally.
For more than a decade, research at the Institute
of Noetic Sciences has examined how these
transformations happen and how they can lead
27
to greater meaning, joy, and purpose. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what
your current transformative path is—whether
you seek to transform your life completely or
simply make adjustments to add richness and
depth—learning more about the terrain of consciousness transformation can not only give you
a map, but also can help you become the cartographer of your own journey. Using lecture,
video, discussion, creative process, and deeply
embodied experiential play, we will weave
scientific findings together with wisdom from
the world’s spiritual traditions and your own
authoritative wisdom to explore deep shifts in
consciousness, and how they can be integrated
into everyday life.
Cassandra Vieten, PhD, is president and CEO
of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a licensed clinical
psychologist in San Francisco, and vice-president of the
Institute for Spirituality and Psychology. She co-wrote
Living Deeply: The Art and Science of Transformation in Everyday Life. www.noetic.org
3ACRED%VOLUTION9OGAAND-EDITATION
Charu Rachlis
“We are living in the most accelerated time of
change in history,” Charu Rachlis writes. “The
challenge each of us faces is how to navigate
these changes with wisdom, creativity, and joy.
Yoga as an ancient art and science oriented
toward reducing suffering is the path that will
guide us in our time together. We will weave
together asanas (postures), meditation,
pranayama (conscious breath), and restorative
poses. In times like now, there are huge
opportunities for growth, which we can see as
evolutionary gifts. Regardless of where we live,
our station in life, or the circumstances we face,
if we embrace what is unfolding before us as an
evolutionary gift, we will rise up in consciousness to a new pattern of life. The daily practices
during this workshop will support us in
opening to the new alignments that are
available as long as we surrender and invite
ourselves to wholeness and deep connection
with the earth and the cosmos. We will embark
on a beautiful inner/outer journey that can
prepare us to take on the joy and responsibility
to embrace sacred evolution. Everyone is
welcome.” Please bring a yoga mat and a journal.
#HARU2ACHLISborn and raised in Brazil, has
been teaching yoga in San Francisco since 1997.
She teaches in a Bhakti lineage. She has a 20-year
history of Tibetan Buddhist meditation, and is
28
strongly influenced by Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga.
www.yoginicharu.com
0SYCHEDELIC-EDICINESANDTHE-IND
David Presti & Kristi Panik
Psychedelics are among the most interesting
and poorly understood of all the psychoactive
substances. They produce a variety of complex
effects on the brain and mind, including
intensification of thoughts and feelings,
alterations of sensory perception, and loosening
of psychological defenses. Because of these
complex effects, psychedelics are powerful
probes of the connection between brain
physiology and consciousness, one of the most
deeply mysterious questions in contemporary
science.
In their plant and fungal forms, psychedelics
have likely been used by humans for millennia
for medicinal and spiritual purposes. Modern
scientific research with psychedelics has taken
place for more than a century and was one of
the driving forces in the early days of biological
psychiatry. The widespread popular use of some
of these substances in the 1960s contributed
to legal regulation that closed down human
research. However, after 25 years of quiescence,
human clinical research with psychedelics has
now returned to mainstream science.
This workshop will cover the history, botany,
chemistry, psychology, and sociology of psychedelics, leading up to the re-emergence of multiple arenas of contemporary research that aim
to address the medicinal and spiritual aspects of
these substances.
$AVID0RESTIteaches neurobiology, psychology, and
cognitive science at the University of California in
Berkeley, and worked for many years in the clinical treatment of addiction at the San Francisco VA
Medical Center.
+RISTI0ANIK, MD, is a psychiatrist in private practice and on the clinical staff of the University Student
Health Services at UC Berkeley, Calif.
%XPANDINGTHE0RACTICEOF3EX
4HERAPY!4RAININGFOR(EALTH
0ROFESSIONALS
Gina Ogden
Health, well-being, and intimate relationships
are profoundly affected by sexual issues, yet
most health professionals lack adequate training
to help clients. This workshop brings emotional
and spiritual consciousness to the practice of
sex therapy. It offers an innovative model for
exploring a wide range of situations and
dynamics, and provides opportunities for case
consultation about desire, pleasure, dysfunction,
and more. Its structure encourages personal
awareness along with clinical questions and
networking opportunities. By the end of this
training participants should be able to:
Describe an expanded view of sexual desire
and intimacy that includes physical sensation,
emotional passion, cognitive discernment, and
spiritual longings for connection with self,
partner, and the universe
Articulate distinctions between sex with a
goal of performance, and relational sex that
focuses on pleasure
Identify cultural messages that create a gender
gap in sexual attitudes
Discuss beliefs and stereotypes surrounding
sexuality and aging
Address hot-button issues such as
masturbation, sexual orientation, and affairs
Recognize strategies that relieve effects of
sexual abuse and control
The workshop is designed for physicians, nurses, social workers, family therapists, sexuality
therapists, school counselors, and anyone working with students or clients for whom sexual issues may affect health, empowerment, or safety.
Recommended reading: Ogden, Expanding the
Practice of Sex Therapy, The Heart and Soul of Sex,
The Return of Desire, and Women Who Love Sex.
'INA/GDEN PhD, LMFT, is a sex therapist,
researcher, and shamanic practitioner who leads
workshops internationally. She conducted the only
nationwide survey on sexuality and spirituality
(ISIS). Her latest books are Women Who Love Sex,
The Heart and Soul of Sex, and The Return of
Desire.
&EBRUARYn
0ATHOF$EVOTION
!9OGA4EACHER4RAINING
Janet Stone & Sianna Sherman
Whether you’re an established yoga teacher, an
aspiring teacher, or a dedicated long-time
student of yoga, the alchemy of a yogic path
promises deep transformation.
This unique, two-week-long training begins by
establishing your svadharma, your own personal
VINCE S TA ME Y
path through the many forms and expressions
of the yogic life. To identify your svadharma,
you’ll proceed from inquiry to action through a
series of carefully guided steps:
Sankalpa: Clarify your intention so you know
where you want to go on the path of yoga. Why
do I practice?
Adhikara: Closely look at your own practice
so you can honestly assess your strengths and
your greatest opportunities for growth. What
is the state of my practice now?
Sadhana: Manifest the path you’ve mapped for
yourself through detailed instruction from
Janet and Sianna, practice teaching, and study.
Where do I want my path of practice to lead me?
With this deeper understanding of your
personal path of yoga, you can proceed to
the training’s core curriculum, under the
experienced guidance of Janet, Sianna, tantric
scholar Christopher Hareesh Wallis, and
their assistants. (This training also includes
required unit hours in the Esalen baths, at
Dance Church, and watching the sun set
over the Pacific). Other course activities and
components include the following:
Meditation: Find the foundation for stilling
your mind and connecting with deep
intention
Mantra and bhakti: Open your heart and your
voice in a practice of devotion, surrender, and
offering
Asana, alignment, anatomy, and assisting:
Come to the physical practice as a means to
awakening, liberation, and compassion
Pranayama: Connect with breath and the
subtle body to nourish your life force
Study: Immerse yourself in the teachings
of tantra and learn how to incorporate the
philosophy into your life and teaching
Mythology: Dive into the inner
transformation through mythic consciousness
and learn how to guide your students with
storytelling
Ethics: Get real with the yamas and niyamas,
which are simple tools for a wholesome and
integrated life
Livelihood: Approach the business of yoga as a
part of your practice life
This immersion is designed for teachers, aspir29
ing teachers, and long-term practitioners of
yoga. Those who complete the training will be
eligible for 100 hours of Yoga Alliance Credit.
All hours are applicable to the Janet Stone Yoga
200- and 500-hour training programs and to the
Sianna Sherman Yoga Academy.
Please note: Tuition for this program is $4700 for
standard accommodations and $4150 for bunk
bed accommodations.
*ANET3TONEtraveled to India in 1996, where she
dedicated herself to a conscious evolution through
yoga. Janet blends a wealth of knowledge and
yoga experience to create a unique, vigorous-yetsumptuous approach to Vinyasa yoga. She teaches
in San Francisco and leads retreats internationally.
www.janetstoneyoga.com
3IANNA3HERMANis an inspired storyteller,
devoted yogini, community activator, and innovator
of Mythic Yoga Flow, which weaves mythic
consciousness into the embodied art of yoga. Her
lineage stems from a multitude of yogic disciplines
and her years of dedicated study to Tantra.
www.siannasherman.com
7EEKOF&EBRUARYn
5PLEDGER)NSTITUTE)NTERNATIONALS
3OMATO%MOTIONAL2ELEASE
Chas Perry
SomatoEmotional Release (SER) is a healing
process that helps rid the mind and body of
residual effects of past trauma and associated
negative emotional experiences. Joint research
efforts by Dr. John Upledger and biophysicist
Dr. Zvi Karni led to the discovery that the body
often retains (rather than dissipates) physical
forces resulting from accident, injury, or
emotional trauma, and then isolates the
dysfunctional area, creating an “energy cyst.”
Although a reasonably healthy body can work
and adapt to energy cysts, extra energy is
required to perform normal bodily functions.
As the years pass, the adaptive pattern of the
body loses its effectiveness, and symptoms and
dysfunctions begin to appear which become
more difficult to ignore or suppress.
SER2 was designed to teach you how the SomatoEmotional Release technique may integrate with various creative imagery and dialoguing methods. By attending this class, you will
gain more experience in the SER techniques
and focus on the development of therapeutic
imagery and dialoguing skills. You will also
review and enlarge upon the release technique
for the avenue of expression. The goal is a comfortable, holistic mind-body approach to the
resolution of problems and obstacles related to
patient/client progress and growth.
Before participating in this course, students
must complete Upledger’s CranioSacral 1 and
2 and SomatoEmotional Release 1, either at Esalen or elsewhere.
Note: Registration for this workshop is through
the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators (IAHE) only. IAHE is a coalition of curriculum developers united to advance innovative therapies through high quality continuing
education programs. To register, please call
1-800-311-9204. Only after you have registered
with IAHE and paid tuition fees will you be
able to reserve accommodations at Esalen. For
accommodations pricing chart, see http://www.
esalen.org/page/partner-program-pricing.
CE credit for massage; see leader..
DOUG ELLIS
#HAS0ERRY, PhD, joined the Upledger Institute
International teaching team in 1994 and also teaches
Advanced CranioSacral Therapy and BioAquatic
Explorations.
30
4RAUMA-EMORYANDTHE2ESTORATION
OF/NES3ELF
Bessel van der Kolk & Dana Moore
with Special Guest Licia Sky
Trauma changes the way the brain processes
information and the body engages with the
world. This course explores how trauma affects
people’s rhythms within themselves and
with their surroundings. Because of altered
biological systems, traumatized people continue
to be trapped by their history and react to
current experience in a myriad of ways as a
replay of the past. We explore the neurobiology
of self-regulation and examine ways of
befriending one’s body, both of which are
essential for the integration of traumatic
memories: sensations, action patterns, and
physical sensations derived from the past.
Most experience is automatically processed on
subcortical, that is, unconscious, levels in the
brain. Therefore, insight and understanding
have only a limited influence on people’s control over these processes. We study and experience the capacity of practices such as EMDR,
yoga, Internal Family Systems Therapy, theater
work, and neurofeedback to help people overcome a traumatic past and regain the capacity
to be fully alive in the present.
During this workshop for women of all ages
and sexual and spiritual orientations, we create a safe, confidential environment where you
can learn innovative ways to create heart-toheart communication, expand your capacity
for love, creativity, and compassion, transcend
guilt, shame, and “good-girls-don’t” messages,
and heal the wounds of violence, abuse, and
compulsivity. We merge the latest research with
women’s stories, shamanic journeying, and
sacred ceremony in the Esalen hot springs. Our
work together is based on the following three
principles.
The core power of sexual connection is its
ability to transform our lives — at any age,
with or without a partner
Erotic satisfaction begins with self-esteem
A supportive circle of women sharing
information about sex can be life changing
Please bring two objects to our first session
— one to represent an aspect of your sexual
story you want to keep, the other to represent
an aspect you want to move beyond. You’ll
introduce yourself with these objects, and take
them home with you.
Recommended reading: Ogden, Expanding the
Practice of Sex Therapy, The Heart and Soul of Sex,
The Return of Desire, and Women Who Love Sex.
'INA/GDEN bio on page 28.
"ESSELVANDER+OLK, MD, is a clinical psychiatrist
who has studied the impact and resolution of trauma
on children and adults since 1982. He is professor of
psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine
and medical director of the Trauma Center in Boston. He is author of Psychological Trauma and
coeditor of Traumatic Stress.
www.traumacenter.org
Dana Moore, MAR, MA, LPCC is a therapist who
uses elements of contemplative spirituality supported
by neuroscience to treat psychological trauma. Dana
co-developed the Yoga Program at the Trauma Center and regularly teaches at the International Trauma Conference in Boston. www.journeywell.org
7OMENS3EXUAL3TORIES(EALINGTHE
7OUNDS#ELEBRATINGTHE*OY
Gina Ogden
The route to sexual pleasure and intimacy is like
the route to any other of life’s mysteries. It
means exploring new emotional landscapes. It
means opening your wild, precious, vulnerable
self to nature, divine presence, and the profound
wisdom of your body. It means daring to know
what you want.
4HE&UTUREOF,EADERSHIP
Cultivating Heart and Mind
FORA&LOURISHING7ORLD
George Protos & Barrett Brown
In these times of wild complexity, change, and
opportunity, how do we develop our hearts and
minds to thrive – and help the world thrive – in
the 21st century?
To cultivate transformation in the world around
us requires that we access the deep emotional,
cognitive, and relational capacities within us.
These shifts enable us to make better sense of
challenges we face, see the world with fresh
eyes, and feel centered amid winds of change.
This workshop explores:
The art and science of vertical learning, an
advanced form of self-transformation
What profound human development looks
like in action, and how to cultivate it
Intuitive intelligence to help us navigate
toward the future we want
Complexity thinking to make wiser and more
compassionate decisions
The five most common worldviews and how to
communicate with them
The workshop blends TED-style presentations,
guided meditations, and experiential exercises
to embody and immediately use the ideas. The
facilitators have led organizations and initiatives
using these approaches, so real-world examples
are at the heart of the program. Immersed in
the full experience of Esalen, participants are
invited to allow themselves to explore new ways
of being in community, work, and home life.
'EORGE0ROTOSintegrates the experiences of his
careers in financial services, health care, and as a
teacher of the “pointing-out” way of Tibetan Buddhist meditation since 1995. He leads retreats and an
ongoing meditation study group in Marin County,
Calif.
"ARRETT#"ROWN, PhD, helps individuals navigate
complexity and unlock deep capacities, specializing
in leader development for a flourishing world. He
has served on the leadership team of 16 companies,
NGOs, and foundations, and presented to thousands
worldwide. www.metaintegral.com
7EEKENDOF&EBRUARYn
,OVE3EXAND)NTIMACY
Charlie Bloom & Linda Bloom
For individuals and couples, intimacy is to the
soul as food is to the body. When the longing
for intimacy is satisfied, we experience wholeness and sufficiency, and we can be at one with
ourselves and the world. In conjunction with a
sexual connection, intimacy can be exhilarating, inspiring, even transcendent. The shadow
side of connection is fear of intimacy, which is
actually the fear of loss, rejection, shame, and
humiliation. These fears are common, even
universal, yet their presence need not prevent us
from experiencing the joys of intimate contact.
It is not so much a matter of eliminating these
concerns but of responding to them skillfully.
This workshop addresses how we can do that
and also accomplish the following:
Maintain an open heart in the face of
powerful emotions
Recognize and neutralize patterns that limit
deep connection
Identify what it takes to feel love in all its
physical, sexual, and spiritual splendor
Explore the territory of the heart where
the deep connection of two becomes the
transcendent “one”
31
Experience playfulness and passion
This workshop is designed for individuals and
couples.
Recommended reading: Bloom and Bloom, 101
Things I Wish I Knew When I Got Married: Simple
Lessons to Make Love Last and Secrets of Great Marriages: Real Truth from Real Couples about Lasting
Love.
#HARLIE"LOOMis an educator, therapist, and
seminar leader. He and his wife Linda are
cofounders of Bloomwork and coauthors of Secrets
of Great Marriages: Real Truth from Real
Couples about Lasting Love and 101 Things
I Wish I Knew When I Got Married. He has
facilitated workshops internationally since 1986.
www.bloomwork.com
Linda Bloom is a licensed clinical social worker
and educator. She and her husband Charlie are
cofounders of Bloomwork and coauthors of Secrets
of Great Marriages: Real Truth from Real
Couples about Lasting Love and 101 Things I
Wish I Knew When I Got Married.They have
facilitated workshops internationally since 1986.
www.bloomwork.com
&INDING4RUE,OVE
Daphne Rose Kingma
“Love is the experience of emotional and spiritual awakening to the bliss that is the true condition of the soul,” says Daphne Rose Kingma.
“Love is an essential human quest and intimate
romantic partnership is love’s most luminous
expression.” Join this best-selling author and
expert on matters of the heart for an immersion
into the spiritual and emotional preparations
necessary to attract love into your life. Focusing
on the four keys to true love—Faith, Intention,
Trust, and Surrender—Daphne guides you on a
step-by-step journey to self-knowledge that can
liberate your heart.
As you move through each process, including
resolving emotional issues from your past, healing relationship wounds, examining your myths
about relationships, and identifying your life
theme (and discovering its effects upon your
past relationships), you can discover your own
internal barriers to intimacy and gradually release them.
This workshop is for people who are looking for
a love in the highest and deepest form, for those
who want to heal the pain of old unresolved
relationships, and for those who can’t seem to
bring themselves into alignment with the love
that is already waiting to approach them. Activi32
ties include meditation, exercises, and group
process.
Recommended reading: Kingma, Finding True
Love, The Future of Love, and Coming Apart.
$APHNE2OSE+INGMAis the author of 12 best-
selling books about love and relationships, including
Coming Apart, The Future of Love, and The Ten
Things to Do when Your Life Falls Apart. She
has been a psychotherapist, 6-time guest on Oprah,
partner in a publishing house, studio painter, and
poet. www.daphnekingma.com
%VERYDAY,EADERSHIP
"RINGING!LLOF7HO9OU!RE
TO%VERYTHING9OU$O
Athena Katsaros
Come discover the essence of your unique leadership and how to express it in every aspect of
your life. This workshop is based on the belief
that everyone has the capacity to be a leader and
that leadership is an expression of who you are,
not simply what you do.
This weekend is devoted to you discovering
what makes you unique and developing your
vision for the impact you want to have. Through
conversation, exercises, and a range of processes,
we move beyond conventional definitions of
leadership and toward bringing all of who you
are to everything you do. You will cultivate
new ways of showing up as a leader in your
life–whether it is in your family, community,
organization, or the world.
Working with other participants, explore, test,
and play with your authentic leadership style.
When you embody it, you can experience possibilities you have not yet dreamed of. Goals for
the workshop are:
A deeper understanding of your unique
leadership qualities
Clarity about your purpose and vision as a
leader
Ideas for taking action and making an impact
Recommended reading: Cashman, Leadership
from the Inside Out; Pressfield, The War of Art.
!THENA+ATSAROSis an executive coach and lead-
ership trainer who works with leaders to become
catalysts for positive change in their organizations
and in the world. She cofounded Open A Door
Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to
developing young women leaders in post-conflict
countries. www.ideatribe.com
7EEKOF&EBRUARYn
2OMANCINGTHE7ORLD3OULCRAFT
THE$REAMINGOF.ATUREANDTHE
-YTHO0OETIC)MAGINATION
Bill Plotkin & Geneen Marie Haugen
Great visions and essential enactments of human potential emerge from that mysterious
place where the taproots of soul intertwine with
the dreams of Earth and cosmos. How might we
find the wild trail toward this source of worldtransforming revelation and visionary action?
Approaching the waters, forest, gardens, and
creatures (human and other) at Esalen in the
way of a lover, we’ll explore how a romance with
the world awakens the mytho-poetic imagination. We’ll engage in ceremony, deep imagery
journeys, solo wanderings, soul-oriented dreamwork, trance drumming, and dancing. We’ll live
the question, If Earth is romancing us for her
own purposes — the way the nectar lust of bees
serves the desires of flowers — what wild child,
what honey, will we create from this joining?
Romancing the world is a way of falling into the
depths of soul. It’s a way to nourish greater intimacy with the other-than-human beings with
whom we share the glorious physical world and
the terrain of psyche. It’s a way of imaginative
participation that shifts perception and experience. In the depths of the mytho-poetic imagination await visionary seeds that long for expression in our troubled, tender world — potent
seeds for change agents, tricksters, artists, poets,
therapists, eco-politicians, and true leaders.
"ILL0LOTKIN, founder of Colorado’s Animas Valley
Institute, is a depth psychologist, wilderness-based
soul guide, and agent of cultural evolution. Author
of Soulcraft, Nature and the Human Soul, and
Wild Mind, he has guided thousands of people
through initiatory passages in the underworld of
soul. www.animas.org
Geneen Marie Haugen is a writer, wilderness
wanderer, scholar prone to nature mysticism, and
guide to the intertwined mysteries of Earth and
psyche. Her writing appears in Spiritual Ecology:
The Cry of the Earth, Ecopsychology, Parabola,
and Thomas Berry: Dreamer of the Earth.
www.animas.org
Letting Loose: Remembering
%XPRESSIVE-ARK-AKING
Joanne Beaule Ruggles
From the bottom of your feet to the tips of your
fingers, employ your entire body to make marks
that are in touch with and communicate your
emotions. We will work on mural-sized sheets
of paper and/or canvas in our classroom and
outdoors as we fully immerse ourselves in the
abstract expressionist mark-making process. In
addition, we will explore a range of tools that
allow for heightened expression of our subconscious feelings.
Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, and
Elaine and Willem de Kooning, now is your
chance. Join us as we splash, fling, pour, drip,
smear, and drizzle our way to a state of pure
creative harmony and remember how to be “in
the moment.”
As you create gestural abstractions, you will
have the opportunity to reconnect your creative
intention and your visual response with immediacy and in a manner that is unrestricted
by the limitations of your normal workspace or
your typical work process. If you have always
wanted to revisit the action-painting process
of artists such as Jackson Pollack, Franz Kline,
Joanne Beaule Ruggles
Recommended reading: McNiff, Trust the
Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go.
Roxanna Erickson-Klein &
Mary Ellen Bluntzer
Enrich your healing abilities by exploring
the interface of science and hypnosis. This
in-depth approach joins the conscious and
unconscious minds to engage the body’s natural inclination toward health. This training is
designed to help participants utilize personal
unconscious resources. Methodology is based
on the hypnotic techniques of Milton Erickson.
This course integrates the benefits of conscious
understanding with unconscious resources. We
introduce innovative exercises and tools to draw
C A MERON JORDAN
visual artist and professor emeritus, was named finalist for Cal Poly State
University’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2000),
and was granted its Distinguished Research Award
(2004). Subsequently she received artist grants from
James Irvine, Puffin, and Capelli d’Angeli Foundations. www.beaulerugglesgraphics.com
%XPLORINGTHE'IFTOF(EALING
THROUGH(YPNOSIS
33
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
inner wisdom into physical form. Concepts
will be introduced sequentially, supported with
relevant scientific information, and then balanced with experiential exercises designed to
facilitate one’s growing ability to use hypnosis.
These strategies have been used by the presenters to help patients alleviate limitations associated with chronic pain, addiction, and a multitude
of other conditions. Enjoy using a combination
of information, humor, and experiential exercises to discover the vast possibilities your unconscious holds. This course is especially useful to
health and healing professionals in their work
with clients and patients.
2OXANNA%RICKSON+LEIN, RN, LPC, has extensive
training in hypnosis that began in early family life
as daughter of Milton Erickson. Her extensive clinical work experience encompasses the spectrum from
early life to end of life care. Accessing unrecognized
internal resources is a central emphasis of her practice in Dallas, Texas. www.Erickson-Klein.org
34
-ARY%LLEN"LUNTZER, MD, is an internist in private practice in Dallas, Texas. Her background includes treatment of chronic pain, compassion fatigue,
and torture survivors from around the world. She is
active in wildlife rehabilitation and writes poetry.
#ULTIVATE2OMANTIC)NTELLIGENCE
-OVING&ROM&EARTO,OVE
Frances Verrinder & Michael Griffith
Developing romantic intelligence — the ability to engage in a loving, long-term romantic
relationship — involves learning to express affection, tenderness, kindness, and sexual love, as
well as identifying who is a safe, loving person
to connect with. It also entails uncovering and
transforming our childhood defenses — fear,
withdrawal, anger, and criticism — which kept
us safe as children but no longer work in adulthood.
This workshop draws from attachment theory,
mindfulness, somatic awareness, family systems, and relational Gestalt. In a supportive, safe
environment, we will utilize experiential exer-
cises and small group work, journaling, expressive arts, and movement to help you:
Understand where you are on the attachment
spectrum
Develop somatic awareness of fear,
ambivalence, and avoidance
Relax deeply into your core self as you develop
love, kindness, and acceptance for yourself
and others
Identify and defuse your inner critic
Recognize body language that sends nonverbal, stay-away messages
Practice compassionate assertiveness to speak
your truth, and listening skills so you may
hear others
Develop courage and resilience to reach past
doubt and anxiety to risk connecting with
others, and self-soothing skills to manage
disappointment
Expand your inner and outer resources to
create an emotionally abundant everyday life
Prepare a post-Esalen plan to continue the
important recovery work you have begun
This workshop is for single adults only and is
not suitable for couples. Please bring a journal
and the willingness to be surprised and challenged.
Recommended reading: Levine & Heller,
Attached; Goleman, Social Intelligence.
Austria, and the US since 1982. She has been a
resident student and teacher at Esalen and conducts
trainings and seminars internationally.
7EEKENDOF&EBRUARYn
&RANCES6ERRINDERis a marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, Calif., with 35 years of psychotherapy experience with couples, families, groups,
and individual adults. She is passionate about cultivating loving relationships of all kinds.
www.sfpsych.com
-ICHAEL'RIFlTHis a marriage and family therapist in San Francisco, Calif., who specializes in working with teenagers, men, couples, and families. He is
also a dentist who specializes in treating traumatized
patients, as well as a figurative painter.
3PIRITUAL-ASSAGE,IGHTBODY)NFUSION
AND3HAMANIC0RACTICES
Maria Lucia Bittencourt Sauer
“These special times call us forth to deeply
and intentionally integrate our own healing,
and also to use our hands as wonderful instruments to heal others,” writes Maria Lucia.
“Sometimes we need an invitation to deeply
enter our own body’s energy field, so that selfhealing can occur. Many of us are spirits that
come here with amazing wisdom, but refuse to
be fully embodied, till we are truly seen with
compassion.
“During this workshop, you will be taught Spiritual Massage, a hands-on healing practice that
works directly on the energy body, can cleanse
old thought forms, and addresses emotional,
physical, and spiritual blockages. Working with
emotions and feelings, we sit in the circle and
have the opportunity to express ourselves. As
we journey into the lower world, we can bring
our shadow into the light of consciousness so
we can unify our self in all its parts, and then
move toward healing others and our earth.”
This method can be used with any kind of
bodywork, and also by nurses and doctors in the
operating room. Learning this work can be especially useful for health care professionals.
Recommended reading: Kardec, Book of the
Mediums and Book of the Spirits; Harner, Way of
the Shaman; Campbell, The Hero’s Journey; Richelieu, The Soul’s Journey.
-ARIA,UCIA"ITTENCOURT3AUERhas practiced
spiritual healing in Brazil, Switzerland, France,
-EDICAL1IGONG1I%MPOWERMENT
#ULTIVATE3UPREME7ELL"EINGOF
"ODY-IND3PIRIT
Roger Jahnke
“You will be amazed when you understand the
definition of ‘medical’ in relation to qigong
mind-body practice,” Roger Jahnke writes.
“What limits you or restrains your potential?
Pain, inflammation, sleeplessness, low energy,
untapped creativity, absence of inner peace,
stress, anxiety or depression, or dangerous habits that you don’t even want? Over 50% of us are
suffering from or are at risk for chronic diseases
that are completely preventable. 100% of us are
suffering from stress — stress that can be mastered. Ancient sages and physicians in China
solved these challenges more than 3000 years
ago with very simple and accessible practices.
You produce natural medicines within your
own being which heal and harmonize the body,
mind, emotions, and energy, and reconnect you
with the most neglected yet most powerful aspect of being: spirit.”
During this workshop, you can learn and practice the easy but powerful components of qigong, including movement, breath, self-massage,
and mindfulness. You can learn simple qigong
to master stress and prevent disease, and benefit
for your entire lifetime. The teachings are based
on Jahnke’s bestselling book, The Healer Within.
This retreat is suitable for all levels.
Recommended reading: Jahnke, The Healer
Within and The Healing Promise of Qi.
The Path is a model of resilience based on Stephen Sideroff’s forty years of research and clinical work in helping people overcome personal
blocks and achieve high levels of success, while
optimizing personal health. Based on how the
brain and personality develop, The Path shows
you the signposts and distills the journey down
to one question, “Am I on The Path or off The
Path?”
During this workshop, you’ll learn about the
connection among emotions, stress, and physical symptoms. You’ll be shown relaxation and
biofeedback practices, and learn how to cope
with destructive patterns such as anger, depression, perfectionism, obsessions, procrastination,
and addictions.
Your body will be more resilient, and heal and
perform better. Discussion and experiential
work, including hands-on use of a biofeedback
machine, will facilitate self-awareness, emotional
release and body self-regulation. This program is
especially beneficial for healthcare professionals
in their work with clients and patients.
Recommended reading: Lowen, Joy: The Surrender to the Body and to Life.
3TEPHEN3IDEROFFis a clinical psychologist and
peak performance consultant in Santa Monica,
Calif., assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA’s School
of Medicine, and director of Moonview Sanctuary.
He also founded the Stress Strategies Center at Santa
Monica Hospital. www.thirdwind.org
Women in Transition: Climbing into
9OUR!UTHENTIC3ELF
Jnana Gowan & Suze Allen
CE credit for massage; see page 6
Your house is on fire. Your boat is sinking. What
do you want take with you? What are you happy
to watch sink or go up in flames?
2OGER*AHNKE bio on page 14.
This workshop will help you make these decisions so you can navigate change and rediscover
your most authentic self. In your authenticity,
choose what you desire rather than what you
think you’re supposed to do or what others want
from you. Turbulent times are a call to adventure. Embark on a mythic journey with a transformational blend of rigorous and restorative
Hatha yoga, purposeful writing, deep relaxation,
and guided meditation and ritual. Women in
Transition gives you the time, space, and tools to
ride the wave of change. You’ll learn strategies
4HE0ATH-ASTERINGTHE.INE0ILLARS
OF2ESILIENCEAND3UCCESS
Stephen Sideroff
Our stress and its symptoms are maintained unconsciously as a distraction from emotional issues and harmful thinking. By addressing these
issues, the body can let go, thereby improving
physical health and enhancing performance
and the ability feel joy.
35
and rituals for embracing a deeper connection
to your higher self. Come spend the weekend
in the beauty of Big Sur, interweaving nature,
ceremony, and a healthy dose of humor into the
fabric of who you are. The yoga and writing is
for all levels. Please bring a yoga mat and bolster if you have one, a journal and an item that
symbolizes your deepest, most authentic self.
We will create an altar for the weekend (and the
item will return home with you).
Jnana Gowan, a yoga instructor since 1999 and an
“urban ceremonialist,” is the director of Powerhouse
Education, a company dedicated to health and
well-being. She integrates ceremony and ritual from
the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition (from Peru) into her
teachings. www.powerhed.com
3UZE!LLENis a writer, editor, and coach. She is
the owner of Manuscript Mentor and director of
education and resident playwright at 3Girls Theatre.
Suze is coauthor of The Time-Starved Woman’s
Guide to Emotional Wellbeing, with SD Shanti.
www.timestarvedwoman.com
Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness
Retreat
Jean Kristeller & Andrea Lieberstein
Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT), developed by Jean Kristeller,
addresses the mindless eating so prevalent in
our culture — the type of eating that can lead to
weight gain, obesity, disordered eating patterns,
and stress-related eating.
In this highly participatory weekend, you
can experience a new approach to eating, supported by NIH-funded research, that helps you
cultivate your inner wisdom through a variety
of mindful eating practices and guided meditations. You will be shown how to eat in a way
that is more attuned to your body’s needs, how
to experience the full pleasure and taste of food
without overeating, and how to release the guilt
and struggle so often associated with eating.
Outer wisdom—making personal use of current, scientifically-based nutrition and exercise
guidelines—will also be explored. These tools
can help you make informed, balanced, healthy
choices in your life and be truly nourished by
your food.
In addition to learning specific approaches to
mindful eating, the workshop includes daily
sitting meditations and gentle movement to
bring awareness and deepen your understanding of mindfulness as it supports more balanced
living.
No previous mindfulness meditation experience is required.
36
CE credit for RD and DTR; see page 6.
*EAN+RISTELLER, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who
has used meditation-based interventions for eating
disorders and obesity for more than 20 years. She
receives NIH funding, is a founder of The Center for
Mindful Eating, and is currently on the faculty at
Indiana State University.
Andrea Lieberstein, MPH, RD, directs Mind,
Body, Spirit Programs at Kaiser Permanente San
Francisco, Calif. She is a mindfulness-based stress
reduction and mindful eating instructor, health
educator, stress management coach, and registered
dietitian. www.mindfuleatingtraining.com
7EEKOF&EBRUARYn
3OUL-OTION™ 0AUSE0RESENCE
Vinn Arjuna Martí
“Space is a stretched canvas where the dance
artist unfurls the work of gesture, the inquiry of
mystery, the recognition of the movement moment, and the exploration of stillness,” writes
Arjuna Martí. “It is a medium where we pose
questions, issue statements, and listen.
“In Pause Presence, we cultivate skills to recognize the silence at the core of sound and how we
occupy the space between gestures. This gap is
a gift we give to others and a gift we receive. We
dance in an atmosphere where we are encouraged to step back and notice as well as circle in
with something to say. Also, we learn the worth
of a conscious breath in the dance.”
Soul Motion is a conscious dance practice that
invites students into an inquiry of dance as creative expression, and as dialogue in relationship
to self, other, and all. Soul Motion values each
participant for their unique and distinct voice
in the body choir.
Vinn Arjuna Martí experienced freedom and
aliveness running in circles in the school yard and
dancing in the Bronx. Storytelling informed him
how to speak with presence, and working with young
children taught patience. Arjuna created Soul Motion Conscious Dance Practice. He offers freedom,
aliveness, presence. www.soulmotion.com
#REATE0ERSONAL$IVINATORY#ARDS
WITH3OUL#OLLAGE®
Seena Frost & Mariabruna Sirabella
Are you ready for a full immersion in creativity? Access your imagination and intuition to
create unique collages, and begin your own
deck of imaginal cards: it is simple and satisfying. Browse through piles of images and instinctually find those that represent the many
guides, allies, and challengers active in your
soul. Then use these images to collage cards
that depict your personality parts, archetypal
guides, energetic companion animals, and even
the sentient beings that have loved, taught, and
challenged you.
Gathered in small groups, learn how to give each
image its voice. This shift in perspective can surprise you with the wisdom bubbling up from your
depths. SoulCollage fosters community internally
and externally. It shows us how to befriend our
inner parts, and facilitates authentic connection
with others. This level of respectful and non-judgmental sharing through images leaves an imprint
on the heart. Beginners and veterans of SoulCollage are welcome. This work is based on the work
of C.G. Jung, James Hillman, psychosynthesis,
Gestalt practices, and more.
Recommended reading: Frost, SoulCollage®
Evolving.
3EENA&ROST, LMFT, MDiv, is a clinician, teacher,
poet, and gardener from California, and the founder
of the SoulCollage® process. She wrote SoulCollage®
Evolving and has recorded several CDs. Currently
she trains SoulCollage® facilitators.
www.soulcollage.com
-ARIABRUNA3IRABELLA, LMFT, MS, is a mentor,
artist, and holistic clinician who facilitates programs
and rituals internationally as a trainer in SoulCollage® and BodYnvocations™ (Imagination in Motion
based on the Orixas). She blends indigenous wisdom
and Jungian humanistic psychology to open mind
and heart, and free personality and soul.
www.sirarte.com
4HE9OGAOF7ILLPOWERAND)NTENTION™ :
!*OURNEYTO3ELF-ASTERY
Tracee Stanley
Are you living to your fullest potential? Many
times in life we may feel like a rudderless ship:
aimless, stuck, or having so many projects that
our energy is dispersed and nothing ever gets
accomplished. At other times, we just don’t
know what our purpose is, and if we do have a
sense of our dharma, it can be hard to actualize it with all the other responsibilities that we
have in life. This immersion offers a chance to
journey into the lotus of the heart, uncover our
heart’s deepest desire, and align with our soul’s
unique purpose. Sourced from the teachings in
Rod Stryker’s book, The Four Desires, we access
C A MERON JORDAN
the deepest parts of ourselves through yoga,
meditation, visualization, deep relaxation, and
writing exercises. During this workshop, you
can gain tools to activate willpower, manifest
intentions, and release negative habits. Through
this process of self-study and deep listening, we
come into effortless alignment with who we
truly are meant to be and access the doorway to
our infinite potential. Other goals of the workshop include the following:
Develop a personal practice to reduce lethargy,
procrastination, and other negative habits
Learn deep relaxation techniques to enhance
rejuvenation, memory, and clarity
Access meditations to cultivate intuition and
increase shakti (empowerment)
Uncover and diminish the shadow energy
that keeps you from achieving goals
Recommended reading: Stryker, The Four
Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness,
Prosperity, and Freedom.
introduces the somatic self, somatic theory, and
exercises for assessing and somatically transforming ourselves.
4RACEE3TANLEY, ERYT,is a yoga and meditation
teacher who specializes in Tantric teachings and
practices in the Para yoga style. She has appeared
in many international magazines and is featured
in Yoga Journal’s “Yoga as Medicine” by Dr. Timothy
McCall. She leads workshops, trainings, and retreats
internationally. www.traceeyoga.com
Chronic muscle contraction patterns created by
past experiences are unconsciously maintained.
Thomas Hanna named this tendency sensorymotor amnesia (SMA). Hanna Somatics enables
us to use our brains to overcome SMA and the
negative effects of stress, trauma, and aging. It
enables us to hear more clearly the wisdom of
our bodies. Hanna Somatics also enhances performance and well-being.
(ANNA3OMATICS&REEING9OUR"ODY
ANDTHE7ISDOMOF9OUR3OMATIC3ELF
Eleanor Criswell Hanna
Hanna Somatics is a mind-body technique
developed by Thomas Hanna that enables us
to move toward greater mind-body integration,
ease of movement, and freedom. This workshop
Through guided somatic exercises, dyad work,
and hands-on demonstrations, this workshop
explores the neuromuscular responses to emotional states and the wisdom and joy that come
from the body’s renewed awareness and freedom. The workshop presents:
37
How to assess basic postural reflex patterns
that are habituated
How emotions create muscular contraction
patterns
How muscle contraction patterns affect your
somatic disclosures (somatic communications
to others) and somatic perception of
experiences
How to use the daily maintenance exercise
series and other Somatic Exercises to maintain
comfort, ease of movement, and receive
wisdom from your somatic self
How to teach the somatic exercises to
individuals and groups
This advanced workshop is designed for mental
health professionals, physical therapists, nurses,
bodyworkers, and others seeking to bring the
somatic dimension into their work, as well as
individuals seeking further personal growth.
People with prior Hanna Somatics experience
will find this workshop the next step in their
somatic development. Participants who successfully complete this workshop will be qualified
to teach the basic Hanna Somatics Exercises.
Recommended reading: Hanna, Somatics, The
Body of Life and Bodies in Revolt; Criswell Hanna,
Biofeedback and Somatics.
practice. There will be an emphasis upon quality
of meditation. Engaging mindfulness meditations and dyadic exercises will align body,
breath, heart, and mind, so that meditation becomes enjoyable and refreshing, and an enriching activity that we actually look forward to.
%NLIVENING-EDITATION0RACTICE
Bill Morgan & Susan Morgan
Why do we struggle to meditate regularly? Why
does it feel like another “should”? Why is it that
we can experience a sense of wonder immediately when we look at a sunset, but feel only
restlessness and a sense of failure when we close
our eyes to meditate? Why is it so often a dry
and cognitive exercise in futility?
Meditation instructions were developed in another culture, one that was more internally oriented, more embodied, less restless, and steeped
in faith regarding meditation. Over many years
of retreat practice, and by studying in various
traditions, Susan and Bill Morgan have developed unorthodox techniques to specifically
help Westerners enliven their meditation practices. During this workshop, we will alternate
between presentation, instruction, and many
unique guided meditations. By identifying our
personal strengths and natural inclinations,
we give ourselves permission to be creative and
find meaningful entry points for deepening our
Bill Morgan, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist special-
izing in couples psychotherapy. He has practiced
mindfulness meditation throughout his adulthood,
including more than 6 years of silent retreats. He is a
founding faculty member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. www.billandsusan.org
3USAN-ORGAN, MSN, RN, CS, is a couples psychotherapist in private practice and a faculty member
of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
She emphasizes body awareness and empathy in
her teaching, and has co-led retreats with William
Morgan since 1999. www.billandsusan.org
:ERO"ALANCING))
Jim McCormick
This will be a special version of Zero Balancing
II. Because of the residential nature of the class
and the highly charged space at Esalen, students
will have the time and resources to delve deeper
into the spirit of Zero Balancing.
In all Zero Balancing II classes, students learn
the second half of the full Zero Balancing Protocol—amplifying and empowering the work
C A MERON JORDAN
Eleanor Criswell Hanna, director of the Novato
Institute for Somatic Research and Training and an
emeritus professor of psychology at Sonoma State
University, is editor of Somatics, and author of How
Yoga Works and Biofeedback and Somatics.
www.somaticsed.com
38
learned in Zero Balancing I. There is also review of the basic ZB protocol with an emphasis
on quality of touch, focus, and positioning of
the practitioner.
This class allows more time for individual feedback from the instructor. The leader and participants will devote time to creating awareness of
each person’s unique energetic way of working,
and explore how to put more of themselves
into their fulcrums. Students will advance
their ability to work with expanded states of
consciousness, and a premium will be placed on
individual personal growth. This workshop is
also appropriate for health professionals.
KENT WISNER
Prerequisite: Core Zero Balancing I.
Recommended reading: Smith, The Alchemy of
Touch and Inner Bridges.
*IM-C#ORMICKhas practiced Zero Balancing for
more than 40 years, and taught for more than 35 years.
He was the first teacher of ZB after Fritz Smith. He
practices acupuncture and ZB in Cambridge, Mass.,
and is president of Zero Balancing Touch Foundation.
www.cambridgehealthassociates.com
0HILLIP"URRUSis the executive chef at Esalen Institute. Each year, Esalen’s teaching kitchen introduces
hundreds of students, apprentices, and volunteers to
farm-to-table cooking and conscious teamwork. Phillip graduated from the Culinary Institute of America
in New York, and has cooked and taught in Big Sur
since 2006.
%SALEN&ARMTO4ABLE
&ARMSTEAD4RADITIONS
Phillip Burrus
“At Esalen, we’re blessed to be situated in a
culinary paradise,” writes Esalen chef Phillip
Burrus. “Our on-site farm and garden produces
a bounty of fruits and vegetables year round,
and our local community is thick with culinary
treasures in every season.”
