The first thing you notice as you enter the bath-house changing room is a tubby, balding, furry man, chatting with a tanned Adonis as they both casually step out of their skivvies and wander out to the tub deck, chatting quietly. Across the room, a heavy-set woman unhooks her bra and neatly hangs it on a peg before crossing the room to the tubs in the massage room. Next to you, a young woman towels off after her shower and gets dressed.

Curious, you look around. On one side, the silent massage room, with six massage tables lined up against the ocean view and several mineral-water baths across the back wall. On the other, the tub deck, with several group tubs interspersed with individual claw-foots. Upstairs, a handicapped-accessible tub. All these tubs and baths are occupied with naked people, chatting, reading, or silently submerged in their own spaces.

Welcome to Esalen.

WHAT IT IS

The Esalen Institute is the grand-daddy of the human potential centers that flowered during the heady days of the self-aware 1960's. According to the current catalog, Esalen... was founded in 1962 as an alternative educational center devoted to the exploration of what Aldous Huxley called the “human potential,” the world of unrealized human capacities that lies beyond the imagination.

Founded by Michael Murphy and Dick Price on land Murphy had inherited, Esalen gained instant cachet as the seat of the personal growth movement, thanks largely to the presence, among other luminaries, of Fritz Perls*, the founder of Gestalt psychology and resident guru on site. Individuals could attend seminars on a variety of subjects, ranging from weekend intensives to multi-month residencies. In those early days, barely-contained personal anarchy was the order of the day. At Esalen, this was somewhat tempered by certain requirements - you had to wear clothes in the dining hall, you had to actually pay for or work off your participation - but “do your own thing” was very much the mantra of the entire movement.

Since then, Esalen has become a respected conference center where it is possible to earn Continuing Education Units while attending seminars. The personal growth agenda has expanded into more corporate directions; a listing of seminar subjects is given later in this review.

I did a (somewhat painful) workshop at Esalen in 1976 with Bernie Gunther, Perls’ heir apparent. I always intended to go back, but didn’t make it until the weekend of April 9 - 11, 2004, when I gave Penguinman (and myself!) an anniversary gift of a seminar on Massage for Couples.


LOCATION

Esalen is located at the south end of Big Sur, California, 45 miles south of Monterey and 50 miles north of San Simeon. Situated on the western side of Highway 1, it sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean, with the wild Santa Lucia mountains rising on the other side of the highway. Because it is somewhat downhill from the highway, there is no evidence of civilization anywhere nearby. The grounds ramble along the cliff, and include the administration and dining hall building, various housing units, meeting sites including a dome, an Art Barn, various rooms, and a yurt, lovely lawns, a huge vegetable garden, a swimming pool in the front lawn, overlooking the ocean, and of course, the baths. A walk from one end to the other, from the Dome to the baths, takes about 10 minutes along smooth, well-lighted paths, across a wooden bridge that crosses a year-round stream, through the gardens... The entire campus is ADA-compliant.


HOUSING

Esalen offers several types of housing, ranging from individual rooms to shared doubles to dorm-style rooms for four with bath. Couples will always be housed together. Singles may opt to share or pay an extra $70 per day for a separate private room. PM and I shared a room with bath at the far southern end of the property, directly above the tubs. Our room was very rustic, with plywood paneling, a double bed, a single bed, desk, dresser, baseboard heater, and bathroom with shower. We also had a private balcony overlooking the ocean. The rooms are spartan; no phone, no clock, no radio, no TV, no hook-ups. Ours smelled slightly musty, which is a continuing problem in this damp region. But the beds were wonderfully comfortable, the duvets were snuggly, and the room was spotless.

If you’re looking for luxury, this is not the place for you. Esalen is not a resort. We found our bed linens neatly folded on top of the duvets on the beds, with a flower tucked into each stack, ready for us to make our own beds. Bath linens include bath and hand towels and a washcloth. Toiletries were limited to four small soap tablets. The bathroom contained a Dixie cup dispenser and a bountiful supply of extra TP and paper tissues. Lighting was adequate, provided by compact fluorescent bulbs in all the fixtures. There is no room service.

I peeked into one of the dorm rooms and found it similar, with a pair of bunk-beds and a roomy bathroom with four shelves for toiletries.

