Upcoming Retreats
Role Mate to Soul Mate: The Art and Discipline of Love
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 2, 2026 – Oct 5, 2026 4 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
A couples workshop on sustaining love through appreciation practices and hearing a partner's criticism without becoming defensive. Open to couples of all genders and sexual orientations.
with Warren Farrell
The Art of Non-Sleep Deep Rest
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 2, 2026 – Oct 4, 2026 3 days Residential Secular
A beginner weekend of non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) and yoga nidra for deep relaxation, with journaling and reflection.
with Kelly Boys
Integrative Gestalt Practiceâ„¢: Embodied Presence, Connection, and Inner Guidance
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 5, 2026 – Oct 9, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
A week of Gestalt self-inquiry combined with breath and movement exercises, dyads and open-seat sessions, to build awareness and inner guidance.
with Perry Holloman , Johanna Holloman
Self-Compassion as a Lifeboat Home: Remembering the Heart of Who We Are
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 5, 2026 – Oct 9, 2026 5 days Residential Mixed
A retreat of nondual guided meditation and self-compassion practice, using experiential inquiry to meet self-judgment and difficult emotions with warmth.
with Caverly Morgan
Shake Loose: Fall Release With Yoga and Foam Rollers
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 5, 2026 – Oct 9, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
Autumn yoga using soft foam rollers, movement and stillness to release tension and build better sleep habits. Participants bring their own foam roller.
with Ulrika Engman
The Turning Season: Aligning with Autumn’s Sacred Rhythms
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 9, 2026 – Oct 12, 2026 4 days Residential Mixed
An autumn retreat of slow flow yoga, restorative relaxation, Metta meditation and seasonal ritual, with live double bass from Garth Stevenson.
with Jillian Pransky
Wise Effort: Reclaim Your Energy and Realign Your Life
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 9, 2026 – Oct 11, 2026 3 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
A hands-on workshop teaching the Wise Effort Method, which draws on ACT and wisdom traditions, to clarify values and redirect energy toward what matters most.
with Diana Hill
Creative Catalyst: The Transformative Power of Making Art
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 12, 2026 – Oct 16, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
A collaborative art workshop making mosaics, sculptures and collages from recycled materials, with both solo pieces and a group project.
with Dana Albany , Michael "Flash" Hopkins
The Mythical Body
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 12, 2026 – Oct 16, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
An embodied workshop that surfaces the cultural stories held in the body and works through them in four phases: unlearn, transform, recover and co-create.
with Kerri Kelly
Transforming the Shame Triangle: From Shame to Love Using Parts Work
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 12, 2026 – Oct 16, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
An IFS-based parts work workshop on turning the inner critic, shame and escaper dynamic into a supportive Inner Love Triangle.
with Jessica Fern , David Cooley
Stages of Tranquility and Insight
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 16, 2026 – Oct 18, 2026 3 days Residential Tibetan
A weekend meditation retreat teaching Asanga's Nine Stages of Staying (the Elephant Path), using the body as the object of concentration, plus an introduction to the stages of insight. No experience r…
with Dustin DiPerna
The Three Instincts of the Enneagram: A Practical Exploration
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 18, 2026 – Oct 23, 2026 6 days Residential Secular
An experiential look at the Enneagram's self-preservation, sexual and social instincts through exercises, movement and meditation. Open to newcomers and longtime students.
with Russ Hudson
Contacting the Space Between: Gestalt, Feldenkrais, and the Subtle Body
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 23, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
Uses Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement and Gestalt relational process to explore the subtle body and loosen habitual patterns.
with Kate Flore , Dwight Pargee
Crafting the Sacred Trilogy of Native American Instruments: Flute, Drum, and Rattle
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 23, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
A hands-on workshop crafting and learning to play a bamboo flute, a 16-inch elk-hide medicine drum and a gourd crystal rattle. No musical experience needed.
with Guillermo Martinez
Soma & Soul: Come Home to Self Through Somatic Wisdom and Embodied Relating
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 23, 2026 – Oct 25, 2026 3 days Residential Secular
A trauma-informed weekend of somatics, Authentic Relating, breathwork, voice and expressive movement to build embodied presence.
with Ash Witham
The Dopeness Within: Rhythms of Becoming
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 23, 2026 – Oct 25, 2026 3 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
A weekend using writing, breath, movement, storytelling and music to spot inherited rhythms and practise new ways of being.
with Didier Sylvain
The Future We Choose: Human Empowerment in the AI Age
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 23, 2026 – Oct 25, 2026 3 days Residential Secular
A weekend on relating to AI consciously, mixing hands-on demos and creative labs with somatic practice and meditation. Participants develop a personal AI Code of Practice.
with Sam Stern , Cecilia Callas
Designing The Life We Want: Self Renewal in the Fall
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 26, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
An interactive self-renewal workshop with reflection, movement and coaching to clarify purpose and build a vision for the next phase of life.
with Mark Nicolson , Caitlin Wild
The Medicine of Song, the Land, and Community
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 26, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026 5 days Residential Secular
Fully Booked
A singing and songwriting workshop combining craft instruction with movement, meditation, chanting and evening jams. No prior experience needed.
with Johnsmith
While the Veil Is Thin: Autumn Ritual With Land, Ancestry, and Spirit
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 26, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026 5 days Residential Mixed
Five days of earth-based autumn ritual, plant medicine, sound journeywork and guided meditation, including a full day in the Big Sur wilderness with a hike of up to three miles.
with Fletcher Tucker , Micha Merrick
Your Brain on Sound: Rewiring Through Resonance, Mantra and Alchemy Singing Bowls
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 26, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026 5 days Residential Mixed
A weeklong sound immersion of alchemy crystal singing bowl journeys, mantra, voice and movement to calm the nervous system.
with Deva Munay
Thresholds and Altars: Nature-Based Rituals for Life’s Turning Points
Esalen Institute · Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, USA
Oct 30, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026 3 days Residential Mixed
A Halloween-weekend retreat of nature-based ritual, Morning Altars practice, reflective writing and group witnessing for people going through life transitions.
with Day Schildkret