In this course, we’ll explore a broad range of
techniques — from the ancient to the modern —
for making the most of local, seasonal produce.
Participants will receive hands-on experience
in the crafts of preserving, pickling, curing, sun
drying, smoking, confit, wild fermentation, and
more.
Each day, the group will harvest fresh produce
from the Esalen garden, and prepare amazing meals together. Chef Phillip will share his
experiences teaching and cooking at Esalen
and in Big Sur, and draw inspiration from his
travels and explorations of culinary traditions.
Together, the group will practice creative ways
to transform simple ingredients into dishes that
inspire and tell a story. This is a great week for
cooks of all levels, and a must for anyone who’s
ever wondered what to do with all of the abundance at the farmer’s market.
7EEKENDOF&EBRUARYn
-ARCH
!4IMETO2EmECT
altruism, and gratitude. It will also elaborate on
new areas of scientific focus, particularly the
science of awe and wonder.
This offering builds on material from the GGSC’s
new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC),
“The Science of Happiness,” a free online course
hosted on edX.org, although the online course is
not a prerequisite for this workshop.
Lectures will be complemented by group discussion and experience with research-tested
“happiness practices.” Significant time will be
devoted to the importance of “fit”—that is, finding the happiness practices that are best suited
to your individual lifestyle and personality in
order to maximize the benefits that the science
can offer you.
Note: Tuition for this program differs from other
weekend workshops by an additional $16.
0UTTINGTHE3CIENCEOF(APPINESS
INTO0RACTICE
Emiliana Simon-Thomas & Dacher Keltner
3EEPAGEFORMOREINFORMATION
We all want to be happy, and there are countless
ideas about what happiness is and how we can
get it. It may be difficult, even disheartening, to
dig in. But what can science teach us about the
nature of happiness? Led by experts from UC
Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (GGSC),
this workshop will explore the roots of personal
happiness and offer concrete, science-based approaches to boosting happiness in yourself and
others. Utilizing new findings from psychology,
neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and more,
the workshop will zero in on the ways that
happiness stems from strong, supportive relationships; from the cultivation of mindfulness;
and from “pro-social” qualities like compassion,
%MILIANA3IMON4HOMAS, PhD,is the science director of the Greater Good Science Center, where she
oversees its Expanding Gratitude project. A former
senior scientist for the Center for Compassion and
Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, her work examines the science that connects
health and happiness to social affiliation, caregiving,
and collaborative relationships.
$ACHER+ELTNER, PhD, is a professor of psychology
at UC Berkeley, a founder and director of the Greater
Good Science Center, and author of Born to Be Good
and The Compassionate Instinct, among other books.
His work has appeared in The New York Times
Magazine, The London Times, Utne Reader, and
elsewhere. http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~keltner
39
7EEKOF-ARCHn
$REAM$ESCENT*OURNEYTOTHE3OUL
ANDTHE0ROMISEOF!RCHETYPAL
$REAMWORK
Christa Lancaster & Marc Bregman
Every night, dreams come to help us know love
in a very real way — in our bodies, hearts, and
lives. With great compassion, exquisite tenderness, and crystal clarity, they reveal the particular ways we are stuck in recurring patterns of
relationship, and they offer the key to unlock
those patterns so we can experience both inner
and outer love.
In the tradition of group process and gestalt
work pioneered at Esalen by Fritz Perls and
others, Archetypal Dreamwork reveals the obstacles and openings to living in the fullness of
our souls.
DOUG ELLIS
Beyond the work of the psyche lies the work of
the soul. This requires a descent into the darkness to encounter our core trauma from past
40
lives and the deep feelings we all instinctively
avoid. As Carl Jung describes in the recently
published The Red Book, it is only through this
descent that we can be reunited with the elemental girl/boy soul who knows divine love.
a master teacher at the Center for Archetypal
Dreamwork. His books include Flesh Off the Bone:
Dream Descent through Past Life Trauma, and
Sex, Trauma and Conjunctio.
Join North of Eden Archetypal Dreamwork cofounders Christa Lancaster and Marc Bregman,
who will be joined by analysts Susan Marie
Scavo and Bill St.Cyr, for an intensive descent
into the archetypal realm of dreams through a
powerful group enactment process. Encounter
the journey that has always been waiting for you
in the depths.
Heart of Awareness: Joining
%MBODIMENTAND-EDITATION
$ISCOVERING(EALINGAND#OMPASSION
#HRISTA,ANCASTERis cofounder of North of Eden
Archetypal Dreamwork, a master dream analyst,
and a master teacher at the Center for Archetypal Dreamwork. Her books include Flesh Off
the Bone: Dream Descent through Past Life
Trauma and Sex, Trauma and Conjunctio.
www.northofeden.com
-ARC"REGMANis the founder of Archetypal
Dreamwork, cofounder of North of Eden, and
Susan Aposhyan
Being a human is a complex task. In order to
make the most of our lives and cultivate a peaceful and sustainable human culture, most of us
need to practice being present and feeling our
bodies. This workshop uses embodiment practices, embodied meditation practice, embodied
speech, embodied listening, and embodied relationship as the means to achieve personal and
cultural peace and creativity. Susan Aposhyan
developed these practices in the context of
Body-Mind psychotherapy. The fundamental
question of this workshop has to do with the
role of the human physical heart in this process,
and exploring the reasons that the heart rests
quietly at the center of all spiritual and healing
work. How can we bring more awareness to
this process? What is the relationship between
our brains and our hearts? And what if spiritual
work, healing, and creativity all stem from the
same basic energy? As a workshop leader, Susan
Aposhyan brings simple, clear thinking, humor,
and a great intention to penetrate to the essence
of things. Her experience includes more than
thirty-five years as a psychotherapist, teacher,
bodyworker, mover, meditater, spiritual counselor, Body-Mind Centering practitioner and
teacher, and aspiring adult. Her interest in neuroscience, physiology, and evolution bring some
scientific clarity to this messy human process.
All are welcome. This course is especially helpful for those in the health and healing professions in working with their clients and patients.
Risk working deeply in an atmosphere of trust
and mutual support
Expand your capacity for generosity and
compassion for yourself and others
Recommended reading: Aposhyan, Body-Mind
Psychotherapy and Natural Intelligence.
3USAN!POSHYANtrains professionals in her Body-
Mind Psychotherapy. She is the author of Natural
Intelligence: Body-Mind Integration and
Human Development and Body-Mind Psychotherapy. She has been practicing meditation and
body-mind disciplines for more than 30 years, and
integrates science with healing and meditative experience. www.bodymindpsychotherapy.com
.OT&ORTHE&EINTOF(EART
"E"OLDIN9OUR0ERSONAL'ROWTH
Mariah Fenton Gladis
If you’re “feint of heart,” you avoid confronting
the emotional injuries or habits that prevent you
from enjoying life to the fullest. You feint this
way and that, preserving the status quo instead
of moving past obstacles. This workshop is not
for the feint of heart—nor the faint of heart. It’s
for people who have a passionate commitment
to creating healthy relationships within healthy
lives. It offers opportunities to benefit from
intensive individual healing work, which may
involve emotional injuries rooted in the past,
recurring themes or patterns of dysfunction, or
personal longings in the here and now. Whatever the content of your work, this workshop
can help you:
Discover the issues that are immediately
obstructing the quality of your life
Learn contact skills to authentically and
effectively express yourself and assure healthy
interaction with others
The didactic and experiential sessions are particularly helpful for human-relations professionals and those committed to a path of personal
betterment. Mariah Fenton Gladis, known for
her effective and innovative use of music to
enrich the workshop experience, will blend
individual and group Gestalt work in an environment of trust, compassion, and emotional
generosity. A thirty-year survivor of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Mariah speaks with what she calls
her “ALS accent,” which will be translated.
Recommended Reading: Gladis, Tales of a
Wounded Healer.
-ARIAH&ENTON'LADISfounder/director of the
Pennsylvania Gestalt Center for Psychotherapy
and Training for more than three decades, leads
workshops and trainings around the US and in
Europe. She is recognized for the sensitive and
creative way she practices the art of Gestalt.
www.gestaltcenter.com
&ULL3PECTRUM'ESTALT3EX4HERAPY
!#OMPREHENSIVE4RAININGIN
2ELATIONSHIPAND3EXUAL%NHANCEMENT
Stella Resnick
As therapists, our effectiveness depends on
our own continuing aliveness and growth,
particularly in interpersonal relationships. This
seminar, for psychotherapists, sex therapists,
and other health professionals, integrates cutting-edge research in attachment, neuroscience,
and sexology with Gestalt somatic-experiential
methodology and breath work, to enhance the
capacity for emotional and sexual intimacy in
our own lives. This work shows how these same
processes — especially attention to nonverbal
inner experience and to the subtle behavioral
cues in others — are critical skills in enriching
clinical sensitivity, perceptiveness, and creativity in our work.
This training is primarily experiential with
didactic interludes, and explores these areas of
personal, interpersonal, and professional development:
The Attachment-Sexuality Spectrum: from
early family bonding and attachment style to
romantic love, libido, and expansive sexual
pleasures
The Cognitive-Somatic Spectrum: from a leftbrain cognitive focus that reframes problems
as opportunities to the healing potentials in
the nonverbal, empathic, intersubjective right
brain and body attunement
The Experiential-Behavioral Spectrum: from
present-centered Gestalt processing, imagery,
felt-sense, and breath awareness to affectregulation, setting and realizing goals, and
developing new skills
The Pain-Pleasure Spectrum: from selflimiting painful habits to healing old wounds
and trauma, to reactivating areas of arrested
development, to the joys of play, humor,
creativity, and exuberance
Join us for an unforgettable learning experience!
Note: All participants must first register and pay
for this program at http://www.drstellaresnick.
com/programs-for-professionals. Only after registration and payment of tuition will you be able
to reserve accommodations at Esalen (this will
be an extra cost). Course fees and accommodations are separate. Please see accommodations
costs under “Pricing for Partner Programs” at
http://www.esalen.org/page/partner-programpricing.
CE credit for AASECT; see leader.
3TELLA2ESNICK, PhD, psychologist, Gestalt therapist,
and certified sex therapist in Beverly Hills, Calif.,
trains and supervises therapists in her full-spectrum
approach to psychotherapy and sex therapy. Her latest book is The Heart of Desire: Keys to the Pleasures of Love. www.drstellaresnick.com
$ANCEOF/NENESS#REATIVE&IRE
Banafsheh Sayyad with Tony Khalife
Creation is a frame, creation is a chalice,
how do you fill it?
—Rumi
“Do you long for a love affair with Spirit, and
the inner marriage that commits you to your
purpose?” writes Banafsheh Sayyad. “Do you
long for the rituals of honoring Soul that feed
your deepest hunger and give birth to your Self,
your creative essence? It is our creative fire that
makes us feel truly alive.
“Join us to rouse this fire through dancing the
paradox of being, in which we let the infinite
part dance with the part that feels limited, and
we realize that both can nourish our creative
center. Claim your birthright to take up conscious residence in your body with ecstatic
serenity. Feel the embrace of the Beloved, learn
to trust your deepest understanding, and unleash your wild sweet joy through timeless, wild
41
sacred dance, free-style movement, live music,
chanting, Sufi poetry, meditation and laughter.
You can gain transformative tools for living an
inspired life, aligned with the source of vitality.”
Dance of Oneness is a practice designed by
Banafsheh to embody the transcendent flame
through loving our body and Self, and living
as a Lover dedicated to lifting the spirits of all.
A synthesis of Sufi teachings, tai chi, Persian
dance, flamenco, and trance, Dance of Oneness
is a catalyst for creative flight. This is a mixed
levels course.
Recommended reading: Estes, The Women who
Run with the Wolves; Mallasz, Talking with Angels;
Satprem and Venet, Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness.
"ANAFSHEH3AYYAD, MFA, LAc, is a Persian sacred
dance artist, transformational teacher, and licensed
acupuncturist. She is the founder of the pioneering
synthesis of embodied spirituality known as Dance
of Oneness® which beckons ALL to exalt. She teaches
and performs worldwide. www.namah.net
!4IMETO2EmECT
Activities include lectures, written exercises,
guided imagery, and live demonstrations of
communication skills and processes. Rick
Brown has been offering this workshop for
more than twenty years, and has appeared on
Oprah. The methodology is based on Harville
Hendrix’s best-selling Getting the Love You Want.
For more information, visit www.rickbrown.org.
Please note: This workshop is for couples only.
Recommended reading: Brown, Imago Relationship Therapy; Hendrix, Getting the Love You Want.
($20 materials fee for manuals paid directly to the leader)
2ICK"ROWNis executive director for the Institute
for Relationship Therapy in Winter Park, Fla.
Rick was executive director for Harville Hendrix’s
Institute, and he lectures and gives workshops across
the country. He has been married since 1977.
www.rickbrown.org
&AIL&AST&AIL/FTEN
#REATINGA,IFEOF0ASSIONATE!CTION
Ryan Babineaux
'ETTINGTHE,OVE9OU7ANT
!7ORKSHOPFOR#OUPLES
Joyous and successful people spend less time
planning and more time acting. They get out
into the world and have fun exploring, including making mistakes, and in so doing benefit
from unexpected experiences and opportunities. Drawing from scholarship in innovation,
entrepreneurship, and positive psychology, this
workshop is designed to show you how to follow your interests and take action, even though
you may be unsure of your career plans, feel
stuck in a rut, or be apprehensive of failure.
Rick Brown
The class shows you how to:
This workshop is designed to help couples
understand at a deeper level why they were attracted to each other, why they get stuck in endless power struggles, and how to safely begin to
work through those stuck places toward a safer
and more satisfying relationship. Couples share
only with their partner and are able to maintain
privacy. Couples are shown:
Trust your enthusiasm and allow it to guide
you
Break free from habitual behaviors and
initiate new adventures
Act boldly with minimal preparation
Leverage your creativity and strengths for
rapid change
7EEKENDOF-ARCHn
New communication skills to break
destructive cycles of relating
How to channel the energy from arguments to
create passion and stability
How the unconscious forces that attract
partners to each other are also the source of
conflict
New tools for re-romanticizing their
relationship to reestablish the passion of their
early time together
How to use their relationship for emotional
healing and spiritual evolution
42
Sessions will include role-playing and mindfulness activities to promote a positive attitude
towards risk-taking and making mistakes, as
well as the opportunity to interact with the
instructor and work in small groups to form
personal action plans. Regardless of your age
or experience, this workshop can help you live
more passionately and empower you to embrace
new possibilities in your life.
Recommended: Babineaux, Fail Fast, Fail Often:
How Losing Can Help You Win.
2YAN"ABINEAUX, PhD, is a career counselor, writer,
and researcher in the area of purposeful living. He
is a lecturer at Stanford University, and co-author of
the book Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can
Help You Win. www.happenstancecounseling
.com
4HE$YNAMIC3PINE9OGAFORTHE
0REVENTIONAND2ELIEFOF,OW"ACK
AND0ELVIC$YSFUNCTION
Harvey Deutch
We live in a culture that extols constant productivity. From sunrise to sunset, we move at
a breakneck pace in order to meet the day’s demands. Is it any wonder that we have distanced
ourselves from the body’s signals of discomfort?
Such signals may be a particular chronic ache
or perhaps a more abstract sensation of overall
stiffness. This path leads to decreased energy
and an inability to embrace each day with optimal vitality.
But there is another path. First we must unlock
the mysteries of why and how our bodies hold
onto unhealthy movement patterns. Then we
can address and correct our bodies’ biomechanical inefficiencies and so move throughout our
day with greater consciousness and fluidity,
ultimately opening, healing, and re-energizing
ourselves.
Join Harvey Deutch, physical therapist and yogi,
for a weekend that focuses on spinal awareness
and mobility, with emphasis on the lumbar
spine and major joint systems of the lower body.
Through group discussion and pranayama and
Iyengar-influenced asana, you can discover that
sacred balance that arises from the convergence
of core strength, flexibility, and the spiraling
lines of energy within the body.
In addition to a yoga mat, please bring your
curiosity and desire to share in the group experience, compassion for honoring your body
exactly as it is, and a sense of humor.
(ARVEY$EUTCHteaches yoga with a unique blend of
precise technical expertise and signature humor. He
has been a physical therapist and yogi since 1982. He
is well known for making two-dimensional anatomy
come to life, off the page and onto the mat.
!RRIVE!LREADY,OVED#REATING3ACRED
!TTACHMENTWITH9OURSELFINTHE(ERE
AND.OW
Mariah Fenton Gladis
“The essential foundation of being loved is to
first love yourself. That doesn’t mean a narcissistic pride, preoccupation with self, or conceit.
It does mean that the inner life taking place in
your body is a comfortable, loving, compassionate, and enjoyable place to be. It is a home to
which you can always turn to receive your own
solace, support, and unconditional acceptance.
This prepares your internal environment to
accept love from the outside, and prepares you
to arrive anywhere already loved. Remember,
when it comes to needing love, you cannot expect more from someone else than you are able
to give to yourself.”
Join Mariah as she blends her unique style of
individual and group Gestalt work with her effective and innovative use of music to enrich the
workshop experience. This workshop helps you:
A twenty-nine-year survivor of Lou Gehrig’s
Disease, Mariah speaks with what she calls her
“ALS accent,” which will be translated.
Recommended Reading: Gladis, Tales of a
Wounded Healer.
-ARIAH&ENTON'LADISbio on page 41.
(EARTOFTHE3ONG
!&ORAYINTO3ONGWRITING
Johnsmith & Julie Baker
Come take your seat alongside other aspiring
songwriters as we explore the ins and outs of
songwriting. Learn to cultivate your unique
songwriting voice through writing exercises,
song assignments, and constructive feedback,
all in a safe, supportive, fun workshop climate.
We will support you in calling up your inner
muse, so that you may discover and expand your
boundaries and edges around the songwriting
process.
This workshop is for anyone who has longed
to write songs and is searching for their true
musical voice, and others who have written
JOANNA CL A A SSEN
Realize that what’s inside is outside; you can
attract what you are
Understand thinking as a personal
conversation with yourself
Develop an active and rich inner dialogue
Create an abundance of emotional resources
Turn your meditations away from
detachment and separation, and toward
intimate meditation, by exercising Sacred
Attachment
43
Qigong; Oschman and Livingstone, Energy
Medicine: The Scientific Basis.
+ENNETH#OHEN, MA, a qigong master-level
teacher, is the author of The Way of Qigong and
best-selling Sounds True audio/video programs.
Dynamic and inspiring, with more than 40
years of experience, he is winner of the Lifetime
Achievement Award in Energy Medicine.
www.kennethcohen.com
6ISIONSEEKER3HAMANIC#OSMOLOGY
Hank Wesselman
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Over the past 35,000 years, indigenous
shamans developed a methodology to expand
awareness and explore the many dimensions
of reality, generating a rich body of knowledge
about the nature and function of the sacred
realms. Unfortunately, ever-multiplying
overlays of spiritual scripture and esoteric
literature have obscured our understanding
of these hidden worlds. Today, this confusion
is being reversed as the methods of the
shaman are being reconsidered by non-tribal
Westerners seeking direct experience of the
transpersonal realms once again.
songs and are looking for a nudge to make their
songwriting more productive. Playing a musical
instrument is not required, but if you have one,
bring it. Dress casually; we will do some dancing and moving. Bring an open heart and a curious mind. There are also evening jams.
Kenneth Cohen
cles of modern medicine, more than 2.5 million
Americans practice ancient healing exercises
from China? Qigong is one of the world’s most
popular and best-researched methods to improve health and vitality. Regular practice
makes the mind tranquil, reduces stress, and
deepens your connection with nature. In this
program, you will be taught one of the classic
methods of qigong, the Taoist Healing Sounds.
Originating in Mount Hua, the sacred mountain of western China, these nineteen techniques coordinate breath, sound, and movement
to purge the internal organs of stagnant qi (energy). You will be shown healing exercises and
meditations for the heart, lungs, liver, spleen,
kidneys, bladder, intestines, and the major
acupuncture points. You will also learn about
ancient Chinese music therapy, including how
specific tones promote harmony and balance.
Energetic practices will be complemented by
meditations based on the Five Elements (Earth,
Metal, Water, Wood, Fire), and an in-depth discussion of the Taoist philosophy of mind-body
health. The program is suitable for beginners
and all levels, but not recommended during
pregnancy.
Do you ever wonder why, in spite of the mira-
Recommended reading: Cohen, The Way of
*OHNSMITHhas been writing heartfelt songs for
more than 30 years. He’s won national awards and
contests, was a staff songwriter in Nashville, and has
recorded 6 CDs. He’s taught songwriting workshops
nationwide, and has been featured on NPR’s “New
Dimensions.” www.johnsmithmusic.com
*ULIE"AKERis a psychotherapist specializing in
empowerment of the individual’s authentic voice,
recovery from substance abuse, and navigation
of life transitions. She has a private practice in
Marin County, Calif.
7EEKOF-ARCHn
4HE(EALING"REATH1IGONGFOR
3PRINGTIME2ENEWAL
44
Hank Wesselman writes, “This workshop will
engage participants in investigative shamanic
fieldwork into the numinous regions of the
spirit worlds where all mysteries become
known. We will deepen connection with
our spirit helpers as well as our oversoul and
the elder spirits who serve as master teachers
on our Cosmic Committee. We will hone
our abilities in areas such as divination and
attempt to learn more about those localities
where the most creative work of souls is
accomplished. We will explore the nature
of who and what we really are, providing an
expanded perspective on the destiny of souls.”
Note: Bring a rattle, a drum, a notebook or
sketchpad, a set of oil or chalk pastels, a
bandanna or eyeshade, and a light blanket.
Please refrain from alcohol during the
workshop.
Recommended reading: Wesselman & Kuykendall, Spirit Medicine; Wesselman, The Journey to
the Sacred Garden and The Spiritwalker Trilogy.
(ANK7ESSELMANis the author of 8 books on
shamanism including the Spiritwalker Trilogy,
Awakening to the Spirit World (with Sandra Ingerman), and The Bowl of Light. He conducts an-
thropological research in Ethiopia investigating the
mystery of human origins. www.sharedwisdom
.com
2ADICAL!LIVENESS
!#ORE%NERGETICS7ORKSHOP
Ann Bradney
Ann Bradney writes, “There is a state in which
you are fully alive, authentic, and spontaneous.
You are open to all of your feelings, connected
to your strength and your truth. You are not
afraid to know anything about yourself. I
call this radical aliveness. In this state you
embrace your creativity and see life in all its
possibilities.
“Standing in the way of radical aliveness are
chronic patterns formed in your past to survive.
These live as frozen feelings and history in your
body and no longer serve you.
“Core Energetics is a powerful, body-based
system. It frees the frozen feelings and history
in your body by working with the blocked and
held energy. It helps you reconnect with deep
parts of the self that you disconnected from as
a child. It uncovers the power and goodness at
the source of your most destructive patterns.
It leads you to connection with your deepest
essence.
“In this workshop, you will work individually
and in groups to understand, transform, and release the past as you deeply explore, experience,
and express your blocked and held energy. You
will work on your relationship to yourself and
explore relating to others in radically alive ways.
You will find what stands in the way of your full
potential for life.”
Please note: An interview is required for admission. Please e-mail ann@radicalaliveness.com.
!NN"RADNEYis director of the Radical Aliveness/
Core Energetics Institute of Southern California.
She studied under Core Energetics founder John
Pierrakos and teaches internationally. Ann’s Radical
Aliveness model expands Core beyond the individual,
to address community healing and world issues.
www.annbradney.com
0AINTING&ROM4HE3OURCE
Aviva Gold
“If you’ve considered painting but never
thought you could, or if you’re trained in the
arts and would like to explore your source of
creativity, this retreat is for you,” writes Aviva
Gold. “As children, we naturally paint in a powerful, intuitive way, purely for the joy of expression. This freedom can be regained.
“You face the empty paper and the rich, vibrant
colors; you choose a color, you move your brush
on the paper. The process deepens. You may
hesitate, and emotions may surface. In a warm,
supportive atmosphere, you begin to paint not
from the intellect but from the ever-present, bottomless creative well of personal and universal
images. Soon the movement of the colors, the
brush, and the water is hypnotic—you get lost in
it. Yet you are awake, allowing whatever needs
to happen to happen. Meaningful and satisfying
images emerge. You don’t have to be trained to
experience this, it’s your birthright—the possibility of reconnecting is always there. To feel the
sensuousness of painting, to let yourself play,
to go through whatever blocks you need to go
through—this ritual of creating soul-touching
art is a natural way to stay balanced, healthy, and
vital, a spiritual practice that will connect you
to your inner wisdom source.”
Please note: This workshop has an extended
schedule and requires a commitment to group
process and inner growth. No alcohol or nonprescription drugs are permitted during the
workshop.
Required reading: Gold, The Complete Painting
From The Source: Re-Enchantment of People and
Planet Through Art (available at www.paintingfromthesource.com).
the major muscles groups of the body. Each day
will include a brief massage demonstration and
instruction in various self-care methods, with
plenty of time to practice giving and receiving
a massage.
The workshop leaders will work at the tables
with each participant to accommodate the
group’s different skill levels. Beginners will be
taught the basic tools and techniques that will
allow them to more skillfully massage their
partners, friends, and family. More experienced
practitioners will be taught techniques that can
easily be integrated into their massage sessions,
inspiring and infusing their work with a deep
sense of presence and flow. This workshop is
also useful for those in the helping and healing
patients. Join us for a week of learning, healing,
nurturing, and play!
*ESSICA&AGANa member of the Esalen massage
staff, is a dancer and performer who is deeply immersed in the practice and teaching of Eastern and
Western somatic therapies as well as Vinyasa yoga.
www.jessicafagan.com
2OBIN&ANN#OSTANZOhas a lifelong background
in dance and movement. An Esalen® Massage practitioner, CranioSacral practitioner, and certified yoga
instructor, she has taught and assisted Esalen® Massage trainings, yoga retreats, and Upledger Institute
trainings. www.esaleninstructor.com
!VIVA'OLDhas taught art and trained teachers
for more than 30 years. Her background includes
psychoanalytic, Jungian, and Gestalt psychotherapy.
She is author of Painting From The Source:
Awakening The Artists Soul In Everyone and
Source Art in the World: How Your Authentic
Creativity Heals the Planet.
www.paintingfromthesource.com
)NTRODUCTIONTO%SALEN® Massage:
4HE!RTOF(EALING4OUCH
Jessica Fagan & Robin Fann-Costanzo
This workshop is a wonderful opportunity
for you to enjoy the beauty of Big Sur and the
healing waters of the Esalen hot springs, while
gaining a foundation in the art and practice of
Esalen Massage. During the week, participants
will be taught massage methods that address
the whole body: Esalen’s signature long, flowing strokes that support feelings of wholeness,
connection, and integration; passive joint movement; and a variety of techniques to work with
-ARCHn
!4IMETO2EmECT
7EEKENDOF-ARCHn
7HATS.EXT2EVIEWINGAND
2EVISIONING/UR,IVES
Sam Keen
Periodically, we need to review and revision our
lives. Every decade of the life-cycle brings new
challenges, goals, pleasures, and horizons. Every
crisis—divorce, illness, tragedy, success, failure,
retirement—requires us to make a new beginning, take stock of our past, and look for a new
vision to guide us toward a more hopeful future.
45
In this workshop, join Sam Keen to explore:
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Where are you in your life-cycle? What have
you accomplished?
What hasn’t happened yet? What haven’t you
done, been, or experienced?
What have you given? Whom have you loved?
What’s old, stale, worn-out, boring? What
destructive patterns do you repeat?
What infantile guilt and shame lingers?
Whom have you not forgiven?
What’s new, interesting, exciting, appealing?
What decisions do you need to make?
What future do you see for yourself?
What are your emerging passions?
What promises and potentials are still
unfulfilled?
46
What are your dreams, values, visions? Where
do you look to find what’s next for you?
3AM+EENis the author of numerous books, includ-
ing The Passionate Life, Faces of the Enemy,
Hymns to an Unknown God, and Learning to
Fly. www.samkeen.com
/PENINGTHE0ELVIS"ALANCINGTHE#ORE
Tom Myers
As the keystone of human architecture, the pelvis is a potent center of power and feeling. This
workshop is for manual therapy professionals
and hands-on movement teachers, and offers
instruction in effective and sensitive body work
that focuses on the obscure corners of the pelvis
and hips. Imbalance in the pelvis is reflected
all over the body, up to the jaw and cranium
and down to the knees and feet. The course
will review the more than twenty muscles that
surround the hip joint, which are organized as
three interacting fans. You will be shown how
to see gait patterns and reliable tests for sacroiliac function. The course will introduce new
insights, assessment methods, and techniques
for accessing the entire pelvic region.
Issues hide in the tissues of the top of the legs,
bottom of the spine, and soft-underbelly. Those
who come to this workshop should be comfortable with somato-emotional process — the process of letting deep feelings release themselves
from the body.
CE credit for massage; see leader.
4OM-YERSdirects Anatomy Trains, which runs
continuing education classes for manual therapists
and movement educators worldwide. He is the author of Anatomy Trains and co-author of Fascial
Release for Structural Balance. Tom studied
with Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, and Buckminster
Fuller, and has practiced integrative bodywork since
1975. www.anatomytrains.com
#ONSCIOUS,EADERSHIP!CCESSING
0RESENCETOBECOME7HOLE
#ONGRUENTAND&LEXIBLE
Raj Sisodia, Vijay Bhat & Nilima Bhat
The world’s many crises call for a new breed
of leaders. Arising from its military origins,
leadership-as-usual mostly takes an outside-in,
competency-based approach. This experiential program awakens leaders to their innate
qualities through an inside-out, consciousnessbased approach. Conscious leaders display
striking, yet intangible traits. They are whole,
i.e. in touch with all aspects of themselves;
congruent, i.e. aligned to their highest purpose; and flexible, i.e. adaptive to their context.
However, these traits come from accessing and
operating from a deeper and more resourceful internal state, sometimes called ‘Presence.’
Most leadership programs simply don’t go
there; this one does.
Deep-dive into yourself, through awareness
practices and honest dialogue with other leaders, guided by consciousness facilitator Nilima
Bhat and leadership coach Vijay Bhat. Through
one-on-one interaction with co-author of Conscious Capitalism Raj Sisodia, work with your
real-life challenges and discover how, as a conscious leader of a conscious business, you can
outperform the market, manifold. This program
is for entrepreneurs and corporate leaders who
are as interested in business success as in becoming agents of change for the greater good.
You may also be at life’s crossroads, looking
to re-energize and commit yourself to a fresh,
meaningful leadership journey.
Required reading: Mackey and Sisodia, Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of
Business.
2AJ3ISODIA, PhD, co-founder of Conscious Capital-
ism, Inc., is a Franklin Olin Distinguished Professor
of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research
Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College.
He has published more than 100 academic articles
and 7 books, including Conscious Capitalism and
Firms of Endearment. www.rajsisodia.com
6IJAY"HATis a transitions coach and founder
of Roots & Wings Consulting. A strategy and
leadership consultant, he coaches individuals and
organizations that are challenged by the turbulence
that inevitably accompanies major transitions. He
worked for 21 years with Ogilvy & Mather, serving
global corporations like Unilever and IBM.
www.rootsnwings.in
.ILIMA"HATis founder of Sampurnah: The Wholeness Practice. She facilitates personal transformation through self-awareness, self-leadership, and
self-empowerment. After a successful multinational
career, she was certified as a yoga teacher and became
an integrative medicine coach and spiritual guide.
www.sampurnah.com
7EEKOF-ARCHn
-EDITATION+UNDALINIANDTHE
Inner Marriage
Sally Kempton
To live a truly awakened life, it’s essential that
we bring together our inner masculine and
feminine polarities. This contemplative retreat
is based on tantric principles and takes you
deeply into both “masculine” and “feminine”
forms of practice. Precise and subtle meditation,
yoga, visualization, and self-inquiry sessions,
embodiment practices, and the study of sutras
from the tantric texts will invite deep transmissions. The retreat offers a powerful opportunity
to move into a more profound relationship
with your own energies, and can help you both
deepen and integrate your practice with your
external life.
You will be taught:
How the spiritual energy called
kundalini enlivens your spiritual practice,
and how to activate meditation energy in any
practice
How to combine embodiment with
transcendence
How to recognize masculine and feminine
practices, and why both are essential for
spiritual maturity
How to recognize your own practice
imbalances and bring them into balance
How to calibrate and accelerate your journey
toward spiritual maturity
3ALLY+EMPTONteaches at the cutting edge of con-
temporary tantra, and is known for her ability to
transmit deep meditative states through the heart.
A former monk and 40-year practitioner of Shaiva
yoga, Sally teaches internationally and writes the
“Wisdom” column for Yoga Journal.
www.sallykempton.com
4HE-!8%XPANDINGTHE,IMITSOF
9OUR3ELF%XPRESSION
Paula Shaw
6_b]_bUdXQ^dgU^diiUQbcD85=1HXQc
held an honored status among the Esalen staff
and is considered by many to be an essential
rite of passage for community members. The
èb`_cU_VD85=1HYcd_TYcS_fUbi_ebcU\V
beyond who you know yourself to be. It is a
voyage through your own humanity—a journey
to discover the extent of your self-expressive
power. Employing a variety of acting, communication, and observation techniques, it’s designed
to expand your limits “to the max” and move
you into a new arena of personal creativity and
self-expression.
9^D85=1H`QbdYSY`Q^dce^TUbdQ[UQSXQ\lenging exploration of the sources of their emotional limitations. Working individually, “on
stage,” each person is encouraged and supported
to go at their own pace, playing to and with
other group members. With strong guidance,
people move through lifelong fears of being “on
the spot,” emerging into greater authenticity
and enhanced “presence.”
There are exercises that use raw emotion,
role-playing, and dress-up assignments. This
is an opportunity to experience yourself in
ways you may have dreamed about but never
thought possible. The course is for those committed and courageous in their process. And
it has been constructed with the understanding that this kind of risk requires a very safe
workspace. If your heart beats faster when you
dXY^[_VdQ[Y^WD85=1HYd]QiRUZecd±dXU
thing to do.” For details visit www.themaxwithpaulashaw.com. Highly recommended: Please
consider taking Paula Shaw’s Improv inspiration weekend workshop that immediately
V_\\_gcD85=1H9dYcQTU\YSY_ecTUccUbdd_
top off an extraordinary entrée, and is a very
satisfying way to end this transformational
journey.
Please note: Due to the intense and sequential
nature of this workshop, attendance at all sessions is necessary.
Requirement: Bring a one- to three-minute memorized piece—monologue, poem, song, etc.
0AULA3HAWa professional actress and acting
teacher for more than 40 years, has conducted
workshops for those interested in expanding their
self-expression, well-being, and creativity, in the
US, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
www.themaxwithpaulashaw.com
47
-ARCHn
7EEKENDOF-ARCHn
!4IMETO2EmECT
4AKINGTHE-IDLIFE,EAP
/NE3TEPATA4IME
Massage Retreat for Couples
Carl Swanson & Laurie Lioness Parizek
This workshop is designed for loving partners
who wish to bring the nurturing practice of
massage into their daily lives and spend special
time together, cradled in the beauty and intensity of the Big Sur coast. It is also for couples
who want to deepen already existing skills and
for those who want to create more time in their
lives for healing and intimacy.
This two-day intensive will focus on teaching couples to give and receive a pleasurable
full-body massage. It will also address issues
such as keeping love, touch, and a healing interchange alive at home during busy or stressful times; touching with care and sensitivity;
asking for what you need; and reciprocity so
that both partners feel nurtured and loved.
Sessions will include both demonstrations and
hands-on instruction with plenty of practice
time.
Although our emphasis will be on loving
touch and communication between couples,
the massage techniques presented are useful
for relaxation, pain, and stress, and can often
increase vital energy. The techniques presented are also useful for those in the helping
and healing professions in working with their
clients and patients, and may be used with
sensitivity with children as well as friends and
family, providing a useful tool for health and
well-being.
Note: Tuition for this program is the same as for
weekend workshops.
#ARL3WANSONis a full-time Esalen® Massage prac-
titioner/instructor and a yoga instructor. In addition
to being a member of the Esalen massage crew, he
has been teaching weekly yoga classes in the Esalen
Movement Program since 2004. He teaches massage
and yoga workshops at Esalen and abroad.
,AURIE,IONESS0ARIZEKgraduated from the
Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing,
McGill University. She studied and teaches hands-on
interactive and energy healing, and is a longtime
teacher of Esalen bodywork.
48
Jett Psaris
If you are between 40 and 65 years old, you are
undoubtedly attempting to navigate the emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions
of your midlife passage. What makes this an
experience unlike any other is that it requires
the death of who you have known yourself to be
and promises the birth of who you could possibly become. Far too many people “die” in their
fifties and are not buried until their eighties,
because they did not take the full journey possible at midlife. The whole point of midlife is to
allow the construct of who you are and the life
you have created to fail. It’s not just an opportunity for a fresh start; it’s a mandate for one.
Come step beyond the coordinates of the
known and discover how to place the struggles
you are sure to encounter during your middle
years within a greater framework that can guide
you to rediscover your soulful individuality,
which lies buried below your first-half-of-life’s
obligations and definitions.
A detailed course outline is available online.
Please visit http://midlifeleap.com/the-course/.
Please bring a pen and a journal.
*ETT0SARISauthor of Undefended Love and Taking the Midlife Leap, teaches others to use intimate
relationship and the midlife journey as catalysts for
psycho/spiritual transformation. She has been teaching workshops about how to inhabit the full spectrum of one’s humanity for the past 25 years.
www.midlifeleap.com
Improv Inspiration:
Wit and Wisdom in an Instant
Paula Shaw
This workshop is an adventure in releasing programmed patterns and discovering the delight
of spontaneous creation. The joy of playing
improvisational theatre games comes from surrendering to the process. Each game has focus
points that allow you to suspend your accustomed automated and controlled thinking. The
liberation that follows fully opens up your mind
to imaginative freedom, your voice to new and
surprising sounds, verbal humor, eloquence,
and flowing physical grace in movement.
In this work, you are never alone. The easy-tofollow instructions and coaching tune you in
with the other players, and when that connection is made, instantaneous creativity issues
forth effortlessly. Once you’ve allowed yourself
to join in, each improvised piece takes flight,
with truly amazing results. As a participant in
these games, you go back and forth from being a
player to being the audience. You play from both
positions, and both are filled with fun.
The program is an experience of how wonderfully well life can flow when you get out of your
own way, and the learning is what it means to
be able to do that. It is also full of falling-down
laughter.
All are welcome. This is an excellent entry
workshop for first-timers to this work. Prior
improv experience will be forgiven.
0AULA3HAWbio on page 47.
&IREAND&LOW3PRING%QUINOX
Regeneration Retreat
Shiva Rea with G Sathyanarayanan &
Demetri Velisarius
As the very flow of consciousness, you dance the
world into existence.
—Ksemaraja
“The spring equinox is the cosmic shift that
is also awakened in our cellular bodies as we
honor the renewal and rebirth of the light,”
Shiva Rea writes. “We will immerse ourselves
in the ‘fire and flow’ of Prana Vinyasa Flow yoga
as we return to Esalen’s fertile land and healing
hot springs to thaw, rejuvenate, and awaken into
the new cycle for our body, life, and activation
in the world.” The Leonard Pavilion overlooking
the sea will be our sacred space for the following activities:
Fire and water sequences of Prana Vinyasa
Flow for stoking the inner fire for awakening
and regeneration
Morning meditation overlooking the ocean
The ancient art of kalaripayatu (an Indian
martial art) to awaken the instinctual body
Outdoor fire meditation-ritual for spring
equinox (weather permitting)
Self-massage and ayurvedic abhyanga (oil
massage) for fluidity, detoxification, and
longevity
Opportunity to join Shiva’s online spring
regeneration practice to integrate back into
daily life
Retreat participants should have experience
with the basic practice of sun salutations, and be
open to invigorating, balanced practice. Please
bring a yoga mat.
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Note: Participants are eligible for credit toward
Shiva’s Evolutionary Vinyasa Teacher Training
Program. Contact leader for details.
ness and healing benefit. Qigong sounds enable
you to balance the emotional energy of your
body to embody more joy and well-being.
7EEKOF-ARCHn
Recommended reading and viewing: Rea, Tending Heart Fire: Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life
and Fluid Power (DVD).
Master Mingtong Gu will teach workshop participants how to:
2EVISIONING9OUR(EROS*OURNEY® :
!-YTHOLOGICAL4OOLBOX
(22nd ed., revised)
3HIVA2EAis a yogini firekeeper, sacred activist,
global adventurer, and innovator in the evolution of
vinyasa flow yoga that integrates the tantric bhakti
roots of yoga, Krishnamacharya’s teachings, and a
universal, quantum approach to the body.
www.shivarea.com
-INDFULNESSTHROUGH1IGONG
-EDITATIVE-OVEMENTAND3OUND
Mingtong Gu
This healing workshop is designed to activate
your essential capacity to live with a clear mind
and open heart. Qigong movements are both a
moving meditation and a mindfulness practice
that accelerates and deepens all other forms of
meditation, and provides the skillful means to
enter into a mindful state with energetic alive-
Practice self-love and acceptance, and cultivate
unconditional love by keeping the energy of
your heart open, through qigong methods
Strengthen and connect the energy of the five
organs to transform fear, anger, sadness, and
worry to love and happiness through qigong
sound healing
Enhance whole-body energy flow through
movement and other qigong practices to
a deep sense of cellular aliveness, joy, and
wholeness, in spite of life conditions
Use qigong to work with stress in this busy
and stressful work place and life
CE credit for acupuncturists; see leader.
CE credit for nurses; see leader.
is an internationally recognized
teacher and healer who received his training from a
variety of Grandmasters in China and at the world’s
largest Qigong hospital. www.chicenter.com
Mingtong Gu
Robert Walter & The Joseph Campbell
Foundation
For years, Joseph Campbell celebrated his
birthday (March 26th) at Esalen. Explaining
why, he’d tell of Carl Jung’s wondering, “What
myth am I living by?” And how Jung, realizing
he didn’t know, wrote “I took it upon myself to
get to know ‘my’ myth, and I regarded this as
the task of tasks.” “That’s what a birthday is for,”
Campbell would conclude, “and what Esalen is
about.” In March 1988, five months after Campbell’s death, his friends again gathered at Esalen
for “Campbell Week” — a tradition that endures.
These festivities morphed into this playshop,
for familiarity with Campbell is not needed to
retool the myths that shape one’s life — though a
sense of humor certainly helps.
Recall dreams, rekindle visions, deploy myth-
49
DOUG ELLIS
making tools like drums and dance, music and
song, masks, medicine bags, and altars. Individual, small-group, and collective activities provide opportunities for reflection and expression.
Who were you? What mise-en-scènes inspire
your biographical saga? What treasures are banished to your basement, secreted in your attic?
Who are you? What’s displayed in your home
or dangling from your rearview mirror? Who
do you aspire to be? What face do you envision
in the mirror? What remains on your bucket
list? If you dare to revision yourself, then join
our springtime rituals of rebirth. Please bring a
meaningful but expendable totem, an unsung
story, or evocative song. For more information,
visit www.jcf.org.