Everything is clean, well-kept, and comfortable, but there are no extras here. I had brought a candle, which I couldn’t light because of fire hazard, and noticed that one of the rooms I peeked into had a vase of flowers that the occupant had brought. But with a good bed and reading light, and the ocean for a sleeping pill, we were very comfy and cozy.


FOOD

The kitchen provides an endless supply of organic bounty. The menus are primarily vegetarian, with some meat provided at lunch and dinner, and vegan alternatives at all meals. Breakfast might include an egg or tofu scramble with potatoes, or challah French toast with premises-made apple butter, turkey sausage, soft- or hard-boiled eggs, several kinds of hot cereal, cinnamon brown rice with raisins and almonds, premises-made granola with raisins and yogurt, spiced prunes, fresh fruit, a bread bar, and a variety of drinks, including coffee and decaf, teas, and hot and cold juices.

A typical lunch or dinner might include soup; chili, chicken cacciatore, or shrimp or tempeh gumbo; and veggies, various starch choices, a bountiful salad bar, and cookies or cake and fruit for dessert.

During the weekend we were there, the salad bar included tuna and egg salads, fried polenta squares, mixed green salad, cold veggie salads with almonds, a wonderful sour cream-potato salad, and vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, pickled beets, sauteed peppers, and cold carrots and celery. Dessert included a hot honey-spice cake which you could top with freshly whipped cream. On Easter Sunday, they offered fabulous from-scratch hot chocolate and more whipped cream.

All the food served at Esalen is organic, and most of the produce is grown on-site. There are no microwaves here. And because everything is so enticing and tasty, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re sticking to your diet as you eat yourself into oblivion.

Meals are served buffet-style, and seating is provided at trestle tables with benches, both inside and outside. Everyone buses their own dishes to the kitchen window counter. There is a table for those who want to eat in silence, with no talking allowed. The dining patio is dominated by a huge fire-pit which is lit every night.

The dining hall is always open, with tea makings and coffee on hand. There’s also a bread bar with a conveyor-belt toaster and a variety of spreads, including butter, margarine, organic peanut butter, and a jam or two. I treated myself to a slab of matzoh spread with sweet butter each night.

There is a small cantina where you can buy beer and wine. You can drink it in the cantina, in the dining-room, or outside on the patio.


THE WORKSHOPS

Workshops and seminars cover a broad range of subjects, all with a personal-growth slant. These are the major categories into which they fall:

• the arts and creativity
• biofeedback, hypnosis, and intuitive development
• children and families
• contemplative, spiritual, and religious studies
• dance and movement
• dreams
• health and healing
• integral practices
• myth, ritual, and shamanism
• philosophical inquiry and intellectual play
• professional growth and training
• psychological and transpersonal process
• relationships and communication
• somatics
• wilderness, ecology, ecopsychology
• women’s and men’s issues
• workplace, education, and social responsibility
• yoga, martial arts, and sport

Within those categories, you can take workshops in a wide range of subjects, some more spiritually/mystically oriented than others. A glance over the content pages of the current catalog reveals subjects as diverse as Salsa Dancing and the Pursuit of Flow, Opening the Doors of Creativity, Recovering Personal Faith, Mothers and Daughters, Become a Medical Intuitive, Embracing Life’s Challenges, the Power of Patience, Truth in Dating, Undefended Love, Basic Acupressure, Energy and Environmental Design, Sisters, Process Leadership and conflict Skills, and Yoga for the Yogically Challenged, among many others.

Workshops run for a weekend, five days, 28-day Work-Study, and occasional long-term programs. The weekend programs run from Friday night through Sunday morning; the 5-day programs begin on Sunday evening and go through Friday morning.

A word about the participants: We like to think that we are somewhat unique in our openness to new and interesting ideas and experiences. And perhaps, among our closest friends, we are; we were trying to think of another couple who would have signed up for a couples’ massage weekend, with the intimacy and exposure it involves, and couldn’t come up with anyone. (While nudity wasn’t flaunted, it’s impossible to do a massage fully clothed. The workshop leaders demonstrated the techniques on their own partners, and while there were plenty of big towels and no gratuitous flashing, you do see body parts when you have 17 couples practicing massage, even on widely spaced tables in a large room. The context in which this workshop was presented is that massage is yet another means of intimate communication and love-giving between couples. But at no time was there ever any overt sexual content.)

