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.
When we increase our awareness of our somatic sense of self, we can create new options for developing more effective psychological and physical patterns. This experiential workshop blends slow, developmental movement explorations 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 Relational Gestalt 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 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: Korb, et al, Gestalt Therapy: Practice and Theory; Mann, Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques; Feldenkrais, The Potent Self; Kurtz, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Hanna, Somatics
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Dorothy Charles has been a student and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen co-founder Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory, and leads workshops in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
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Patrice Hamilton has worked in the fields of education, counseling, and bodywork for over 30 years. She feels fortunate to have lived and worked at Esalen from 1996-2002, followed by opportunities to lead residential and public programs.
Read More
Monday
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Tuesday
9:30 am - 1:00 pm
3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Wednesday
9:30 am - 1:00 pm
3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Thursday
9:30 am - 1:00 pm
3:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Friday
9:30 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.
When we increase our awareness of our somatic sense of self, we can create new options for developing more effective psychological and physical patterns. This experiential workshop blends slow, developmental movement explorations 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 Relational Gestalt 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 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: Korb, et al, Gestalt Therapy: Practice and Theory; Mann, Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques; Feldenkrais, The Potent Self; Kurtz, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Hanna, Somatics
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Dorothy Charles has been a student and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen co-founder Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory, and leads workshops in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
Patrice Hamilton has worked in the fields of education, counseling, and bodywork for over 30 years. She feels fortunate to have lived and worked at Esalen from 1996-2002, followed by opportunities to lead residential and public programs.
March 27–31, 2023
This program is full. Find another.
Applications are closed.
Applications are closed.
When we increase our awareness of our somatic sense of self, we can create new options for developing more effective psychological and physical patterns. This experiential workshop blends slow, developmental movement explorations 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 Relational Gestalt 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 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: Korb, et al, Gestalt Therapy: Practice and Theory; Mann, Gestalt Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques; Feldenkrais, The Potent Self; Kurtz, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Hanna, Somatics
Learn more about the requirements to receive continuing education credit.
Dorothy Charles has been a student and teacher at Esalen since 1982. A student of Esalen co-founder Richard Price, she combines Esalen body-centered Gestalt with relational Gestalt theory, and leads workshops in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
Patrice Hamilton has worked in the fields of education, counseling, and bodywork for over 30 years. She feels fortunate to have lived and worked at Esalen from 1996-2002, followed by opportunities to lead residential and public programs.
Esalen Institute
55000 Highway 1
Big Sur, CA 93920
US: 1-831-667-3000
info@esalen.org