2OBERT7ALTERJoseph Campbell’s editor for a de50
cade, is president of the Joseph Campbell Foundation
and a poet/playwright with several decades of experience as group leader, teacher, publisher, and theatrical producer/director/designer. www.jcf.org
"RILLIANT"ODY&UNDAMENTALSOF
#ONQUERING)NJURYAND0AIN
Jean Couch & Jenn Sherer
Do chronic tension, stress, or aches and pains
plague you? Are you fit, but injured? Do you feel
tight all the time?
In our cultural love affair with muscles, we have
overlooked a key component of wellness: our
skeleton. Whether you are a high-performance
athlete or sit in a chair all day, making your
bones work for you instead of against you can
put you on a path of unimaginable wellness and
efficiency. Healing begins with an understanding of alignment patterns that cause premature
aging, tension, pain, and/or injury. This course
will re-examine alignment patterns of everyday
activities including sitting, standing, bending,
sleeping, and walking. With new patterns for
these daily fundamentals, you can shed pain
and tension and go home with a healthy regimen that easily and timelessly integrates into
everyday life. Simple yet profound changes will
give you a new relationship with your body —
one you used to have as a child.
This course will bust many exercise, health,
and pain myths of our time. Each participant
receives individualized understanding of his
or her specific vulnerabilities in the back and
joints through hands-on adjustments, and photographic and video feedback. What you learn
about your patterns in these fundamental activities can be applied to your physical activities of
choice and make you a stronger, more efficient,
longer-lasting human machine. Join us and
never look back.
at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen cofounder
Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered
Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory, and leads
workshops in Asia, Europe, and the US.
www.dorothycharles.com
healing ground of Esalen and the Leonard
Pavilion will become a “living flow ashram” in
which you can choose your daily rhythm in a
transformative cycle to align yourself with the
emergence of spring, including the following
activities:
-INDFULNESSAND,OVINGKINDNESS
Meditation
This course directly helps nurses understand
alignment mechanics of their bodies so they
can prevent and recover more quickly from
injury as well as become more efficient in the
physical component in working for and with
clients/patients.
Shauna Shapiro
Morning tantric-based meditation and yoga
with Demetri Velisarius
Daily regenerative Prana Vinyasa Flow
sequences for fluid strength, flexibility,
unwinding of tensions, and creative flow
Special sessions in the fluid art of
Kalarippayatu – an exploration of one of the
oldest martial arts in the world, with a teacher
from CVN Kalari, of Kerala India. This fluid
form has roots in ayurveda and yoga and has
been a great influence on Prana Vinyasa’s
movement meditations and instinctual yoga
Daily prananadi self-massage techniques
as well as some basic Kalari massage
with ayurvedic abhyanga (oil massage)
for flexibility, longevity, and embodied
consciousness
Special sweat lodge (weather permitting) to
honor the spring equniox
Evening session of “melting into motion sahaja yoga trance dance”
*EAN#OUCH, originally known for her classic Runner’s Yoga Book, has shown thousands of people
of all ages how to improve their health. She most
recently taught 50 physicians and their spouses, one
of whom wrote, “I now have hope for me and my
patients.” www.balancecenter.com
*ENN3HERERis a certified Balance Instructor, and
she co-owns and co-directs the Balance Center, in
Palo Alto, Calif. www.BalanceCenter.com
2ELATIONAL'ESTALT0RACTICE
4HE4RANSFORMATIVE0OWEROF%MOTION
Dorothy Charles
Each of us finds our true selves through our
emotions. In order to become whole, we must
discover how our experience is organized in
limiting, unconscious patterns and through that
process, learn how to organize our experience
in new ways.
When we begin to expand and integrate a
broader range of emotions, we move toward
wholeness because the ability to experience and
to express emotions is integral to the experience
of aliveness. Learning to fully experience feelings and to be able to articulate them in healthy,
meaningful ways enables us to have more pleasurable and fulfilling relationships.
This experiential and didactic workshop will
blend individual and group Relational Gestalt
work. The intention of Relational Gestalt Process is to expand emotional range by feeling,
expressing, and building emotional tolerance in
order to strengthen our relationships. We will
experiment with tracking our emotions, learning to recognize them as signals that call for
awareness and attention, rather than as something to be avoided.
$OROTHY#HARLEShas been a student and teacher
Learn how to rest in the heart of joy, ease, and
loving presence. Drawing on practices of mindfulness and lovingkindness, as well as recent
neuroscience research, we’ll explore the transformational power of meditation. Discover the
ways that lovingkindness and mindfulness support us in healing and living a joyful, vital, and
compassionate life.
In this workshop, you will be shown simple
yet potent meditation practices and also new
research in neuroscience that offers this hopeful message: We can change and reshape our
brains to live healthier, happier lives. We will
become familiar with specific practices and
techniques for cultivating greater joy, ease, presence, and genuine compassion, and we’ll explore
how to integrate these into our daily lives. And
throughout, we’ll immerse ourselves in the
striking natural beauty of Esalen, and allow the
sounds and vistas of the ocean, exquisite coastline, and bountiful gardens to nourish and support our practice. Be prepared for unexpected
delight, mystery, and stillness. This workshop is
suitable for all health care and education professionals.
3HAUNA3HAPIRO, 0H$is a professor, internationally recognized expert in mindfulness, and author
of the critically acclaimed text, The Art and Science
of Mindfulness. She has been invited to lecture for
the King of Thailand, Danish Government, Andrew
Weil’s Integrative Medicine, and World Council
Psychotherapy. www.scu.edu/ecppm/counseling
psychology/faculty/sshapiro.cfm
As we immerse in the power of Esalen’s healing
waters, our living flow rhythm will offer ways
to connect with our regenerative fluid nature.
Note: Participants are eligible for credit toward
Shiva’s Evolutionary Vinyasa Teacher Training
Program. Contact leader for details.
Recommended reading and viewing: Rea, Tending Heart Fire: Living in Flow with the Pulse of Life
and Fluid Power (DVD).
3HIVA2EAbio on page 49.
7EEKENDOF-ARCHn
4HE7RITING,IFE
4HE0RACTICAL!RTOF,IVING&LOW
!3PRING2EGENERATION2ETREAT
Shiva Rea with G Sathyanarayanan
and Demetri Velisarius
Dive into a regenerative yoga retreat and align
yourself with the emergence of spring. Reconnect with the rhythms of nature through the
fluid yoga of Prana Vinyasa and the ancient art
of kalarippayatu (an Indian martial art). The
Ellen Bass
Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.
—Anne Sexton
“This workshop,” writes Ellen Bass, “will allow
us to leave the rush of our busy lives and be
still enough to hear the stories and poems that
gestate within us. We’ll write, share our writing,
and hear what our work touches in others. We’ll
help each other to become clearer, go deeper,
take new risks. With the safety, support and
51
inspiration of this gathering, you will have the
opportunity to create writing that is more vivid,
more true, more complex and powerful than
you’ve been able to do before.”
Whether you are interested in poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, memoir, or journal writing, this
weekend will provide a time to immerse yourself in the writing life. Both beginners and
experienced writers are welcome.
There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And
because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never
exist through any other medium, and be lost. The
world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it
compares with other expressions. It is your business to
keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel
open. -Martha Graham
Recommended reading: Bass, The Human Line
and Mules of Love; Addonizio and Laux, The Poet’s
Companion.
has supported and inspired writers for
45 years. Her books include Like A Beggar, The
Human Line, and Mules of Love (poetry), and
the best-selling The Courage to Heal. She teaches
at Pacific University’s low-residency MFA program.
www.ellenbass.com
Ellen Bass
,IBERATETHE"ODYAND3TRETCH
THE-IND-INDFULNESS-EDITATION
and Yoga
Wes “Scoop” Nisker & Katchie Ananda
Oh wondrous creatures,
by what strange miracle
do you so often not smile?
—Hafiz
Many of us are amazed when we read the latest
scientific discovery about the size of the cosmos
or the workings of biological evolution, but few
of us know how to bring that sense of wonder
and delight into our lives. In this workshop,
we will make creative use of classic Buddhist
meditation practices and Anusara Yoga to help
us embody the amazement of being alive and
human.
This workshop combines the traditional practice of Buddhist mindfulness meditation with
sessions based on Anusara Yoga. Periods of
meditation will alternate with yoga, allowing
the techniques to support each other and create
a sense of mind-body connection, vitality, and
well-being. The weekend will provide ample
time for discussion and interviews, as well as
attention to individual challenges. There will
52
also be talks, an exploration of Buddhist and
yogic philosophy, as well as plenty of poetry and
good humor.
Zen Mountain Center. He is the author of Know
Yourself, Forget Yourself. www.knowyourselfforgetyourself.com
The workshop is appropriate for both experienced and beginning students of either mindfulness meditation or yoga. Please bring a yoga
mat.
"ECOMEA"ETTER"#ORP,EADER
"EST0RACTICESTO"THE#HANGE
7ES.ISKERis a Buddhist meditation teacher, radio
commentator, and performer. His books include
Essential Crazy Wisdom, Buddha’s Nature,
and Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again!
Wes teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in
Woodacre, Calif. He founded and co-edits the journal
Inquiring Mind. www.wesnisker.com
+ATCHIE!NANDAis an internationally recognized
yoga and dharma teacher whose leadership in yoga
and social change prompted Yoga Journal to name
her one of five top yoga teachers making change in
the world. www.katchieananda.com
"E#ONlDENT1UESTION%VERYTHING
Marc Lesser
To create an inspired and effective life, we must
cultivate confidence as well as vulnerability and
inquiry. Confidence requires that we clarify
and align with what is important, and learn
to see reality with more accuracy. If we aim to
question everything, we must develop curiosity
and the courage to step into the unknown. By
embracing these and other primary paradoxes
of life, you can become more present and fully
alive for each moment: in your work, relationships, and everyday life.
During this workshop, we will utilize mindfulness practice, Zen stories, and the material of
our daily lives to practice the following core
paradoxes, or truths, which are embedded in
how we live:
Be confident, question everything
Fight for change, accept what is
Embrace emotion, embody equanimity
Benefit others, benefit yourself
Know yourself, forget yourself
These paradoxes are meant to be practiced, not
merely understood or studied. Through practice
we can learn to clarify and shift our habits so
that we are more accepting and more successful
in our everyday lives.
Recommended reading: Lesser, Know Yourself,
Forget Yourself; Less: Accomplishing More By Doing
Less, and Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration.
-ARC,ESSERis CEO of Search Inside Yourself Lead-
ership Institute. He was a resident of the San Francisco Zen Center and former director of Tassajara,
Flip Brown & Amy Hartzler
The rapidly expanding world of certified B
Corps provides benefits to employees, customers, communities, and the planet. This new set
of standards to “measure what matters” provides
a roadmap for best practices in governance,
workers, community, and environment. It also
asks us to bring forward our best leadership
qualities to integrate our business vision with
this mission.
Often, we’re so busy helping others and dealing
with the demands of our business that we fail to
celebrate our strengths, focus on increasing our
impact, and take time out for renewal. Join us
for a weekend of highly interactive discussions
and experiential learning as we explore what it
means to support and challenge each other in
our leadership roles, and as leaders of an emerging movement. We’ll draw on the group’s wisdom and experience using real-world examples
as we explore working in this way. Participants
will leave with new tools and fresh enthusiasm
for shaping a culture of intention and appreciation.
This workshop is limited to Certified B
Corps. All participants must contact Flip at
flip.brown@icloud.com before registering. For
more information about B Corps, please visit
www.bcorporation.net.
&LIP"ROWNis the founder and owner of Business
Culture Consultants, a Certified B Corp in Burlington, Vermont. He is the author of Balanced
Effectiveness at Work: How to Enjoy the Fruits
of Your Labor Without Driving Yourself Nuts.
www.businesscultureconsultants.com
!MY(ARTZLERis cofounder of Do Good Better and
an active B Corp community member. Former
head of Free Range, she facilitates workshops to
identify, live and tell the best future story—from
onboarding guidelines to collateral and videos.
www.dogoodbetter.com
"EING0RESENTINTHE"ODY5SING
-INDFULNESSTO7ORKWITH4RAUMA
Pawan Bareja
Our desire to be happy is our most basic urge,
but physical or emotional trauma can get in the
way. Traumatic responses, especially from old
painful unresolved experiences, are embedded
in our body and in our behavior, and have the
ability to blindside us and sabotage our happiness. These responses often produce stress that
no longer serves us in our present day-to-day
life. Is it possible to recognize the traumatic
responses in your body? How can you recognize
the non-verbal traumatic responses in your
reptilian brain? How do you work with old
emotional and physical wounds to free up your
frozen, survival-based energy, so that you may
feel more settled, grounded, and calm in your
everyday life?
Expect a weekend of teachings that facilitate an
exploration of your traumatic responses in your
animal body, experiential exercises to free up
energy, and ways to recognize the felt-sense of
being grounded and settled. The workshop will
emphasize movement and mindfulness meditation practice.
Recommended reading: Moffitt, Emotional
Chaos to Clarity; Levine, Waking the Tiger.
Trauma classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and
at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She has trained
professional care providers in India. In her private
practice as Trauma Resolution Practitioner, she
works with a diverse population of clients.
Esalen®-ASSAGE4HE"ASICS
Daniela Urbassek & Laurie Lioness Parizek
During an Esalen Massage, we experience a
remarkable web of interdependence: a listening
touch, a deepening breath, a sense of connection
with another. When we receive a massage we
remember an easier time and “come home.”
Esalen Massage seeks the interface between
form and energy, physical structure and the
soul, and you and I. The long, integrative
strokes build a sense of presence, while deeper
focused work evokes release of tension patterns. Both teachers have shared this grounding, loving practice with many different people,
and know the joy and healing that this form
of calming and revitalizing touch can bring to
many diverse cultures and personalities.
During this weekend retreat, through brief
demonstrations, one-on-one guidance, and
plenty of practice time, you will have the opportunity to awaken your own talent and resources
to easily and safely give and receive the basic
elements of an Esalen Massage. To support you
in your massage learning experience, centering, grounding and self-care exercises are also
included in the workshop presentation. There is
also plenty of time to breath in the beauty of the
Big Sur Coast.
This course offers foundation skills for the
newcomer, a fresh approach for the experienced
practitioner, and is especially useful for those in
$ANIELA5RBASSEKis a longtime member of the
Esalen massage staff. Her work is strongly influenced
by her studies in craniosacral work, movement, yoga,
and dance.
,AURIE,IONESS0ARIZEK bio on page 48.
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
0AWAN"AREJA, PhD teaches Mindfulness and
53
7EEKOF-ARCHn!PRIL
(EALING!RTOF$EEP"ODYWORK
!DVANCED"ACKWORK(EALING!CUTE
AND#HRONIC"ACK0AIN
Perry Holloman & Johanna Holloman
Recommended viewing: The Healing Art of
Deep Bodywork DVDs; Juhan, Job’s Body.
0ERRY(OLLOMAN bio on page 17.
*OHANNA(OLLOMANis a German-born clinical
psychologist, Diamond Approach® teacher, and certified Esalen® Massage and Deep Bodywork instructor,
teaching at Esalen and internationally. She is a yoga
teacher (E-RYT 500) and created the Esalen In-house
Yoga training program. www.deepbodywork.com
4HE0ASSIONOF0AINTING
'ET)N'ET/UTAND'ET/N7)TH)T
Erin Gafill
How much more could you create if you weren’t
second-guessing yourself, or walking away from
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Competent, deep soft-tissue work is an invaluable tool in the skill-set of today’s successful
massage and bodywork practitioner. The number one complaint any bodyworker deals with
over time is acute and chronic back pain. In this
new Healing Art of Deep Bodywork seminar,
we will continue to develop the practitioner’s
knowledge of how to assess and relieve the different types of back problems that clients pres-
ent. Up until now, all of the work on the back
we have learned has been done with clients laying face up or face down. In this class, we will
address the back from the side-lying posture,
exploring important dimensions of this work
available to us from this invaluable perspective. We will also discuss the importance of the
gluteus medius and piriformis in the genesis
and intractable nature of chronic back pain, and
how the lumbar spine and sacrum rely on the
proper organization of these important structures for its own well-being. This is an advanced
course of study that offers 32 continuing education credits for massage. Previous bodywork
experience required.
54
the easel too soon? During this workshop, you
can learn tricks and practices to bring you back,
including working in a series, setting a timer,
and working with house-painting brushes and
torn paper collage. Experiment and have fun
with exercises that take twenty minutes or less.
By utilizing short blocks of focus and surprising
methods, you can awaken creative thinking and
move into perceiving and expressing instead of
overanalyzing. Artist-teachers Erin Lee Gafill
and Tom Birmingham will offer ample demonstrations of technique, feedback, and encouragement. Known for their nurturing teaching
styles and dedication to creating a caring classroom, Tom and Erin have traveled all over the
US, Japan, Italy, and Mexico bringing creativity
and painting techniques to students of all ages.
This workshop is designed for the skilled artist
looking for a creative breakthrough, as well as
those who have never touched a brush.
($50 materials fee for artist-quality paper, paints,
and brushes, paid directly to the leader)
is an award-winning painter, writer,
and teacher with deep roots in California’s art history. She is co-founder of the nonprofit Big Sur Arts
Initiative, founding member of the Monterey Bay
Plein Air Painters Association, and author of Drinking from a Cold Spring, A Little Book of Hope.
www.eringafill.com
Erin Gafill
3ACRED3OUND-EDITATIONAND$ANCE
TO#HANGE9OUR"RAINAND4RANSFORM
Your Life
Yuval Ron
Experience introspective and ecstatic practices
of four ancient spiritual paths: Zen Buddhism,
Kabbalistic Judaism, early contemplative Christianity, and Sufi-Islam. This unique experiential
seminar will journey deep into sacred music
chanting, movement, and spiritual mindfulness
practices, drawing from the hidden wisdom of
the traditions of the East. These practices have
been shown to alter the structure and function
of the brain in ways that enhance memory,
cognition, and social awareness. These practices
also overcome the neural mechanisms that generate stress, anxiety, depression, and anger.
Each day the group will focus on a different tradition, and sessions will demonstrate the deep
commonality and love for life and humanity reflected in these spiritual practices. The activities
are based on Yuval Ron’s work with master spiritual teachers of the East and neuroscientists of
the West. Through this incredible journey to
your inner world, you will have a rare perspective into the worlds of Zen Buddhist masters,
mystic Sufi leaders, Kabbalistic rabbis, leading
neuroscientists, and scholars of the mysticism
of Christianity. This seminar is experiential,
and will not be lecture-based. The focus is on
providing a deep spiritual healing experience,
including walking, sacred movement, ecstatic
chanting meditations, storytelling, and poetry.
is a musician, educator, and composer for
film, television, dance and theater. He worked with
the Dalai Lama, Sufi leader Pir Zia Iniyat Khan,
Sufi master Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Zen Buddhist
priest Hirokazu Kosaka, neuroscientists Mark
Waldman, Andrew Goodman, and others.
In 2006, he won an Oscar® for West Bank Story.
www.yuvalronmusic.com
Yuval Ron
"EGINNING)NTEGRAL7AY4AI#HI™ :
7ALKINGON#LOUDS
Kenn Chase & Victoria Chase
Tai chi is the ancient art of moving meditation.
Based on the integration of the principles of yin
and yang, tai chi is practiced in a slow, sequential manner which develops the healing aspects
of chi energy, slows the central nervous system,
and improves focus.
Integral Way Tai Chi incorporates the fundamental principles of traditional Yang style tai
chi, and enhances the learning process with
Feldenkrais Method® Awareness through Movement®, chi gong, and meditation. Integral Way
was developed by Kenn Chase, a Guild Certified
Feldenkrais practitioner and the only person
who teaches this combined method.
In a culture where we are constantly “connecting” with others through media, many have
become disconnected from themselves. This
workshop offers the opportunity to reconnect
and deepen your inner sense of grace, balance,
and flow. Through this transformational approach to tai chi, participants may integrate
their physical, mental, and spiritual beings
while allowing for increased freedom of movement, joy, and peace. Participants will also enjoy
an excursion to the New Camoldi Hermitage in
Big Sur for group meditation, and to Sand Dollar Beach for tai chi by the sea.
This level one workshop is open to everyone.
An intermediate class will be offered in autumn
of 2015. This workshop is especially useful for
health care and healing professionals in working with their patients and clients.
CE credit Pending for acupuncturists; see page 6.
+ENN#HASE,
founder of Integral Way Tai Chi™, has
taught Yang-style tai chi since 1969. He is a certified
Feldenkrais practitioner and integrates Aware-
ness through Movement® into his unique teaching
approach. Teaching locally and internationally, he
consults with corporations, hospitals, and privately.
www.integralwaytaichi.com
6ICTORIA#HASE, RN, has been a clinical nurse
and health educator for more than 35 years. She
teaches in medical and community-based settings,
and she integrates alternative healing methods into
traditional venues. She has practiced and taught tai
chi and stress management with her husband Kenn
Chase since 1981.
2ECLAIMING9OUR!UTHENTIC3ELF
Anne Watts
Have you ever found yourself thinking you
want one thing but doing something else? The
thing you’re doing comes from the inner child.
What, exactly, is the inner child? It has many
names: the authentic self, natural child, creative
energy, or inner place of knowing. The inner
child works differently in each of us. We are
often out of touch with this part of ourselves,
yet it is the part that runs our lives.
This workshop is for people who want to experience more joy and personal potency in their
lives. In a safe and loving environment, you
will have the opportunity to tell your own story
and hear the stories of others, receive and give
appropriate, healing touch, and reclaim and affirm the safety of your own body. You will also
uncover core beliefs that hold you back, move
through fear, and learn techniques for safely releasing anger and sadness. Additionally, through
the use of visualization techniques, drawing,
and dynamic sculpting, you will discover your
inner child and your inner nurturing parent,
and create the opportunity to see your internal
family images from new and different perspectives. The partnership you establish between the
inner child and parent will enable you to live
your life with a new level of potency, peace, and
joy. For more information about Anne and her
work, please visit www.annewatts.com.
Anne Watts was deeply influenced by her father,
the pioneering philosopher Alan Watts. She leads
workshops on 4 continents, teaching adults to have
more loving, fulfilling relationships. Anne has been
leading Love, Intimacy and Sexuality workshops
since 1985. www.annewatts.com
$ELICIOUS-EALSIN-INUTES
&RESHFROMTHE%SALEN'ARDEN
Leslie Cerier
In this hands-on, vegetarian cooking class, gourmet organic chef, teacher, and cookbook author
55
Leslie Cerier presents delicious whole foods
that are quick, easy to prepare, health enhancing, and nutritious. Each day, we will prepare
our meals by mixing and matching the fresh,
organic, and seasonal vegetables, fruits, herbs,
and edible flowers from the Esalen Garden with
quick-cooking beans, grains, eggs, cheese, nuts,
and seeds.
In the process of harvesting and cooking, you
can discover time-saving strategies and ways
to manage every part of your cooking process
effectively and efficiently, from setting up your
kitchen and chopping vegetables to shopping
seasonally. Leslie will cover other useful tips for
leftover management, enhancing flavor, substituting ingredients, and using garnishes to dress
up the dining experience.
Expand your cooking repertoire with healthy
fats including hemp, coconut, olive, and more.
Boost Omega-3 fatty acids in delicious dishes
made from dark leafy greens, pasture-raised
eggs, walnuts, flax, hemp, chia, and sesame seeds
Add super foods like goji berries, maca, and
cacao. Engage your senses with quick-cooking
whole foods as a means of self-expression. Those
with a fast-paced life and little time to cook
will experience the bounty of delicious meals
cooked in minutes.
Recommended reading: Cerier, Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook and Going Wild in the
Kitchen.
($50 ingredients fee paid directly to the leader)
CE credit for RD & DTR; see page x.
Leslie Cerier, is an international chef, educator,
recipe developer, farm-to-table caterer, health coach,
TV guest chef/presenter, and author of 6 cookbooks
specializing in local, seasonal, organic vegetarian,
and gluten-free cooking for health, vitality, and
pleasure. www.lesliecerier.com
'RAVITYAND'RACE9OGAFOR,ONGEVITY
Peter Sterios
Yoga is a discipline created by ancient Indian
sages for increasing life force and providing the
means for a long and healthy life. What they
clearly understood was the way that simple practices, started at any age, helped build and sustain
the vitality which is the key to a fruitful existence. Whether you are in your 20s or your 80s,
this program shows you ways to support longevity and help maintain optimum movement and
awareness throughout life. Come learn how the
two subtle forces of gravity and grace can be
used to create the well-being yoga was designed
for. This program includes simple practices for
re-energizing your physical and mental bodies.
56
Peter Sterios provides light-handed, supportive
guidance with gravity-initiated movement, suitable for any level of yoga experience. The week
is accompanied by the mystical live music of
Masood Ali Khan and Johnee Gange. Through
movement and music, you can restore your innate ability for a grace-full life with a renewed
awareness of gravity, nature’s gift to keep us
grounded physically and psychologically.
Recommended reading: Blakeslee and
Blakeslee, The Body has a Mind of its Own.
0ETER3TERIOSis an internationally recognized
yoga instructor. His DVD, Gravity & Grace, was
selected in the ‘top 15 yoga videos of all time’ by Yoga
Journal. For the last 3 years, he has been invited to
the White House to teach yoga for Michelle Obama’s
anti-obesity initiatives. www.petersterios.com
7EEKENDOF!PRILn
3HARING9OUR,IFE3TORY
&ROMTHE0AGETOTHE3TAGE
Ann Randolph
As we write, we are both describing and deciding the
direction that our life is taking.
—Julia Cameron
Everything in your life, from the mundane to
the extraordinary, is a story waiting to be told.
This workshop is an invitation to discover
your own unique and powerful story. Michel
de Montaigne, the great personal essayist, said,
“Every man has within himself the entire human condition.” The intention of this workshop
is for you to delve deep into your own personal
narrative.
Writing from your deepest source, gain insight
and self-understanding that can bring peace and
healing. You will then make your words leap
from the page to the stage, sharing them orally
to uncover the power of story to transform your
life and your listeners.
Through improvisation, writing exercises, and
group discussion, you will find your authentic
voice, along with an honest, organic way to
express your truth. Ann Randolph creates a
supportive, fun, and dynamic space in which
to create. All levels are welcome. This is a workshop for those seeking to explore personal essay,
memoir, solo performance, or the sacred practice of journaling. Topics include:
Writing exercises to stimulate memory
Learning to structure the narrative in a
compelling way
Discovering ways to create spontaneously
Overcoming performance anxiety
Tools to release yourself from the inner critic
Transforming your ideas/stories into
performance
Recommended reading: Pressfield, War of Art.
!NN2ANDOLPHis an award-winning writer,
performer, and educator. Her Off-Broadway hit,
Squeezebox, was produced by Mel Brooks, and her
current show, Loveland, just received Best Solo Show
awards in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her
personal essays have aired on NPR, BBC, and the
Moth. www.annrandolph.com
/PEN&LOOR%NCOUNTER
Andrea Juhan
Open Floor Encounter is an exhilarating group
process that contains elements of Gestalt Awareness Practice (GAP), psychodrama, movement,
and somatic psychotherapy. The essential practice is to make what we feel and think inside
physically visible. Our actions impact others,
and the actions of others affect us. We come to
understand the interdependence of being human: there is no such thing as a person having
an individual experience.
Within a supportive and challenging environment, we create a “safe emergency” — a situation
intense enough to get our attention and supportive enough that we risk moving beyond
our habitual patterns. Open Floor Encounter
straddles the middle ground between the edgy,
pioneer spirit of “group encounter” of the 1960s
with the sophistication and finesse of more
recent psychotherapeutic insights. Artfully
graceful, unpredictable, and infinitely creative,
this process calls forth both our maturity and
innate wisdom.
!NDREA*UHAN, PhD MFT, is a therapist and
dancer, and for three decades a student/teacher
of Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms, Gestalt Awareness Practice, and Integrative Body Psychotherapy. She has created her own form of movement
practice called Open Floor, and together with
other gifted teachers she cofounded Open Floor
International. www.openfloor.org
Mindfulness and Heartfulness:
4HE(EALINGAND4RANSFORMATIONOF
-INDAND"ODY
Mark Abramson
This program is designed to integrate the
practice of mindful awareness with directed
KENT WISNER
heartfulness to facilitate growth, healing, and
change. It is based on Mark Abramson’s work
as the director of Stanford’s Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction Program which he founded
20 years ago. The workshop introduces the
practical application of techniques of mindfulness and heartfulness to transform emotional
states and unleash the great potential for deep
healing of the body. The goal is to learn new
ways of relating to experience that allow greater
opening, understanding, and the possibility of
transformation.
“This work,” writes the leader,”creates an increasing experience of gentleness, kindness,
and respect for oneself and others as well as the
beneficial effects on health that a kind mind
brings to the body.” The program offers guided
practice in mindfulness meditation, body movement, breathing practices, and heart opening,
interspersed with lecture and interactive discus-
sion. While the practices are especially helpful
for people who are experiencing emotional or
physical concerns, the universality of the experience makes this program valuable for all. It is
especially useful for psychologists, nurses, and
others in the healing professions in working
with their patients and clients.
Recommended reading: Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body
and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness; Ricard,
Happiness.
-ARK!BRAMSONis part of the Stanford Center for
Integrative Medicine and heads Stanford’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program. He teaches at
Stanford’s School of Medicine and is on staff at Stanford Hospital. www.drtmjsleepapnea.com
4HE-AGICAL&AMILY
Ivy Mayer Lavie
The Esalen Art Barn is home base for this weekend of play, creativity, and celebration. Families
will have the opportunity to explore, make art,
and celebrate a renewed connection with each
other. There will be space to connect as a family
unit, and connect with the larger community.
Special discussion for parents and those in the
health professions will offer a chance to learn
about self-regulation through somatically oriented mindfulness practices. There will be visual arts activities, including finding and making
treasures, making “magic” potions in the garden,
painting, council practice, and more. Expressive
arts such as yoga, dharma games, interactive
stories, and exploring in nature are also shared.
Families can journey through a magical space
that brings together the natural California coast
57
and the creativity that emerges when a group
comes together. This workshop is designed for
families of all configurations, with children of
all ages. Children must be accompanied by an
adult. If you have specific questions, please feel
free to contact the workshop leader by writing
to ivymayer@yahoo.com.
Note: Fees for children under 10 enrolled in
Esalen family workshops are $100 for weekend
workshops and $250 for 5-day workshops. Parents/guardians pay regular accommodations
fees.
Recommended reading: Louv, Last Child in the
Woods.
($10 fee paid directly to the leader)
)VY-AYER,AVIE, MFT,is influenced by Somatic
Experiencing, the Hakomi Method, and her teaching experience, including for The Marin School, The
Moving Center School, Spirit Rock, and Yes!. She offers Coming of Age programs, psychotherapy, trauma
and resiliency work, and movement workshops.
!7EEKENDOF!DVANCED%SALEN®
Massage
Rob Wilks & Vicki Topp
Come prepared to practice and learn new
methods of massage, while enjoying the natural
beauty and healing waters of the Esalen Institute. Previous massage training is required. This
workshop is also useful for those in the helping
and healing professions in working with their
clients and patients.
2OB7ILKSis a full-time bodywork practitioner
and yoga teacher at Esalen. He specializes in Deep
Bodywork®. He has taught experiential leadership
education in the US and Eastern Europe.
6ICKI4OPPis a senior practitioner and instructor of
Esalen Massage and somatic bodywork. She teaches
workshops and training groups internationally and
is a registered Movement Therapist and practitioner
of Body-Mind Centering. www.vickitopp.com
58
DOUG ELLIS
This weekend provides practitioners with the
opportunity to inspire their current massage
practice. Experienced Esalen Massage and
Bodywork practitioners Rob Wilks and Vicki
Topp will offer unique explorations in the
practices of gentle extensions and dynamic
mobilization, along with soft and deep tissue
release work. Range of motion and passive release techniques will also be brought onto the
table, creating an atmosphere of innovation and
exploration.
man condition.” The intention of this workshop
is for you to delve deep into your own personal
narrative.
7EEKOF!PRILn
3HARING9OUR,IFE3TORY
&ORTHE0AGEANDTHE3TAGE
Ann Randolph
As we write, we are both describing and deciding the
direction that our life is taking.
—Julia Cameron
This workshop is an invitation to discover
your own unique and powerful story. Michel
de Montaigne, the great personal essayist, said,
“Every man has within himself the entire hu-
Writing from your deepest source, gain insight
and self-understanding that can bring peace and
healing. You will then make your words leap
from the page to the stage, sharing them orally
to uncover the power of story to transform your
life and your listeners.
voice, along with an honest, organic way to
express your truth. Ann Randolph creates a
supportive, fun, and dynamic space in which
to create. All levels are welcome. This is a work-
shop for those seeking to explore personal essay,
memoir, solo performance, or the sacred practice of journaling. Topics include:
Learning to structure the narrative in a
compelling way
Transforming your ideas/stories into
performance
Recommended reading: Pressfield, War of Art;
Metzger, Writing For Your Life.
!NN2ANDOLPHbio on page 56.
3HADOW3KILLAND"REAKTHROUGH
!DVANCED9OGA4EACHER4RAININGAND
9OGA0SYCHOLOGY4RAINING
Sianna Sherman, Ronald Alexander,
Ashley Turner & Theodore Kyriakos
Join us for a dynamic integration of mindfulness, yoga, and Western psychology. This
training is designed for yoga instructors,
psychotherapists, health care professionals, and
personal, professional, or organizational coaches
who are ready for a profound change in their
teaching, coaching, and clinical practice.
This is a rare opportunity to study with four
master teachers who weave together their expertise in hatha yoga, Tantra, positive psychology,
Buddhist, transpersonal, and yoga psychology,
myth, Gestalt and priestess practices, coaching,
transpersonal psychology, and mindfulness.
Topics include the following:
Asana, mantra, mudra, and meditation for
psychological and emotional healing
Chakras as a map of the psyche-soma connection and how to teach the chakras in asana
Shadow work: Basic Jungian psychological
principles to avoid the pitfalls of dual
relationships
The therapeutic use of power dynamics in the
yoga room
Transference, counter-transference, projection,
and erotic transference
Facing fears and transforming your voice as a
teacher
Neurobiology of mindfulness, meditation,
yoga, and modern concepts in the field of
interpersonal neurobiology
CBT, Buddhist psychology and existential
psychotherapeutic concepts for dealing
with painful patterns of thinking, grief, loss,
change, and the transformation of beliefs
Each day will be an integration of yoga,
meditation, lecture, practice, dyad/ triad work,
teaching with direct feedback, deep internal self
work, and healing music. Expect to gain effective tools for a lifetime of exploration and bring
renewed passion to your teaching.
Note: All participants must first register for
this program and pay $750 at http://tinyurl.com/
YogaPsychology. Only after registration and
payment of tuition will you be able to reserve
accommodations at Esalen (this will be an
extra cost). Course fees and accommodations
are separate. Please see accommodations costs
under “Pricing for Partner Programs” at http://
www.esalen.org/page/partner-program-pricing.
Recommended reading: Alexander, Wise Mind
Open Mind; Swami Ajaya, Psychotherapy East and
West; Zweig and Abrams, Meeting the Shadow:
The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human
Nature; Kempton, Awakening Shakti; Johnson,
Inner Work.
3IANNA3HERMAN bio on page 30.
2ONALD!LEXANDERPhD, is the director of the Open
Mind Training Institute, and leads trainings internationally in mindfulness, mind-body therapies, and
transformational leadership. He is the author of Wise
Mind Open Mind. www.ronaldalexander.com
!SHLEY4URNERis a yoga-meditation instructor,
registered marriage and family therapist intern, and
writer. She has several best-selling yoga DVDs, is the
co-author of Aroma Yoga, and creator of popular
digital programs that fuse yoga and psychology.
www.AshleyTurner.org
4HEODORE+YRIAKOSis an integrative transpersonal
psychotherapist, teacher, and supervisor. He draws
from the Sufi and Shamanic traditions to engage
with the shadow in order to reveal wisdom from
inner conflict. A native of Greece, Theodore brings
passion, warmth, and humor into his offerings.
www.lightintobeing.com
4HE0ROMISE!DVANCED9OGA
FOR%VERYONE
Mark Whitwell
Yoga is not a linear process. It is direct intimacy with life, and it is available to everyone. This
week, Mark Whitwell offers yoga’s advanced
practices in a way that you can integrate and
make your own, whether you are just beginning to practice or have years of experience.
The workshop involves an interwoven promise: You promise to practice yoga, and in return
you receive the promise of yoga’s gifts, including health, intimacy, well-being, and joy. In
order to experience these benefits, your yoga
practice must be adapted to you, not you to
yoga. With Mark’s skillful and heartfelt guidance, you will:
Explore the five principles of advanced
personal practice
Dive into asana, pranayama, and meditation as
a seamless process
Discover how yoga transforms life into an
intimate celebration with everything
Experience the nurturing principle as a
constant in your life from now on
Return home with understanding and the
embodied felt sense of your own joyful
practice
This program is a regenerative and joyful event
that will continue to reverberate through your
daily life in very practical ways. For all levels; no
prior yoga experience is needed. Please bring a
yoga mat.
Recommended reading: Whitwell, Yoga of Heart
and The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy; Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga.
-ARK7HITWELLhas enjoyed a lifelong relationship
with the teachings of Krishnamacharya through his
students T.K.V. Desikachar and Srivatsa Ramaswami. He travels the world teaching yoga and is the
author of Yoga of Heart: The Healing Power of
Intimate Connection and The Promise of Love,
Sex and Intimacy.
7EEKENDOF!PRILn
Wired for Love: An Insider’s Guide
TO9OUR2ELATIONSHIP
Stanley Tatkin with Tracey Tatkin
“There is perhaps nothing more difficult than
relating to another person,” says Stan Tatkin,
clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A
Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy®.
We are complex people, to be sure, and we don’t
come with manuals that automate the process
of getting along with us. Even if we did have a
manual, what works for one person won’t necessarily work for another. But neither does it work
to fly blind, as many couples do, and expect
relationships to simply fall into place. Hence,
the need for an insider’s guide to your partner
and relationship. This workshop will demonstrate general principles to help you understand
what makes a relationship successful, and how
to work toward that with your partner. During
this weekend of teaching, interacting, and experimenting, we will come to understand how
we and our partners really work and begin to
59
construct a specific owner’s manual for you and
your partner. The tools you will be shown will
be ready to use immediately in your relationship. This workshop is limited to couples only.
4HE/NE4HING(OLDING9OU"ACK
5NLEASHINGTHE0OWEROF%MOTIONAL
#ONNECTION
Recommended reading: Tatkin, Wired for Love:
How Understanding Your Partner’s Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and
Build a Secure Relationship.
Do you have an unrealized dream? Are you still
waiting to tap your full potential?
3TANLEY4ATKIN, PsyD, MFT, has a clinical practice
in Southern Calif., teaches at Kaiser Permanente,
and is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA.
Tatkin developed the Psychobiological Approach to
Couple Therapy (PACT®), and together with his wife,
Tracey Boldemann-Tatkin, founded the PACT Institute. www.stantatkin.com
!&UTURE5NEXPECTED7OMEN
2EDElNINGAN5NIMAGINED,IFE
Daphne Rose Kingma
Women growing into their forties — or fifties,
sixties, or seventies — are more than ever finding themselves on a path they’d never expected,
either because of choices or out-of-the-blue life
changes.
In this workshop, we’ll explore who, how, and
what you’re supposed to be when you’ve experienced unexpected setbacks and losses: when
your marriage ends, boyfriend leaves, house
burns down, children depart, or job folds. When
the person you thought you were going to grow
old with runs off, when the partner you did get
old with suddenly dies, when the career that defined you dissolves, when you realize it’s too late
to have children, or maybe even to fall in love.
With a community of women facing similar
circumstances, you’ll explore where you are in
life versus where you expected to be, and the
powerful role of women as a consequence of the
rise in feminine energy — the transformational
power of our times. We will identify steps you
can take to create a life that can be larger, happier, and more quintessentially your own than
the one you left behind.
Through sharing, meditation, exercises, and
emotional exploration, you will be lovingly supported in creating a new and exciting version of
your life.
Recommended Reading: Kingma, Coming Apart
and The Ten Things to Do When Your Life Falls
Apart.
$APHNE2OSE+INGMAbio on page 32.
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Raphael Cushnir
“Almost always, what prevents us from manifesting our greatest life vision is a reservoir of
unfelt emotion,” writes Raphael Cushnir. “Resisting this emotion is what sabotages prayer,
affirmations, or any other personal-growth
technique. Finding and feeling this emotion is
what infuses our mission with Spirit and makes
us truly unstoppable. It’s simple, but most of us
never learn precisely how—not at home, school,
or even in therapy.”
Raphael has pioneered a method of emotional
connection that virtually anybody can master,
and that can be learned in just one weekend. It
is grounded in both contemporary neuroscience and the great wisdom traditions. He has
shared it with immediate and lasting results all
around the world. You can use this emotional
connection to overcome lifelong struggles with
career, family, relationships, weight, self-esteem,
and addiction. This workshop is designed to
help you fall in love with every moment of your
life. It can lead to the kind of personal accomplishment you’ve longed for, and also help you
serve the world.
2APHAEL#USHNIRhas written 6 books, including
The One Thing Holding You Back and Setting
Your Heart on Fire. He lectures worldwide and
contributes to O, The Oprah Magazine, Psychology Today, and the Huffington Post. His heart
opened through profound grief. www.cushnir.com
!$IFFERENT0ERSPECTIVE2EFRAME
9OUR,IFE5SING0LAY%MBODIMENT
and Humor
tive styles which enable participants to find
the optimal and safe path into better awareness
of themselves and ways to move forward. This
experience is for those who are interested in
shifting their lens on life through experimenting with how we mentally and emotionally
organize the world. Through humor, play, improvisation, small and large group discussions,
and various one-on-one exercises, you’ll have the
opportunity to reframe life in order to tell new
stories about the future.
!NN2ANDOLPHbio on page 56.
-ICHAEL#RAIG#LEMMENS, PhD, is a psychologist
and trainer in Pittsburgh, Pa. He is a faculty member of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and teaches
at the Metanoia Institute in London, and at Esalen.
He is the author of Getting Beyond Sobriety, and
numerous articles on Gestalt therapy, body process,
and addiction.
%XPERIENCING%SALEN
Deborah Anne Medow
We must answer anew the old questions. “What are
the limits of human ability, the boundaries of the
human experience? What does it mean to be a
human being?”
—From the 1965 Esalen Catalog
Experiencing Esalen is a workshop that
introduces participants to some of the transformational practices of Esalen. Designed for
first-time participants or those renewing their
acquaintance with Esalen, the emphasis is on
finding those approaches to personal growth
that work most effectively for each participant.
Sessions may include: meditation, sensory
awareness, Gestalt Practice, group process, art,
movement, and massage. There will also be time
to explore the magnificence of the Big Sur coast.
$EBORAH!NNE-EDOWbio on page 17.
Ann Randolph & Michael Clemmens
4HE$ESIRE0ATHTO%NLIGHTENMENT
It is all too easy to stay stuck in a rut, unable to
see or do things differently even when we know
we want to change. Join storyteller Ann Randolph and somatic psychologist Michael Clemmens for a weekend of new insights and creative,
fun practices designed to jump start change in
your life. This is a bold, alternative approach that
supports deep process and joyful exploration.