So our smugness was somewhat punctured when we met our fellow participants. In addition to the expected younger couples - mostly married, many with small children, a couple pregnant - we were surprised to see two or three couples older than we were, probably in their late 60s or early 70s. One woman in particular looked somewhat like a Church Lady: a bit stiff, unsmiling, quite serious. She turned out to be a delightful person, totally adoring of and adored by her husband, and both participated fully with no qualms about the minor flashes of nudity.

So you never know what to expect. None of us are the sort of people who dress provocatively or present a sex-bomb appearance, but none of us was uncomfortable with the nudity in the workshop or the tubs. (Well, one woman was - surprisingly, the youngest in the group - and she dropped out after the second day and spent the last day hanging out in the garden, bundled up.)


MASSAGE

Esalen is, appropriately enough, the home of Esalen Massage, a specialized technique that both works the muscles and provides for deep relaxation. The Massage Crew, approximately six strong, works at the tables in the silent room of the bath-house. You’ll need to book your massage appointment in advance and pay for it separately from other charges. It’s well worth it.


THE BATHS

Esalen is built on the site of prolific mineral hot-springs. The original bath-house was destroyed in an earthquake. The new bath-house has been open for about a year and it’s a beauty. It’s located about halfway down the cliff, at the end of a wide, well-lit path.

As you enter, there are bathrooms to the right and left. Beyond them, also to the right and left, are changing rooms, with benches, shelves, and hooks all around the perimeter. This is where you leave your clothes and take a big blue towel.

Once you’re ready to dunk, you can go to the room to the left of the entrance. This is the massage room and silence is required here. It contains two big concrete pools, about 10' x 12' or so, and three individual claw-foot bathtubs. Each has separate water controls. Before using a claw-foot, you scrub it out with Comet and rinse it clean. Then fill it, adjust the temperature, and drain it after use. This room is open to the ocean, with sliding glass panels to control the temperature. Lined up in front of the panels are six massage tables that are reserved for the professional massage crew until 7:00 pm daily. After that, they are available for anyone to use.

To the right of the entry is a half-covered deck with a big round pool, a big square pool, three more claw-foots, and down a few steps, two more communal pools and a few more claw-foots. This space is for quiet conversation.

On the roof are several more claw-foots and pools, one of which has a lift for disabled users to get in and out. There are also several more massage tables, in case you want to give or receive a non-pro massage during the day.

Next to the changing rooms and overlooking the ocean are the showers, with liquid soap dispensers. Mineral water is pretty stinky and can be drying, so a shower is recommended after tubbing.


A WORD ABOUT NUDITY

The most important thing to know about the baths is that they are clothing-optional. During the weekend we were there, we used the baths once on Friday, three times on Saturday, and once again on Sunday. In all that time, we saw one woman in a bathing suit, and she only wore it for a short time. The first five minutes or so may feel a little strange, but after that, no one pays attention. In fact, the woman in the bathing suit got more quizzical attention than anyone else. This is a wonderful way to get over body discomfort; you will truly see every size, shape, and condition here. There is no hint of sexual tension, so it feels safe and comfortable. People in their 70s and 80s shed their clothes and jump in with the young; obesity is ignored, and people with handicaps or scars draw no more attention than anyone else.

You may also encounter nudity in other parts of the property, specifically the swimming pool and massage areas. I saw one stalwart woman swimming - it was pretty chilly that weekend - in the pool. None of the nudity is gratuitous, though; it feels comfortable and natural, and no one will care if you choose to remain bundled up during your stay. The management of Esalen works hard to create an environment of "...personal sanctuary and respect for the human body." But if you are bothered by the sight of the unclothed body, Esalen probably isn't for you.


THE GAZEBO

This is a year-round educational experience for children ages one to six. Between 15 and 20 children attend each day. It’s for kids who come to Esalen with their parents, and the hours match workshop hours. The children will participate in activities that include gardening, pony rides, animal care, nature exploration, boating, magic, and a teepee. They also spend time reading, learning about computers, baking, and crafts.


WAYS OF BEING AT ESALEN

The best way, of course, is to sign up for a workshop. If that’s too expensive, you can do a Work-Study program, whereby you work for a given number of hours a week in addition to your workshop. (NOTE: The current catalog only lists 28-day W-S programs, but a friend of mine did a 5-day W-S last November. She worked three hours a day in the kitchen and laundry, and was able to do her workshop with the rest of the participants. If that interests you, contact the office for more information.)

