Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the alternate route directions.
Please note: On Wednesday September 20, online registration may be unavailable for up to 15 minutes while system maintenance is performed. If the 'Register Now' page does not load, please wait about 15 minutes and try again.
Touch is our forgotten language. In this introductory massage course, participants will learn to listen to each other, gain the sensory skill of initiating touch, experience the felt sense of touch and muscle release, and close with a balanced tenderness. Seasoned instructors will offer exercises, demonstrations, and at-the-table guidance during supervised practice. The simple principles of Esalen massage — presence, connection, attending rather than fixing, self-care, receptivity, and slow-paced strokes encompassing the body — will build a heartfelt experience with our partners, our friends, and, perhaps most significantly, ourselves.
By the final session, participants will share the basics of a classical Esalen® massage. Experienced practitioners and caregivers will find it refreshing to apply the Esalen method and notice its healing effect as their pace slows and the mind becomes focused on compassionate contact over technique.
Touch can evoke an opening to spirit — our innate ability to move into healthy balance or a broader sense of nature surrounding us. The awe-inspiring wildness of Esalen’s grounds, canyons, hot springs, and mountain backdrop invites this deeper natural connection.
View the continuing education syllabus.
10 hours of CE credit for Massage Therapists.
Recommended reading: Connecting Through Touch by Peggy Horan
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Jessica Fagan, MA, AMFT is an Expressive Arts AMFT who has been practicing and teaching bodywork and movement since 1994. She joined the Esalen® massage staff in 1997 where she was deeply influenced by the innovative forms of somatic and healing arts.
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Oliver Bailey is a practitioner and instructor of Esalen® Massage. His background includes training in Gestalt Practice, neurolinguistic programming, intuitive work, and meditation.
Read More
Friday
8:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday
9:30 am – 12:45 pm
3:00 pm – 6:15 pm
8:00 pm – 10:15 pm - Optional Practice
Sunday
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Summer Groovers will experience Esalen in a format similar to our Self Guided Explorations workshops. Each Summer Groove week or weekend will open and close with a circle, and be filled with festive, nostalgic activities that harken back to those days of yore.
More activities can be found on our open class schedule.
See general schedule information including arrival, departure and meal times.
Click Register Now to view availability of accommodations and all-inclusive, program-specific tuition. Please note that not all accommodation levels are available for every workshop and additional faculty fees may apply.
We offer scholarship funds for those with financial need. Learn more.
Please note: On Wednesday September 20, online registration may be unavailable for up to 15 minutes while system maintenance is performed. If the 'Register Now' page does not load, please wait about 15 minutes and try again.
Click Register Now to view availability of accommodations and all-inclusive tuition that includes lodging, three meals per day, access to the baths, and all activities on the Summer Groove schedule.
We offer scholarship funds for those with financial need. Learn more.
For this workshop, you will register and pay for accommodations and tuition in two separate steps.
Second, click Book Accommodations from this page and enter the password to complete your reservation to stay at Esalen.
Prices for accommodations include your lodging, meals, open classes, and use of the baths and other facilities. View partner program accommodations pricing.
As of June 30, 2023 we no longer require a negative COVID test at the time of check in. Please read our current COVID safety guidelines for complete details prior to booking your stay.
All guests and faculty must provide proof of negative test results at time of check-in. Please read our current COVID safety guidelines for complete details prior to booking your stay.
In addition to proof of vaccination, all guests and faculty must provide proof of negative test results at time of check-in. Please read our current COVID safety guidelines for complete details prior to booking your stay.
Effective January 7, 2022 in response to the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant, all guests and faculty will provide proof of negative PCR, NAAT, or antigen test results at time of check-in. The test must be taken within 72 hours nd results must come from a laboratory or healthcare provider.Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Effective December 15 in accordance with new guidance from Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Health, all guests, students, staff, residents, and faculty are required to wear masks in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022). Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Effective November 19, 2021, in accordance with new guidance from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, all guests, students, staff, residents, and faculty are no longer required to wear masks indoors on campus. Please read our updated COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Starting November 5, 2021, due to substantial levels of COVID-19 transmission in Monterey County, a mask mandate established by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors will go into effect. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
All guests will be required to provide proof of vaccination upon arrival starting September 3, 2021. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Masks are no longer mandated indoors or outdoors, except during massage sessions. Guests are not required to provide testing or vaccination verification before arriving on campus. Please read our COVID safety guidelines prior to booking your stay.
Touch is our forgotten language. In this introductory massage course, participants will learn to listen to each other, gain the sensory skill of initiating touch, experience the felt sense of touch and muscle release, and close with a balanced tenderness. Seasoned instructors will offer exercises, demonstrations, and at-the-table guidance during supervised practice. The simple principles of Esalen massage — presence, connection, attending rather than fixing, self-care, receptivity, and slow-paced strokes encompassing the body — will build a heartfelt experience with our partners, our friends, and, perhaps most significantly, ourselves.
By the final session, participants will share the basics of a classical Esalen® massage. Experienced practitioners and caregivers will find it refreshing to apply the Esalen method and notice its healing effect as their pace slows and the mind becomes focused on compassionate contact over technique.
Touch can evoke an opening to spirit — our innate ability to move into healthy balance or a broader sense of nature surrounding us. The awe-inspiring wildness of Esalen’s grounds, canyons, hot springs, and mountain backdrop invites this deeper natural connection.
View the continuing education syllabus.
10 hours of CE credit for Massage Therapists.
Recommended reading: Connecting Through Touch by Peggy Horan
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Jessica Fagan, MA, AMFT is an Expressive Arts AMFT who has been practicing and teaching bodywork and movement since 1994. She joined the Esalen® massage staff in 1997 where she was deeply influenced by the innovative forms of somatic and healing arts.
Oliver Bailey is a practitioner and instructor of Esalen® Massage. His background includes training in Gestalt Practice, neurolinguistic programming, intuitive work, and meditation.
January 20–22, 2023
This program is full. Find another.
Applications are closed.
Applications are closed.
Touch is our forgotten language. In this introductory massage course, participants will learn to listen to each other, gain the sensory skill of initiating touch, experience the felt sense of touch and muscle release, and close with a balanced tenderness. Seasoned instructors will offer exercises, demonstrations, and at-the-table guidance during supervised practice. The simple principles of Esalen massage — presence, connection, attending rather than fixing, self-care, receptivity, and slow-paced strokes encompassing the body — will build a heartfelt experience with our partners, our friends, and, perhaps most significantly, ourselves.
By the final session, participants will share the basics of a classical Esalen® massage. Experienced practitioners and caregivers will find it refreshing to apply the Esalen method and notice its healing effect as their pace slows and the mind becomes focused on compassionate contact over technique.
Touch can evoke an opening to spirit — our innate ability to move into healthy balance or a broader sense of nature surrounding us. The awe-inspiring wildness of Esalen’s grounds, canyons, hot springs, and mountain backdrop invites this deeper natural connection.
View the continuing education syllabus.
10 hours of CE credit for Massage Therapists.
Recommended reading: Connecting Through Touch by Peggy Horan
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Jessica Fagan, MA, AMFT is an Expressive Arts AMFT who has been practicing and teaching bodywork and movement since 1994. She joined the Esalen® massage staff in 1997 where she was deeply influenced by the innovative forms of somatic and healing arts.
Oliver Bailey is a practitioner and instructor of Esalen® Massage. His background includes training in Gestalt Practice, neurolinguistic programming, intuitive work, and meditation.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org