Scott Von
During this workshop, we will begin from the
premise that if we change our “embodiment”
(physical expression) and our basic stance in the
world, we rewire our perspective and can then
evolve differently if we choose. Both Ann and
Michael work from creative, warm, and innova-
The whole of evolution, in fact, is an evolution from
unconscious divinity to conscious divinity in which
God Himself, essentially eternal and unchangeable,
assumes an infinite variety of forms, enjoys an infinite variety of experiences, and transcends an infinite
variety of self-imposed limitations. — Meher Baba
Traditional Eastern wisdom preaches that desire
causes suffering, but in the modern West we
are driven by our desires. The “desire path to
enlightenment” is the method I developed for
integrating body and mind and bridging East
and West. Desire itself is not enlightenment
but an initiation in our path toward it. It must
not be denied or repressed. How do we find our
desires? We find them by looking into our very
symptoms. By discovering our lost or repressed
desires we can invigorate vitality, integrate
trauma, turn breakdown into breakthrough,
and begin the process of refining raw drive into
sublime form — just as the great alchemists and
artists have shown.
Through a series of practical and experiential
exercises in somatic awareness, energy work,
creative play, and performative dialogue, you
will be shown how to heal and evolve the physical body and the psyche. We will explore the
secrets that can unlock desire, use it to build
physical and emotional vitality, and refine it
along a path to spiritual enlightenment.
3COTT6ON, OMD, PhD,is a physician, psycho-
4ANTRA4HE!RTOF#ONSCIOUS,OVING
Charles Muir & Caroline Muir with
Diane Greenberg
This is a “reset point” for couples who want to
dramatically improve the quality of sex and
intimacy in their love lives and open up to more
ecstatic pleasure and spiritual connection in
their relationship.
Few of us have been blessed with healthy childhood conditioning and education regarding
the mysteries of sexual love and relationship.
This can leave individuals less successful and
conscious in their sexuality than they are in
other aspects of their lives. Tantra transforms
sex into a loving meditation, putting more consciousness, energy, intimacy, joy, and love into
sexual exchanges. It is time to study sex as an
art form. Sexual loving is a vital meditative skill,
and sexual energy is a sacrament, that can bring
great harmony and joy into one’s relationship so
that love continues to grow over the course of a
lifetime.
Practices include ways to deepen intimacy, free
female sexual orgasm, and methods to increase
pleasure for both partners. Esoteric practices
of kiss, movement, and touch are introduced in
class and then practiced in the privacy of your
own room. Discover tantric wisdom presented
with insight, gentleness, humor, and love.
The workshop is open to couples only and is not
designed for same-sex couples. For more information, media reviews and u tube instruction,
visit www.Sourcetantra.com.
($5 fee for course booklet paid directly to the leaders)
Recommended reading: Muir and Muir,
Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving (available
at www.Sourcetantra.com).
#HARLES-UIRhas been a professional yoga teacher
since 1967. Director of the Source School of Tantra
Yoga, he is quoted in 125 books in print on Tantra,
relationship, sex, and yoga. He is co-author of
Tantra: the Art of Conscious Loving, which is
printed in 9 languages. www.sourcetantra.com
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
analyst, philosopher, and poet. He is founder and
director of the New Clinic for Integral Medicine &
Psychiatry. He completed his Doctor of Medicine at
the American College of TCM with residencies in
neurology and psychiatry, and advanced training in
acupuncture and homeopathy and a PhD in psychoanalysis from the University of London.
7EEKOF!PRILn
61
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
#AROLINE-UIRfounder of the Divine Feminine
Institute and coauthor of Tantra: The Art of Conscious Loving, inspires women of all ages to claim
their birthright to be all they can be and to delight in
their sexuality. www.sourcetantra.com
3ELF!CCEPTANCE4HE(EARTOF(EALING
Joe Cavanaugh
The heart has reasons which reason
knows nothing of.
—Blaise Pascal
We commonly hear the axiom, Love is letting
go of fear. There is, however, another possibility: Love means loving ourselves even when we
are afraid. This applies to all so-called negative
emotions: fear, anger, doubt, jealousy, and so on.
We simply cannot be who we are not. Accepting
who we are allows healing to begin. Judging
ourselves, we lose sight of the deeper message
our feelings bring to us, reinforcing the very
negativity we are attempting to dissolve.
“Through personal and interpersonal processes,” Joe Cavanaugh writes, “we will see how our
judgments, beliefs, and attitudes can undermine
62
our self-esteem and personal effectiveness. We
will create a space to heal our wounds from the
past while enhancing our capacity for greater
love and compassion. In a context of mutual
support and safety, we will learn to accept ourselves for who we are in the present moment.
We will then discover how these so-called negative emotions were in fact angels in disguise,
guiding us toward our Authentic Self.”
This workshop is designed for all those wishing
to enrich the quality of their lives and increase
their capacity for empathy and compassion for
themselves and others.
Prerequisite: Be willing to attend all sessions
and abstain from alcohol and non-prescription
drugs for the duration of the workshop.
Recommended reading: Cavanaugh, Who Am I,
Really? How Our Wounds Can Lead to Healing.
*OSEPH#AVANAUGHis a licensed psychotherapist in
private practice in the Sierra foothills and a psychology instructor at a local community college. He has
facilitated personal-growth workshops throughout
California for the past 30 years.
5NSHAKABLE0RESENCE#OMING(OME
TO7HO9OU4RULY!RE
Miranda Macpherson
Imagine being deeply at rest, and held within
an unconditional love that offers total support
for you to go within, let go, and address the important themes of your life. In the core of every
human being lives indestructible purity, love,
intelligence, peace, and stillness, unaffected by
the difficulties of our histories and the identifications we have formed. Yet commonly we live
on the surface of ourselves, busy trying to control life to manifest our desires and keep away
our fears. This keeps us seeking fulfillment but
disconnected from it. This group will journey
through and beyond the habits of mind that
typically block access to deeper dimensions of
consciousness.
Miranda Macpherson teaches and transmits a
unique synthesis of holistic self-inquiry, psychological wisdom, and devotional and meditation
practice in a tangible atmosphere of unconditional love. The experiential format includes
exercises in pairs, meditations, chanting, open
sessions, rich wisdom teachings, and satsang
(sacred community). Hers is an integrated and
feminine approach to non-dual awakening oriented at facilitating direct spiritual experience,
while providing a practical foundation to unwind the patterns that shape our lives. Additionally, Miranda will share her map of awakening,
drawn from perennial truths at the heart of the
world’s mystical traditions, which encourages
more substantial access to presence.
"ETH0ETTENGILL2ILEYis an authorized Continu-
-IRANDA-ACPHERSONguides people into direct
Paul Heussenstamm
experience of the sacred. Founder of the OneSpirit
Interfaith Foundation in London, the ‘Awakening
Love: Embodying Wisdom’ sangha in the Bay Area,
and author of Boundless Love, Miranda draws
from extensive study of the world’s wisdom traditions, and more than 20 years of experience teaching
internationally. www.mirandamacpherson.com
4HE%TERNAL2ETURN(ONORINGTHE
,IFEAND7ORKOF%MILIE#ONRAD
Donnalea Van Vleet Goelz &
Beth Pettengill Riley
The universe communicates to us through resonant streams that are separate from everyday
functional movements. These bio-cosmic movements undulate, spiral, and pulsate through our
bodies, and are not bound by time, space, or
condition. The Eternal Return is the process of
entering — with full consciousness — this dynamic spiral of life as it leads us through the
profundity of a continually emerging human.
In our time together, we will be held by the
fluid practices of Continuum, including movement, sound, and breath. Through these practices, we’ll open into the wider field of awareness
from which healing emerges.
The spirit of water is central to most spiritual
traditions. The moving language of the inherent river of life within is revealed through waves
and spirals that undulate their healing messages
through our arms, legs, and spines.
During this workshop, which marks the
first anniversary of the death of Emilie Conrad, longtime Esalen workshop leader and somatic pioneer, we will send Emilie’s ashes into
the sacred waters of Esalen, as was her request.
This ceremony will be a direct symbol of her
life and work, and the essence of the Eternal
Return. Please join us.
$ONNALEA6AN6LEET'OELZ, RSMT, RSME, is
the owner and founder of Cobalt Moon Center for
integrative health, in Neptune Beach, Florida. An
authorized Continuum teacher since 1998, she leads
workshops nationally and internationally in Continuum, tai chi, healing, and the human energy field.
um Movement teacher who has served on the faculties of UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, and the
Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. She was recently
named “Best Yoga Teacher of Santa Cruz.”
www.themovingwell.com
!RTASA3PIRITUAL0ATH
0AINTINGSTHAT!WAKENTHE3OUL
The practice of painting is healing and meditative. No experience is necessary as we transform
our everyday consciousness into the inner artist
that lives in each of us. The week is designed to
introduce the possibility that you are an artist,
and that the artist path is one of joy, insight, and
awareness. It’s amazing that in just a few days,
you can finish a colorful painting that reveals
many of the deep inner patterns that connect you
with your soul. After seeing mandalas made during Paul’s workshop, Eckhart Tolle commented,
“These paintings carry a healing presence.” Deepak Chopra said, “These paintings are archetypal
manifestations of higher consciousness.” After
the workshop, you will have the foundation for
painting sacred art and mandalas at home, as you
continue on this path of self-discovery and the
newfound relationship to art and your soul.
Recommended reading: Heussenstamm, Divine
Forces: Art that Awakens the Soul.
0AUL(EUSSENSTAMMcomes from a family immersed
in art and spirituality. At 35, he began painting in
earnest after a single art class expanded into a consuming passion, a new profession, and a new perspective
on life. He understands mandalas as psychic maps and
symbols of wholeness. www.mandalas.com
Esalen® Massage and Meditation
Oliver Bailey & Peggy Horan
Esalen Massage is a moving meditation, a practice in presence and mindfulness, and a loving
healing art. When practiced with focused attention, massage comes from a deep, quiet place
that resides inside each of us. The practice of
meditation can help access the parasympathetic
nervous system, where healing originates. As we
give a massage, this healing state of mind can
permeate the field that practitioner and receiver
create together.
In guided sessions, we will explore the practice
of sitting meditation to prepare and quiet our
minds, walking meditation to bring awareness
to our movement, and the fundamentals of Esalen Massage as a meditative practice in giving.
There will be time for supervised practice each
day, as students exchange massages, with the
support of their experienced teachers, Peggy
and Oliver.
Beginners as well as seasoned practitioners are
welcome for this week to explore Esalen Massage and meditation, while enjoying the natural
beauty of the Esalen grounds. This workshop
is especially useful for those in the helping and
/LIVER"AILEYbio on page 17.
0EGGY(ORANhas been practicing and teaching
massage at Esalen for more than 40 years. She has
also been involved in childbirth education and practiced midwifery in Big Sur for 15 years. Peggy is the
author of the book Connecting Through Touch.
7EEKENDOF!PRILn
+ABBALAHANDTHE4REEOF,IFE
5NLOCKINGTHE3ECRETSOF!NCIENT
-YSTICAL4RADITIONS
Gahl Sasson
What is Kabbalah? Why did people from different cultural traditions risk their lives to study
it? How can it help us improve our lives today?
In Kabbalah it is believed that God used the
ten spheres of the Tree of Life as a blueprint
to create the universe. By following this same
blueprint, we too can create miracles in our own
lives.
This in-depth, fun, and experiential workshop
will not only allow us to tap into the richness
of this ancient spiritual technology, but also it
will help us apply it to our everyday lives. Using
comparative mysticism, guided meditations,
entertaining movie clips, and symbolism, we
will be shown how to connect to the ten archetypes of the Tree of Life as well as how to use
these energies to foster spiritual, emotional, and
material growth.
Join the ranks of the spiritual warriors who
have basked in this wonderful mystical tradition of light. No prior knowledge of Kabbalah is
necessary.
Recommended reading: Sasson and Winstein, A
Wish Can Change Your Life; Sasson, Cosmic Navigator; The Old Testament.
'AHL3ASSONhas been teaching workshops on
mythology, Kabbalah, and mysticism for more
63
than a decade. His books have been translated into
multiple languages and are endorsed by HH the
Dalai Lama, Laura Day, and John Edward.
www.CosmicNavigator.com
#ALLINGS&INDINGAND&OLLOWINGAN
!UTHENTIC,IFE
Recommended reading: Levoy, Callings: Finding
and Following an Authentic Life.
'REGG,EVOYauthor of Callings: Finding and
Following an Authentic Life and This Business of
Writing, is a former adjunct professor of journalism
at the University of New Mexico who teaches widely
on the subject of callings. www.gregglevoy.com
This hands-on retreat takes a creative approach
to striking up a deep dialogue with our own
lives. Through writing, storytelling, myth,
improvisation, meditation, reflection, and
nature, participants explore the psychological,
spiritual, and practical processes we encounter
in finding and following our callings, whether
calls to do something (become self-employed,
go back to school, leave or start a relationship,
move to the country) or calls to be something
(more creative, less judgmental, more loving,
less fearful). You will have the opportunity to
learn how to:
Clarify your callings
Discern whether a call is true
Work creatively with resistance and conflict
Reconnect with your powers and gifts
Gain a renewed sense of possibilities
is the best-selling author
of The Power of Focusing and The Radical Acceptance of Everything. She teaches her popular
workshops in Inner Relationship Focusing and Getting Unblocked internationally, both in person and by
telephone bridge line. www.focusingresources.com
Ann Weiser Cornell
Gregg Levoy
Callings are urgings and imperatives from the
deep self that tell us what it will take to make
our lives “come true.” They point us toward
awakenings, course corrections, and powerful
authenticity.
with a blocked life issue of your choice and
follow it through a series of exercises to release
what’s been holding the block in place. You can
take home skills to use over and over whenever
life gets stuck. Helping professionals can learn
powerful tools for working with clients.
'ETTING5NBLOCKED
Ann Weiser Cornell
Do you sabotage yourself? Is there something
you really need to get done but you just don’t do
it? Are there parts of your life that stay stuck no
matter how hard you try? Do you have to force
yourself to do what you need to do — and even
that doesn’t work?
Inspired by what she learned while releasing
her own writer’s block, Ann Weiser Cornell
created a step-by-step program to help you get
unblocked and find your forward-flowing action. It’s based on Inner Relationship Focusing,
a body-based method for listening deeply to
yourself.
Learn how to create a climate of acceptance
and welcome within, so that you can hear your
blocking and pushing parts without getting
caught up in the struggle. Discover the myths
and patterns of action blocks and why the harder you try, the less you get done.
In a safe and supportive atmosphere that respects your inner sense of rightness, you start
&IREINTHE"ELLY(ONEYINTHE(EART
3PRING$ETOX
Micheline Berry with Joey Lugassy & Ensemble
Join us for a spring detox immersion into the
healing depths of your own yoga practice, contemplative meditation, live music and percussion, ecstatic dance, and Esalen’s famous hot
springs and healing farm-to-table cuisine. A
detox retreat is a powerful time to release pentup toxins physically, emotionally, and mentally,
while renewing your vital energies and recharging creatively. Through a daily practice of yoga,
meditation, and ecstatic dance combined with
live music and ecstatic percussion by Joey Lugassy, Craig Kohland/Shaman’s Dream, Christo
Pellani, Domonic Dean Breaux and Collective, you can cultivate peak states of embodied
creativity and nourished vitality which will
remain with you long after you return to your
urban lives.
Fire in the Belly, Honey in the Heart is a dynamic, Core Detox Vinyasa yoga practice open
to all levels, and designed by Micheline Berry
to ignite manipura chakra, the center of our
digestive fire, and anahata chakra, the center of
fearless compassion and unconditional love. The
heated core detox practice includes transformational core work, bandha work, dancing surya
namaskars, kriyas, heated vinyasa kramas, and
deep twisting leading to back bends and inversions. Some sessions will be followed by sesame
oil self-massage. Come prepared to sweat, burn,
and bloom! Open to all levels of yoga, meditation, art, and dance experience. Please bring a
yoga mat.
-ICHELINE"ERRY’s work catalyzes healing and
KENT WISNER
transformation through a cohesive fusion of
vinyasa flow yoga, world beat music, somatic arts,
and meditation. Based at Exhale in Venice, Calif.,
Micheline leads Liquid Asana™ teacher trainings,
yoga workshops, and retreats internationally.
www.michelineberry.com
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#RAFTING#AREERSTHAT4RULY&IT
(OWTO7ORK&ROM7ITHIN
Susan Bernstein
More than 50% of Americans are dissatisfied
with their jobs. Often, we stumble or fall into
careers that don’t fit, and then we feel stuck.
When we try to make a change we’re guided to
analytical approaches—including career tests
and assessments—to try to figure out a new professional direction. Yet such structures, often
lauded in the business world, seldom help us get
in touch with what deeply energizes and moves
us. Our conditioning can make us feel like failures if we don’t get to a speedy resolution. We
rationalize away our true desires and continue
to make life-limiting compromises.
You can gain more clarity about your future
life and livelihood by awakening a form of
intelligence we generally overlook: embodied
intelligence. Our bodies know how to navigate
chaos and uncertainty, although most of us have
forgotten the innate wisdom that has been with
us since birth. When we tap into this inner
guidance, we know our next steps.
Through movement, writing, and discussion,
we will creatively listen to and learn to trust our
impulses and instincts as we allow our true life
energy to direct us. Both right and left brain can
feel satisfied as we create compelling new visions of what work can be for each of us. Please
bring a notebook and a pen.
helps people navigate transitions
by integrating their embodied intelligence. Her
transformational approaches blend left-brain
logic honed over 20 years in corporate America
with right-brain creative movement gleaned from
pioneering research in mind-body psychology.
www.SensationalShift.com
3usan Bernstein
/RGANIC3KINAND"ODY#ARE
FROMTHE'ARDEN
Rachel Berry
Discover the joy of making your own organic
skin care products. Once you learn some basic
herbal processing skills, you can easily make
your own skin creams, facial scrubs, skin toners, and more. This is an essential skill for
those who want high-quality skin and body
care without chemical additives, and for those
who wish to become more self-reliant by using
organic, whole ingredients to make their own.
In the beautiful Esalen gardens, you can learn
how to collect and process herbs, from picking
to preservation. Over the weekend, you’ll enjoy
a series of herbal skin treatments and have the
opportunity to make your own customized set
of herbal skin and body care, including skin
cream, facial scrub, tinted lip moisturizer, therapeutic massage oil, and more. After completing
the class, you will have a set of organic herbal
skin care products to take home, the recipes and
know-how to make them again on your own,
and the ability to make unique, customized gifts
for friends and family.
2ACHEL"ERRY, MA, blends her expertise in community health, medicinal herbs, and sustainable living
practices to inspire and promote home-scale herbalism. She owns and operates Sierra Botanica, offering
localized herbal care products and herbal home-care
classes. www.SierraBotanica.com
7EEKOF!PRILn
0RESENTn/PENn!WAKE3OUL-OTION™
AND%MBODIED)NQUIRY
With our body we are in the presence of a force that is
filled with wisdom, loving, flawlessly reliable, and,
strange to say, worthy of our deepest devotion.
—Reginald Ray
Are you, like many of us, living suspended between the yearning for self-expression and the
fear of being too much—or not enough? Do you
know both your tendency to hide and your deep
desire to offer something of value to the world?
Are you confused by the apparent conflict between the truth of spiritual unity and the complexity of human interactions?
Explore these paradoxes of human existence
with us through a blend of somatic practices
that allow a simultaneous deep dive into
the body and dissolution into Presence.
Experimenting with expressive aliveness,
students practice skills for presence, contact,
and awareness through body-based inquiries
of Gestalt Practice and ancient meditative
traditions. We dance to eclectic music and
the great sound of silence, traveling alone
and together through the landscapes of Soul
Motion, using art and writing as portals of
creative inquiry. The workshop is open to
any body willing to leap — or stick their toe
— into the mystery of embodiment, creativity,
community, and devotion. Beginners are
always especially welcome.
:UZA%NGLER bio on page 26.
3COTT%NGLER bio on page 26.
%SALEN)NSPIRATIONAL&ILM&ESTIVAL
&ILMSTHAT%MPOWERAND%NRICH
THE(UMAN3PIRIT
Corinne Bourdeau &
Mary Elizabeth Murphy
Cinema can enlighten, inspire, and uplift
the human spirit. Examples of these transformative films include What the Bleep Do We
Know?, The Celestine Prophecy, What Dreams
May Come, Field of Dreams, and The Cove. Films
like these can truly make a difference in how
people live and express their creativity.
During the third annual Esalen Inspirational Film Festival, participants will enjoy a
vibrant mix of films, panel discussions, and
thought-provoking dialogue with filmmakers. Our intention for the week is to build an
engaging and supportive community of film
enthusiasts whose common goal is to enrich
and uplift the human spirit. The festival is
open to everyone, and will be of particular
interest to artists, filmmakers, and those
who have a passion for social justice, environmental issues, personal growth exploration, and spiritual themes.
Discussion topics include the following:
The exploration of positive psychology
in film
The landscape of independent films
dedicated to transformation
The power of entertainment to create
social change and activism
The art of mythology and powerful
storytelling
Featured guests include Josh Tickell and
Rebecca Harrell Tickell (Fuel, Pump), Lesley
Chilcott (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for
“Superman”), Alan Kozlowski (Travelers and
Magicians), among others. Note: Due to the
flexible nature of filmmaking and production schedules, the week’s schedule is subject to change.
is president and founder
of 360 Degree Communications, an agency
specializing in films that celebrate and enrich the
human spirit through social change. Bourdeau’s
portfolio includes Academy Award®-winning
documentaries such as The Cove, Samsara, The
Way, and Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
-ARY%LIZABETH-URPHY is an expert at creating
innovative grassroots campaigns for independent
films that target niche markets. She has worked
on the Academy Award®-winning film The Cove
and other indie hits such as Pina, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Buck, and The Way.
Corinne Bourdeau
65
)9OU5S0LEASURE)NTIMACYANDTHE
3EARCHFOR#ONNECTEDNESS
Terry Hunt
This workshop is about healthy relationships—
in love, in friendship, in daily life. The focus is
on how to nurture our own vitality in situations
where we long for connections that are more
real, more safe, or more rewarding.
Pleasure is essential for healthy relationships.
Add the erotic element and the potential for
pleasure grows exponentially. But whether in
love or friendship, in same- or opposite-gender
relationships, the reality of sustaining delight
in one another is often a mystery and a struggle.
We substitute old avoidance patterns for intimacy as we play out the Good Girl and Super Guy
roles we developed during traumatic childhoods
and adolescences. Or we repeatedly act out of
fear, sadness, or rage, keeping our relationships
locked in the “cultural missionary position.”
Giving up carefully honed pain-avoidant habits
releases new energies for the pursuit of personal
fulfillment in relationships.
This workshop is designed to help you identify
myths that block the flow of joy. Terry Hunt
writes, “Together we will redefine the role of
pleasure in our lives and create updated images of our sexual and sensual selves. We will
explore new language that more honestly communicates our desires. We will encourage each
other to approach our gender gaps with intention rather than fear, assertion rather than suspicion. We will follow our instincts for pleasure
into moments of wholeness.”
Come alone or with an intimate.
Recommended reading: Hunt & Paine-Gernée,
Emotional Healing and Secrets to Tell, Secrets to
Keep.
4ERRY(UNTis a licensed psychologist, bioenergetic
therapist, and long-time Esalen instructor. Specializing in body-centered psychotherapy, he works with
individuals, couples, and people struggling with
trauma and addictive behaviors. He also consults
nationally with families in intergenerational transitions. www.marketstreethealth.com
3PINAL!WARENESSWITH(UMOR
4HE%SSENCEOF&ELDENKRAIS® and
%NERGY7ORK
Patrick Douce
Spinal awareness is a combination of the
Feldenkrais Method®, Taoist energetic science,
and the Esalen experience. In this workshop,
66
participants will experience movements that
help bring new awareness as well as maintain
health and assist in the rehabilitation of pain,
tension, stiffness, limitation, and injury.
The use of joy and humor will be the undertone
of this time together. Real freedom in the body
is also freedom of spirit and fun.
Lessons adapted from Indonesian Silat originating from the monasteries of China and Tibet
will be shared which greatly expand the scope
and effectiveness of each session. The concepts
of grounding, extending, generating, protecting,
circulating, and efficiently using our energies
will be experienced.
Safe, non-invasive touch lessons will be used to
help in the understanding of our spines as well
as to loosen and improve each person in the
workshop. Fun partner lessons will add to the
learning and the freedom to be experienced in
our bodies.
By increasing awareness and fluidity in the
spine, students will find new ways of being sensitive to and improving their work with patients
and clients, in their own yoga practice and
teachings. Those persons with chronic or acute
tension, stress, stiffness, or pain will find tools
specific to their needs that will help in their
improvement and often healing.
0ATRICK$OUCE, one of Moshe Feldenkrais’s first
American students, has been associated with Esalen
since 1972. Since 1986 he has lived some months
of each year in Bali, developing programs with
Indonesian Silat martial-arts-for-health schools.
www.spinalawareness.com
"IG3UR7ILDERNESS%XPERIENCE
3PRINGTIME
Steven Harper with Stacy Carlson
Esalen is the trailhead to one of the most spectacular mountainous coastlines in the world. With
the Big Sur wilderness as the primary teacher,
participants will explore the beauty of this alive
and wild coast, from ancient redwood-forested
canyons to dramatic coastal beaches, from rugged
rocky mountains to the soft grassy slopes of the
Big Sur hills. Drawing from nature and various
experiential awareness practices, individuals will
be encouraged to open both to the natural world
and to the landscapes of their inner world. It is
said that Big Sur is not just a place but a state of
mind. This wilderness experience seeks to merge
mind and place, then to embody what is learned.
Participants in this week-long workshop will
venture out into the emerging springtime magnificence of Big Sur on day-hikes, 4-10 miles in
length. The leader will draw from a wide range
of contemporary and age-old wisdom traditions,
borrowing from psychology, meditation, aikido,
and the natural sciences to weave together a
holistic experience of self and the natural world.
Each hike begins after breakfast and concludes
in time to enjoy the hot springs and dinner at
Esalen. Evening sessions include informal sharing, basic awareness practices, and useful outdoor
skills, with attention given to incorporating what
is learned during the week into our daily lives.
All levels of experience are welcome. Be prepared
for the invigorating challenge of physical activity
and the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet
reflection. More information and a waiver will be
sent upon registration. For an equipment list and
frequently asked questions about Steven’s workshops, visit www.stevenkharper.com/faqs.html.
($30 permit and park-entrance fees
paid directly to the leader)
3TEVEN(ARPERis a wilderness guide, author, artist,
and Big Sur resident. He has led both traditional and
experimental wilderness expeditions internationally
for more than 35 years. He has an MA in psychology
and his work focuses on wild nature as a vehicle for
awakening. www.stevenkharper.com
3PIRIT3ONGS&REEING9OUR6OICE
THROUGHTHE0OWEROF'OSPEL
Vernon Bush
Do you want to feel musical and spiritual freedom in every cell of your body? Connecting to
your spirit through song, gospel rhythms, and
spontaneity is what this lively, heart-opening
workshop is all about. You can experience inthe-moment expression, and strengthen and
explore the way you communicate in the world
from the powerful sound you carry within. We
will explore gospel, inspirational, and soul-filled
music, powerful breathing techniques, song arrangement, improvisation, harmony, and learn
that moving sound heals and can bring us into
our own full self-expression. Get ready to dive
into rhythm, singing, and dancing from a joyful,
spiritual place as you discover how to truly hear
and free the voice that is uniquely yours. A willingness to sing is all that is needed. All levels
are welcomed.
6ERNON"USHis a singer/songwriter, recording
artist, musical director, and educator who has taught
the power of reclaiming your voice through singing
for more than 20 years to many individuals around
the world. He also is a featured vocalist at Glide
Memorial Church in San Francisco, Calif.
www.voice-church.com
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
7EEKENDOF!PRILn
-EDITATIONASTHE-EDICINEOFTHE
-IND2ESEARCHAND0RACTICE
Alejandro Chaoul and Lorenzo Cohen
Does meditation have power to heal the body?
In their research together at The Integrative
Medicine Program at the MD Anderson Cancer
Center, Lorenzo Cohen and Alejandro Chaoul
examine the biobehavioral effects of mind-body
interventions such as meditation, yoga, and t’ai
chi. They are interested in quality of life as well
as the clinical outcomes of those undergoing
cancer treatments, and they work to get the
population as a whole engaged in mind-body
practices to improve health and well-being.
During this workshop, in a vivid and interactive dialogue with the participants, Chaoul
and Cohen will discuss the negative effects of
chronic stress in our lives and the new frontier
of mind-body medicine. They will focus on the
landmark studies showing that practices such
as meditation and yoga can change the way the
brain functions and ultimately affect all systems
of the body. Engaging in mind-body practices
can lead to neuroplasticity (changes that occur
in the organization of the brain as a result of
experience) and improved well-being. Participants will be shown key mind-body practices
for everyday life.
Recommended reading: Rinpoche, Tenzin
Wangyal, Awakening the Sacred Body.
!LEJANDRO#HAOUL, PhD, has studied with eminent
teachers of Tibetan Buddhism and Bon for more
than 20 years, including Lopon Tenzin Namdak and
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. He teaches internationally through the Ligmincha Institute and is assistant
professor at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center. www.ligminchatexas.org
,ORENZO#OHENis professor and director of the
67
Integrative Medicine Program at The University
of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Cohen
conducts research examining the biobehavioral
effects of programs aimed at reducing the negative
aspects of cancer treatment and improving
quality of life and clinical outcomes.
www.mdanderson.org/integrativemed
Tasting Life: Men and Living
INTHE.OW
Matt Englar-Carlson & Mark Stevens
all ages and backgrounds. The facilitators have
known each other for decades and have experienced and taught workshops for men at Esalen
together over many years.
Matt Englar-Carlson is a professor of counseling
and co-director and founder of the Center for Boys
and Men at California State University, Fullerton.
A fellow of the American Psychological Association,
he specializes in educating helping professionals
about the mental-health needs of men.
-ARK3TEVENSis a psychologist and director of
University Counseling Services at California State
University, Northridge. Mark has been facilitating
men’s groups and workshops since 1982. He is the
past- president of Division 51 Psychological Study of
Men and Masculinity of APA.
DOUG ELLIS
Men’s lives are often driven by a desire and
expectation to climb the ladder of success.
This type of training encourages men to look
through a future-oriented lens, and subsequently create an inner sense of rushing through life
and missing opportunities for experiencing the
present moment more fully. The process and
skills of slowing down and tasting life more
fully are often desires that many men crave,
yet are uncertain how to attain. This workshop
explores what it means to be a fully present
with ourselves and with others. By sharing our
stories of challenges, relationships, hardships,
dreams, and desires, we will build a community
of trust, permission, and healing. There will be a
value on our process that puts our quick, resultsoriented expectations on the back burner, so
that we may feel time differently. The group
will become an arena for trusting our internal
guides, appreciating the present, and making
solid connections with others. Participants who
are psychologists/mental health professionals
will be able to use some of the tools learned
and used in this workshop in their own work
with male clients. This experience is for men of
68
#LOSE9ET&REE4HE0ATHTO-AKINGA
'OOD2ELATIONSHIP%VEN"ETTER
Gerald Smith
How can you be open and vulnerable to love
your partner, and, at the same time, free to continue to grow as an individual? This balance of
merging and still maintaining your own center
is never completely worked out, because each
partner is continually changing. However, this
dilemma of competing needs can be dealt with
in ways that will add even more aliveness to
what you already have together. In fact, a relationship that offers closeness, and at the same
time freedom, can be a superb opportunity for
your own deepest growth.
Much of your time during this weekend will
be spent with your partner separate from other
couples. There will be verbal, nonverbal, and
written experiences to increase openness, support, and affection, as well as skills to resolve
differences without producing scar tissue. Since
play is an essential part of a thriving relationship, there will be experiences to spark the
imagination and create new ways to play together. During the close of the workshop, I will
be asking you to work out a plan for continuing
some of what you gained from the weekend in
the months ahead.
Enrollment is limited to twelve couples.
'ERALD3MITHis a licensed psychologist in private
practice in San Mateo, Calif. He has led workshops
for couples for many decades at Esalen. He is the
author of Couple Therapy and Hidden Meanings.
He and his wife have been married since 2000.
'IRISH#HANT#AMP$AILY,IVE-USIC
9OGAAND#HANT0RACTICE
Girish
Join Girish for a weekend of chanting, meditation, yoga, pranayama, and kirtan to manifest
and enhance divine love in your life. Explore
the meaning of and intentions behind the
chants, play the harmonium and tablas, and
utilize your newfound skills to lift your voice in
joyful song and prayer!
This amazing weekend features the following
activities and explorations:
Mantras for healing, manifestation, and
awakening
The devotional practice of stotrams (text chants)
Hanuman Chalisa, Gayatri Mantra, Chandi
Stotram, and Guru Gita music modules (no
musical experience necessary)
Instrumental and vocal support for mantra
and Kirtan practice, including voice,
harmonium, and tabla
The opportunity to experience leading Kirtan
Saturday night kirtan concert
Live music and yoga classes with Girish each
day
Pranayama: practice the 9 Healing Breaths
The weekend will close with an intention-setting workshop to help you apply your new skills
in the outside world, and in your life.
'IRISHis an accomplished musician of many genres,
and former monk infused in spiritual practice, who
sings traditional Sanskrit mantras with a modern,
funky, yet deeply devotional twist. He has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine.
#REATING%XTRAORDINARY)MPACT
4HE4RUE0URPOSEOF"USINESSAND,IFE
Norman Wolfe with Jane Wolfe
Do you want to express your divine nature in
everything you do? Are you ready to expand
beyond limiting beliefs? Do you sense that there
is more to life than being a “doing machine,” a
mode for which the bottom line is the only measure of success?
This weekend, open to an experiential immersion designed to help you explore how
you’ve shaped the life you’re living. Through a
combination of ritual, improvisation activities,
creative exploration, and interactive discussions,
you can learn to grow and evolve while staying
true to your soulful purpose. Get in touch with
your body’s natural intuition, connect to your
childlike, playful nature, and generate creative
sparks that can shape the way you live life and
connect with others. Experience how a shift in
framing will allow results to manifest with ease.
Whether you lead a business, a non-profit, or
simply your own life, allow yourself the gift
of expanding your understanding. The Living Organization® model is based on the same
principles found in nature on this vibrant, living planet; these principles go beyond simple
physics of life to embrace both the mystical and
magical. Learn to work with the Forces of Creation, live life with an Improvisation Mindset,
and make decisions from the Wisdom Of The
Heart to move forward in transforming your
organization and your life.
Recommended reading: Wolfe, The Living Organization: Transforming Business to Create Extraordinary Results.
.ORMAN7OLFE,
CEO of Quantum Leaders, guides
executive teams and boards in inspired strategy
execution. A coach, mystic, interfaith minister, and
spiritual guide, he is the author of The Living Organization, a new paradigm for creating extraordinary
impact. www.quantumleaders.com
)NTEGRAL4RANSFORMATIVE0RACTICE® :
4HE%SSENTIAL%SALEN%XPERIENCE
Pam Kramer & Barry Robbins
What changes do you envision for yourself?
Discover what wants to happen next on your
journey of transformation through visioning exercises, meditative movement, powerful affirmations, and the encouragement of a warm-hearted
community. In this experiential workshop, you
can discover your infinite capacity for personal
evolution and take home a daily practice for ongoing integration of body, mind, heart, and soul.
Integral Transformative Practice (ITP) was created by Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy
and President Emeritus George Leonard, and
is a synthesis of their 40 years of experience
at Esalen. This workshop utilizes Leonard Energy Training exercises to enhance your sense
of well-being and solve everyday challenges
by tapping into the vital flow of energy of the
body. You can discover new capacities that you
may have only dreamed were possible, and gain
practices designed for living life to the fullest,
including:
ITP Kata, a 40-minute integration of physical,
mental, and spiritual exercises
Affirmations for manifesting powerful,
positive changes
Exercises for balancing and revitalizing your
entire being
Effective and peaceful communication skills
with yourself and others
The power of intentionality, deep relaxation,
and presence
This workshop involves physical movement but
it is not strenuous. All that’s needed is a generous heart and a willingness to participate.
Recommended reading: Leonard and Murphy,
The Life We Are Given.
0AM+RAMERis a career specialist, executive coach,
and human potential expert. She is president of
ITP International, stewarding the work of Esalen
co-founder Michael Murphy and George Leonard,
author and visionary. Pam is a frequent Esalen
workshop leader. www.itp-international.org
"ARRY2OBBINS, is a long-term Esalen teacher and
former nationally-ranked athlete who has used affirmations for peak performance. A student of Michael
69
Murphy and George Leonard, Barry continues their
ground-breaking work in Integral Transformative
Practice (ITP), created from decades of collective
experience at Esalen. He is the vice-president of ITP
International. www.itp-international.org
2HYTHMS® 'RIEF,OSSANDTHE
"ODYIN-OTION
Lucia Horan & Peter Selwyn
Have you experienced loss and the natural emotions of sadness, anger, fear, and love? How do
you process your losses and move through your
life? Unfortunately, many of us have not found
safe and effective ways of expressing these emotions, and we can feel stuck, both emotionally
and at times physically, with the cumulative
burden of our unfinished business. Using the
tools of the 5Rhythms movement practice
combined with a process of grief-work that is
grounded in emotional presence, non-judgment,
and supportive witnessing, participants will
join together in a safe space to help heal mind,
body and spirit.
Lucia will facilitate the 5Rhythms as a method
to experientially access a wide spectrum of feelings. Peter, a physician with more than thirty
years of experience in HIV/AIDS and palliative care, will facilitate story-sharing as part of
releasing and working through losses. Other
elements of the workshop include both didactic
and experiential content, focusing on natural
and distorted emotional responses to grief, caregiving vs. caretaking, and other topics.
Please bring photos or other mementos of anyone whose memory you would like to bring into
the workshop.
0ETER3ELWYN, MD, MPH, is chairman of the Department of Family and Social Medicine and director
of the Palliative Care Program at Montefiore Medical
Center in the Bronx, NY. He facilitates workshops
on grief and loss, and is the author of Surviving the
Fall: The Personal Journey of an AIDS Doctor.
Feeling powerless, we attempt to survive and to
win love by figuring out “the rules.” The resulting strategies may protect us as children but,
deeply ingrained in our muscular postures and
movements, they limit our choices as adults.
These engrams remain outside of awareness,
causing discomfort and dysfunction. By reeducating the brain-muscle-emotion connection,
restrictions can be released, freeing lifelong
behaviors that have organized around that
movement, restoring freedom of choice. The
protective postures are altered, deeply affecting
the body’s habitual defense system and allowing
a higher level of energy.
This workshop begins the process of relearning
the ease, fluidity, and openness taken for granted as a child and lost somewhere along the way.
It is for the sedentary; for the active who want to
increase physical skills and reduce risk of injury; for those dealing with aftereffects of injury
or emotional trauma, and the professionals who
work with them; for the chronically tired and
stressed who want to take better care of their
necks, shoulders, and backs, and for those who
want to improve their posture, flexibility, and
breathing while deepening their sense of connection and belonging. This workshop is also
useful for those in the helping and healing
patients.
CE credit for physical therapists; see leader.
Harriet Goslins developed Cortical Field Reeducation. A Feldenkrais practitioner and Integrated
Awareness teacher for 30 years, her background is in
psychosynthesis, applied kinesiology, muscle energy,
craniosacral work, and social anthropology. She has
been teaching at Esalen for 29 consecutive years.
www.cfrhealing.com
3YBIL+RAUTERteaches Cortical Field Reeducation®
and Integrated Awareness® internationally. Her
background is in education, clinical hypnosis, and
NLP. Her focus is on how we create reality.
www.cfrhealing.com
morphs. In this practice we embody the art
of being a fluid emotional athlete. This map
teaches us how to navigate the emotional terrain of life without getting stuck, holding on, or
pushing away.
We will explore how the body has been shaped
by our emotions and we will learn to track
when the heart is open and when it is closed.
As waves of feeling move through us, we learn
how to trust the dance to lead us in a healthy
and creative way. Through the embodiment of
this practice, you will be shown skills to take
home and use in your daily life. This workshop
is designed for everyone, of every age, and shape.
No experience is required. All workshop hours
contribute to 5Rhythms® teacher training prerequisites.
Recommended reading: Roth, Sweat Your
Prayers, Maps to Ecstasy, and Connections.
!BANDONMENTTO(EALING/VERCOMING
9OUR3ELF$EFEATING0ATTERNS
Susan Anderson
Abandonment is a primal human fear and the
underlying cause of emotional distress and dysfunction. Susan Anderson, psychotherapist and
author of Taming Your Outer Child and Journey
from Abandonment to Healing, will share powerful tools of emotional and spiritual healing
to help you reverse abandonment’s universal
wound. You will be taught exercises for each of
the five stages of abandonment: shattering, withdrawal, internalizing, rage, and lifting; how to
conquer “abandoholism” and other outer child
behaviors; how to make new connections; and
steps for healing abandonment. Whether you’re
experiencing a recent breakup, a lingering
wound from the past, or struggling to overcome
self-defeating patterns, the tools will propel
your growth, help restore your sense of self, and
increase your capacity for love.
!PRILn-AY
7EEKOF!PRILn-AY
Recommended reading: Anderson, Taming Your
Outer Child, Journey from Abandonment to Healing, and Black Swan: 12 Lessons of Abandonment
Recovery.
9OUR,IFE#ANNOT"E!NY%ASIER
4HAN9OUR-OVEMENT)NTRODUCTION
TO#ORTICAL&IELD2EEDUCATION®
2HYTHMS® : Heartbeat
Lucia Horan
3USAN!NDERSON, is a psychotherapist who has
spent 30 years of research, scholarship, and clinical
experience working with victims of abandonment
trauma and loss. Founder of “Abandonment Recovery,” she is author of Taming Your Outer Child,
Journey from Abandonment to Healing, Black
Swan, and others. www.abandonment.net
Harriet Goslins & Sybil Krauter
How we sit, stand, move, or respond to contact
with others reflects patterns wired into our
nervous systems in infancy. By early childhood,
conflicting intentions distort these patterns.
70
Love is not a mood, but a dynamic way of being.
—Gabrielle Roth
The spontaneous heart is one that knows how
to love and be loved. The Heartbeat map is a
guide to how our emotional energy moves and
instruction in setting up a palette, mixing colors, and brushwork will be balanced with slide
presentations. Workshop participants will learn
from individual instruction and each other
as they share their paintings and experiences
in a supportive environment. The spectacular
beauty of Esalen, with its radiant gardens, flowing waters, and rugged coastline, provides the
perfect setting to explore this exciting practice.
You may supply your own materials (material
list provided upon registration) or course materials can be provided for you with a $125 materials fee paid directly to the leader.
Adam Wolpert is a painter, facilitator, teacher, and
art program director at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (www.oaec.org) in Sonoma County, Calif.
He has offered workshops and exhibited extensively
throughout California. www.adamwolpert.com
4EMPLEOF3HAMANIC$REAM(EALING
Robert Moss
KENT WISNER
You are invited to enter the temple of dream
healing for the renewal of body and soul.