For the 28-day W-S programs, you work 32 hours a week and do your program four or five nights a week, with one weekend intensive. Work scholars also participate in movement classes, have access to the Art Barn when it’s not in use, attend weekly Wednesday night programs, and of course, have round-the-clock access to the baths.

There is one 28-day W-S program per month, on a variety of subjects. Work assignments include housekeeping, grounds, kitchen, laundry, gardens, and office.

There are occasional 7-day programs available.

The weekend programs begin with a meeting on Friday night after dinner, two meetings on Saturday, and one on Sunday morning between breakfast and lunch, for ten hours total.

There are also occasional long-term programs that run for several months.

Originally, access to the grounds was limited to participants, except that the public could use the tubs between 1:00 am and 6:00 am. That has now changed. The tubs are open to the public between 1:00 am and 3:00 am, by reservation only, for $20 per person.

In addition, another welcome innovation is that you may now do a personal retreat at Esalen. This involves room and three meals - dinner, breakfast, and lunch - for $160 per person. You may not participate in a program, but have full use of the pool, baths, and massage therapists.

For those who want to participate in a workshop but don’t have the means to pay for a room, some of the meeting rooms are available for sleeping-baggers at night only. Those rooms are not available between 9:00 am and 11:00 pm.


COSTS

Esalen is not cheap. I was a bit nonplussed when I paid for our workshop, but then realized that I was getting not only the attention of two workshop leaders for ten hours, but also room for two nights, board for six meals, and access to the extra early morning and evening programs in meditation, yoga, and movement, as well as the baths. Taken in that light, it’s not that bad.

If you don’t do a Work-Study program, this is what it will cost you to participate in a workshop at Esalen:

Weekend program: $595 for standard accommodations; $455 for a shared bunk-bed room; $310 for sleeping-bag only; $370 if you have your own accommodations
5-day program: $1060; $795; $525; $630
7-day program: $1665; $1250; $835; $1000
28-day Program: $4225; $3335

There is an extra charge of $70 per day for a single room.

You will get a $10 discount if you pay in full at the time you make your reservation.

If you belong to Friends of Esalen, a non-profit foundation, you will get a $50 discount on all the above rates.

In addition, seniors over 65 get a $25 discount on a weekend workshop and $50 off for a longer workshop.

Two paying adults may have their children in their room for a meal charge of $20 per child per day, or $10 for kids under age six.

The Gazebo costs $250 per child for a weekend and $450 per child for a week.

A deposit is due at the time you register, with the balance due upon arrival. Once you’ve paid, you can put your wallet away, unless you want to hang out in the small book and gift shop in the lobby, or get a massage. I stashed our wallets in the trunk of the car and forgot about them for the weekend. That alone is worth a lot!


SCHEDULE

You may be on the grounds at 2:00 pm on the day your workshop begins, but you won’t get your room key until 4:00 pm. Workshops begin on the first day, after dinner; the first session runs from 8:30 to 10:30 pm. Full days include workshops from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm. That leaves plenty of time for meals, tubbing, or whatever else you might want to do. On the last day, there’s a workshop from 9:30 to 11:30 am. You must turn in your key and be completely out of your room by noon, but may hang out on the property until 2:00 pm. Your fees will include dinner on the first day, three meals a day during the workshop, and breakfast and lunch on the last day.


HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION

The Esalen catalog comes out twice a year, in May and November, with six months worth of workshop listings in each. You may subscribe for $15 a year.

Once you've done a workshop, you automatically receive one year's worth of catalogs.

You can also get information on-line at www.Esalen.org. The website includes the complete catalog in Adobe format.

If you want more personal information, you can call Esalen at 831/667-3000. Reservations can be phoned in to 831/667-3005. The fax number is 831/667-2724.


SUMMARY AND VERDICT

Even without the interesting workshops, Esalen would be a lovely place to be. The site is absolutely spectacular, the food is wonderful, the tubs are fabulously relaxing, and the company is fascinating. Nudity is a non-issue and enlightenment is in the very air you breathe. We definitely intend to go back for more. Five enthusiastic stars.


*****

*Perls was also the author of the toxic “Gestalt Prayer”:
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in the world to live up to your expectations
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you and I am I,
And if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.”

Recommended: Yes