Come ready to dream deep. At the outer gate
of our temple, you will be helped to release
yourself from the burden of old histories and
old mindsets, as the snake sheds its skin. You
will be coached to enter the sacred night with
your best intentions, and to let the speaking
land communicate with you by day in its own
language of symbol and synchronicity. You will
find yourself nourished and supported by a
community of questing, creative spirits as you
master techniques of self-healing that are as
ancient as Asklepios and his daughters Hygeia
and Panacea, and as cutting-edge as the imaginal
medicine of our bright future. You’ll be taught
how to harvest personal imagery for healing;
how to connect with spiritual teachers and animal spirits; and how to bring home parts of your
vital soul energy that may have gone missing.
You can claim your power to be the healer of
your own life and the shaman of your own soul.
We’ll celebrate and embody our shared experiences through spontaneous ritual, performance,
theater, drawing, poetry, song, and storytelling.
0AINTINGTHE/UTERAND)NNER
,ANDSCAPE
Adam Wolpert
Painting can be a profound experience — one
that engages all of our senses, our minds, and
our spirits. It brings together observation with
introspection, contemplation, and healing. One
of the most rewarding ways to explore painting is by painting outside. Faced with nature’s
dynamic forces, we develop visual sensitivity,
flexibility, and resilience. We come into deeper
relationship with nature and with ourselves. We
begin to see the world as never before, and our
paintings give evidence of that new vision.
This workshop invites both beginners and experienced painters to immerse themselves in the
practice of oil painting. Daily sessions will be
devoted to painting out of doors as well as doing exercises in the studio. Basic oil technique,
Recommended reading: Moss, Dreaming the Soul
Back Home, Dreamgates, and The Boy Who Died
and Came Back.
is the creator of Active Dreaming, an
original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism.
Born in Australia, he leads adventures all over the
world. His many books include Conscious Dreaming, Dreamgates, and The Boy Who Died and
Came Back. www.mossdreams.com
Robert Moss
71
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
7EEKENDOF-AYn
&IND9OUR&OCUS-ASTER$ISTRACTION
AND'ETTHE2IGHT4HINGS$ONE
Peter Bregman
How would it feel to focus on the right things,
use the best of who you are, and avoid the distractions that subvert your efforts? Award-winning author, speaker, and leadership coach Peter
Bregman can help you discover your sweet spot
and follow through on your most important
priorities. In this engaging weekend, you will
be shown how to:
72
Bring focus to your life
Build a plan that draws on the best of you
every day
Master distraction and avoid the allure of
unproductive busyness
Get traction on the things you care about
Uncover what’s preventing your forward
movement
Apply an eighteen-minute process to manage
your day and get the right things done
Peter uses lecture, Q&A, meditation, visualization, writing, and group discussion to help you
maximize your success and impact in the world.
After this workshop, you’ll be equipped to ac-
complish your goals using a whole new set of
useful, effective tools and resources.
Recommended reading: Bregman, 18 Minutes:
Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the
Right Things Done; Duhigg, The Power of Habit:
Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business;
Wansink, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More
Than We Think.
0ETER"REGMANis an advisor to CEOs and their
leadership teams. He speaks, writes, and consults about
how to lead and how to live. Author of 18 Minutes:
Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the
Right Things Done, he is also a regular contributor
to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes,
and NPR. www.peterbregman.com
-INDFULNESSIN$EEP2ELATIONSHIP
3AVORINGTHE3OURCESOF.OURISHMENT
Jerome Front
This retreat invites participants to open to their
most elemental relationship, that which exists
between the body, mind, and the natural world
as it manifests through eating, food, and our
senses. This awareness then widens to include
the deep nourishment we receive from being
in mindful relationship with each other. “Individually, we all know the hungers and longings
that coexist at emotional, spiritual, bodily, and
relational levels,” says Jerome Front. “Fortunately, these basic needs also form our common
human ground. Opening to these primal shared
areas with a loving awareness can create profoundly satisfying aspects of deep relationship.
These nourishing and transformative relational
experiences include understanding and being
understood, a sense of increased personal presence, and the soothing and integrating experience of being known in another’s accepting,
warm presence.”
Participants will experience sensory work,
silent meals, music, ritual, and instruction on
mindfulness meditation. Teachings and activities will alternate with periods of intentional
silence. Open to everyone, this retreat is an especially rich resource for helping professionals,
teachers, and nurses.
*EROME&RONTteaches at Pepperdine University and
across the US, and has written about mindfulness,
contemplative living, and mindful approaches to
relationships. He leads retreats and clinical and corporate trainings, and is an LMFT in private practice.
www.jeromefront.com
4RANSFORMATIONTHROUGH.EUROSCIENCE
%NHANCE9OUR"RAINTO2EACH9OUR
0OTENTIAL
Annellen Simpkins & C. Alexander Simpkins
Neuroscience is the new frontier. As more is
understood about how the mind is intimately
involved with the brain, we now know that you
can literally rewire your brain for the better
by what you think, feel, and do. You resonate
with others through your mirror neurons, and
can enhance your relationships by activating
these special areas of the brain. Balancing your
nervous system lowers stress and allows you to
handle your emotions better.
This workshop activates your brain resources
so that you may become your personal best.
Have fun as you gain a felt understanding of key
nervous system structures, functions, and pathways that demystify the complexities of brain
science. Experience brain-enhancing methods
to overcome stress and foster well-being and
renewal. Experiment with different strategies
to initiate your transformation, including conscious, unconscious, and bodywork methods.
Apply neuroscience principles to build your
own techniques for creative individualizing.
Through humor, experiential exercises, takehome methods, and helpful handouts, you can
find yourself feeling present, alert, motivated,
and relaxed as you activate your brain in positive ways.
Recommended reading: Simpkins and Simpkins, Neuroscience for Clinicians, Tao of Bipolar and
Dao of Neuroscience.
CE credit for clinical hypnotherapy; see leader.
!NNELLEN3IMPKINS, PhD, is a psychologist
in private practice who, with her husband C.
Alexander Simpkins, specializes in research and
practice of hypnosis, neuroscience, and meditation.
Together they teach widely and have written 28
books, including Neuroscience for Clinicians,
Tao of Bipolar, and Neuro-Hypnosis.
simpkins.radiantdolphinpress.com
#!LEXANDER3IMPKINS, PhD, is a psychologist
in private practice who, with his wife Annellen
Simpkins, specializes in research and practice of
hypnosis, neuroscience, and meditation. Together
they teach widely and have written 28 books,
including Self-Hypnosis for Women with CD,
Meditation and Yoga in Psychotherapy, and The
Yoga and Mindfulness Therapy Workbook.
simpkins.radiantdolphinpress.com
'AY-EN4HRIVINGIN-INDFULNESS
"RING'REATER%ASEAND*OYINTO
Your Life
Rik Isensee & James Guay
What does mindfulness practice have to offer
gay men? Many of us have made great strides
overcoming homophobia and shame. We are
truly creative survivors of adversity! Yet even
for men who have successfully negotiated
these challenges, it’s easy to get caught up in
emotional reactions to the common stressors
of daily life. Emotions provide a rich texture
for our lives: inspired by love, moved by anger,
and touched by grief. We often respond to oppression and losses in our lives based on these
feelings. Yet sometimes emotional reactions
can trigger self-defeating behaviors, self-doubt,
and inner criticism. Mindfulness has long
been recognized as a powerful method for developing and maintaining a sense of ease, even
in the face of difficult circumstances. This
workshop provides groundwork in mindfulness to help tame your inner critic, and gain
greater access to emotional well-being. Combining mindfulness with body awareness,
we’ll provide several experiential practices to
enhance your ability to live more vibrantly,
confidently, and at peace as a gay man in a challenging world.
Recommended reading: Isensee, Shift Your
Mood; Guay, The Gay Man’s Guide to Authentic
Living: 5 Simple Steps to Freeing Yourself from
Damaging Limitations (e-book available at http://
livingmorefully.com/gay-mans-guide-to-authenticliving/); Williams, Mindfulness: An Eight-week
Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World.
2IK)SENSEELCSW, practices psychotherapy in San
Francisco. He is the author of 3 self-help books for gay
men, plus the mindfulness guide: Shift Your Mood.
He is enrolled in the Mindfulness Professional Teacher
Training certification program through The Mindfulness Institute. www.GayMenThriving.com
*AMES'UAY, MFT, is a psychotherapist in West
Hollywood, Calif. He guides his clients using
mindfulness and compassion to break free from
unhealthy limitations. James is the author of the ebook, The Gay Man’s Guide to Authentic Living.
www.LivingMoreFully.com
7EEKOF-AYn
4HE0OSTUREOF/BSERVATION
Thomas Michael Fortel & Sarana Miller
One of the great benefits of ongoing yoga practice is the development of our ability to pause,
and to rest in the posture of observation: an inner state of conscious awareness. This can mean
being in a place of deep relaxation, yet alert and
aware as we observe our inner reality and outer
environment. Yogically speaking, this occurs
primarily through the practices of pranayama
(conscious breathing), dyana (meditation), and
asanas, the postures of yoga. Also, in many of
the great psychological practices of the present
era, we engage this state by creating space to observe our thoughts, shadow areas, and the light
of consciousness moving through us. This pos73
ture of observation can be a doorway to greater
self-awareness and personal freedom in life.
4HE2ADIANCEOF%NERGY"ODYAND
#ONSCIOUSNESS
Please join us for this week of yoga practices as
we calm and rest deeply in perception through
our inner and outer eyes.
Jim Kepner & Carol DeSanto
Please have a minimum of three months of yoga
practice, and please bring a yoga mat.
4HOMAS-ICHAEL&ORTEL bio on page 18.
3ARANA-ILLERis a faculty instructor at Yoga
Journal and has led annual retreats at Esalen and
Wilbur Hot Springs, and in Mexico and Alaska.
Trained in the Iyengar and Forrest Yoga traditions,
she has been teaching for more than 10 years.
www.saranayoga.com
ArtLife
Nicholas Wilton
This workshop is a playful exploration of the
creative image-making process. Utilizing imagery inspired from our own personal stories
and life experience, we will engage in a handson journey through fundamental painting
principles, and learn how to sustain our own
creative momentum. Throughout the week, we
will work on a series of small paintings on wood
panels, often working on several pieces simultaneously, which leaves little time to worry about
success or failure. We will also explore how
themes of change and spontaneity enable us to
create our own unique artwork, and illuminate
life lessons inherent in the creative process. We
seek to engage both sides of the brain, and invite
in mistakes, intuition, and spontaneity. We’ll explore the six ArtLife Creativity Principles: value,
design, color, texture, risk, and soul. Generous
time will be given for experimentation with
new tools, mediums, and techniques.
Join us as we celebrate a process of inspiration,
reclamation, and the journey of self-discovery
through painting. This workshop is designed
for people from a wide variety of disciplines.
All skill levels are welcome. No artistic experience is necessary, only a willingness to play.
the healing and helping professions in working
with their patients and clients.
($80 materials fee paid directly to the leader
includes everything needed for the course)
“By working with the subtle energy systems
present in the human body, we foster awareness from the densest bone to the finest
aspects of the energy field,” write Jim Kepner
and Carol DeSanto. “The nervous system is a
magnificent network for distributing healing
energy throughout the body, and for interconnecting our consciousness with our lived experience. This fascinating work opens new doors
to healers, spiritual practitioners, and health
professionals to build clear body and energy
awareness.”
This workshop helps participants sense subtle
energies, the chakras, and the auric field, and
invites understanding of the nervous system as
a system of energy. Through active, hands-on
exercises, spiritual principles, demonstrations,
practice, and supervision, participants will be
taught many aspects of energy healing, including the following:
Energy methods to clear the nervous system
and promote the integration of body, mind,
emotions, and spirit
Methods to access the central, autonomic, and
peripheral components of the nervous system
Ways to identify the energetic texture and feel
of the nervous system for healing
Practices to understand the way subtle
energies affect the neuroendocrine system
responsible for body cycles, sleep, and mood
Ways that energy work is used to build and
cleanse organs and tissues and clear trauma
from the body
*IM+EPNERis a psychologist and the author of
Body Process and Healing Tasks. He teaches
internationally on the application of Gestalt Body
Process Psychotherapy to healing in trauma, stress,
and illness. Jim is the co-originator of Nervous System Energy Work. www.pathwaysforhealing.com
#AROL$E3ANTOis the cofounder of Nervous System
Energy Work and a psychotherapist in private
practice. She has been a longtime student of Rev. Rosalyn Bruyere. Her special interests in energy work
encompass addiction-recovery, health and healing,
and work with cancer and chronic illness.
CE credit for MFT/LCSW; see page 6.
.ICHOLAS7ILTONis an artist whose paintings are
sold internationally. He is the founder of the ArtLife
Creativity workshops and classes, and he established
the Creative Visionary Mentoring Program, which
offers artistic, business, and creative coaching to artists. www.nicholaswilton.com
74
4AOIST3EXUAL3ECRETS
4HE!LCHEMYOF%NERGYAND%CSTASY
Lee Holden
Within us is a wellspring of vitality known as
qi waiting to amplify every aspect of our lives.
Taoist practices embrace all aspects of the self —
physical, energetic, sexual, emotional, and spiritual. Alchemy is the integration of these layers
of ourselves, and through this process bliss and
ecstatic experience blossom from within.
Alchemy is described as the art of transforming
lead into gold. In the context of this workshop,
gold represents the qi that manifests as vitality,
passion, presence, and love. With the guidance
of senior Taoist teacher and qigong instructor
Lee Holden, we will explore ancient Taoist practices to help us work with this subtle energy
for increased passion and intimacy, improved
health, emotional balance, and spiritual development.
Through a combination of lecture, qigong movement, meditation, and partner exercises, we can
discover practical tools to improve our everyday
lives by learning to tap into the power of our
own qi, balance it within, and feel connected to
the divine.
The workshop also includes instruction in Taoist sexual secrets for abundant vitality, intimacy,
and compassion. You will be taught techniques
for expanding orgasm, refining sexual energy,
and developing the alchemy of love and gratitude. Open to couples and individuals.
Recommended reading and listening: Holden,
7 Minutes of Magic, Taoist Sexual Secrets and Qi
Gong for Health and Healing (CD).
is a senior teacher for Mantak Chia,
the Taoist master, and has edited several best-selling
books on Taoist sexuality. He is a leading Qi Gong
instructor whose DVD series has been featured on
PBS and is the author of 7 Minutes of Magic:
Recharge Your Body Each Day with Qi Gong.
www.leeholden.com
Lee Holden
-AYn
!4IMETO2EmECT
7EEKENDOF-AYn
9OU7ERE"ORNTO2ECEIVE3TEPSTO
A,IFEOF%NERGY0ASSIONAND0URPOSE
Amanda Owen
Are you better at giving than receiving? Do you
know how to help others get what they want but
don’t know what you want? Join author Amanda
Owen as she introduces you to an innovative approach to achieving your goals, reducing stress,
and creating greater happiness by tapping into
your receptive power. Based on two decades of
research into the nature of receptivity, Amanda
leads you through powerful exercises as she
guides you through your own personal journey
of transformation. Give yourself the life you
want and deserve. Discover how to:
Each participant will receive The Power of Receiving journal.
Recommended reading: Owen, The Power of
Receiving: A Revolutionary Approach to Giving
Yourself the Life You Want and Deserve and Born to
Receive: 7 Powerful Steps Women Can Take Today to
Reclaim Their Half of the Universe.
!MANDA/WENhas a background in social work
and a 25-year practice as a counselor and consultant.
Amanda has been presenting lectures and work-
shops since the mid-1980s. She is the author of The
Power of Receiving. www.AmandaOwen.com
-OTHERS$AY&AMILY7ORKSHOP
Joanna Claassen & Sean Brennan
This Mother’s Day weekend, celebrate and nourish yourself and your family. Esalen is a magical
place for adults and children alike. Together
with the Gazebo School teachers, we will create a community of families focused on fun,
laughter, renewal, and friendship. This will be a
memorable weekend of exploration, connection,
creative expression, and play. We will build on
the group’s interests and offer opportunities for
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Release the barriers that prevent life’s
abundance from flowing toward you
Cultivate relationships with people who give
as much as they receive
Apply techniques that help you discover your
purpose and access your full potential
Open your energy channels to fully activate
your receptive power
75
families to work and play together and apart.
We will use the Gazebo School Park, designed
for children to climb, bike, garden, make music,
dance, and care for Esalen’s farm animals, as
well as the Art Barn for relaxing, connecting,
reflecting, and creating.
Saturday night, we will offer a program for the
children, during which adults will be free to
enjoy Esalen alone or spend time with one another. All are invited to explore and experience
Esalen during this fun and supportive weekend
workshop. All ages are welcome, including parents with small children. All children must be
accompanied by a parent or guardian.
has been an outdoor and early
childhood educator since 2000. She runs the Oakland
PEECE Project for children, youth, and families in
the Bay Area, and is a former director of Esalen Institute’s Gazebo Park School. Joanna is inspired by Reggio Emilia, permaculture, and No Child Left Inside.
3EAN"RENNANis an early childhood educator who
specializes in sharing smiles, laughter, and the bliss
of life. He has worked with injured children at
Shriner’s Hospital as a play therapist and is a former
teacher at Gazebo Park School. His passions include
surfing, freediving, yoga, meditation, and poetry.
Joanna Claassen
"RAIN#ARE4HE.EUROSCIENCE
OF3ELF#ARE
Linda Graham
When we nourish and replenish our brains,
we are nourishing and replenishing ourselves.
When we tap into the innate neuroplasticity of
the brain to reduce stress, regain our equilibrium, and restore perspective and resilience, we
can avoid compassion fatigue and burnout and
recover rejuvenating creativity and flow in our
lives.
In this experiential workshop, you will be
taught dozens of techniques to calm the nervous system, come to clarity and discernment
in decision making, heal toxic shame, retire the
C A MERON JORDAN
Note: Fees for children under 10 enrolled
in Esalen family workshops are $100 for
weekend workshops and $250 for 5-day
workshops. Parents/guardians pay regular
accommodations fees.
76
inner critic, and revive a sense of competency
and connections with others.
"UILDING#OLLABORATIVE2ELATIONSHIPS
THROUGH&IVE%SSENTIAL3KILLS
You’ll be taught how to:
Jim Tamm with Mayte Barba
Create the “left shift” that counter-balances
the brain’s negativity bias and installs new
wholesome habits into implicit memory
Strengthen the executive functioning of
the pre-frontal cortex to build resilience
and coherence
Harness the mental play space of the
default network to allow insights to break
through
This is a how-to course for people who want to
be more effective at creating climates of trust,
building relationships, and dealing with conflict — at work, at home, or within oneself. Many
personal and business relationships become
adversarial simply through a lack of relationship-building skills. This workshop provides
practical experience with five skills that are
essential for building successful collaborative
relationships.
Linda Graham offers practical exercises; guided
meditations and visualizations; inquiry in dyads
and small groups; and dialogue and discussion
in large groups to help you strengthen your inner resources — especially the natural resilience
that supports your well-being and allows you to
flourish.
,INDA'RAHAM, MFT, integrates modern neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and relational psychology in her nationwide trainings. She is the author of
Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being and publishes
a monthly e-newsletter, “Resources for Recovering
Resilience”. www.lindagraham-mft.net
4HE0OSTURE$ANCE#ONNECTION
Esther Gokhale
Dance is an unusually rich avenue for improving strength, flexibility, circulation, posture,
mood, and connection. During this workshop,
students will be introduced to Gokhale Method® posture principles as they learn Brazilian,
Latin, and African dance moves. This workshop
is suitable for people of all ages and abilities. No
dance experience is required.
The Gokhale Method is based on historical,
anthropological, and medical research on populations who have virtually no musculoskeletal
pain. Interwoven intellectual, visual, kinesthetic, and aesthetic cues make the Gokhale Method
a remarkably efficient and effective way to reach
a new level of wellness in your body. Join Esther
Gokhale for this transformative and empowering weekend experience.
%STHER'OKHALE, LAc, author of 8 Steps to a Pain-
Free Back, was educated at Harvard, Princeton,
SFCAOM (in Chinese medicine), and by people
in non-industrial cultures worldwide. She and
other certified Gokhale Method instructors offer
instruction online and all around the world.
www.gokhalemethod.com
The course has its roots in a Hewlett Foundation/State of California pilot project designed to
teach collaborative skills in adversarial settings.
Several follow-up research studies documented
the dramatic long-term results. Conflict was
reduced by 85%, trust increased by 70%, defensiveness reduced by 50%, and participants were
45% more effective at getting their interests met
in conflict.
Participants will be shown how their often
unconscious emotional needs in the areas of
inclusion, control, and openness impact their
effectiveness when building relationships and
dealing with conflict. This is skill-building to
develop relationships for long-term mutual success. The material will be of immediate use to
individuals as well as people in interpersonal
and work relationships such as couples, families,
team leaders and members, and employers and
employees.
*IM4AMMa former judge who has mediated more
than 1,500 disputes, is the author of Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Reduce Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships.
He is on the faculty of the International Management Program at the Stockholm School of Economics.
www.radicalcollaboration.com
$ISTILLING'ARDEN0LANTSAND#REATING
/RGANIC3KINCARE0RODUCTS
Eden Jamila Clearbrook
Come participate in the transformation of fresh,
organic botanicals into pure distillates, smooth
and silky moisturizing face creams, and flowerrich massage oils. In this hands-on workshop,
we explore Esalen’s abundant gardens and learn
to identify and sustainably collect plants for our
intended purpose. Together we transform vital
roots, stems, leaves, and blossoms into high-quality, stable skincare products for your own use.
This weekend offers a unique, fun, and lively
opportunity to participate in the entire distillation process, from assembling and sealing the
distiller, building and tending the wood fire,
listening to “the song of the still,” to receiving
the distillate — the fresh and potent liquid at the
core of our exquisite creations. The outstanding,
therapeutic properties of the distillate will enrich our products with a profoundly healing and
meaningful dimension. Each participant takes
home their own custom, handcrafted cream,
massage oil, and distillate, and the knowledge to
replicate them with ease and confidence via an
electronic booklet with detailed instructions for
future use.
%DEN#LEARBROOKis the founder-owner of an
herbal apothecary and creatrix of a well-loved line of
organic botanical skin and body care products since
1997. A seasoned teacher with a private healing practice in the Sufi Way, she particularly enjoys connecting heart-to-heart with her students and sharing the
joy of creating with intention.
Esalen®-ASSAGEFOR#OUPLES&RIENDS
OR&AMILY-EMBERS
Carl Swanson & Vicki Topp
Come with your partner to discover the movements and creative, loving connections available
to your relationship through Esalen Massage.
This workshop provides a safe and supportive
environment for you to explore and connect, to
enhance sensitivity, and to reawaken intimate
touch. The fundamental elements of Esalen
Massage, such as breath awareness, quality of
touch, and long integrative body strokes, will
be combined with creative stretches and table
movements, to support partners in giving and
receiving a pleasurable full body massage.
Sessions will include demonstrations and
hands-on instruction, with plenty of assisted
practice time and opportunity to focus on
breath, trust, and staying present. The practical
massage skills offered here are easily integrated
into daily living, useful for relaxation and relieving stress, appropriate for children, friends,
and family, and are also useful for those in the
helping and healing professions in working
#ARL3WANSONbio on page 48.
6ICKI4OPPis a senior practitioner and instructor of
Esalen Massage and somatic bodywork. She teaches
workshops and training groups internationally and
is a registered Movement Therapist and practitioner
of Body-Mind Centering. www.vickitopp.com
77
7EEKOF-AYn
4RANSFORMING4RAUMAWITH%-$2
!DVANCED#LINICAL7ORKSHOPAND
2EFRESHER#OURSE0ART
Laurel Parnell
Refresh your technique and review EMDR (Eye
Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
protocols and procedures, consult on your difficult cases, watch demonstrations, and practice
EMDR in small, supervised groups. Instruction
will focus on using EMDR with complex cases,
resource development and installation, target
development, and interweaves.
This EMDR course is for participants who have
completed either part 2 training or an equivalent EMDRIA-approved course.
Required Reading: Parnell, A Therapist’s Guide
to EMDR.
Recommended reading: Parnell, Attachment-focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma, Tapping
In and EMDR in the Treatment of Adults Abused as
Children.
($20 materials fee paid directly to leader
for manual and handouts)
,AUREL0ARNELLis a psychologist, author, consultant,
and EMDR trainer who has trained thousands of
clinicians internationally. The author of numerous
books, including the forthcoming AttachmentFocused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma,
she maintains a private practice in San Rafael, Calif.
www.emdrinfo.com
,EAN)NWARD9OGAAND0ERSONAL
,EADERSHIP
Extraordinary leaders master their inner environment to achieve greatness in and for the
world around them. This workshop combines
ancient yogic wisdom with contemporary science to help you achieve personal and professional excellence. Traditional leadership training focuses on how to lead others. In personal
leadership, as in yoga, you learn how to manage
your thoughts and emotions, and use the practice of meditation to dive deeply within.
This workshop explores the philosophy of yoga
as a blueprint for leadership. It includes the following components:
Yoga practices to develop a strong and vibrant
container for embodying your highest ideals
78
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
Michele Hébert & Mehrad Nazari
Meditation techniques to connect with your
spiritual core
Skills to identify and clear mental
conditioning that holds you back from being
an effective leader
Findings on current brain research on why
some people are highly emotional, and tools to
master those emotions
Spiritual principles of negotiation and
how to bring them into your personal and
professional life
Leadership is not relegated to professional or
business life. This workshop is for everyone
who aspires to grow and transform: parents,
mentors, teachers, coaches, community leaders,
and all students of life.
The workshop is open to all levels. It is an opportunity for an in-depth Gyrokinesis experience taught by one of the most experienced
teachers of this system. Weather and fire season
permitting, a sweat lodge may be offered, for
which participants will be asked to make a
small donation. Please bring something to scrub
with, like luffa gloves, wash cloth, or towel.
!LBERT&LYNN$E3ILVERis a poet, author, teacher,
and speaker. His latest book is Beamish Boy (I Am
Not My Story): A Memoir of Recovery & Awakening. Albert teaches at The Omega Institute, Spirit
Rock, and at numerous writing conferences. He has
been meditating, writing, and teaching for almost 20
years. www.albertflynndesilver.com
Juergen Bamberger is a Gyrotonic® master
trainer who has been educating and certifying instructors worldwide for more than 20 years. Originally a professional dancer with a degree in dance
education, Juergen has studied many modalities of
movement arts, bodywork, and human anatomy.
www.juergenbamberger.com
,IBERATING9OUR%SSENTIAL3ELF
4HE!LCHEMYOF,OVEAND!LIVENESS
Recommended reading: Hébert, The Tenth Door:
An Adventure through the Jungles of Enlightenment.
7AKE5PAND7RITE
7RITINGASA0ATHTO!WAKENING
-ICHELE(ÏBERT, (E RYT-500), co-founder of the
Albert Flynn DeSilver
Raja Yoga Institute, has been teaching yoga and
meditation since 1977 in private practice, yoga teacher trainings, and group retreats. She is the author
of The Tenth Door: An Adventure through the
Jungles of Enlightenment. www.rajayogis.net
-EHRAD.AZARIis the author of Enlightened Negotiation: The 8 Spiritual Laws of Negotiation.
Professor of business negotiation at US International
University in San Diego, Calif., and co-founder of
Raja Yoga Institute, his work empowers participants
in applying the ancient spiritual wisdom in professional and personal life. www.rajayogis.net
Are you ready to experience, and then write
forth, the truth of who you really are? Writing
is an exploration of consciousness, a practice
toward deeper self-awareness, and it moves us
along the path of awakening to our true nature.
Many of our greatest spiritual teachers from
around the world were, and are, writers. From
Sappho and Rumi to Pema Chodron, Thomas
Merton, Jack Kornfield, and the Dalai Lama
— the written word has the power not only to
inspire, but also to awaken the very best in the
human heart.
'YROKINESIS®
Juergen Bamberger
Gyrokinesis is a movement methodology based
on circular and spiraling body motion. It uses
the natural movement capabilities of the spine
to increase the circulation of vital energies.
Gentle undulations, spirals, and waves stimulate and activate all systems and tissues within
the body. Through rhythm and synchronized
breathing, an internal massage effect is created.
The circular movements open all joints systematically and strengthen their surrounding
structures. They stretch and strengthen major
muscle groups through full-body coordination.
Taking this journey through your entire body
opens your awareness to your energetic and
physical structures.
Each day starts with the awakening of your
body, followed by a full Gyrokinesis class, and
ends with meditation. Through this process
you explore the interconnection between movement, breath, sound vibration, and subtle energy
flows.
Join us for this exciting week exploring your
inner and outer creativity. The days will include
periods of sitting meditation, writing exercises,
readings, standing meditation, creative visualization, Q&A, sharing, and discussion. Come
be inspired by your own innate creativity, and
experience deeper levels of awareness through
the practice of meditation, inquiry, writing,
and listening to words. You will be shown innovative writing prompts and techniques, ways
to free yourself of writing blocks, and how to
access deeper levels of creativity. You can leave
with stronger writing skills, an expanded sense
of your own divine being, and an extensive understanding of the connection between creativity and consciousness.
This workshop is ideal for both seasoned and
new writers—journal writers, memoirists, novelists, poets, and others seeking to explore the
written word with an open heart and imaginative mind.
Recommended reading: Kabat-Zinn, Where Ever
You Go There You Are; Lamott, Bird by Bird; Milosz ed., A Book of Luminous Things.
Karishma Darby
There is a deep desire in all of us to know ourselves, to live and love from our most essential
nature. For most of us, painful and frightening
experiences have caused us to withdraw from
living fully. We can feel undernourished, disconnected from our lives and from those closest
to us. We want to experience our full aliveness,
but we have become too anxious, depressed,
or numb. This yearning to love, to experience
more freedom and joy, is an invitation to slow
down and discover your true self, your essential
nature.
In this workshop, we will embark on an odyssey of self-discovery, exploring the play, pauses,
and natural pulses of the body, and finding out
that barriers and blocks can simply melt away.
Through our senses, we can be carried into a
deep relationship with our true essence. As we
quiet the mind and listen to the body, we can
discover our own organic ways of responding
that heal our inner pain, and help us rediscover
the richness of life. We will use deep listening and awareness exercises to uncover the
treasures of our unique body wisdom. Through
dance and movement, silent and dynamic meditations, healing practices, and group processes,
we can come alive to our inner topography,
and with our new inner awareness move into
relationship with others. We can discover how
to live and share our joy. Join us for an opportunity to nourish your deep aliveness, and to fall
in love with your life.
+ARISHMA$ARBYis a licensed psychotherapist in pri-
vate practice in the Sierra Foothills, Calif. Her passion
is awakening consciousness within and in relationship
with others. She facilitates workshops, active and silent
mediation, and relationally centered psychotherapy
groups. www.relationalsomatics.com
,ANDOF-ILKAND(ONEY
!N)NTRODUCTIONTO&ARMSTEAD!RTS
Charlie Cascio & Liam McDermott
Would you like to reconnect with farmstead tra79
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
ditions and develop your ability to produce and
prepare your own food? Cheese and bread making, beekeeping, food preservation, and smallscale animal husbandry all are appealing and
relevant to those who thrive on food independence, artisan techniques, and self-sufficiency.
In today’s society, many people have lost the
knowledge that humans used for thousands
of years both to connect with nature and feed
themselves. This hands-on workshop is an introduction to and celebration of the farmstead
arts that actually are alive and well all around
us. Join Charlie Cascio and Liam McDermott as
they share their knowledge of the art of home
cheese making, including recipes for hard and
soft cheeses, and cheese molding and pressing. Bake sour dough and yeasted breads, and
80
explore basic beekeeping and honey extraction
at the Esalen bee hives. Food preservation methods include dehydration, fermentation, and root
cellar cold storage.
There also is a field trip to Sweetwater Farm,
a small goat dairy in the Big Sur Mountains,
where participants will observe an active dairy
and cheese-making operation. Experience
the alchemical processes by which milk is
transformed into an extraordinary diversity of
cheeses; flower nectar yields different varietals
of honey; and flour, water, and yeast join to become bread.
Please note: Bring a heavy, long-sleeved shirt and
denim-type pants for bee work.
($50 supplemental food fee paid directly to the leaders)
#HARLIE#ASCIOis founder of Sweetwater Farm in
Carmel, Calif., a self-sustaining organic farm specializing in goat and poultry husbandry, cheese making,
beekeeping, olive and fruit orchards, and vegetable
gardening. A chef since 1968, Charlie has taught
internationally and was the head chef and kitchen
manager at Esalen from 1998 to 2004 ,IAM-C$ERMOTTis a permaculture activist, massage therapist, and professionally trained chef with
a degree in literature from Stanford University. He
leads workshops and caters at several hot springs in
central California, including Esalen Institute, Tassajara Zen Monastery, and Wilbur Hot Springs.
!4IMETO2EmECT
7EEKENDOF-AYn
#HANGESAND4RANSITIONSIN9OURS
ANDS(OWTO3TAY4RUETO9OURSELF
Phillip Moffitt
Your 30s and 40s are a transitional time in life.
For most people, these decades are a time to
make unique choices about how you want your
life to be, and to find and step into your power.
Yet these years can be fraught with questions,
concerns, and fears. How do I know what will
make me happy? What is meaningful? How can
I be more authentic? Who am I, anyway…and
how do I make big decisions? This workshop offers tools, practices, and principles that can help
you answer these questions.
The program will explore topics including intimacy, self-esteem, fulfillment in work, money,
doubts and insecurities, and life balance. Each
day there will be teachings, small group discussions, personal inquiry, and participatory
exercises. You’ll have the opportunity to assess
the issues in your life, develop options, and create a plan for making decisions. Each day there
will also be some form of movement practice
and a meditation experience. The workshop will
emphasize making wise choices through clarification of your values. Additionally, there will be
written assignments to allow you to get clearer
on where you are presently in life and also create a vision for yourself. This retreat will specifically focus on looking within versus dwelling
on external circumstances. Expect a weekend
of self-exploration, self-inquiry, and ultimately,
self-knowing for people in their 30s and 40s.
Recommended reading: Moffitt, Emotional
Chaos to Clarity: How to Live More Skillfully, Make
Better Decisions, and Find Purpose in Life and
Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding
Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering.
0HILLIP-OFlTT, former CEO and editor-in-chief
of Esquire magazine, is the founder and president
of the Life Balance Institute. He is also co-guiding
teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Phillip is
the author of two books: Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Dancing with Life. www.lifebalance.org
#ONQUER9OUR#RITICAL)NNER6OICE
Lisa Firestone & Joyce Catlett
Are you living the life you were destined to
live or are you living someone else’s life? Are
your actions based on what you really feel and
believe or on negative programming from
your past? Learning to deal effectively with the
critical inner voice is central to all areas of life:
personal development, healthy relationships,
self-esteem, and career success. Participants will
be shown ways to identify destructive thoughts
or voices that cause debilitating feelings of guilt
and shame and interfere with all areas of life.
Through journaling, interactive discussions,
and experiential exercises, the presenters will
engage participants in learning how to differentiate from these internalized negative influences and live more fulfilling lives.
Participants will also learn how Voice Therapy
techniques can be used to challenge and overcome these destructive inner thoughts. Voice
Therapy is a cognitive/affective/behavioral
methodology that accesses a person’s core maladaptive beliefs in the presence of emotional
arousal, identifies their sources in painful childhood experiences, loss, and trauma, and leads to
formulating steps for constructive behavioral
change in pursuing his or her relationship goals.
This workshop is especially helpful for those in
the health and healing professions in working
Recommended reading: Firestone, Firestone
and Catlett, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice and
The Self Under Siege: A Therapeutic Model for Differentiation.
,ISA&IRESTONEis a clinical psychologist, Director of
Research and Education at the Glendon Association,
and the Senior Editor of Psychalive.org. Dr. Firestone
is the co-author of The Self Under Siege, Sex and
Love in Intimate Relationships, and Conquer
Your Critical Inner Voice. www.glendon.org
*OYCE#ATLETT-!has collaborated with Dr.
Robert Firestone in writing 13 books including
Fear of Intimacy; Creating a Life of Meaning
and Compassion; The Ethics of Interpersonal
Relationships, and The Self Under Siege. She
is co-producer of Glendon Associations 45 training
video programs. www.glendon.org
7INEMAKER$INNER7EEKEND2ETREAT
Phillip Burrus
Join us for a very special opportunity to participate in the Esalen learning culture in a relaxing,
relatively unstructured way. During this retreat
you can deeply nourish body, mind, heart,
and soul by enjoying beautifully prepared and
healthy meals, daily yoga and movement classes,
the hot springs, a massage, and time in the
meditation center.
The weekend will kick off with a wine recep-
tion on Friday evening hosted by the kitchen
staff, during which they’ll discuss Esalen, its
teaching/learning kitchen, the role of the farm
and garden, and information about local food
inspirations. As part of the experience, on Saturday evening Esalen Chef Phillip Burrus will
host an intimate dinner with a favorite local
winemaker in the Murphy House. Additionally,
on Saturday morning Esalen will host a guided
garden tour. Participants can harvest herbs and
vegetables that will be used during dinner. And,
anyone who wants to spend some time cooking the Saturday evening meal in the Murphy
kitchen is invited to join! Normal workshops
fees and cancelation policies apply.
0HILLIP"URRUSbio on page 39.
4HE1UANTUM$YNAMICSOF
#ONSCIOUSNESSAND(EALING$REAMS
Ernest Rossi & Kathryn Rossi
Why do we sleep and dream? Why have most
cultures evolved meditation, spiritual, and holistic healing practices to facilitate health and
well-being? Recent research has uncovered a
profound and surprising yet sensible answer to
these eternal questions. Sleep and dreaming actually clears our mind by permitting 60% more
cerebral spinal fluid to wash through our brain!
In this workshop, we will explore how this
new and unexpected finding can help us understand the scientific dynamics of how faith,
belief, meditation, and spiritual practices of all
cultures throughout the ages may be operating.
Every morning, we will share our dreams and
early morning thoughts to facilitate the new
growing edges of our consciousness. We will
all explore how we can use our personal and
unique experiences of the creative cycle to optimize our health, happiness, and life transitions.
Very gentle practices of spiritual yoga will be
introduced throughout this workshop so that
everyone can experience our new RNA/DNA
theory of the quantum transformations of consciousness and creative cognition in everyday
life. Please bring a yoga mat.
Recommended reading: Rossi, Dreams, Consciousness, Spirit (3rd edition) and Creating Consciousness; Rossi & Rossi, Creating New Consciousness in Everyday Life (e-book).
has received lifetime achievement
awards from the Erickson Foundation, 1980;
American Association of Psychotherapy, 2003; and
American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, 2008. He has
Ernest Rossi
81
published 38 books and 180 papers on therapeutic
hypnosis, psychotherapy, dreams, art, beauty, truth,
and creativity. www.ErnestRossi.com
+ATHRYN2OSSI, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and
certified yoga instructor (RYT 500). She recently
coedited the 16-volume Collected Works of Milton
H. Erickson. She and Ernest Rossi are in private
practice in Los Osos, Calif.
7ALKINGAN!UTHENTIC0ATH
0URPOSEAND-EANINGIN9OUR
4WENTIESAND%ARLY4HIRTIES
Kerena Saltzman
Are you part of the millennial generation of
people in their twenties to early thirties? If
so, you’ve grown up in the information age of
social networking, texting, and a paradigm of
constantly connected life, yet you may seek a
more authentic, deeper connection to your inner wisdom. This workshop is for those of you
who want a life that is aligned with the deep
care and passion that you feel for the world — a
life that is not confined by ideas of who others
think you are and who your families or others
want you to be.
During our time together, we will practice partner exercises to reveal inner calling, mindfulness group meditations, relational games, and
give and receive authentic feedback in the larger
group.
This workshop can help you to more clearly see
what life is calling forth in you, and how that
calling wants to be expressed in the world. You
can come away with a deeper connection to
what is true for you, a greater sense of self-wisdom, potential next steps, and ways the group
can support one another after the workshop.
+ERENA'ORDHAMER3ALTZMAN, LCSW, is a
presenter, trainer, and Gestalt therapist. She designs and facilitates group experiences that create
authenticity, vitality, and deeper connection. She
also founded 20s Creating Connection, an organization that provides in-person and virtual counseling
to 20-somethings in overwhelming life transitions.
www.20screatingconnections.com
7EEKOF-AYn
!WAKENINGTHE#REATIVE
4HE0AINTING%XPERIENCE
Stewart Cubley
The power inherent in painting is that it can
awaken a wild vein of passion that will not go
82
back to sleep. Using only the simple tools of
brush, paper, and paint, Awakening the Creative
invites you on a highly personal journey of daring and discovery, made possible through a safe
environment and the support of Stewart Cubley
and his experienced staff. The potential is to
tap into an extraordinary resource: the vibrant,
driving force of your own creative spirit.
In this workshop, everyone is a beginner. You
are welcome even if you’ve never picked up a
paintbrush. The goal is free expression, with the
emphasis on the creative process rather than on
technique or expertise. Awakening the Creative
is an opportunity to embark on the greatest of
all human adventures—embracing your own
path and confidently following it.
Stewart is the coauthor of the acclaimed book
Life, Paint and Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of
Spontaneous Expression. He has traveled throughout the world for more than thirty years working with individuals and groups to access the
potential within the human heart and imagination.
This workshop may be of interest to people
from a wide variety of disciplines, including art,
education, counseling, social change, and meditative practices. All materials are supplied.
Recommended reading: Cassou and Cubley, Life,
Paint and Passion.
3TEWART#UBLEYis an artist whose work has carried
him throughout the world in facilitating groups
to access the potential within the human heart
and imagination. Originally a scientist, he has led
seminars in creativity for more than 30 years.
www.processarts.com
%VIDENCE"ASED4RADITIONAL4AIJI
4AI#HIAND1IGONG.URTURING-IND
"ODYAND3PIRIT
Yang Yang & Robert Sheeler
Master Yang is a traditionally trained, internationally recognized taiji and qigong grandmaster who has distilled essential aspects of these
arts into an easy-to-learn program suitable for
people of all ages and physical abilities. His Evidence-Based Taiji and Qigong (EBT and EBQ)
programs were originally designed for research
interventions to yield maximum benefit in the
shortest amount of time. During this five-day
workshop, participants will be shown static and
dynamic qigong exercises and taiji form movements designed to nurture energy, develop the
mind-body connection, and enhance well-being,
tranquility, and positive thinking in daily life.
Master Yang’s teachings embody the ultimate
purpose of taiji and qigong practice: With your
whole being, develop your life. Integrated with
Master Yang’s teachings will be one-hour presentations by special guest instructor Robert
Sheeler, MD. Dr. Sheeler, editor of the Mayo
Clinic Health Letter, will discuss the pragmatic
aspects of mind-body medicine. Both the weekend (8.5 contact hours, see July 18-20) and 5-day
(23.5 contact hours) workshops with Dr. Yang
are required for those seeking Level I (EBQ)
instructor certification; however, the courses
are non-sequential and may be taken in either
order. The 5-day course is designed as an immersion training, allowing participants more time
to work with Dr. Yang and to deepen their understanding of the material. For more information about certification visit http://centerfortaiji.
com/certification.
Recommended reading: Yang and Grubisich,
Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of
Power.
Yang Yang, PhD, is the author of Taijiquan: The
Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power. A
traditionally trained taiji/qigong master, he is
director of the Center for Taiji Studies in New York,
and a researcher and taiji/qigong instructor at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
www.centerfortaiji.com
2OBERT3HEELEReditor of the Mayo Clinic Health
Letter, has been studying Tai Ji and Qi Gong for
several years. He has spoken extensively on a variety
of topics at both traditional medical conferences
and conferences on complementary and integrative
therapy.
4RANSFORMINGTHE*UDGMENTAL-IND
Donald Rothberg
Judgments of a reactive and often automatic
nature are very strong in most of our lives, and
also in the dominant culture. They can distort
our perceptions, make relationships with others
difficult, and undermine our work in the world.
In this workshop, we will explore the nature of
such judgments (and their difference from nonreactive discernment) and how to transform
them. We will cultivate mindfulness, inquiry,
and heart practices such as lovingkindness,
forgiveness, gratitude, joy, and compassion. We
will also explore the somatic dimension of judgments, the role of cultivating awakened qualities
in transforming judgments, and how to culti-
vate skill in speech and interaction in the midst
of situations involving judgments, whether our
own or those of others. These tools will help us
to preserve the intelligence and energy often
found in judgments, using them for discernment and compassionate action, while working
through judgments’ destructive and compulsive
aspects. The workshop will be held partly in
silence, with periods of discussion (in small and
large groups) and some interactive exercises, as
well as optional one-on-one meetings with the
instructor. Those attending the workshop will
have the option of continuing with monthly
follow-up sessions (most likely by phone) after
the workshop.
gaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach
to Transforming Ourselves and the World, is
a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council in
Northern California, and teaches meditation, daily
life practice, and engaged spirituality.
www.donaldrothberg.com
Love and Belonging: Harvesting
THE0OWEROF!TTACHMENT)NTIMACY
AND!UTONOMY
Dyrian Benz-Chartrand &
JoAnne Chartrand-Benz
Love and a sense of belonging are the cornerstones to fulfilling relationships throughout
life. When the flow of love and acceptance is
interrupted in life, the soul suffers. With Relational Constellations, we uncover the disruptions and entanglements so that we can find
strength, dignity, love, creativity, and a sense
of belonging. Love and appreciation are the
guiding principles used for finding good resolutions. Profound healing of heart, body, and soul
are often the result. When we bring love and
respect to ourselves and our family, then love
can become a healing agent in all aspects of our
lives. We also explore personal issues related to
illness, split-off parts of the self, growth, expansion, and creativity. Find ways to get unstuck.
Join us being together with our creative life
force and living more consciously. Honor the
KENT WISNER
$ONALD2OTHBERG, PhD, the author of The En-
83
past, cultivate more presence, and build the
future. A relational constellation is a deeply
educational and creative process that nurtures
your heart, soul, and creative life force. For more
information about Relational Constellations,
visit www.relationalconstellations.com.
Death , a New York Times Notable Book of 2013.
Her award-winning personal essays have appeared
in the New Yorker, the NY Times Magazine, Best
American Essays, and Best Buddhist Writing.
www.katybutler.com
Recommended reading: Benz-Chartrand, The
Delight of Love and Belonging.
7ALKONTHE7ILD3IDE
(IKINGTHE"IG3UR#OUNTRY
Steven Harper with Adam Rumack
$YRIAN"ENZ#HARTRAND, PsyD, is a mindfulness
and somatic psychology educator. A cofounder of Hakomi, he conducts trainings in Relational Constellations at the Constellation Institute of California.
He is a longtime Diamond Approach student and
co-author of Love and Belonging: Making Love
Successful. www.relationalconstellations.com
*O!NNE#HARTRAND"ENZhas been a Europeantrained somatic psychology educator since 1979. Her
specialty is in somatic, transpersonal, relational
psychology, and trauma work. She teaches Family
Constellation trainings. She is a Somatic Experience
practitioner, a student of the Diamond Approach,
and co-author of Love and Belonging.
www.ralationalconstellations.com
“What’s the quickest way out of the city?” John
Muir is reported to have asked a stranger on the
street of the metropolis in which Muir had just
arrived. “Where do you want to go?” the man
asked. “Anywhere that is wild,” Muir replied.
This week is straightforward. You day-hike the
mountainous paths into the wilds of Big Sur,
breathe in the fresh mountain air, and soak in
Esalen’s natural hot springs overlooking the
waves of the Pacific—in short, you let yourself
touch and be touched by Nature.
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places
to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal
and cheer and give strength to body and soul,”
said Muir. Drawing from various wisdom traditions, the group will be introduced to practices
that encourage openness to self and nature. As
3TRAW)NTO'OLD
4HE!LCHEMYOF-EMOIR
Do you have a story you are longing to tell?
Take a great leap forward with a passionate
teacher whose bestselling memoir was named
a NY Times Notable Book of the year. In a spirit
of spontaneous play, using prompts and freewriting, we’ll first let the pen glide rapidly over
the paper in short bursts. Be prepared to be
surprised by what turns up, and to draw deeply
from wells unfamiliar to you. Later, we’ll spin
straw into gold, refining first drafts into polished scenes and stories that can electrify even
strangers. This workshop pays careful attention
to craft, voice, revision, and narrative structure.
It is a perfection-free zone. Although it is not a
process group, writing your truth and unleashing your creativity can be joyful and, almost
by accident, therapeutic. You may tame your
inner critic, heal a bit of your heart, and take
home tools that deepen and enliven everything
you write from now on. Be prepared for a writing breakthrough. Suitable for beginning and
experienced writers. Even if you bring a laptop,
please bring a notebook that holds 250 pages
of 8.5 x 11 inch lined paper, a favorite passage
of published memoir, and plenty of smoothflowing pens.
+ATY"UTLERis the author of Knocking on
Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of
84
DOUG ELLIS
Katy Butler
Muir discovered, “I only went out for a walk,
and finally concluded to stay out till sundown,
for going out, I found, was really going in.”
Hikes (4-10 miles in length) begin after breakfast and finish in time to enjoy the hot springs
and wholesome food of Esalen. Participants
should be prepared for the challenge of invigorating physical activity as well as the opportunity to simply sit still in quiet contemplation.
More information and a waiver will be sent
upon registration. For an equipment list and
Muir wrote, “The mountains are calling me and
I must go.”
($30 permit and park-entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
3TEVEN(ARPERbio on page 66.
4OUCHING%SSENCE™ :
Esalen®-ASSAGEAND%SSENTIAL/ILS
Daniela Urbassek & Ellen Watson
The artistry of a skilled Esalen® Massage practitioner is recognized among connoisseurs of
bodywork all over the world. This “quality of
touch” is one of the fundamental elements of
Esalen Massage style and philosophy. When we
add the use of essential oils, we actively engage
another powerful sense. Our sense of smell has
a more powerful capacity to take us deeply into
our memories than any other sense. When combined with massage, a powerful alchemy occurs:
deep relaxation, an opening of the heart, and
freeing of breath.
During this workshop for professional bodyworkers, Daniela and Ellen will review the
fundamentals of Esalen® Massage. The use of
essential oils is especially helpful in enhancing
breath awareness and in deepening inhalation.
Choosing from a selection of eleven essential
oils, you will be shown how to create blends
that support your own vitality, and the specific
needs of others. Daniela and Ellen will share
their experience in moving from therapeutics to
the artistry of blending, to connecting the essence of these oils to one’s spirit and soul.
Note: Participants may either bring their own
essential oils, or order a set through the workshop leaders. We work with wild crafted and
therapeutic grade essential oils, body lotions,
and massage oils. To order, please contact Ellen
(ellen@MovingVentures.org) a minimum of
two weeks before the start date of this program.
$ANIELA5RBASSEKbio on page 53.
Ellen Watson
travels extensively, sharing the
essence of her 26 years at Esalen. Ellen founded
MovingVentures, whose mission is vocational
education in the fields of breathwork, and somatic
and movement arts. Since 1998, she has focused on
supporting the people of Bali, Indonesia.
www.movingventures.org
ness: Teachings of Buddhist Psychology; Suzuki, Zen
Mind, Beginner’s Mind.
2ONALD!LEXANDERbio on page 59.
#OUPLES#OMMUNICATION2ETREAT
7EEKENDOF-AYn
-IND-OODAND(APPINESS
4RANSFORMINGTHE3ELF
Ronald Alexander
People can learn to change their thinking and
behavior in ways that enhance happiness and
well-being. For 2,500 years, the wisdom teachings of the East have utilized what their texts
refer to as “skillful methods” for the study and
transformation of the mind/body. These meditation and visualization practices help cultivate
self-regulation through awareness, concentration, mindfulness, and other attention skills.
This leads to clarity of mind, spaciousness of
self, and greater compassion.
Using techniques from modern positive psychology, mindfulness, creative thinking and
non-dual teachings, participants will learn skills
to calm the mind, regulate mind/body states,
develop trust with the unconscious, and explore
inner resources for activating creativity, vitality,
and well-being.
Methods include:
Developing skills for accessing the resources
of the core self
Utilizing the unconscious for activating
internal healing resources
Meditating and practicing psychological skills
to promote insight
Exploring natural mind/body healing
rhythms (yogic and somatic breathing
methods)
Discovering Buddhist psychological antidote
remedies for unpleasant or painful states of
mind
Discussing mind, self, dissatisfaction, and
happiness from Western and Buddhist
perspectives
Discovering practices that promote lovingkindness
These skills are especially applicable to health
care professionals in their work with patients.
Recommended reading: Alexander, Wise Mind
Open Mind: Finding Purpose and Meaning in Times
of Crisis, Loss and Change; Fryba, The Art of Happi-
Warren Farrell
Our inability to handle personal criticism from
loved ones is a common Achilles’ heel. The
more deeply we are in love, the harder it is to
handle. Soon, couples feel they are walking on
eggshells, unable to express themselves honestly, and the love fades. Raising children and dealing with money during an economic recession
magnifies the problems even as those problems
become the reason couples stay together. The
result? Couples often remain legally married
but psychologically divorced—in a minimumsecurity-prison marriage.
The biggest culprit in this dynamic is defensiveness. Active listening, a good solution, is rarely
used. Warren Farrell developed Cinematic
Immersion, a method that enables couples to
actively listen to their partner without feeling
defensive. Once defensiveness is replaced by
feeling loved, work on the discipline of mutual
appreciation can begin. Through this process,
passion is reignited without sacrificing stability.
As couples master Cinematic Immersion and
the discipline of love, they will be shown how to
apply what they’ve learned to other family members and to work colleagues.
This workshop is for couples and clinicians.
A couple is any two people who have a history
together (such as parent-child, siblings, married
or divorced parents) and who want a future with
improved communication. Clinicians are first
shown how to practice handling personal criticism without becoming defensive in their own
relationship, and then receive all the tools and
handouts to allow them to train their clients to
be able to do the same.
Recommended reading: Farrell, Women Can’t
Hear What Men Don’t Say and Father and Child
Reunion.
7ARREN&ARRELL, PhD, is the author of Women
Can’t Hear What Men Don’t Say, as well as Why
Men Are the Way they Are. His books on gender
communication have been published in more than 50
countries and in 17 languages. He has been training
psychologists and helping professionals in these areas
since 1970. www.warrenfarrell.com/
85
&AMILY-INDFULNESS2ETREAT
Ivy Mayer Lavie
Imagine a beautiful and protected space that
supports you to mindfully turn within and find
greater ease, and gives you space to play and just
be with your family—all held in the dramatic
natural surroundings of Esalen. This family
retreat offers time to unplug from the busyness of life and find meaningful reconnection
within and without. We will have time together
as a group, and time when adults and children
meet separately. Adult meditations will support
quieting the mind, opening the heart, and being present to the beauty and challenge of life.
Within this we’ll include time for discussion
about making our family life an integral part of
our spiritual practice. The children’s meetings
will utilize Esalen’s beautiful natural setting
(including the Gazebo Park School with its
animals and gardens), and games to introduce
mindfulness and kindness in enjoyable, age-appropriate ways. This program is open to families
of any configuration or spiritual background,
with children ages 3-13. Children of different
ages may be allowed with the permission of
instructors. Please contact ivymayer@yahoo.com
with any questions. A portion of the proceeds
from this workshop will benefit the Gazebo
Park School, an open air school for infants and
children on the Esalen grounds. Join us for fun,
play, and connection as we learn to be more
present with our families and with ourselves.
workshops and $250 for 5-day workshops. Parents/guardians pay regular accommodations
fees.
mind-body connection, and enhance well-being,
tranquility, and positive thinking in daily life.
Master Yang’s teachings embody the ultimate
purpose of taiji and qigong practice: With your
whole being, develop your life. Integrated with
Master Yang’s teachings will be one-hour presentations by special guest instructor Robert
Sheeler, MD. Dr. Sheeler, editor of the Mayo
Clinic Health Letter, will discuss the pragmatic
aspects of mind-body medicine. Both the weekend (8.5 contact hours) and five-day (23.5 contact
hours, see July 20-25) workshops with Dr. Yang
are required for those seeking Level I instructor certification; however, the courses are nonsequential and may be taken in either order.
The 5-day course is designed as an immersion
training, allowing participants more time to
work with Dr. Yang and to deepen their understanding of the material. For more information
about certification visit http://centerfortaiji.com/
certification.
Recommended reading: Yang and Grubisich,
Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of
Power.
Yang Yang bio on page 82.
2OBERT3HEELERbio on page 82.
7EEKOF-AYn
4HE!RTAND3CIENCEOFTHE
9OGA3EQUENCE
Ulrika Engman
Sequencing is a term used in yoga meaning how
poses are linked together. If a single pose is a
word, then a sequence is a poem. Sequencing
is both an art in understanding how the body
%VIDENCE"ASED4RADITIONAL4AIJI
moves, and a discovery of what the body needs
4AI#HIAND1IGONG.URTURING-IND to find its natural balance, strength, flexibility,
"ODYAND3PIRIT
and expression through movement. Sequencing
usually has a specific goal in mind: to balance
Yang Yang & Robert Sheeler
mood, restore sleep cycles, build energy, and
Master Yang is a traditionally trained, internamore. The focus of this workshop is twofold: to
tionally recognized taiji and qigong grandmasplay creatively with how to string poses toter who has distilled essential aspects of these
gether to form artful sequences that inspires
arts into an easy-to-learn program suitable for
one’s practice, and to study the science behind
people of all ages and physical abilities. His Evclassic sequences that act more like recipes for
idence-Based Taiji and Qigong (EBT and EBQ)
treatments for common physical and energetic
programs were originally designed for research
imbalances. With asana (poses), alignment prininterventions to yield maximum benefit in the
ciples, and specific muscular actions to direct
shortest amount of time. During this weekend
energy flow, we will expand our yoga language
workshop, participants will be shown static and
to include movement, breath, and sensation as
dynamic qigong exercises and taiji form movepart of our artistic and scientific relationship
ments designed to nurture energy, develop the
with the body on the mat.
)VY-AYER,AVIE bio on page 58.
86
Come see for yourself how your body responds
in a wide variety of experiments. The workshop
itself will be our laboratory as we explore what
opens the gateway to a truly creative and balancing yoga practice. This workshop is for all levels
of yoga practitioner with a minimum of three
months of practice. Please bring a yoga mat and
any props you use.
5LRIKA%NGMAN, E-RYT 500, is an Anusara-certi-
fied yoga teacher and Halprin Life-Art practitioner.
Ulrika’s unique style blends the transformative power of yoga with movement and the expressive arts.
She leads yoga workshops and retreats worldwide.
www.yoga-journeys.com
'ESTALT0RACTICEAND#ORTICAL&IELD
2E%DUCATION$EVELOPING%MOTIONAL
AND3OMATIC2ESOURCES
Dorothy Charles & Patrice Hamilton
Increasing awareness of our somatic sense of
self provides new options for developing more
effective psychological and physical patterns.
This experiential workshop blends the slow,
developmental movement of Cortical Field
Reeducation with individual and group Gestalt
work to address how habitual, unconscious
beliefs and behaviors formed early in life lead
to habitual ways of responding that limit life
experience.
Through mindfulness, explorations of forgotten movement patterns, and Gestalt Awareness
Practice, we contact the here-and-now, where
change and growth are possible. As we become
more present in our bodies, we may discover
an inability to identify what we are feeling, or
that—because of painful memories, and difficulty in experiencing feelings directly—we have
been avoiding them.
This is a relational process. Working in an empathic, supportive group setting creates a container in which new ways of moving and being
can be expressed and explored. This workshop
provides the experience of making contact with
people who are present and accepting, making
it possible to develop a greater capacity for feelings. We can then learn to use our feelings as
guides that help us live more authentically, moving beyond habits of being and relating that no
longer serve us. In addition, changes in habitual
muscular holding patterns result in a body that
is better able to support changes made on any
level—emotional, physical, or psychological.
Recommended reading: Perls, Gestalt Therapy
Verbatim; Feldenkrais, The Potent Self.
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
$OROTHY#HARLESbio on page 51.
0ATRICE(AMILTONhas worked in the fields of
education and counseling for more than 20 years. She
holds an MEd in counseling, is a certified Cortical
Field Reeducation practitioner and teacher, a certified Hakomi Practitioner (The Refined Method), and
is trained in Esalen Massage.
%XPOSUREAND)NTIMACY
4HE!LCHEMYOF0HOTOGRAPHY
Andy Abrahams Wilson
Photography is a profound exchange of light
energy. Yet in this age of unprecedented picture
taking and sharing, we’re often blind to the
ways in which the camera can help us experience truer connection and even transcendence.
In a time of virtual and hyper connectivity, how
can we bring a deeper awareness to the photographic process to enrich our art and lives?
At every step, photography is a balancing of
relationships (light and shadow, time and space,
subject and object, seen and unseen), the union
of which brings forth a still moment and new
creation. In this way, the camera becomes an
alchemical tool for both distilling and dissolving duality.
This workshop is a dive into the natural beauty
of Esalen and Big Sur, and offers the opportunity for hands-on creativity while challenging
basic assumptions about how we see and engage
with our environment. Daily photo assignments
and excursions, coupled with group feedback,
can encourage new skills, deeper intimacy, and
awareness of personal patterns. The principles
we discover through photography are metaphors for living. This workshop is best suited
for people with at least a beginner’s understanding of photography, but all levels can find a
comfortable fit.
Bring your own digital SLR camera and photo
editing software like iPhoto. Or, if you’d like to
experiment with your iPhone or iPad camera,
that’s okay too. Enrollment is limited for an
optimal and intimate group experience. To see a
video collage of work by past workshop participants work, visit https://vimeo.com/43498494.
!NDY!BRAHAMS7ILSONis an award-winning,
Oscar®-shortlisted filmmaker and photographer.
President of Open Eye Pictures, Andy emphasizes
using the camera as a way to bridge – and heal –
disparate parts and people, and to connect to nature,
ourselves, and each other.
3OUL-OTION™ 4HE0RACTICE
Michael Molin-Skelton
“Soul Motion is a movement practice during
which we cultivate our capacity for listening
to the deep wisdom of the body and the silent
whisperings of the soul,” Michael and Anneli
write. “We spiral with curiosity at the crossroads of our past and our possibilities. When
body meets soul, and movement meets moment,
we can experience a dissolution into spirit. This
is the dance of the soul-in-motion.
“This immersion is for both the seasoned Soul
Motion veterans and those just beginning. It is a
dive into the architecture that supports the Soul
Motion ministry, with emphasis on pause presence, orbit orientation, and echo inspiration.
Michael and Anneli will be teaching to invite,
inspire, incite, and ignite the deep dance within
each of us. Inquiries, structures, and points of
view will be offered to facilitate this step-by step
journey across the four landscapes of Soul Motion: dance intimate (solo), dance communion
(duet), dance community (ensemble), and dance
infinite (ritual space). The group will investigate relationships between energy, motion,
and space, moving to an eclectic mix of music
87
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
from classical to experimental, including sacred
chant, rap, jazz, contemporary electronica, and
the great sound of silence.”
This immersion is open to all. It is a base requirement (pre-requisite) for the Soul Motion
Leadership Program.
-ICHAEL-OLIN3KELTONholds many things sacred,
including the love of his life Anneli, the miracle they
named Jaylan, friends that cherish and challenge
him, dancing alone, and dancing with you. Michael
is a senior faculty member of the Soul Motion™
school. www.spiritweaves.com
4HE5PLEDGER)NSTITUTE)NTERNATIONALS
#RANIO3ACRAL4HERAPY
Eric Moya
CranioSacral therapy is a gentle, noninvasive,
hands-on technique to help detect and correct
imbalances in the craniosacral system that may
88
cause sensory, motor, or intellectual dysfunction. It is used to treat a myriad of health problems, including headaches, neck and back pain,
TMJ dysfunction, chronic fatigue, motor coordination difficulties, eye problems, endogenous
depression, hyperactivity, and central nervous
system disorders. Participants will learn the
detailed anatomy and physiology of the craniosacral system, its functions in health, and its
relationship to the disease processes. Half of
the class time will be hands-on, developing the
sensitive palpatory skills needed to detect subtle
stimuli in the human body.
Class material will concentrate on palpation and
its potential as an evaluative and therapeutic
process; fascial and soft-tissue release methods;
and the pressurestat model, which explains the
mechanism of the craniosacral system. Participants will learn a ten-step protocol for evaluation
and treatment of the entire body. By the end of
this intensive program, participants will be able
to identify and localize significant restrictions
and imbalances in the craniosacral system.
Note: Registration for this workshop is through
the International Alliance of Healthcare Educators (IAHE) only. IAHE is a coalition of curriculum developers united to advance innovative therapies through high quality continuing
education programs. To register, please call
1-800-311-9204. Only after you have registered
with IAHE and paid tuition fees will you be
able to reserve accommodations at Esalen. For
accommodations pricing chart, see http://www.
esalen.org/page/partner-program-pricing.
Recommended reading: Upledger and Vredevoogd, CranioSacral Therapy (chapters 1-6);
Upledger, Your Inner Physician and You.
CE credit for physical therapists; see leader.
%RIC-OYA, CST-D, MS/MFCT, is a career manual
therapist, instructor for the Upledger Institute, and
international lecturer/speaker specializing in mind/
body awareness and growth. He maintains practices
in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Carmel, Calif.
www.ericmoya.com
director of research for the Flow Genome Project. His
articles have appeared widely, including in The New
York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Wired, and
Forbes. www.flowgenomeproject.co
0ROMETHEUS2ISING(OWTO(ARNESS
0EAK%XPERIENCESTO"ECOME9OUR
'REATEST3ELF
7EEKENDOF-AYn
Jamie Wheal & Steven Kotler
We’ve all had those moments in which time
slows down, we lose our sense of self, and the
task at hand becomes effortless and “in the
flow.” The trouble is, we’ve never known where
those moments came from or how to get more
once they’ve gone.
Revolutionary advances in neuroscience and
technology have allowed us to reverse engineer
the “genome,” or essential building blocks, of
the peak performance state known as flow, and
to use this knowledge to radically accelerate
how we learn and perform.
In this course, you will be shown:
Your flow profile: How to get more from your
natural strengths
The flow cycle unpacked: How understanding
struggle and recovery makes you more
resilient
The flow genome matrix: How to map and
harness the neuro-somatics of optimum
performance
States and stages: How to recognize the
critical difference between flow states and
ongoing development, and how to leverage
one in service of the other
The power hour: How to turbo-charge
your daily practice in 60 minutes with a
customized, sustainable training program
You don’t have to look back on cherished moments of flow as scrapbook memories. You can
create more of them and build your life (and
growth) around them.
Recommended reading: Kotler, The Rise of
Superman: The Deep Science of Ultimate Human
Performance.
*AMIE7HEAL,executive director of Flow Genome
Project, is a leading expert on the neuro-somatics
of ultimate human performance. His work ranges
from Fortune 500 companies, leading business
schools, Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), to
Red Bull and its stable of world-class athletes.
www.flowgenomeproject.co
3TEVEN+OTLERis a New York Times bestselling
author of The Rise of Superman and cofounder and
"EING0RESENTFOR9OUR,IFE
)NTRODUCTIONTO-INDFULNESS
Meditation
James Baraz
How much are you present for your own life?
Most of us spend more time in our own inner
world—worrying about the future, replaying the
past, or lost in fantasy—than experiencing what
life is offering to us right now. The present moment is where we can most directly be intimate
with our life—touched by beauty and intimacy,
while learning through the difficult lessons
how to open our hearts.
Mindfulness—or vipassana—meditation is the
practice described by the Buddha for developing wisdom, compassion, and peace by learning
to be mindful of what is actually happening in
the present moment. Using the breath, body
sensations, thoughts, and emotions as objects of
attention, we can learn to be more fully awake.
When we see directly that the nature of reality
is change, we begin to let go of clinging to the
pleasant or avoiding the unpleasant. We become
more capable of meeting each situation with
spontaneity, fearlessness, and love.
Participants will be introduced to this meditation practice and the principles on which it is
based. There will be periods of silent sitting and
walking meditation as well as discussion, providing a foundation for applying mindfulness
practice to everyday life.
Recommended Reading: Baraz and Alexander,
Awakening Joy: 10 Steps that will Put You on the
Road to Real Happiness; Goldstein, The Experience
of Insight; Kornfield, A Path with Heart.
*AMES"ARAZbio on page 22.
%XPAND9OUR6INYASA&LOW9OGA4OOLKIT
Ulrika Engman
There are many tools in yoga that greatly enhance, support, and liberate the body’s full
potential for increased range of movement and
help align the spine with the limbs. As in any
art form, a tool is just a tool unless one fully
understands how to use it with some degree
of mastery. As we expand our yoga toolkit to
include rollers, straps, movement practices, pressure points, mudras, and creative use of blocks,
we simultaneously can learn techniques to open
the body lovingly and kindly. The intention for
this protocol is to incorporate ease and freedom
in our practice, and to enable greater flow and
connection in the transition from asana to
asana.
Our approach is to embrace difficult poses as a
way to learn how to consciously move through
challenges and resistance, and use the appropriate tools and techniques for a breakthrough in
our yoga practices. After all, what is more powerful than being able to move through our stuck
places and find our flow? This workshop is for
all levels of yoga practitioner with a minimum
of three months of practice. Please bring a yoga
mat and any props you have, including a roller if
you have one.
5LRIKA%NGMAN bio on page 86.
5NlNISHED"USINESS#REATING9OUR
.EXT3TEPSIN,IFEFROMTHE)NSIDE/UT
Pam Kramer
Is your life an expression of who you really are
at the core? Perhaps you have already succeeded
brilliantly at what you wanted to do, or gone as
far as you can go. Is now the time for you to get
a clear view of what’s next? Unfinished Business is about clarifying your deepest values, and
seeing clearly where you are now and where
you need to go to realize your full potential.
You will begin to create a path to wholeness
through personal vision, concrete planning, and
commitment to deeper satisfaction. Through
experiential processes, group interaction, inspiring videos, and meditative exercises, you can
see what you need to do now and take the first
steps to get there. Hear moving, inspirational,
and instructive stories of people who have faced
the need to change, overcome barriers, and successfully moved in new directions. Dynamic
processes and small group interactions will give
you a clear vision of the best you, and mindful
movement and deep relaxation practices will
support your journey.
0AM+RAMERbio on page 69.
)!MTHE7ORD4HE%NERGETICSOF
#ONSCIOUSNESS
Paul Selig
In his breakthrough works of channeled literature, I Am the Word and The Book of Love and Cre-
89
ation, author and medium Paul Selig recorded a
program for personal and planetary evolution as
humankind awakens to its own divine nature.
Through a series of lectures, attunements, and
energy activations, workshop participants will
be introduced to the frequency of the Word,
which can be described as the energy of “God
in action.”
You will be shown exercises for healing the
self and others, along with practical techniques
for developing and sustaining higher levels of
consciousness. You will also receive individual
instruction that will support you in moving
through the physical and emotional blocks that
may be keeping you from manifesting your own
higher nature. You can discover how realizing
your own true potential is inexorably linked to
the well-being of others and our planet. Paul’s
workshops can be deeply transformative. The
energy he works with is palpable and loving,
and those attending will be supported in moving to the next level of their own spiritual development.
This 5-day intensive will offer the opportunity
for more individual work and a deeper immersion in the higher energies. Please see August
23-25 for a weekend version.
Recommended reading: Selig, I Am the Word: A
Guide to the Consciousness of Man’s Self in a Transitioning Time, The Book of Love and Creation, and
The Book of Knowing and Worth.
rituals, the teachings and traditions, the people
and places that have formed and informed
who we are. Every session will be a deeper
dance into the parts of us we wish to celebrate
and honor, as well as those parts we wish to
let go. Moving with a diverse group of people
enriches our way. The work of Cycles focuses
us on our common ground, providing us with
an innovative, creative prism through which to
view our journey.
Please bring a journal, some family photos, and an object of deep meaning to you.
Cycles is a course requirement for 5Rhythms
Teacher Training. For more information, visit
www.5Rhythms.com.
Recommended reading: Roth, Maps to Ecstasy
and Sweat Your Prayers.
*ONATHAN(ORANis Gabrielle Roth’s son and closest
collaborator. He is on the core faculty of her international institute, The Moving Center. Jonathan has
been immersed in the 5Rhythms® practice throughout his life and continues to be a key catalyst in its
evolution. www.gabrielleroth.com
)MPROV%XPAND9OURSELFWITH,AUGHTER
Dixie Cox & Clifford Henderson
In this workshop, rooted in Gabrielle Roth’s
5Rhythms movement practice, we use our
dance like archeologists to dig beneath the surface, to seek buried treasures and pearls of wisdom gleaned from our own life experience. The
5Rhythms offer us both a map to understanding
and a way to deeply embody the patterns, waves,
and vibrations that organically move us from
birth to death.
Activate your imagination, creativity, and spontaneity. Just as muscles can tighten with stress
and age, so can notions about ourselves. One
antidote to this natural process is improvisational workouts. Children stretch their sense
of self through the powerful medium of play.
Adults often don’t, finding it too scary or foolish. This unwillingness prevents them from
experiencing this potent learning tool, which
includes the permission to try new ways of being without the serious consequences of real
life. In this positive workshop, participants are
guided through simple improv exercises aimed
at personal expansion. Using the tenets of improv, such as trust and spontaneity, participants
are encouraged to say “Yes” to situations offered
to them by the group. This workshop also explores one of improv’s most compelling tools:
status, the human pecking order. Participants
familiarize themselves with the subtle clues
they send and receive defining their status, and
have a chance to try new body language and
status choices. Rejuvenate your spirit through
experiential play and laughter. Past participants
have said, “By stretching myself, I’ve become
more of me” and “It’s more fun than a ride on a
fire truck!”
Our journey will be a deep investigation into
our personal relationship to the rhythms and
$IXIE#OXcofounder of the Fun Institute in Santa
Cruz, Calif., has been teaching people to re-create
0AUL3ELIGis a conscious channel, intuitive, and em-
path. His books include I Am the Word, The Book
of Love and Creation, and The Book of Knowing
and Worth. Paul also directs the MFA in Creative
Writing program at Goddard College.
7EEKOF-AYn*UNE
#YCLES!2HYTHMS®%XPLORATIONOF
THE2HYTHMSOF,IFE
Jonathan Horan
90
themselves through improvisational acting classes
since 1993. She performs regularly with the improv
troupes Loose Cannon Theater and Crash Test.
www.funinstitute.com
Clifford Henderson is cofounder of the Fun
Institute in Santa Cruz, Calif., a school of improv
and solo performance. She’s had numerous plays and
sketch comedies produced in the SF Bay Area. Her
published works include The Middle of Somewhere, Spanking New, and Maye’s Request.
www.cliffordhenderson.net
-ORE4HANA#OMMUNICATION
7ORKSHOP
Jean Morrison & Martine Amita Algier
Nonviolent Communication (NVC) has been
described as a a powerful tool for social change
and leadership development, a personal practice
for clarifying and living one’s values, a guide
for interpersonal communication, an effective
process for conflict resolution, and a language of
compassion for any life situation. In a fun, lively,
collaborative, and supportive environment, we
integrate practices that support individuals to
change the way they communicate and relate to
themselves and each other. Learning NVC helps
liberate us from:
Judging self and others
Taking things personally
Acting and reacting from fear, duty, obligation,
guilt, anger, depression
Applying NVC supports us in:
Creating new strategies that meet core needs
Expressing ourselves honestly without blame,
shame, or criticism
Becoming more effective at everything we
do, including creating peace in our homes,
community, and in the world
Jean Morrison, MA, has been a certified NVC
trainer since 1989. She also is an author and materials designer with a background in psychology and
counseling. In all of her work, she emphasizes whole
brain learning and thinking, and holistic health.
www.groktheworld.com
Martine Amita Algier is a certified trainer with
The Center for Nonviolent Communication and a
founding member of the West Marin Community
Mediation Board, teaching and consulting with
families, business groups, schools, and other organizations in California and Europe since the 1960s.
www.martinealgier.com
Deep Writing
Eric Maisel
Recommended reading: Maisel, Coaching the
Artist Within, Mastering Creative Anxiety, Van
Gogh’s Blues, and Life Purpose Boot Camp.
%RIC-AISEL, PhD, a leading creativity coach and the
developer of natural psychology, is the author of more
than 40 books, including Life Purpose Boot Camp.
He writes the “Rethinking Psychology” column for
Psychology Today and leads workshops nationally
and internationally.
!.EW"EGINNING#OURAGEAND(EART
Mary Goldenson
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began . . .
— Mary Oliver
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not
absence of fear.
— Mark Twain
“In this workshop,” Mary Goldenson writes, “we
will courageously peer into the depths of our
hearts and minds to ask:
Does my life reflect my heart’s desires?
If fear did not stop me, what might I be doing
differently?
What truths do I need to tell to live?
MELINA ME Z A
Eric Maisel’s Deep Writing workshops are
simple in structure and powerful in effect. The
group creates a genuinely safe environment because participants’ writing is neither shared nor
critiqued. Rather, the group receives permission
to spend time connecting with and falling back
in love with their own writing. Each writing
session begins with a core lesson. You explore
the unique challenges that writers face around
committing, planning, and doing; how to generate mental energy, achieve a centered presence,
master anxiety, and maintain a writing life. The
workshop is ideal for writers of every level of
experience, from published authors to writers
who have yet to begin. It is ideal for writers
who want to discover what they intend to write,
who are longing to get back to a project, or who
are already immersed in a current project. Give
yourself the gift of a week in the embrace of
your own writing.
91
C A MERON JORDAN
To whom or what have I given power over my
life? What must I do to reclaim it?
How shall I live, knowing I shall die?
“More than the answers, our questions define
where the real meaning of our life resides. Firmly grounded in the moment, we will explore
ways to reconnect with our source of creativity
and spirituality.”
This workshop offers ways to help complete
the past, be open to the present, and create the
future. A safe, supportive environment will be
provided. Didactic and experiential exercises
will draw from Gestalt, Reichian work, imagery,
dance, and meditation.
This workshop may have up to thirty-four participants.
Recommended reading: Goldenson, It’s Time—
No One’s Coming to Save You.
-ARY'OLDENSON bio on page 14.
%XPERIENCINGTHE%SALEN&ARM
and Garden
Christopher La Rose & Jessica Spain
For more than forty years, the Esalen Farm and
Garden has provided a holistic model of food
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security and sustainability—producing food that
sustains, heals, and educates the community.
Growing one’s own food is a powerful form of
activism and a deep source of spiritual experience. The Esalen Farm and Garden staff strives
to cultivate soil, plants, and people while honoring the spirit of the land and its ancestors.
This dynamic workshop experience provides
the opportunity to immerse yourself in the
Farm and Garden alongside our talented and experienced staff. This week will introduce you to
the practical and experiential knowledge needed to start or refine your own garden, as well as
a chance to revel in the beauty and power of the
Esalen land. You will gain hands-on experience
with topics including seed starting, harvesting,
cultivation, transplanting, composting, seed
saving, flowers, and herbs.
We invite you to explore working on the land as
a physical, emotional and spiritual experience.
As an Esalen work tradition, Gestalt awareness
practice is integrated into our time together, to
support our growth processes and group relationships. Each morning after harvest, we gather in a sharing circle to connect with ourselves
and each other before the day of learning and
working. We ground and connect with the land
through mindful and playful activities and rituals. The week culminates with a farm-to-table
dinner that we prepare and share in gratitude
together on the beautiful farm.
#HRISTOPHER,A2OSEcombines a background in
counseling and Gestalt practice with a love of horticulture and farming in his role as teacher and land
steward. He is the former Esalen Garden supervisor,
and has taught at the UCSC Center for Agroecology.
*ESSICA3PAINhas a passion for teaching others to
grow food. She has 14 years of diverse agricultural
experiences, from raising milk goats in California
to working on a barley farm in Iceland. She is the
former Esalen Farm Supervisor.
7EEKENDOF*UNEn
Guardian Qigong:
"OOST9OUR)NNER0OWER
Robert Peng
When our internal organs are strong and
healthy, we radiate an energy field called
Guardian Qi that protects the body from the
environment. Strong Guardian Qi also enhances the immune system. Some qigong masters
meditate outdoors in wintertime for hours by
generating internal heat. They are covered by
an invisible blanket of warm Guardian Qi and
don’t catch cold. Guardian Qi acts like a bulletproof vest that also can protect from mental
and emotional stress. The connection between
health and stress is well known, and in qigong
that connection depends on the condition of
our Guardian Qi.
In this workshop, we focus on working on
certain vertebra to strengthen the internal organs through Seasonal Empowerment and by
practicing a special exercise known as 4 Cycles
that originates from the fabled Shaolin Temple.
Using these methods, we strengthen our Guardian Qi. Robert Peng will also conduct powerful
group healing by inviting in vast universal energy so that all of our organs may flow smoothly
and exude radiant healthy light. This workshop
is open to everyone.
Recommended reading: Peng with Nasser, The
Master Key: Qigong Secrets for Vitality, Love, and
Wisdom.
2OBERT0ENGis a qigong master and teacher who
has trained 150,000 students throughout the world.
From the age of 8, he apprenticed under Xiao Yao.
The distillation of his training is reflected in The
Master Key: Qigong Secrets for Vitality, Love,
and Wisdom book and CD/DVD series.
www.robertpeng.com
%NJOYING-EDITATION
Returning to Ease
Peter Russell
Discover how something as simple as surrendering all resistance in meditation can open us to
the peace and joy that lie within. For thousands
of years, spiritual traditions have taught meditation as a way to awaken to our true nature.
Yet many people find meditation tedious and
difficult, a never-ending struggle to quiet the
mind or focus the attention. This has led to the
popular misconception that meditation requires
great discipline and years of practice.
The key is giving up all trying and effort. The
mind in its natural relaxed state is already at
ease. Nothing needs to be “done” to find inner
peace, we simply need to let go of the various
thoughts that keep our minds busy and tense.
The beauty of this approach is that nothing
needs to be changed or eliminated. We simply
surrender to the fullness of the present moment.
In this workshop, we can:
Let our minds fully relax and settle down into
a state of profound ease
Learn basic principles of letting go
Find greater contentment in the present
moment
Use our inner knowing to guide us during
meditation
Learn how to integrate these approaches in
our lives, finding greater ease in daily activity
The workshop includes guided meditations,
talks, group discussions, and periods of silence
and inner reflection. It is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.
0ETER2USSELLis the author of 10 books, including
The TM technique, The Global Brain, Waking
Up in Time, and From Science to God. His work
integrates Eastern and Western understandings
of the mind, exploring their relevance to the world
today. www.peterussell.com
(ERBSFOR2ESTORATIONAND2ELAXATION
Darren Huckle
The plant world holds many tools for supporting peace, resiliency, and vitality for those of us
who live intense or busy lives. This interactive
and sensory-oriented workshop will explore
amazing herbal allies that powerfully promote
the health of our body, mind, and energy. Our
special focus will be on herbs that moderate
stress response, vitalize energy, promote healthy
sleep, and support an overall sense of flow and
well-being.
We will spend part of the class in the Esalen
garden, where we’ll see, taste, and feel medicinal
plants. In the classroom, we’ll experience a multitude of dried herbs, and in the kitchen we’ll
make a custom herbal tea and tincture blend for
each participant to bring home.
physical world. You are already doing heavy
lifting every day in the countless acts and challenges of being human. However, injury to ego
development in childhood can impair your ability to use intuitive and healing energy to create
the life that you want. Pure spirit is not the goal
of life — effective humanity is. This workshop
can repair the ego so that you can channel the
infinite power that belongs to each of us.
In this experiential weekend intensive, we will
be using intuition, healing, meditation, ego
retrieval, ritual, group channeling, and other
practices to actualize your goals, and experience
life in all of its complexity with more joy and
mastery. Come work as a community of intuitives and healers to re-create our lives together.
Please bring a blindfold, a journal, and a folder
for handouts
Note: During this workshop you will be exploring the healing capacities of directed intuition;
part of this includes participating in and conducting intuitive readings. Intuition lends itself
to direct, clear insight. This workshop can be
very confrontational and sometimes uncomfortable. Please be sure you are able to approach
this work with that in mind, and are willing to
push your boundaries (and have your boundaries pushed). Please refer to required reading for
more information.
Required reading: Day, The Circle: How The Power of a Single Wish Can Change Your Life and How
to Rule the World from Your Couch.
,AURA$AYhas taught at Esalen Insitute for more
than 2 decades. A New York Times best-selling
author of 6 books on intuition in business, love,
and healing, Laura travels the world creating
communities of intuitives and healers.
www.practicalintuition.com
$ARREN(UCKLE, LAc, has a private practice as an
herbalist and acupuncturist in Santa Cruz, Calif. He
teaches holistic health modalities including herbal
medicine, nutrition, acupuncture, and qi gong at
Five Branches University and University of California, Santa Cruz.
0RACTICAL)NTUITION
&ULL%FFECTIVENESS,IVING
Laura Day
You cannot divide the material and the spiritual
world. We are all part of one energy, and yet we
often revere the spirit without valuing the material “self” too. We create a lot of inspiration but
little material manifestation here on earth. The
evidence of evolved humanity and spirituality
is the ability to make an effective impact on the
7EEKOF*UNEn
6ISIONSEEKER4HE3HAMANS0ATH
into Illumination
Hank Wesselman
The rediscovery of shamanism has emerged as a
major thrust in the spiritual reawakening of the
Western world. The techniques of traditional
shamans provide an extraordinary method for
accessing hidden dimensions of reality and
connecting with inner sources of power and
wisdom.
Hank Wesselman writes, “We will rediscover
our indigenous heart through the classic shamanic journey, reestablishing connections with
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our spirit helpers, teachers, and ancestors, as we
engage in visionary fieldwork and examine the
nature of health, illness, and healing from the
perspective of spirit medicine.” The workshop
offers a clear introduction for those new to the
shaman’s path, and, for the more experienced,
provides unique material on the soul cluster
from the Hawaiian kahuna perspective.
Wesselman has worked for more than thirty
years with scientists investigating the mystery
of human origins in East Africa, and has spent
much of his life with indigenous people. In the
1970s, doing fieldwork in Ethiopia, he began to
have spontaneous visionary experiences strikingly like those of traditional shamans. His
wife, Jill Kuykendall, is a physical therapist and
transpersonal medical practitioner, specializing
in soul retrieval.
Bring drums and rattles, a notebook, sketchpad,
a small set of oil or chalk pastels, a bandana or
eyeshade, and a light blanket. Please refrain
from alcohol during the workshop.
Recommended reading: Ingerman & Wesselman, Awakening to the Spirit World; Wesselman,
The Bowl of Light and Journey to the Sacred Garden.
(ANK7ESSELMANbio on page 44.
Qigong Empowerment and Healing
Intensive
Robert Peng
As a boy in China, Robert Peng apprenticed seSbUd\ie^TUbdXU\UWU^TQbi2eTTXYcd]_^[HYQ_
Yao, who trained him in the martial and healing
arts. As part of his training, Peng spent 100 days
meditating and fasting in a dark, underground
chamber deep in the mountains of the Chinese
S_e^dbicYTUHYQ_IQ_fYcYdUTXY]TQY\iQ^T
instructed him in advanced practices to accelerate his spiritual development.
Now, Peng offers a distillation of his training
in the form of Qigong Empowerments. During
the week, you will be shown fundamentals of
qigong to awaken, empower, and integrate three
important energy centers, called Dantians, which
regulate wisdom, love, and vitality. When these
three qualities are activated and harmonized, you
can transform your energy and improve your
relationships and the quality of your life.
You will be shown the following:
Hologram palm to empower your three
Dantians
Breathing empowerment of the central
meridian
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Three treasures standing meditation to
strengthen your willpower
Four golden wheels movement exercise to
make your body more supple
Lotus meditation to open your heart to divine
energies
During the week, Peng will conduct powerful
group healing energy through breathing and
visualization. He will also lead chanting to organize the group’s energy field into a harmonious
pattern, so that all organs flow smoothly and
exude radiant healthy light.
Recommended reading: Peng with Nasser, The
Master Key: Qigong Secrets for Vitality, Love, and
Wisdom.
2OBERT0ENGbio on page 93.
0LEIN!IR0AINTINGIN"IG3UR
Jennifer McChristian
Join award-winning painter Jennifer McChristian for a five-day intensive workshop for all
levels of artists who want to learn the timehonored joy of painting en plein air. Painting en
plein air is a term made popular by the French
Impressionists and translates as “painting in
the open air.” The deep spiritual connection to
nature derived from this form of intense observation has made it a lasting tradition which is
especially needed in these modern times.
The aim is to learn to interpret nature in terms
of paint, using light and color to create form.
Color relationships, design and composition,
simplifying, and the benefits of painting outdoors are discussed, as well as how to design
and build a painting that carries an emotional
impact. Students focus on values, shapes, edges,
and color as they relate to painting.
There are brief demonstrations each day and
one-on-one advice in the field. Exercises include
creating small 6x8” color sketches, where students will paint color block-ins and value studies prior to working on larger canvases.
In the event of inclement weather, students
must bring with them several reference photographs of landscapes.
Recommended reading: Payne, Composition
of Outdoor Painting; Carlson, Carlson’s Guide to
Landscape Painting; Goerschner & Lehrman, Oil
Painting, The Workshop Experience.
*ENNIFER-C#HRISTIANis an award-winning art-
ist who was born and raised in Montreal, Canada.
In 1986, she moved to California, where she was an
animation artist for Disney and Nickelodeon, among
other studios. She has studied under Robert Blue,
Karl Dempwolf, and Steve Huston, and leads painting and drawing workshops internationally.
www.jennifermcchristian.com
$EEP4ISSUE3KILLSFOR-ASSAGE
0RACTITIONERS(EALINGTHE.ECK
/PENINGTHE#HESTAND&REEING"REATH
Perry Holloman & Johanna Holloman
There is growing demand for massage practitioners who have mastered the art of moving deeply into the body with skill and sensitivity. As we
open the body’s deeper soft tissue layers, “stuck”
energy in the form of shortened, hardened tissue is mobilized, making this energy available
to support us in the process of healing.
This seminar will focus on healing the neck
from chronic and acute pain due to injury and
postural issues, as well as freeing the chest and
ribs with the intent of opening the vital function of breath. The capacity to fully expand our
chests in taking a full, free breath is perhaps the
body’s most important tool in unwinding the
ongoing stress we accumulate in life. Restriction in this vital capacity can lead to collapsing
of the chest, a forward leaning posture of the
neck and head, and chronic pain in many areas
of the upper body as a secondary result. Our
capacity to deal with emotional stress can be
severely limited if breath is restricted in its vital,
healing function. We will understand through
our discussion of relevant anatomy how an open
chest balances the shoulder girdle, providing an
organized base for the neck and head. We will
look at the structural complexity of the neck
in understanding why injury to this vital area
can be so difficult to heal. Prerequisite for this
program is experience as a professional bodyworker, or completion of at least 150 hours of
training in basic massage. This course offers 32
continuing education credits for massage.
Recommended viewing and reading: The Healing Art of Deep Bodywork DVD series, available
at www.deepbodywork.com; Juhan, Job’s Body.
0ERRY(OLLOMAN bio on page 17.
*OHANNA(OLLOMANbio on page 54.
3ONGWRITING#ATCHAND2ELEASE
Cris Williamson
“Everyone has songs living within, ready to
emerge,” Cris Williamson writes. “The mind
C A MERON JORDAN
may say, ‘I cannot do this.’ The mind may say,
‘I’m not a musician.’ The mind may say, ‘I cannot sing.’ The mind may say, ‘I’m just too shy.’
These things don’t matter. What does matter is
coming here just as you are, and showing up to
write and cast your lines deep into the stream of
consciousness.
“If you’re a songwriter, you may already know
this and be eager to hone your skills, and fire up
your creativity. The mind may say, ‘This sounds
so interesting, but is it for me?’ Even if you
already are a songwriter, I assure you, it’s interesting, it’s for you, it’s for everyone. Beginner’s
mind is a wonderful thing that allows all of us,
beginners and advanced, to start fresh every
moment, every day. At the end of each day —
sometimes working with others, sometimes just
by ourselves — we’ll have made small, beautiful
things called songs. Songs are made things. It
takes practice, but practice is fun and we’ll do it
together. I’ve seen it happen time and again, the
making of nothing into something, sound out of
silence, songs out of Soul.”
Please bring a dictionary, rhyming dictionary,
thesaurus, works-in-progress, and an instrument
if you play one. A keyboard will be available.
Cris Williamson’s body of work includes more than
30 albums. Recognized by Performing Songwriter
Magazine as one of the decade’s most influential
songwriters, her groundbreaking record, The
Changer and the Changed, remains a best-selling
independent record. www.criswilliamson.com
7EEKENDOF*UNEn
4HE*EWISH0ATHTO,IBERATIONAND
Transformation
Michael Lerner & Cat Zavis
You don’t have to be Jewish to experience what
is liberating and hope-generating in the Jewish
faith. During this weekend workshop, designed
for Jews and non-Jews alike, participants can
experience the unique blend of the prophetic
tradition with the Jewish mystical tradition, as
Michael Lerner and Cat Zavis lead the group
through traditional Sabbath (Shabbat) prayers
with innovative meditations, guided visualizations, dancing, singing, and into a state of radical amazement at the world around us.
Through his 1994 book, Jewish Renewal, Lerner
helped spur a new spiritual aliveness in the
various denominations in Judaism, and spoke
to tens of thousands of young people who had
been alienated by what Lerner described as the
spiritual deadness that they often encountered
in the synagogues and institutions of Jewish
life. Lerner presented a new view of Judaism, in
which love, caring, and generosity become the
central tenets. Lerner and Zavis currently are
building two projects: An interfaith Network of
Spiritual Progressives; and a love-based “Transformative and Emancipatory Judaism” that
is at once based in Kabbalistic and Prophetic
Judaism, and also a challenge to those who use
Judaism either to justify Israeli denial of Palestinian rights or as a path to power over others.
Come join a joyful community of seekers and
celebrate this loving, inclusive, and mystical
tradition.
Recommended reading: Lerner, Jewish Renewal:
A Path to Healing and Transformation, Embracing
Israel/Palestine; Moe-Lobeda, Resisting Structural
Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation.
2ABBI-ICHAEL,ERNERis editor of Tikkun Maga-
zine, chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives,
and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley,
Calif. He is the author of 11 books including best sell95
ers Jewish Renewal and The Left Hand of God:
Taking Back our Country from the Religious
Right. www.Tikkun.org
#AT*:AVIS, is executive director of the Network of
Spiritual Progressives, and has led dozens of trainings
in the area of empathic communication for parents,
spiritual leaders and centers, teachers, students, lawyers, mediators, and couples. Most recently she co-led
a 3-day training for transformative activists.
*UMP3TART9OUR-EMOIR
7RITEIT&ROMTHE(EART
Nancy Slonim Aronie
This writing workshop is about reclaiming your
voice. It’s about using your own language, your
own rhythms, and writing your own story. It’s
about honoring your own instincts, not trying
to sound like a “Writer” or trying to get an A
from the teacher. It’s for anyone who wants to
write, has written, or wants a jump start on the
road to tapping into his or her power source of
creativity. Get a jumpstart on your memoir, your
poetry collection, or your songbook. Nancy
Slonim Aronie is a midwife for words that want
to come out.
Aronie provides a safe space where you can
celebrate who you are without judgment, without evaluation, without the mental censor. She
believes that when you shake the inner critic
of your “artist,” you have a good shot at shaking
the inner critic of your life. In this workshop,
you will laugh, you will cry, you will become an
alchemist turning your pain into gold. You will
write with renewed innocence and astounding
power.
In this workshop, you cannot be wrong. It is a
reminder that the truth is healing and writing
the truth is always right.
.ANCY3LONIM!RONIEis the author of Writing
from the Heart. A former commentator for NPR’s
“All Things Considered,” she received the Derek Bok
Teacher of the Year award at Harvard for 2 consecutive years, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Artist in
Residence “Eye of the Beholder” award. She teaches
the Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard. www.chilmarkwritingworkshop.com
(OLD-E4IGHT7ORKSHOPFOR#OUPLES
Sam Jinich & Michelle Gannon
The Hold Me Tight Workshop for Couples is
based on practices drawn from Emotionally
Focused Therapy (EFT), attachment theory, and
Sue Johnson’s best-selling book, Hold Me Tight.
The work will be designed around seven conver-
96
sations that have been shown to be essential to
successful relationships. Relationships can be a
cause of stress and pain or a source of comfort
and joy. Couples will learn how to understand
and improve their relationships via presentations, private exercises, and conversations with
relationship partners, and by watching video
demonstrations. By utilizing exercises drawn
from EFT, Sam Jinich and Michelle Gannon
help couples learn how to deal with their feelings together, reach towards each other, be responsive in more loving and positive ways, and
move from isolation and frustration to security,
emotional safety, and lasting relationship satisfaction.
The Hold Me Tight Workshop welcomes all
couples.
Recommended reading: Johnson, Hold Me Tight;
Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love and Love
Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic
Relationships.
3AM*INICH, PhD, is a San Francisco-based clinical
psychologist, relationship expert, and Hold Me Tight
workshop leader for couples. He is a certified trainer,
supervisor and therapist in Emotionally Focused
Therapy (EFT) and co-founder of the Northern California Community of Emotionally Focused Therapy.
www.holdmetightworkshop.com
-ICHELLE'ANNON, PhD, is a San Francisco-based
clinical psychologist, relationship expert, and Hold
Me Tight workshop leader for couples. She is a
certified supervisor and therapist in Emotionally
Focused Therapy (EFT). Michelle has co-led
more than 125 couples workshops.
www.HoldMeTightWorkshop.com
$YNAMIC7OMAN1IGONG
Deborah Davis
Qigong is an ancient system of self-healing
from China that has been used for more than
2,000 years to maintain health, achieve longevity, and treat disease. Qigong consists of gentle
exercises that combine breath, slow movement,
self-massage, and meditation to harmonize the
body, mind, and spirit. Simple yet profound,
qigong provides many health benefits and is
suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Dynamic
Woman Qigong was designed specifically for
women to increase vitality/stamina, improve
digestion, trim the waist, and help prevent
breast cancer.
Take home a 15-minute routine that can easily
be incorporated into your daily life. This workshop is especially useful for those in the healing
patients.
Recommended reading and viewing: Davis,
Women’s Qigong for Health and Longevity and
Dynamic Woman Qigong (DVD).
$EBORAH$AVIS, LAc, is an acupuncturist, qigong
instructor, and medical intuitive who has practiced
alternative medicine for more than 30 years. A specialist in women’s medical qigong, Deborah is author
of Women’s Qigong for Health and Longevity
along with the companion DVD series. Deborah
teaches women’s qigong internationally.
www.womensqigong.com
!WAKEINTHE7ILD
-EDITATIONIN.ATURE
Mark Coleman
Following ancient spiritual traditions that value
the transformative power of nature, this experiential workshop will be spent meditating outdoors in the natural beauty and mystery of Esalen. Whether it is during a sunset meditation,
listening to the soothing sounds of the ocean,
or sitting graced in the stillness of cypress trees,
we will open to the profound serenity and wisdom of nature. We will learn about the practice
of mindfulness—the capacity to be present to
ourselves and our environment, and then learn
how to apply this receptivity to developing a
contemplative relationship with nature. We can
discover how meditative time outdoors leads to
beautiful states of joy, peace, wonder, love, and
connection with oneself, one another, and the
larger web of life.
During our time together, there will be naturebased meditations, individual and group exercises, and talks on meditation and nature. There
will be time to relish the silence outdoors and
ample opportunity to explore and discuss the
art of meditation in nature. This workshop is
appropriate for beginning and experienced
meditators who are curious about meditation,
mindfulness, and how to deepen our connection with the beauty and mystery of the natural
world. Be prepared for unexpected rapture, delight, mystery, and stillness.
-ARK#OLEMANis author of Awake in the Wild.
He has studied Buddhist meditation since 1984.
He is a Spirit Rock meditation teacher and has
led wilderness meditation retreats from Alaska to
Peru. Mark is also a coach and therapist.
www.awakeinthewild.com
esa len’s 11th annua l yoga festi va l
C A MERON JORDAN
Summer Solstice Sadhana
7EEKOF*UNEn
Janet Stone, Sianna Sherman
& Saul David Raye
S
ince ancient times, solstices
and equinoxes have been essential and
sacred points in the year to honor the
flow of life on earth. They are times for us to
come back into balance and harmony. Right
now it is more important than ever to come
together to amplify the positive and healing
energies. Now is the time to reconnect to
the light within ourselves. This light is the
essence of our being, and each one of us can
share that light with the world.
As the Earth moves through its cycles of darkness into light and back again, our souls move
through a parallel journey. When the Sun
rises to the highest point in the sky, we can
be reminded of our own radiance, strength,
and power to ascend to our fullest potential.
During this week of yoga, we’ll embark on a
journey from darkness to light, contraction
to expansion, and discover ways to access the
light that is already emanating from us and
bring it more fully into the world. This festival
is a rare opportunity to study with innovative
yoga teachers from various traditions in an
intimate environment where your deepest
being can be nourished on every level.
Immersed in the natural splendor of Esalen,
we will experience yoga asana, pranayama,
kirtan, meditation, dance, and satsang. The
festival begins on Sunday evening with an
opening gathering for everyone to come
together in community to set our collective
intention for the week. Each morning will be
open for rest, taking a meditative walk around
the grounds, joining in a sunrise yoga class,
or spending time in the Esalen baths. After
breakfast, there will be offerings of asana
classes from Janet Stone, Saul David Raye, and
Sianna Sherman, including one “workshop”
each day that explores the different ways we
can support our practice of living yoga. Live
music will be offered every day in the Leonard
Pavilion, inviting us to step deeper into the
soul’s awakening rhythm. After a nourishing lunch, we’ll be free to receive massages,
soak in the baths overlooking the Pacific, rest,
recharge, and connect with other companions on this journey. Afternoon sessions will
include partner Thai yoga, restorative practice,
tantric philosophy for our modern lives, and
meditation. Evenings will include kirtan, rituals, and the final evening will be a celebration
and a reflection of our week spent together.
cial appreciation for the mythological roots of yoga
and often teaches workshops called Mythic Yoga
Flow, which weaves mythic consciousness into the
embodied art of yoga. She began her studies of yoga
in 1989, lived in India where she met and studied
with Gurumayi Chidvilasanda, and subsequently
had the great blessing of meeting her primary mentor John Friend in 1995. She studies closely with
renowned Tantric scholars Douglas Brooks and Paul
Muller Ortega. www.opentograce.com
*ANET3TONE began studying meditation at age
seventeen under the guidance of Prem Rawat. His
reverence for finding simplicity and joy in the rise
and fall of life live on in her practice and teaching
today. In 1996, she traveled to India, the birthplace
of her grandfather, and became dedicated to the
path of yoga. Janet blends the alchemy of her own
practice with decades of study. She aspires not to
teach but to allow the practice to emanate from
her, letting awareness blend with movement and
breath. Based in Bali and San Francisco, she leads
immersions, retreats, workshops, and more.
www.janetstoneyoga.com
3AUL$AVID2AYE is an internationally acclaimed
teacher, healer, and mystic known for his
empowering and transformational approach to
yoga, healing, and spirituality. Saul’s teaching
draws on the depth of the yoga tradition and all
forms of universal light, love, and wisdom. Since
his teenage years he has traveled to Asia, India, and
throughout the US studying yoga, Thai massage,
pranic healing, and meditation with masters of
various spiritual and healing traditions. Through
the grace of his teachers and guides he is able to
bring alive the essence of ancient wisdom teachings
for modern seekers, in a way that allows students
to connect deeply with their own authentic power
and spirit. www.SaulDavidRaye.com
Sianna Sherman, Janet Stone,
& Saul David Raye
This retreat will be full and spirited. Come
begin the journey and let your light lead the
way! Please bring a yoga mat.
u
3IANNA3HERMAN is an internationally recognized
yogini who delights in storytelling, poetry, spontaneous dance, and long walks in nature. She has a spe-
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7EEKENDOF*UNEn
4HE0OWEROF'RACE2ECOGNIZING
5NEXPECTED'IFTSONTHE0ATH
David Richo
This workshop utilizes mindfulness and lov-
ingkindness practices to help us open to grace,
recognize it at work in our lives and relationships, and to become conduits of grace to others.
The workshop will combine lecture, discussion,
and experiential practices designed to release
the abundant possibilities of love, wisdom, and
healing that are in us and for which the world
is waiting.
Recommended reading: Richo, The Power of
Grace.
$AVID2ICHO, PhD, MFT, is a psychotherapist, writ-
C A MERON JORDAN
If we think back over the relationships and
milestones of our lives, we notice that often
something wonderfully helpful or surprisingly
beneficial happened without our choice, effort, plan, or expectation. We met just the right
person or found the relationship that helped us
grow in important ways at just the right time.
That special assistance, unearned, unforeseen,
unplanned, and often unnoticed, is a description of grace — the gift dimension of life. Grace
is a word often associated with religion, but the
concept in this workshop is that anyone can
notice and appreciate a gift dimension in life,
with or without a belief in God. Our appreciation of grace is not only an essential element of
spirituality, but also of our relationships to one
another, to self, and to the world.
98
er, and workshop leader who shares his time between
Santa Barbara and San Francisco, Calif. He combines psychological and spiritual perspectives in his
work. He is the author of many books, most recently,
The Power of Grace. www.davericho.com
&ATHERSAND3ONS#ELEBRATING&ATHERS
$AYINTHE4RADITIONOFTHE/LD7AYS
Steven Harper, Kai Harper & Kes Harper
It is a wise child that knows his own father.
—Homer
It is a wise father that knows his own child.
—William Shakespeare
Over the ages, fathers and sons have journeyed
together into the wilds of nature, traveling light,
living simply, and stepping together on the path
of what is known and what is unknown as students and teachers for one another. This weekend
is a time for fathers and sons to come together as
individuals, family, and community to explore
the natural wild areas of Big Sur and the relationship of father and son in a community of men.
“Our time together is simple,” says Steven.
“Participants will be introduced to basic contemplative and awareness practices from various
wisdom traditions. Our time outdoors during
the weekend will be spent on a day hikes (four
to six miles in length) into the rugged beauty
of Big Sur and on the Esalen grounds. Much
of our time will be in silence, quiet dialog, and
reflective exercises that invite participants
to pay attention to that which has heart and
meaning. During indoor sessions, we will share
experience, stories of the path, and poems of
inspiration…with a touch of creative humor to
add balance.”
Longtime Esalen leader Steven Harper and
two sons, Kai and Kes, will lead the weekend.
This father-and-son team, along with the group,
will weave together an eclectic mix that draws
from collective life experience and training. All
levels of experience are welcome; however, the
group is limited to participants fourteen years
and older. More information and a waiver will
be sent upon registration. For an equipment list
and frequently asked questions about Steven’s
workshops, visit www.stevenkharper.com/faqs.
html.
($10 park-entrance fees paid directly to the leaders)
+AI(ARPERis a Big Sur local and a graduate of
Esalen’s Gazebo School and the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in psychology.
He works full time as an assistant resident director
at UCSB with an interest in fostering student self-
actualization, positive group dynamics, and social
justice education.
+ES(ARPERis a native Big Sur local, a graduate of
Esalen’s Gazebo School, and a full-time student at
the University of California, Santa Cruz. He and his
brother have spent their entire lives training their
father Steven in the ways of innovative parenting.
7AKING5P4OGETHER3OUL-OTION™
AND%MBODIED)NQUIRY
What if one day, you woke up smack in the
midst of the human condition with absolutely
no need to fix, deny, solve, or transcend anything? What if you knew how to offer your
friends, family, co-workers, children, clients,
patients, or students (and yourself!) a spacious,
centered presence that could meet every feeling,
ache, joy…and impermanence itself?
Step through the portals of conscious movement and embodied exploration into a direct
experience of this messy, mysterious, and magnificent human life. Let the inquiries of Soul
=_dY_^7UcdQ\d@bQSdYSUQ^TR_TiRQcUT]UTitation take you on a wild ride into the heart of
creativity, community, and connection.
Warning! Common side-effects include increased enthusiasm for being present; spontaneous relaxation of body and mind; the re-opening
of curious eyes, ears, and heart; and sustained
moments of genuine contact with yourself and
others.
This is just a beginning, not another quick fix –
mainly because there’s nothing to fix. Ours is a
journey with no destination, a whimsical dancing path into a more fully embodied experience
of life. All are welcome.
:UZA%NGLER bio on page 26.
3COTT%NGLERbio on page 26.
2ADIANCE3UTRAS0LAYGROUNDAND
*AM3ESSION
Lorin Roche, Camille Maurine &
Dave Stringer
Come play in the luminous world of The Radiance Sutras, a sensuous, poetic version of a classic yoga text, the Vijñana Bhairava Tantra. The
name means “The terror and joy of realizing
oneness with the Soul,” and the text describes
112 meditations, each a doorway from our everyday life experience into contact with the sacred
healing powers of our inner world.
The essence of these meditations is simple:
Select some aspect of life that you love, and
dive in
Allow your love to attract you inward toward
inspiration
You don’t have to change yourself
You don’t have to sit still
You don’t have to sit cross-legged
You don’t have to make your mind blank
You don’t have to calm down
The more real with yourself you are, the better
Join author Lorin Roche, his dancer-yogini wife
Camille Maurine, and musician-songwriter
Dave Stringer for a weekend of meditation,
movement, and song. Come sing your heart out,
dance, and rock the poetry of one of the most
beautiful yoga texts in existence.
Recommended reading: Roche, The Radiance
Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and
Delight.
,ORIN2OCHEhas meditated since 1968. He is the
author of The Radiance Sutras, a new translation
of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, and coauthor of
Meditation Secrets for Women and Meditation
24/7. His other books include Meditation Made
Easy, Breath Taking, and Whole Body Meditations. www.lorinroche.com
Camille Maurine co-authored Meditation Secrets
for Women and Meditation 24/7. A dancer and
performing artist who has taught movement, meditation, and expression since 1975, Camille is the creator
of kinAesthetics and the transformational Moving
Theater process. www.camillemaurine.com
$AVE3TRINGERis an innovative artist of the new
kirtan movement. His sound marries the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments
with the exuberant, groove-oriented sensibility of
American gospel. An articulate and engaging public
speaker, Stringer probes the dilemmas of science and
spirit with a wry and unorthodox sense of humor.
www.davestringer.com
#ELEBRATING&ATHERHOOD
Joanna Claassen & Sean Brennan
Inspired by Big Sur’s wild nature and the heartfelt path of fatherhood, this family workshop
will be a weekend of laughter, exploration, and
connection. There will be stories around the
campfire, games, discussion, and time for all to
be nourished by Esalen’s healing land and waters.
We will use Esalen’s Gazebo Park School, designed for children to climb, bike, garden, make
music, dance, and care for farm animals, as well
as the art barn and Esalen’s extraordinary and
expansive grounds. Whether you have been com99
ing to Esalen for decades or are a first-timer, join
us for this special Father’s Day experience. On
Saturday afternoon, we will offer a children’s program during which adults will be free to book a
massage, enjoy some solitude, or spend time with
one another. This program is ideal for families
with young children up to age 10. All children
must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
workshops and $250 for 5-day workshops. Parents/guardians pay regular accommodations fees.
Joanna Claassen bio on page 76.
3EAN"RENNAN bio on page 76.
7EEKOF*UNEn
)NNER0OWER1IGONG4HE0HASES
OF1I#ULTIVATIONAND-ASTERY
Roger Jahnke
The greatest promise is that we can heal our
own pain and suffering, our body-mind-spirit.
Qigong, also known as energy empowerment
and Chinese yoga, was developed by China’s
shamans more than 5,000 years ago. Drawing on
forty years of experience and nine trips to China’s sacred mountains, Roger Jahnke has guided
thousands of people in exploring the potential
of life’s energies – the qi.
During this workshop you will have the opportunity to awaken and refine natural healing and intuitive abilities associated with the most mysterious and neglected aspect of being: eternal nature,
or universal self. This process of inner alchemy
is associated with the process of transforming
conditioned energies into refined energies. Starting with the ancient concept of “three treasures
and awareness of qi,” Jahnke will support you in
revealing your natural inner power to yourself,
through the 9 Phases of Cultivation and Mastery
of Qi: discover, gather, circulate, purify, direct,
conserve, store, transform, and dissolve.
Nine Phases qigong is distilled from Jahnke’s
book, The Healing Promise of Qi, Chinese medical
theory, philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism,
Western physiology, psychology, and quantum
physics. No prior experience is required, yet this
workshop is perfect for advanced practitioners.
Recommended reading: Jahnke, The Healing
Promise of Qi.
2OGER*AHNKE bio on page 14.
100
3OUL-OTION™ 3ANCTUARY
Vinn Arjuna Martí
cQ^SdeQbin, 1. A sacred place, such as a church,
temple, or mosque. 2. A place of refuge or asylum.
Vinn Martí, designer of Soul Motion, asks,
“What is it like to move in a fresh, authentic
manner? Is it possible to hang in the place within that allows for unbridled expressive contact
with self, other, and divine?” This week in the
natural sanctuary of Esalen will open doors that
enter new rooms of creation, expression, and
union with others.
“Soul Motion,” writes Vinn, “is a movement
ministry, a dance practice, and a philosophy of
living that supports our unconditional acceptance of ‘what is’ and our fearless exploration
outside the box of the familiar, sleep-inducing
trance we sometimes find ourselves dancing
to. We use the dance as metaphor for living a
creative, expressive, and unified life of integrity,
immensity, and intensity. Our hearts are ablaze
with love of the divine and divine love toward
all beings, and this becomes the beat, and the
steps, and the music, to which we dance the
everyday dance.
“During this time together, we nudge the spirit
of innovative action and creativity to awaken
and hold a high watch of unconditional acceptance as we stumble our way toward self-expression, self-acceptance, and self-recognition:
we are spirit dancing this human experience.
Through guided imagery and relaxed induction,
we track conditions and attitudes which no
longer serve our ability to unwind in the stream
of creative expression, and we open ourselves to
the next movement moment with radical awe
and wonder.”
Vinn Arjuna Martí bio on page 36.
3IMPLY7ILD%XPERIENCING.ATURE
Steven Harper
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through
the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done.
—Mary Oliver
The week is simple. We stroll through the wilds
of Big Sur on hikes, soak in the natural mineral
hot springs, eat good wholesome food, and commune with ourselves, others, and nature. With
the bare attention of awareness and wilderness
as our teacher, we show up for our life as it
unfolds moment to moment. We make inquiry
into the process of getting out of our own way —
doing less and being more. Cultivating silence,
space, and simplicity, we come into intimate
contact with the raw beauty of this mysterious
world.
The group ventures out each day on hikes 4-8
miles in length, exploring the unique natural diversity at the meeting of mountain and sea. From
ocean beach to deep canyon to open ridgeline,
Big Sur in summer offers an invitation to be fully
alive. Simple practices that encourage awareness
and contemplation (“how to be idle and blessed”)
are shared with the group, as well as the wonders
of the rich natural history of Big Sur.
No previous experience in simplicity or nature is
required. More information and a waiver will be
sent upon registration. For an equipment list and
($30 permit and park entrance fees paid directly to the leader)
+IRTAN&LIGHT3CHOOL
Dave Stringer
If you can’t teach me to fly, then teach me to sing.
—from Peter Pan by Sir James Barrie
When you participate in a kirtan, the call and
response form of mantra chanting, you’re not
just listening to the music: you are the music. In
Dave Stringer’s Kirtan Flight School, you have
the opportunity to explore and redefine the
edges of what music can be when the crowd is
itself an instrument.
Both experienced musicians and those rediscovering their own musical selves will walk away
with a working body of knowledge about how to
move a crowd to participate, and how to employ
different musical devices in order to deepen
everyone’s experience. No previous musical
experience is necessary.
Participants will be organized into small
ensembles. Each ensemble chooses a chant,
rehearses it together, and presents a kirtan to
the rest of the groups. Dave and his musicians
rotate through the groups, working closely
with the participants to develop rhythmic
and harmonic concepts, solve problems, and
answer questions. The history and philosophy
of kirtan are also intensively explored, so participants learn how to present and discuss the
mantras.
$AVE3TRINGERbio on page 99.
KODIAK GREENWOOD
!4IMETO2EmECT
%SALEN&ARMTO4ABLE
&ARMSTEAD4RADITIONS
Phillip Burrus
“At Esalen, we’re blessed to be situated in a
culinary paradise,” writes Esalen chef Phillip
Burrus. “Our on-site farm and garden produces
a bounty of fruits and vegetables year round,
and our local community is thick with culinary
treasures in every season.”
In this course, we’ll explore a broad range of
techniques — from the ancient to the modern —
for making the most of local, seasonal produce.
Participants will receive hands-on experience
in the crafts of preserving, pickling, curing, sun
drying, smoking, confit, wild fermentation, and
more.
Each day, the group will harvest fresh produce
from the Esalen garden, and prepare amaz-
ing meals together. Chef Phillip will share his
experiences teaching and cooking at Esalen
and in Big Sur, and draw inspiration from his
travels and explorations of culinary traditions.
Together, the group will practice creative ways
to transform simple ingredients into dishes that
inspire and tell a story. This is a great week for
cooks of all levels, and a must for anyone who’s
ever wondered what to do with all of the abundance at the farmer’s market.
0HILLIP"URRUSbio on page 39.
7EEKENDOF*UNEn
4HE0ROMISE
!DVANCED9OGAFOR%VERYONE
Mark Whitwell
Yoga is not a linear process. It is direct intimacy
with life, and it is available to everyone. This
weekend, Mark Whitwell offers yoga’s advanced
practices in a way that you can integrate and
make your own, whether you are just begin-
ning to practice or have years of experience.
The workshop involves an interwoven promise:
You promise to practice yoga, and in return you
receive the promise of yoga’s gifts, including
health, intimacy, well-being, and joy. In order
to experience these benefits, your yoga practice
must be adapted to you, not you to yoga. With
Mark’s skillful and heartfelt guidance, you will:
Explore the five principles of advanced
personal practice
Dive into asana, pranayama, and meditation as
a seamless process
Discover how yoga transforms life into an
intimate celebration with everything
Experience the nurturing principle as a
constant in your life from now on
Return home with understanding and the
embodied felt sense of your own joyful
practice
This program is a regenerative and joyful event
that will continue to reverberate through your
daily life in very practical ways. For all levels;
no prior yoga experience needed. Please bring a
yoga mat.
101
Recommended reading: Whitwell, Yoga of Heart
and The Promise of Love, Sex, and Intimacy; Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga.
can each provide important insights and wisdom in your everyday life. Finally you can get
comfortable in your own skin.
,OVE9OURSELF
&OR%VERYONE%LSES3AKE
-ARK7HITWELL bio on page 59.
You will deepen the ability to hear yourself—
and all that there is to hear. What does your
body say about how you feel right now? What
do your emotions have to tell you? What feelings and messages have you been resisting?
This workshop will teach you to allow them to
surface so you can come deeper into your own
power.
This workshop directly challenges the confusion surrounding the issue of self-love. Self-love
is the most altruistic of all practices. When
you are free to be kind and loving to yourself,
the world and all the people in your life are
touched. This workshop is an experience of two
trainings taught at Stanford University Medical
Center. As director of Stanford’s MindfulnessBased Stress Reduction Program, Dr. Mark
Abramson has modeled his work after Jon
Kabat-Zinn’s program (featured on Bill Moyers’
PBS series Healing and the Mind). He has also
established a new program at Stanford called
“Love Yourself—For Everyone Else’s Sake.”
#LAIMING9OUR6OICE
Meredith Haberfeld
Some of the greatest leaps in personal development come when we stop believing that others
have more access to deep wisdom than we do,
have superior opinions to ours, or hold sway
over us—when we finally know at the end of the
day that we can trust ourselves.
-EREDITH(ABERFELDis acclaimed for her work
with individuals, couples, and families. She participated in the creation of the life coaching program at
MIT, and her advice has been included in Forbes,
Woman’s Day, and Yoga Journal magazines.
www.meredithhaberfeld.com
Incorporating the latest research on mind/body
medicine, this workshop introduces practices
that create a profound physiological well-being,
plus the heartfulness to transform emotional
C A MERON JORDAN
This workshop will address many aspects of
claiming your voice—in writing, in vocal work,
and, most importantly, in daily life through the
choices you make in it. The program will help
you gain access to your many inner voices as
well as different aspects of your character, many
of which you suppress and ignore, but which
The days of being guided by pleasing others and
trying to fix yourself are over. This program is
for anyone of any age ready to sink into the experience of being and trusting yourself.
Mark Abramson
102
states and unleash the great potential for deep
healing of the body. The goal is to learn how to
use the awareness and mindfulness practices to
experience your own love in a peaceful, healthy
body.
According to Mark Abramson’s studies, this
work has been shown to create an increasing
experience of gentleness, kindness, and respect
for oneself and others. While the practices are
especially helpful for people experiencing emotional or physical concerns, the universality of
the experience makes this program valuable for
all. It is especially useful for psychologists and
others in the helping and healing professions in
working with their patients and clients.
Cornelia and Siegmar create a safe space to look
at one’s important topics in life, while offering
dynamic exploration, creative movement, and
expression and mindful centering.
For an eight-page magazine interview with Siegmar Gerken on Love, Sexuality, and Relationship, please e-mail mail@CoreEvolution.com.
"RITA/STROM bio on page 17.
3IEGMAR'ERKEN, PhD, has pioneered body-
-ARK!BRAMSONbio on page 57.
,OVE3EXUALITY2ELATIONSHIPAND
THE7ILLOF9OUR(EART
)NTRODUCTIONTO%SALEN® Massage:
4HE!RTOF(EALING4OUCH
Siegmar Gerken & Cornelia Gerken
Brita Ostrom & Peggy Horan
Love is resonance with the flow of life. It connects us with all existence. We are able to direct
this energy and make this love personal in the
expression “I love you.” When we commit to
a relationship, we expand this love onto the
personal and social level with the expression “I
want to experience life with you.” Why is it then
so difficult to keep a relationship alive?
During an Esalen Massage, we experience a
remarkable web of interdependence: a listening
touch, a deepening breath, our nervous system
soothed in connection with another. When we
receive a massage we remember an easier time
and “come home.”
On the level of personality and social interactions, love can become distorted in many ways.
We may romanticize, sexualize, and idealize
love and attach our beliefs, desires, needs, and
hopes to it, thus limiting our capacity to give
and receive love.
In this workshop for individuals and couples,
participants can discover a state of emotional
and physical well-being that derives from
rhythmic harmony. Core Evolution® addresses
body-emotion-mind-consciousness as a unity.
The experience of love unifies all these aspects.
A person in love and sexual harmony communicates and creates from a place of well-being,
peace, joy, and a sense of fulfillment.
Participants will learn how to identify and differentiate the nature and main elements of love,
sexuality, and relationship, and their intention,
motivation, needs, and wants in their relationship with themselves and others, including the
nature of triggers, causes of unhappiness, and
the possibilities for change.
0EGGY(ORANbio on page 63.
oriented and heart-centered therapy and humanistic
psychology since 1971. He is the founder of Core
Evolution® and the Energy & Consciousness
Programs™. He teaches at SBGI, conducts
mindfulness-based trainings, and has a private
practice in Mendocino and the Bay Area, Calif.
www.coreevolution.com
#ORNELIA'ERKENintegrates a spectrum of psychosomatic and healing approaches. With her husband
Siegmar, she cofounded and codirects the International Institute of Core Evolution. She is the founder
of CoreSoma. www.coreevolution.com
Recommended reading: Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living; Ricard, Happiness.
Esalen Massage seeks the interface between
form and energy, physical structure and the
soul, and you and I. The long, integrative strokes
build a sense of presence, while deeper focused
work evokes release of tension patterns. Both
teachers have shared this grounding, loving
practice with many different people, and know
the joy and healing that this form of calming
and revitalizing touch can bring to many diverse cultures and personalities.
During this weekend retreat, through brief
demonstrations, one-on-one guidance, and
plenty of practice time, you will have the opportunity to awaken your own talent and resources
to easily and safely give and receive the basic
elements of an Esalen Massage. To support you
in your massage learning experience, centering, grounding and self-care exercises are also
included in the workshop presentation. There is
also plenty of time to breath in the beauty of the
Big Sur Coast.
7EEKOF*UNEn*ULY
Writers Camp
Cheryl Strayed, Pam Houston, Steve Almond,
Samantha Dunn Camp & Alan Heathcock
Writers take over the entire Esalen campus during this annual workshop organized by bestselling author, Cheryl Strayed. In sessions led by
each of the five distinguished faculty members,
you’ll hear lectures, do writing exercises, discuss
the art and craft of prose writing, and have the
opportunity to share your work in a nurturing
environment that engages and challenges writers of all levels, from the novice to the advanced.
Because the focus of the workshop is on generating new writing rather than critiquing manuscripts, you simply begin where you are. This
is a fun, creative, inspiring week designed to
ignite and re-ignite your passion for the stories
you have to tell.
#HERYL3TRAYEDis the best-selling author of the
memoir Wild, the essay collection Tiny Beautiful
Things, and the novel Torch. Her writing has appeared in The Best American Essays and numerous magazines. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
www.cherylstrayed.com
0AM(OUSTONis the author of 5 books of fiction and
nonfiction including Cowboys Are My Weakness and Contents May Have Shifted. She is the
director of creative writing at UC Davis and lives in
Colorado near the headwaters of the Rio Grande.
3TEVE!LMONDis the author of 10 books of fiction
and non-fiction. His work has been published in The
Best American Short Stories, Pushcart Prize,
The New York Times Magazine, and elsewhere.
www.stevealmondjoy.com
3AMANTHA$UNNwas a PEN Award finalist for
her novel, Failing Paris. She has also authored 2
memoirs. Her essays are widely anthologized, and
her writing has been featured in many publications,
including O the Oprah Magazine and Ms. She
teaches in the UCLA Writers Program.
www.samanthadunn.net
This course offers foundation skills for the
newcomer, a fresh approach for the experienced
practitioner, and is especially useful for those in
103
Faculty Index
Mark Abramson, 56, 102
Ronald Alexander, 59, 85
Martine Amita Algier, 90
Suze Allen, 35
Steve Almond, 103
Katchie Ananda, 52
Susan Anderson, 70
Susan Aposhyan, 40
Nancy Slonim Aronie, 96
B
Ryan Babineaux, 42
Oliver Bailey, 16, 63
Julie Baker, 43
Juergen Bamberger, 79
James Baraz, 22, 89
Jane Baraz, 22
Pawan Bareja, 52
Ellen Bass, 51
Nora Bateson, 10, 23
Joanne Beaule Ruggles, 32
Mestre Beiçola, 13
Dyrian Benz-Chartrand,
83
Jennifer Berezan, 27
Sam Berne, 25, 106
Susan Bernstein, 65
Micheline Berry, 64
Rachel Berry, 65
Timothy Beyer, 27
Nilima Bhat, 47
Vijay Bhat, 47
Maria Lucia Bittencourt
Sauer, 35, 105
Charlie Bloom, 31
Linda Bloom, 31
Mary Ellen Bluntzer, 33
Corinne Bourdeau, 65
Ann Bradney, 45
Marc Bregman, 40
Peter Bregman, 11, 72
Sean Brennan, 75, 99
Barrett Brown, 31
Flip Brown, 52
Rick Brown, 42
Phillip Burrus, 39, 81, 101
Vernon Bush, 66
Katy Butler, 84
C
Charlie Cascio, 79
Joyce Catlett, 81
Joe Cavanaugh, 62
Leslie Cerier, 55
Jovinna Chan, 16
Alejandro Chaoul, 67
Dorothy Charles, 51,
86, 108
JoAnne Chartrand-Benz,
83
Kenn Chase, 55
Victoria Chase, 55
Deepak Chopra, 8, 27
Joanna Claassen, 75, 99
Eden Jamila Clearbrook,
77
Michael Clemmens, 60,
107
104
Kenneth Cohen, 44
Lorenzo Cohen, 67
Mark Coleman, 96
Karen Cook, 18
Ann Weiser Cornell, 64
Jean Couch, 50
Dixie Cox, 90
Eleanor Criswell Hanna,
37
Stewart Cubley, 82
Raphael Cushnir, 60
D
Karishma Darby, 79
Deborah Davis, 96
Laura Davis, 21
Laura Day, 9, 93
Lorie Eve Dechar, 24
Carol DeSanto, 74
Albert Flynn DeSilver, 79
Harvey Deutch, 42
Patrick Douce, 66
Samantha Dunn Camp,
103
E
Karen Ely, 14
Matthew Engelhart, 19, 21
Terces Engelhart, 19, 21
Matt Englar-Carlson, 68
Scott Engler, 26, 65, 99
Zuza Engler, 26, 65, 99
Ulrika Engman, 86, 89
Roxanna Erickson-Klein,
33
&
Jessica Fagan, 45
Robin Fann-Costanzo, 45
Warren Farrell, 85
Lisa Firestone, 81
Thomas Michael Fortel,
18, 73
Benjamin Fox, 24
Ron Frederick, 27
Jerome Front, 73
Seena Frost, 36
G
Erin Gafill, 54
Jim Gallas, 108
Michelle Gannon, 96
Michael Gelb, 12, 14
Cornelia Gerken, 103
Siegmar Gerken, 103
Christopher Germer,
10, 18
Girish, 69
Mariah Fenton Gladis,
41, 42
Esther Gokhale, 77
Aviva Gold, 45
Mary Goldenson, 14, 91
Harriet Goslins, 70
Jnana Gowan, 35
Linda Graham, 76
Lynda Greenberg, 25
Michael Griffith, 34
Mingtong Gu, 49, 106
James Guay, 73
Silvia Guersenzvaig, 21
H
Meredith Haberfeld, 102
Patrice Hamilton, 86
Kai Harper, 99
Kes Harper, 99
Steven Harper, 66, 84,
99, 100
Amy Hartzler, 52
Caroline Harvey, 108
Geneen Marie Haugen, 32
Lamara Heartwell, 19
Alan Heathcock, 103
Michele Hébert, 78
Clifford Henderson, 90
Katie Hendricks, 10, 19
Paul Heussenstamm, 63
Lee Holden, 74
Johanna Holloman, 54, 94
Perry Holloman, 17, 54, 94
Jonathan Horan, 90
Lucia Horan, 13, 15, 70
Peggy Horan, 63, 103
Pam Houston, 103
Darren Huckle, 93
Terry Hunt, 66
I
Rik Isensee, 73
Ira Israel, 25
J
Georgina Jahner, 108
Roger Jahnke, 14, 35, 100
Sam Jinich, 96
Johnsmith, 43, 106
Don Hanlon Johnson, 108
Andrea Juhan, 56
+
Athena Katsaros, 32
Sam Keen, 45
Dacher Keltner, 7, 39
Sally Kempton, 47
Jim Kepner, 74
Jerry Kermode, 22
Daphne Rose Kingma,
11, 32, 60
George Kohlrieser, 108
Steven Kotler, 89
Pam Kramer, 69, 89
Sybil Krauter, 70
Jeffrey Kripal, 108
Jean Kristeller, 36
Theodore Kyriakos, 59
VINCE S TA ME Y
A
M
Miranda Macpherson, 62
Eric Maisel, 91
Dean Marson, 14
Vinn Arjuna Martí, 36,
100
Charlea Massion, 17
Nora Matten, 14
Edward Maupin, 24
Camille Maurine, 99
Ivy Mayer Lavie, 57, 86
Jennifer McChristian, 94
Jim McCormick, 38
Liam McDermott, 79
Deborah Anne Medow, 17
Peter Meyers, 108
Sarana Miller, 73
Phillip Moffitt, 81
Michael Molin-Skelton,
87
Dana Moore, 31
Bill Morgan, 38
Susan Morgan, 38
Jean Morrison, 90
Robert Moss, 71
Eric Moya, 88, 106
Caroline Muir, 61
Charles Muir, 61
Mary Elizabeth Murphy,
65
Tom Myers, 46, 106
.
Mehrad Nazari, 78
Kristin Neff, 10, 18
Mark Nicolson, 13
Wes “Scoop” Nisker, 52
Todd Norian, 22
L
Christopher LaRose, 92
Christa Lancaster, 40
Michael Lerner, 95
Marc Lesser, 52
Noah Levine, 13, 15
Gregg Levoy, 64
Andrea Lieberstein, 36
Tias Little, 20
/
Gina Ogden, 28, 31
Brita Ostrom, 16, 103
Amanda Owen, 74
0
Kristi Panik, 28
Laurie Lioness Parizek,
48, 53
Laurel Parnell, 78
Robert Peng, 11, 92, 94
Chas Perry, 30
Char Pias, 21
Bill Plotkin, 32
David Presti, 28
George Protos, 31
Jett Psaris, 48
R
Charu Rachlis, 28
Ann Randolph, 56, 58,
60, 107
Saul David Raye, 97
Shiva Rea, 48, 51
Stella Resnick, 41
David Richo, 98
Beth Pettengill Riley, 63
Barry Robbins, 69
Mike Robbins, 26
Lorin Roche, 99
Yuval Ron, 55
Ernest Rossi, 81
Kathryn Rossi, 81
Donald Rothberg, 82
Peter Russell, 8, 27, 93
3
Kerena Saltzman, 82
Gahl Sasson, 63
Banafsheh Sayyad, 41
Richard Schwartz, 18, 21
Paul Selig, 89, 108
Peter Selwyn, 70
Shauna Shapiro, 51
Paula Shaw, 47, 48
Robert Sheeler, 82, 86
Jenn Sherer, 50
Sianna Sherman, 28, 59, 97
Henry Shukman, 20
Stephen Sideroff, 35
Emiliana Simon-Thomas,
7, 39
Annellen Simpkins, 73
C. Alexander Simpkins,
73
Mariabruna Sirabella, 36
Raj Sisodia, 47
Gerald Smith, 69
Jessica Spain, 92
Tracee Stanley, 36
Peter Sterios, 56
Mark Stevens, 68
Janet Stone, 28, 97
Cheryl Strayed, 103
Dave Stringer, 99, 100
Carl Swanson, 48, 77
T
Jim Tamm, 77
Stanley Tatkin, 59
Vicki Topp, 58, 77
Ashley Turner, 59
56
Daniela Urbassek, 53, 85
Bessel van der Kolk, 31
Donnalea Van Vleet
Goelz, 63
Frances Verrinder, 34
Cida Vieira, 13
Cassandra Vieten, 27
Barry Vissell, 12
Joyce Vissell, 12
Scott Von, 60
W
Robert Walter, 49
Ellen Watson, 85
Anne Watts, 55
Mark Watts, 10, 23
Hank Wesselman, 44, 93
Jamie Wheal, 89
Mark Whitwell, 59, 101
Rob Wilks, 58, 108
Cris Williamson, 94
Andy Abrahams Wilson,
87
Nicholas Wilton, 74
Norman Wolfe, 69
Adam Wolpert, 71
9:
Yang Yang, 82, 86
Cat Zavis, 95
Work Study Program
T
At the heart of the Work Study experience are
the evening sessions. During these meetings,
which occur four to five evenings per week,
workscholars in each discipline meet together
for core studies. The group leader or leaders
for each discipline are highly experienced
teachers who coordinate the course of study
and guide scholars throughout the month. As
a complement to their studies, workscholars
participate in Esalen’s daily operations by
volunteering 32 hours per week, usually in
the housekeeping department or the kitchen,
in exchange for their housing and meal costs.
Contemplative and transformative practices
are woven into the work environment at
Esalen, so each day there are valuable opportunities for self and group exploration, including
group process and check-in.
The ,EGACY0ROGRAM is a second type of
twenty-eight day work study experience at
Esalen. With class sessions meeting just twice
a week, with one intensive day of classes
during the month, Legacy workscholars have
more flexibility in their schedules to attend
residential education classes (regularly occurring learning events designed for Esalen staff)
and daily movement arts programs. Legacy
programs are usually a mix of workscholars
and Esalen staff. Legacy workscholars also
volunteer 32 hours per week with an Esalen
department, and the tuition for Legacy is the
same as the traditional Work Study program.
Workscholars are selected by application only.
After applications have been accepted, participants may register for the program. Some of
the work can be physically challenging, including lifting, bending, and repetitive movements.
Please be sure you are capable of the work you
may be assigned. Workscholars are assigned to
departments on the basis of community need,
so please be ready to jump in anywhere.
Work Study Program
Esalen Institute
55000 Hwy 1, Big Sur, CA 93920
or
Email: workstudy@esalen.org
Fax: 888-214-8216
If you email or fax us, don’t forget to
mail your deposit check at the time of
application.
7EWILLCONTACTYOUTOCONlRMTHATWE
KODIAK GREENWOOD
he Work Study program is a
twenty-eight day immersion in Esalen’s
integrative approach to personal and
social development. The program combines
a rigorous course of study in one area of
transformative practice with the opportunity for deep relationship with the Esalen
land and community. Work Study is a rich
and challenging way to embody the idea that
mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and
social dimensions of the self are inextricably
connected. Please see the following pages for
descriptions of Work Study courses.
The Work Study application is on page 109.
0LEASENOTE The Work Study program is designed
to explore and apply human values and potentials.
It is not intended as a substitute for therapy or as
a “cure.” Esalen encourages workscholars to refrain
from alcohol use during their stay. No pets, drugs,
or violence allowed. We cannot accommodate
children.
#OMMITMENTTOTHE7ORK3TUDYPROGRAMIS
FROM PMOFTHElRST3UNDAYTO PM of
THElNAL3UNDAY Do not plan to take regularly
scheduled catalog workshops during your stay.
&EES A deposit of $400 in US currency is
required with your application. Fees will not
be processed until your place in a program is
secured and you have accepted. The workscholar fee is $1,150 for the month. Fees are
subject to change and are due upon your
arrival. Workscholars may be invited to remain
for a second month depending on space and
community needs. Occasionally it is possible
to stay for a longer period as an extended
student.
&OODAND(OUSING Accommodations are shared
(occasionally co-ed), with up to four people to a
room. Some workscholars stay at South Coast
Center, a staff complex located 1.5 miles north
of Esalen. Housing and meals are provided in
exchange for 32 hours of volunteer work.
#ANCELLATION0OLICY If you choose to cancel,
you will be charged the following amount:
15+ days prior to start, $100; 8–14 days, $200;
3–7 days, $300; 0–2 days, $400.
Please mail the application form, personal statement, and deposit to:
RECEIVEDYOURAPPLICATIONWITHINDAYS
OFRECEIVINGIT We will inform applicants of
admission three months prior to the program’s
start date. After that time, there are generally
wait lists for Work Study programs.
Work Study Programs
January–june 2015
*ANUARYn&EBRUARY
3PIRITUAL-ASSAGE,IGHTBODY)NFUSION
Spiritual Massage is a hands-on healing practice
that works directly on the energy body, balancing the chakras, cleansing old thought forms,
and gently facilitating release of emotional,
physical, and spiritual blockages. Born into a
family of healers with a generations-old tradition, -ARIA,UCIA"ITTENCOURT3AUERstudied
and continues to study with healers in her
native Brazil, where Spiritism—receiving healing knowledge from the spirit world—is very
familiar. In 1979, she came to Esalen (where she
spent seven years living on property) and was
sponsored by Esalen cofounder Dick Price to
learn Spiritual Massage from Brazilian healer
Luiz Gasparetto.
Maria Lucia emphasizes intentionality as the
fundamental tool of any healing art designed to
move energy.
Come and practice this wonderful healing technique and also practice Shamanic Ways to help
each other find parts of our souls lost in early
traumas or other past events. Participants must
attend all sessions.
For information on how to apply go to:
www.esalen.org/workshops/workstudy.html.
CE credit for bodyworkers; see page 6.
-ARIA,UCIA"ITTENCOURT3AUER bio on page 35.
105
,EGACY0ROGRAM3EEING%YETO)
,EARNINGTHE!RTOF7ELLNESS
The eyes reveal many mind-body patterns related to health. For example, neuroscience shows
that the eye pathway connects directly and
influences brain function, the endocrine system
and the nervous system. Hanna Somatics presents that prenatal infant movements affect adult
postural, visual, and cognitive patterns. Traditional Chinese Medicine conveys that many of
the energy meridians connect to the eyes, especially the liver (the major detoxification organ
of the body).
This month-long program uses The Berne
Method®, an individualized approach that begins
by guiding each student to self-discover the
visual patterns and imprints he or she may be
using as an adaptive response to stress, trauma,
and cultural conditioning. 3AM"ERNE will then
offer a developmental process of eye-brain mindful awareness activities, Continuum movement,
medicinal essential oils, and other subtle energy
therapies to help students increase creativity
and vitality. Sam believes the group dynamic or
unified field amplifies healing. His gentle and
humorous approach creates a safe, trusting environment for students to increase their wellness
potential by learning deeper self-responsibility,
self-regulation, and sustaining health practices.
Behind The Berne Method® are a diverse variety
of disciplines, including vision therapy, biofield
analysis, quantum physics, somatic movement,
craniosacral therapy, dolphin-assisted therapy,
and photo (light) therapy with respect to expanding human potential.
Required reading: Berne, I Sense: At Play in the
Field of Healing (book or audio download), Creating Your Personal Vision: A Mind-Body Guide for
Better Eyesight (book).
3AM"ERNE bio on page 26.
&EBRUARYn-ARCH
/PENINGTHE#REATIVE#HANNEL
If you told the story of your heart, what story
would you tell? If your life was a song, what
would that song be? Have you thought, “I can’t
sing- I don’t play an instrument, and I’m scared
of that.”? This program, led by *OHNSMITH, is for
those who don’t think they can sing, who are
afraid, who were told they can’t carry a tune, and
who don’t play an instrument. This is an invitation to go to your edge and discover the beauty
of expressing your story and spirit through creativity and song.
106
The focus of this program is to open the creative
heart through prose, singing, songwriting,
storytelling, and poetry. With a mindful and
playful attitude, along with the magic and natural beauty of Esalen, we’ll court the Muse and
immerse ourselves in creative flow.
The program utilizes the following activities
and exercises:
Journaling, writing exercises, song assignments, and co-writing
Songwriting tools including verse and chorus
writing, rhyming, and metaphor
Solo and group singing, performance, and
impromptu jams
Playing a musical instrument is not necessary, but you are welcome to bring one if you
play. Johnsmith’s workshops help students
cultivate a fun, dynamic, and safe place to experience our creative selves. John will also be
inviting guest artists and staff to assist during
the month.
*OHNSMITHbio on page 43.
&EBRUARYn-ARCH
,EGACY0ROGRAM4HE5SERS'UIDE
TOTHE(UMAN"ODY
Your body is the closest friend you’ll ever
have. The core goal of this program, led by
4OM-YERS is to be a better friend: to inhabit
your body in movement and stillness, and to
find coherence with your inner senses in these
hyper-electronic times. Along the way, we’ll
check in with ancient practices of voice, meditation, and movement. This month is open to
healers of all kinds, but is designed primarily
for manual and movement therapists to understand what’s under your hands, identify tissue
conditions, and open fascial planes (via the
Anatomy Trains Myofascial Meridians). Help
yourself and others occupy your “sensor-motor
amnesia” places. By learning how to see deeply
into patterns, you can make your therapeutic
intervention — no matter what modality you
practice — more focused, efficient, and longlasting. You will be taught a core skill: to
“bodyread” in the tradition of Ida Rolf, Moshe
Feldenkrais, and Fritz Perls himself, in order to
see into the patterns and to see where people
are locked. Come and “unwrap your presence.”
Be prepared to move, to see and be seen, and
to be shown safe and effective manual therapy
skills.
4OM-YERS bio on page 47.
-ARCHn!PRIL
Wisdom Healing Qigong:
7HOLENESSISTHE.ATUREOFTHE3ELF
“Your true nature is wholeness at one with the
universe and all life,” writes Master Mingtong
Gu. Through Wisdom Healing Qigong, Mingtong Gu will guide you to deepen your experience as a human energy field of consciousness
connected to the energetic universe. “By
awakening the true essence of the Self in your
cellular, ancient memory, the pathways to the
essential nature will open. You can bridge all
dimensions of the self: the relative and absolute,
the inner and outer, and the formed and formless. Out of this realization, your joy, creativity,
and love can naturally flow with deeper knowing and your well-being will resonate with effortless energy.”
Master Gu, who received training from several Grandmasters in China, shares his joyous
teachings and skills of translating the ancient
teachings of Wisdom Healing Qigong for contemporary times. This month-long program
will be a combination of energetic movement,
sound, visualization and meditation, emphasizing healing as a self-discovery, self-empowering,
and self-realization for daily practice and life.
“Together, may we move through an embodied
process from releasing stress to opening the
heart and awakening the mind.”
CE credit for MFT/LCSW; see leader.
Mingtong Gu
bio on page 49.
,EGACY0ROGRAM-IND"ODY
2ESILIENCE4HRIVINGIN9OUR,IFE
Whether we like it or not, the world is increasing in complexity faster than we can evolve.
The resulting tension placed on our mind/
body/spirit takes its toll over time and tends to
deplete us.
Most modern approaches to this problem find
solutions through meditation, psychology, and
lifestyle changes. Although these solutions are
an important part of the picture, the very body
tissues we inhabit are generally not addressed.
Yet, our body tissues often contribute to, or
maintain, troublesome patterns of pain, dysfunction, feelings, trauma, and even thoughts.
The purpose of this course is to empower you to
thrive in your life — mind, body, and spirit.
Taught by %RIC-OYA, a leader in the field of
manual therapy with a background in mental
health counseling, this course is designed to
you delve deep into your own personal narrative. Writing from your deepest source, you can
gain insight and self-understanding that can
bring peace and healing. We will then make our
words leap from the page to the stage, sharing
them orally to uncover the power of performance to transform your life and your listeners.
This is a program for those seeking to explore
personal essay, memoir, solo performance, or
the sacred practice of journaling.
voice, along with a way to express it. Ann RanDOLPH creates a supportive, fun, and dynamic
space in which to create. Topics include:
C A MERON JORDAN
Learning to structure the narrative in a compelling way
Transforming your ideas/stories into performance
Playing with multiple characters and contradictions within ourselves
!NN2ANDOLPH bio on page 56.
-AYn*UNE
empower participants to thrive in their lives
through a combination of bodywork, group
process, mindfulness skills, and lifestyle factors
based on understanding all the factors in our
lives which contribute to our resilience/depletion. Participants will receive advanced manual
therapy work from experienced practitioners
as part of the course, as well as be taught basic
touch skills so that they may help friends and
family. Ideal participants are comfortable giving
and receiving clothed therapeutic touch, curious about their own experiences and the experiences of others, and willing to engage in group
process in a non-judgmental manner.
%RIC-OYA bio on page 88.
tionships through our bodies. By attending to
our present dance with others, we can become
more aware of our existing context and optional
ways of interacting.
“The structure of the program will be experiential exercises, practice sessions, and group
discussion to develop our awareness of self and
the group. We will begin with our earliest movements (prior to birth) and then explore how we
co-create our bodily membership in the more
complex gestalts of family, groups, and cultures.
Our goals will be to experience how we create relationships through embodiment, and to develop
skills in attending to ourselves and others.”
-ICHAEL#RAIG#LEMMENS bio on page 60.
!PRILn-AY
Embodied Relational Gestalt
,EGACY0ROGRAM3HARING9OUR
,IFE3TORY
“We develop relationships with ourselves and
others through the physicality of our vision,
smell, touch, and movement,” says -ICHAEL
Clemmens. “These relationships, or dances,
shape what we believe is possible and how we
behave in the present. In this program, our focus will be on the ways in which we create rela-
During this program you can discover your own
unique and powerful story. Michel de Montaigne, the great personal essayist, said, “Every
man has within himself the entire human
condition.” The intention of this workshop is for
4HE(UMANAS4WO#HANNELING
IN(ISTORYAND0RACTICE
Channeling is a modern expression of an
ancient practice found all over the world and
throughout human history in numerous forms,
from ancient Greek prophecy to various forms
of divine possession to the revelation of scripture. Those practices generally involve a deity,
ancestor, spiritual intelligence, discarnate being,
or other dimension of the self speaking through
a human person to an individual or a community, usually for some set purpose, crisis, or direction. They are also deeply intertwined with the
history and practice of inspired writing.
*EFF+RIPAL is a historian and professor of religions at Rice University who specializes in the
study and comparison of such altered states
of mind and energy. He will guide the group
through a broad historical understanding of
these practices and provide a simple model
through which we might understand them
in our own modern terms (from the study of
comparative mystical literature and modern
neuroscience). Student-scholars will also be
encouraged to consider practical applications
of the channeling “Human as Two” in dream-
107
journaling, in experiences of synchronicity, and
in creative writing. We will also bring in contemporary modern channeler Paul Selig and the
literary critic and writer Victoria Nelson, who
has worked with Paul to produce three modern
works of channeled literature.
Recommended reading: Selig, I Am The Word;
Kripal, Authors of the Impossible.
*EFFREY+RIPALis chairman of the Department of
Religious Studies at Rice University. He has written
four books focusing on the comparative erotics and
ethics of mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religious traditions, and
the history of Western esotericism.
,EGACY0ROGRAM)!MTHE7ORD
4HE%NERGETICSOF#ONSCIOUSNESS
In his breakthrough trilogy of channeled
literature, I Am the Word, The Book of Love and
Creation, and The Book of Knowing and Worth,
acclaimed author and medium 0AUL3ELIG recorded an extraordinary program for personal
and planetary evolution as humankind awakens
to its own divine nature.
In this channeled workshop, you will be introduced to and attuned to the frequency of
the Word, which Paul’s guides describe as the
energy of “God in Action.” You will be taught
techniques for developing and sustaining higher levels of consciousness, and move through
the emotional, mental, and spiritual blocks that
may be keeping you from manifesting your
own higher nature. Paul’s programs are deeply
transformative; the energy he works with is
extremely palpable, and his guides are wise
and joyous teachers. You will be supported in
moving to the next level of spiritual evolution
though a series of channeled lectures, exercises,
and attunements designed to develop your own
spiritual awareness and abilities.
Please note: Much of this workshop is channeled. The guides that Paul works with are
gentle and kind and provide guidance in a nontraditional manner. Work Study faculty Jeff
Kripal also will be at Esalen this month, and
will contribute at times to this program.
0AUL3ELIG bio on page 90.
*UNEn*ULY
%MBODIED,EADERSHIPINA
Disembodied World
From its beginning, Esalen has been the model
for a new kind of leadership that builds on
the complex range of human potentials and
108
recognizes that these potentials are not just the
preserve of a special few, but of every person.
Michael Murphy and Richard Price exemplified
that new kind of leadership in their insistence
that at Esalen, no one special teacher or teaching be allowed to “capture the flag”; that it be a
place where many skilled people could share
what they had to offer in a climate of peership
and collaboration. Esalen became a home for
various strategies to develop the many potentials required for a new kind of leader. These
included effective communication, how to deal
with conflict, quality of contact with others, and
deep inner reflection. They also included the
many kinds of embodiment practices—ancient
and modern—which address not only personal
transformation but also the capacity to further
a deeper sense of our bodily interdependence
with others in our sensing, breathing, moving,
and speaking.
In this program, $ON(ANLON*OHNSON, a longtime veteran of Esalen and founder of the first
graduate studies program in Somatics, located
at California Institute of Integral Studies,
will work with participants using the various
strategies for cultivating leadership that have
characterized Esalen’s history. These will include group process, meditation, investigations
of each participant’s unique gifts for change,
body practices to improve sensitivity, grounding, courage, imagination, and reflection on the
meanings of the skills in relation to the great
challenges of our era.
Recommended reading: Harding, Is America Possible?; Johnson, Body, Spirit, and Democracy.
$ON(ANLON*OHNSON is a professor at CIIS in San
Francisco and the founder of the first graduate degree
program in Somatics. He is the author of a body of
literature on the intersections among bodily experience, the natural world, spirituality, social justice,
and health. www.donhanlonjohnson.com
,EGACY0ROGRAM3POKEN7ORD
9OUR6OICE9OUR"ODY9OUR4RUTH
Experience the liberating art of spoken word
(sometimes called slam or performance poetry):
where powerful personal healing meets excellent literary craft. Once considered an underground niche art form, spoken word can now be
found in almost every major US city and beyond. The genre is passionate and confessional,
drawing influences from beat poetry, traditional
poetics, theater, hip hop, punk rock, and the
cross-cultural traditions of oral storytelling.
Work with Berklee College of Music Professor
and award-winning poet #AROLINE(ARVEY to
practice communicating with intention and
fearlessness. Read and discuss poems, explore
writing prompts, unlock your voice, and dive
into gentle experiential practices to free your
body and unlock your inner howl. Lessons are
adapted from expressive arts, Gestalt psychology, yoga and meditation, and literary craft.
We’ll unravel the myths around “writer’s block”
and “stage fright,” practice editing strategies, and
delve into the ceremony of performance. Write
and speak freely about your desires, identity,
politics, struggles, and joys. Share your truth
with confidence and compassion no matter
where you are!
#AROLINE(ARVEY, MA, LMT, a performance poet
and professor at Berklee College of Music, has been
featured on HBO’s Def Poetry, in print, and on
film. Caroline tours in Europe, the US, and
Canada. Her recent collection, Bird Wing or
Bone Marrow, received international acclaim.
www.caroline-harvey.com
Work Study Programs
July–december 2015
Please visit www.esalen.org/page/work-study for
complete program descriptions.
July 5–August 2
(IGH0ERFORMANCE,EADERSHIP(OWTO
5NLEASHYOUR&ULL0OTENTIAL with George
Kohlrieser
August 2–30
3PEAKTO)NSPIRE with Peter Meyers
August 30–September 27
2HYTHMS®$ANCEAND#ONSCIOUS-OVEMENT
0RACTICE with Geordie Jahner
September 27–October 25
3TREAMSOF%NERGY with Jim Gallas
October 25–November 22
2ELATIONAL'ESTALT0RACTICE with Dorothy
Charles
November 22–December 20
Embodied Relational Gestalt with Michael
Clemmens
December 20–January 17
$EEP"ODYWORK® with Rob Wilks
Work Study Program Application
please print legibly.
First Name _______________________________________ Last Name _________________________________________________
Male
Female Today’s Date ________________________________
Phone: Evening ( —————) __________________________________________ Day ( —————) __________________________________________ Cell ( —————) __________________________________________
Home Address ___________________________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip ____________________________________________________________________________
Country ________________________________ Occupation (previous, if retired) _______________________________________________ Date of Birth ______________________________ Age ___________
mo / day / yr
E-mail Address _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Do you have any physical/emotional condition (i.e. bad back, severe depression) that might affect your ability to participate?
Yes
No
Are you taking medication?
Yes
No If yes to either of these questions, please include details in your personal statement.
Are you a former workscholar?
Yes
No If yes, list dates and the dept. where you worked: ___________________________________________________________________________
Yes
Are you interested in ILP?
See www.esalen.org/page/work-study.
No If yes, from what school? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Work Study program is for 28 days, beginning at 4 pm on Sunday and ending at 7:30 pm on the final Sunday. Sometimes particular dates and/or
leaders are not available. List below, in order of preference, the dates/leaders for which you are available.
0LEASENOTE Space may become available up until the program start date. You must let us know if you wish to be removed from a wait list; if you’re on a wait list
and space becomes available, you will be notified for confirmation. If you cancel after placement, you will be charged a cancellation fee.
start date
Choice 1 _________________________________________________________ Leader __________________________________________________ If full, wait list?
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
If your application is approved and we cannot give you your first choice, we will place you in your next available choice.
Workscholars may be invited to remain for a second term, depending on space availability and the needs of the Esalen community. Please indicate your
availability for such an invitation (no obligation): No extension One-term extension
We encourage ridesharing. Are you bringing a vehicle?
Yes
No; Are you willing to give a ride?
Yes
No; Receive a ride?
Yes
No;
I wish to rideshare from (if different from above address) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Assignments to departments are made according to community labor needs (usually kitchen or housekeeping). However, if you prefer housekeeping or
kitchen, or if you have landscaping skills, please list them below. Place me wherever I’m most needed – or – note my preferences below.
Choice 1 ______________________________________________________________ Skills/Experience __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Choice 2 ______________________________________________________________ Skills/Experience __________________________________________________________________________________________________
0LEASEATTACHAPERSONALSTATEMENTABOUTYOURINTERESTINTHE7ORK3TUDYPROGRAMTELLINGUSWHYYOUDLIKETOPARTICIPATEANDWHATYOUHOPE
TOTAKEWITHYOUWHENYOULEAVE
All applicants are required to sign a standard release-from-liability and assumption-of-risk form as a condition of participation
in the Work Study program. This form will be mailed to you upon acceptance to the program.
Esalen offers a van shuttle service from San Francisco, San Jose, and Monterey airports, and from Monterey transit plaza.
Please contact 831-667-3010 for reservations.
Payment
$400 deposit
$1,150
Name on Card ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check (U.S. banks only), attached and payable to Esalen Institute
Card No. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MasterCard
Expiration Date _________________________________________________________________________________________________
VISA
American Express
)FYOUAREMAKINGACREDITCARDDEPOSITTHEBALANCEWILLBE
AUTOMATICALLYCHARGEDTOYOURCARDlVEDAYSBEFOREYOURARRIVAL
!PPLICATIONSCANNOTBECONSIDEREDWITHOUTADEPOSITANDA
PERSONALSTATEMENTINCLUDED$EPOSITSARENOTPROCESSEDUNTIL
YOURlNALACCEPTANCEINTOTHEPROGRAM
Billing Zipcode ___________________________________ CVV (security) code ________________________________
Name and phone number (if different from above):
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Authorizing Signature _______________________________________________________________________________________
109
Reservation Information
Reservations
7ORKSHOP4UITION)NCLUDING!CCOMMODATIONS
0OINT(OUSE3INGLE
Weekend
Workshops
$1,750
Five-day
Workshops
$3,550
online: www.esalen.org
phone: 888-8-ESALEN
(888-837-2536)
+1 703-342-0500 international
If you prefer, download the reservation form at
www.esalen.org/workshops/reservations.html and
fax (831-667-2724) or mail it in.
%SALEN2ATES!RE!LL)NCLUSIVE
All listed rates include:
Workshop tuition
Accommodations and meals
Fresh produce from the Esalen Garden
Vegan and vegetarian options for all meals
Coffee, tea, and bread bar open 24/7
24-hour use of hot spring bath facilities,
Arts Center (except when a workshop is
scheduled), meditation Round House, and
the entire Esalen grounds
Participation in scheduled daily classes such as
yoga, dance, meditation, art, and special events
One-year subscription to the Esalen catalog
Seven-day
Workshops
$4,975
0OINT(OUSE#OUPLE
$2,500
$4,850
$6,750
0REMIUM2OOM3INGLE
$1,300
$2,450
$3,430
0REMIUM2OOM#OUPLE
$2,000
$730
$3,725
$1,215
$5,225
$1,700
3HARED"UNK"ED$ORM
$555
$935
$1,300
3HARED3LEEPING"AG3PACE
$405
$650
$900
/FFSITE
$405
$650
$900
3HARED3TANDARD
Friends of Esalen receive a $25 discount on rates. For information on Friends of Esalen, see page 2.
!CCOMMODATIONS
0OINT(OUSES See below.
"UNK"ED!CCOMMODATIONS This is shared
housing with four or more persons per room.
0REMIUM!CCOMMODATIONS See below.
3LEEPING"AG!CCOMMODATIONS Some Esalen
3TANDARD!CCOMMODATIONS This is shared
housing, with two or three people per room
and in some cases a shared bathroom. Couples
WILLBEHOUSEDPRIVATELY Standard guaranteed
single housing is possible based on availability
for an additional $125 per night.
meeting rooms are used as shared sleeping bag
space. Storage space outside the meeting rooms
is available when the rooms are being used for
meetings. Access is from 11 pm–8:45 am.
/FFSITE!CCOMMODATIONS If you are attending
a workshop and staying off property.
This is Your Time…
Y
ou have carefully selected a workshop,
or made the decision to take a Personal
Retreat. You are stepping out of your busy
life to stop and breathe, heal, explore.
Why not treat yourself to the finest
accommodations
during your stay
at Esalen?
0OINT(OUSES are private suites nestled behind
the Esalen Garden and perched at the cliff’s edge
with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. Each of
the three Point Houses offers a living room with
wood stove, a master bedroom, a sleeping loft, full
kitchen and dining area, private redwood deck
overlooking the Pacific with outdoor clawfoot
tub, Internet connections, and in-room telephone.
Point House
Premium Room
South Point House Annex
Premium Room
Point House
Premium Room
upgraded bathrooms, and enhanced soundproofing and climate insulation. You can
request either ocean view or Internet
(Ethernet cable provided) and a phone, and
we will do our best to honor these requests.
Please call 888-837-2536 for details about premium room accommodations and availability.
110
KODIAK GREENWOOD
0REMIUM2OOMS offer greater privacy,
7ORKSHOP0AYMENT
&AMILY!CCOMMODATIONSAND
#HILDRENS&EES
To reserve a space in any workshop, we require
the following nonrefundable deposits.
Fees for children under 10 enrolled in family
workshops are $100 for weekend workshops
and $250 for 5-day workshops. Children not
attending workshops may be housed with two
full-paying adults in premium or standard
accommodations for a meal charge of $20 a day
per child ($10 for children under 6).
Weekend: $150
5–7 day: $300
Deposits paid by credit card will automatically
have the workshop balance drawn from your
credit card five days before arrival. Deposits are
payable in US currency only; overseas residents
must pay by checks drawn on US banks or
credit cards. Deposits are nonrefundable.
If you cancel a workshop with less than seven
days’ notice, you forfeit your entire deposit. If
you have prepaid your entire reservation fee, the
balance (less the deposit) will be refunded.
If you cancel a Personal Retreat with more than
24 hours’ notice, a $75 processing fee will be
charged for each reservation (per person) and
the remaining balance will be refunded. If
you cancel a Personal Retreat with less than
24 hours’ notice, you will forfeit the price of
one night of lodging (per person).
%SALENMAYCANCELAWORKSHOPDUETOLOW
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
%SALEN#ANCELLATION0OLICY If you cancel or
change any part of your workshop reservation
at least seven full days before the start of your
workshop(s), your nonrefundable deposit, less a
$75-per-workshop processing fee, will be transferred to an Esalen credit account to be used
within one year.
Single-parent accommodations are limited but
will be supported to the best of Esalen’s ability.
Lower cost shared bunk rooms and sleeping bag
accommodations may be an option for families
on limited budgets. Contact Esalen Reservations for details.
Note: If children are enrolled in Gazebo Park
School, additional fees apply.
Retreat weekends in between. This program is
available January–April only. Contact Esalen
Reservations for details.
3ENIOR#ITIZEN$ISCOUNT A discount is avail-
able to guests over 65, for workshops only. For
a weekend workshop, the discount is $25. For
5-day or longer workshops, $50.
ENROLLMENT
3CHEDULES
#ANCELLATIONSMUSTBEMADEBYPHONEWITH
!CCOMMODATIONS include Friday and Saturday
ONEOFOURRESERVATIONSTAFF “Seven full days”
night for weekend workshops and Sunday
through Thursday night for 5-day workshops.
Schedules for 7-day workshops vary; please
inquire at registration.
means by Sunday before a Sunday workshop, and
by Friday before a Friday workshop. Donations to
the Friends of Esalen are nonrefundable. Esalen
may cancel a workshop due to low enrollment
two weeks before the workshop start date. You
may either switch to another workshop, come
for a Personal Retreat, or receive a full refund.
-ONEYAT%SALEN Esalen accepts cash, checks,
and credit cards. Esalen does not have an ATM,
so please bring enough cash for incidentals
such as beverages from the bar, or gratuities
for massage practitioners.
2EDUCED2ATE!VAILABILITY
Please request discounts at the time of registration.
Work Exchange: Some assistance is available for
workshop participants in exchange for a work
commitment in housekeeping or the kitchen.
Weekend: $50, 4 hrs. 5–7 days: $100, 8 hrs.
Scholarships: Limited scholarships are available
for those in financial need. See the Esalen website for details and application.
-ONTHLONG2ESIDENCY0ROGRAM A 20% dis-
count is available for anyone registering for 4
consecutive 5-day workshops, with 3 Personal
#HECKIN#HECKOUT Guests are welcome to
arrive at Esalen any time after 2 pm; rooms
become available after 4 pm. Check-out time is
12 noon on departure days. Lunch is provided
on departure days; we ask that you leave the
property by 2 pm.
7ORKSHOPS Workshop schedules normally
'AZEBO0ARK3CHOOL is an on-site, statelicensed, outdoor preschool program for
children from infants to first grade. This
program is available during the week to
children of seminarians, workshop leaders,
personal retreatants, as well as Big Sur families.
The school offers children the opportunity for
full immersion with the natural world through
its rich, child-centered park environment and
ecology-based curriculum. Gazebo Park
School’s low teacher to child ratio allows for
individual attention. Activities include caring
for the school’s animals, gardening, harvesting
fruits and vegetables, cooking, expressive arts,
literacy activities, dramatic play, and excursions to explore Esalen’s unique campus.
Children may be enrolled for half days or full
days during their Esalen stay. Older children
may be eligible for Gazebo Park School. Please
contact Gazebo for more information. School
hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am–4:30 pm.
Qualified childcare providers may be available
for parents taking workshops outside of
Gazebo Park School hours. For more information and to enroll, please call 831-667-3026.
Please give at least one month advance notice
for enrollment.
begin at 8:30 pm on the first evening and end at
11:30 am on the final day.
0ERSONAL2ETREAT&EES)NCLUDING!CCOMMODATIONS
0OINT(OUSE3INGLE(Private)
0OINT(OUSE$OUBLE(Private)
3OUTH0OINT!NNEX
(When booking South Point House, you can
add this bedroom annex for up to 2 people)
0REMIUM3INGLE(Private)
0REMIUM$OUBLE(Private)
3TANDARD(Shared: 2–3 person room)
"UNK"ED(Shared: 4 or more persons per room)
Note: Shared accommodation is by gender.
Fri/Sat per night
$725
$825
$175
Sun–Thurs per night
$650
$750
$175
$475
$625
$220
$140
$450
$600
$165
$130
111
Information for Your Visit
,OCATIONAND4RANSPORTATION
Esalen is located 45 miles south of Monterey
and 11 miles south of Nepenthe restaurant on
Coast Route 1. This isolation and tranquility
can deepen your experience, yet it can also be
a significant change in environment.
Driving Highway 1 is a beautiful, winding drive
along the coast. Give yourself ample time to get
here so you can absorb the beauty of Big Sur.
6AN3ERVICE We are currently working toward
an improved van service to support your ease
of travel and our sustainability model. Please
refer to our website for the current offering,
and call our Reservations Team for support at
1-888-8-ESALEN (888-837-2536). International
callers may call our international toll free line:
703-342-0500. Return reservations can be made
during your visit.
0UBLIC"ATHINGINTHE
(OT3PRINGS
In addition to round-the-clock availability for
Esalen guests, the hot springs are open to the
general public, by reservation only, 1 am–3 am,
for a cost of $25 per person, nontransferable
and nonrefundable, payable by credit card only
upon reservation. Reservations can be made
8 am–8 pm (except Friday and Sunday: lines
close at noon), at 831-667-3047.
0RIVATE#ONFERENCES
As part of its dedication to the humanities and
sciences, Esalen offers its facilities to organizations and individuals for mission-aligned
private conferences, meetings, courses, and
trainings. Esalen can accommodate groups up
to 124 people.
Conferences can be two, five, or seven days and
include meals, movement classes, and use of
the hot springs and Art Center when available.
Most conferences are scheduled at least one
year in advance. For more information, visit
www.esalen.org/page/hosting-conference, and to
schedule, call 831-667-3038.
DANIEL BIANCHE T TA
2IDESHARING We encourage ridesharing to
reduce the number of cars on the road and at
Esalen. See the reservation form online at
www.esalen.org for ridesharing options, or tell
your reservationist you are interested.
0HONEAND)NTERNET There is no cell phone
service at Esalen. There are two shared Internet stations available and the Lodge has free
WiFi access, except during meal times. Due
to Esalen’s remote location, all connectivity
(phones and Internet) is provided on a besteffort basis; we can’t guarantee service.
.UDITY In the hot springs, massage area, and
pool, swimsuits are optional and nudity is
common. We encourage each individual to
choose what is most comfortable for him or
her. The environment we strive for at Esalen
is one of personal sanctuary and respect for
the human body.
!GE2ESTRICTIONS Workshop participants
must be 18 years or older unless otherwise
noted. See page 111 for family options at
Esalen.
Illegal Drugs: In accordance with state and
federal laws, the possession or use of illegal
drugs on Esalen grounds is strictly prohibited.
3NORING If you are staying in shared accom-
modations and you snore, please be prepared
to do everything possible to minimize the
discomfort this may cause a roommate.
Consider taking a private room. If you do not
snore, please come prepared with earplugs for
the possibility of sharing a room with a snorer.
0ETS Other than service animals, pets are not
allowed.
3MOKING Smoking is permitted in desig-
nated outdoor areas only. Not permitted in
accommodations or meeting areas.
&LASHLIGHTS Esalen paths are very dimly lit at
night. Please bring a flashlight.
Valuables: The Esalen office has no facilities
(EALTH3ERVICES Esalen has no medical
services or pharmaceutical supplies on site.
Please come prepared to administer to your
own needs. Esalen is 45 miles from a medical
facility and pharmacy.
Volunteering: Guests are welcome to con-
!CCESSIBILITY Many Esalen paths, though
paved, are very steep. Access to some parts
of the property may be difficult depending
on your level of mobility. Please discuss your
needs with an Esalen representative at the
time of registration (at least 72 hours prior to
arrival) and we may be able to assist.
0ERSONAL'UESTS Seminarians may not have
guests on property.
112
,OSTAND&OUND To inquire about items lost
during your stay, call 831-667-3019.
to store guest valuables.
tribute time during their stay to work with
Esalen staff, usually in the kitchen or in
cabins. This help enables us to meet the pressures of peak working times and provides an
opportunity for guests to experience Esalen
from the inside.
2ECOMMENDED2EADINGAND-AIL/RDER
-ERCHANDISE All recommended reading is
available online through www.esalen.org.
All other bookstore merchandise is available
via mail order. For more information, see
www.esalen.org/bookstore.
®
A Center for Personal and Social Transformation
The Esalen Vision
Esalen is a major catalyst in the transformation
of humankind, working with individuals and
institutions to integrate body, mind, heart, spirit,
and community in a nurturing relationship
with the environment.
The Esalen Mission
Esalen is a leading center for exploring and realizing
human potential through experience, education, and
research. We work toward the realization of a more
humane and all-embracing world, seeking answers
to questions unlikely to be explored by traditional
universities and religions. We sponsor pioneering
initiatives and offer personal, spiritual, and social
transformation programs for residents, interns, and
workshop participants.
Esalen Values
Human possibilities vastly exceed our imagination.
Realization of the human potential transcends
religious and scientific dogma.
Mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and social
dimensions of our being are inextricably joined.
Transformation of consciousness is the basis
for transformation of the world, individually,
collectively, and in social systems.
All share the potential to love, learn, feel, and create.
Esalen explores these possibilities and celebrates
unity in diversity.
Esalen Practices
Growth. We share the right to realize our potential
to love, to learn, to feel deeply, and to create, living
fully in all aspects of our being — mind, body,
heart, soul, and community. We take risks to
reveal and discover ourselves. We provide learning
opportunities and support personal and social
transformation.
Service. We value relationships and community,
doing service by offering our experience and support
to the growth of others.
Responsibility. We know and take full responsibility
for who we are including our choices, attitudes, and
actions. We acknowledge our part in each situation
and recognize that our actions affect others.
Integrity. We strive for congruency among our
values, beliefs, words, and actions and to cultivate
authentic self-expression.
Stewardship. We take care of Esalen and the land.
We take responsibility for the way we use all that is
available to us. We understand and interact with the
natural world with consideration for those here and
now and those who will follow.
Presence. We are willing to return to body
and sensation, seeking to be here now and fully
experience what is in the moment.
Community. We recognize the interdependence of
all things, appreciating diversity of persons, thoughts,
actions, and beliefs. We are aware that our actions
and attitudes affect the whole.
Gratitude. We recognize and honor the gifts of each
moment.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, California 93920-9546
If you move, please inform us
of your new address. It helps
to save our natural resources.
facebook.com/esaleninstitute
twitter.com/esaleninstitute
pinterest.com/esalen
Join the Journey of
Renewal
Your support during our Campus Renewal
ensures that Esalen’s transformative experiences
will be available for generations to come.
Be part of the journey: Esalen.org/Give
Esalen is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable organization.
WWW.ESALEN.ORG
|
888.837.2536
|
INFO@ESALEN.ORG

The Esalen Catalog s January–June 2015

Transcription

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