Visitors are now able to access Esalen as well as other businesses and trails in northern Big Sur via twice-daily convoys on Highway 1 operated by Caltrans.
Convoys run only at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day. These are the only opportunities to travel into and out of Big Sur, so visitors must plan accordingly.
Esalen faculty represent a spectrum of disciplines, experiences, and perspectives — our faculty members have included Premal Shah, founder of Kiva.org; Robert Walter, Joseph Campbell’s longtime editor; mindfulness researcher Shauna Shapiro; and Wisdom 2.0 creator Soren Gordhamer.
Browse all past and present faculty below, or use the site search to look for someone specific.
Kristi Panik, MD, is chief of psychiatric services of the University Student Health Services at UC Berkeley.
Kristin Hodson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist. She is founder and executive director of The Healing Group mental health clinic in Salt Lake City and co-author of Real Intimacy: A Couples Guide for Genuine, Healthy Sexuality.
Kristin Neff, PhD, 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 Self-Compassion and Self-Compassion: Step-by-Step, and is featured in the book and documentary The Horse Boy.
Kyla Pearce teaches yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to people with brain injuries, caregivers, and health professionals through her work with the LoveYourBrain Foundation. Kyla is passionate about empowering people to become more active participants in their healing process through self-inquiry practices.
LaVerne McLeod is the founder and facilitator of Bridge Building to Equity Workshops. She is a public speaker, author, workshop facilitator, and theatrical presenter. She loves community volunteer work and currently serves as co-coordinator of Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment. LaVerne has published two books, Corn Hollow: A Journey of Sorrow and Triumph and The Crossroads of Social and Climate Justice.
Lama Drimed offers awareness teachings from Great Perfection/Dzogchen and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. His Tibetan teacher, Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, recognized Lama Drimed as his lineage holder in 1995. His vision is to open dialogues that include current discoveries and the ancient tantric arts.
Lama Palden Drolma was authorized as a Buddhist lama in 1985 after completing the traditional three-year-long retreat. She has been teaching ever since. She also is a licensed psychotherapist, and believes that the spiritual path is most effective when mind, body, and psyche are integrated.
Lamara Heartwell is a body intelligence expert who inspires people 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.
Lansing Barrett Gresham, founder of Integrated Awareness, is a teacher, healer, philosopher, and visionary able to beautifully transmit the possibilities of human experience. His inspirations were Moshe Feldenkrais, John Upledger, Jean Pierre Barral, Fritz Smith, June D’Estelle, and Milton Erickson.
Lara Zilibowitz is an internationally touring yoga teacher and artist with a passion for creative expression through the body. She offers a fluid and dynamic teaching style delivered with heartfelt poetic prose, as well as cosmic creativity and mandala art.
Laraaji is a visionary musician, composer, and mystic. Having emerged as a pioneering figure in ambient and new age music after a chance encounter with producer Brian Eno in the 70s, his music transcends conventional boundaries, seamlessly merging ambient textures with cosmic vibrations, creating an immersive and deeply introspective sonic journey.
Larry Payne was named one of America's most respected yoga teachers by The Los Angeles Times. He is coauthor of Yoga for Dummies and Yoga Therapy & Integrative Medicine. He leads programs at Loyola Marymount University.
Laura Davis is the author of seven groundbreaking books, including The Courage to Heal and her award-winning memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars. Laura loves creating supportive, intimate writing communities online, in person, and on international writing adventures.
New York Times-bestselling author Laura Day has spent nearly four decades helping individuals, organizations, and companies harness and develop their innate intuitive abilities to create profound change. Newsweek says “When business people need a crystal ball, they turn to consultant Laura Day, the ‘intuitionist.’” The Independent dubbed her “The Psychic of Wall Street.” A-list Hollywood stars and Wall Street executives praise her ability to predict future events – including the 2008 recession and the COVID market dip – with astounding accuracy.
Laura’s work has helped demystify intuition and bring it into the mainstream. In her workshops and presentations, she demonstrates the practical, verifiable, and sometimes astonishing uses of intuition in the fields of business, science, medicine, and personal growth. Laura has trained thousands of people and companies to use their brains, perceptions, and “sixth sense” in effective ways to actualize their goals. She is the author of six bestselling books: Practical Intuition, Practical Intuition in Love, Practical Intuition in Success, The Circle, Welcome to Your Crisis, and How to Rule the World from Your Couch.
Laura has been featured in publications that include Newsweek, New York magazine, The Independent, Bottom Line, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Stella, Forbes, Vulture, Tatler, and People.
She has appeared on numerous TV networks and programs, including CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, The View, Extra, BBC News, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Laura’s newest work engages intuition in reconstructing the “ego” of individuals, communities and companies to engineer effective change.
Laura Inserra is a multi-instrumentalist, sound therapist, and teacher from Sicily. After more than 30 years of studies and practice of music and different wisdom lineages, she developed Resonant Healing Therapy using sound as a tool for personal transformation, healing, and self-awareness.
Laura J. Swan is a transformational coach and healer, a trauma-informed and trained psychotherapist and ceremonialist. With her gentle yet powerful approach to healing, she has been facilitating women’s circles, retreats, and rites of passage for over 22 years.
Laura Kunysz is a senior CFR instructor and cranio-sacral therapist. She has a background in Esalen Massage, Somato-Emotional Release work, the Chickly Brain Curriculum, energy healing, and lymph drainage. She is in private practice in California.
Laura is an educator and mentor for Yoga Teachers. Over the course of the last two decades, she has accumulated 10,000+ hours of teaching and has trained 1000’s of Yoga Teacher’s as the Lead Instructor of the 200hr Yoga Teacher Training Program at a holistic college in Tempe, AZ.
Laura loves to share the teachings of yoga through workshops, trainings and retreats all over the world and continues to support Yoga Teachers with her 1:1 coaching and mentoring programs.
In 2020, Laura launched her book, “Cues for Yoga: Clear Language to Guide the Practice”, an invaluable guide and the #1 book to support yoga teachers! Cues for Yoga is used by multiple Yoga Teacher Training Programs around the US.
Laura is passionate about family, friends, travel and carrying the peace and joy found on the mat into every aspect of her life.
Laurel Hanson, MEd, is an educator specializing in coaching students to top performance in high-stakes, pressure-filled settings. She uses diverse methods including creative exercises, narrative storytelling, and self-affirmations to lower anxiety and improve self-acceptance, confidence, and self-worth.
As a psychologist, teacher, and author with over forty years’ experience as a meditator and spiritual practitioner, Laurel Parnell, has been actively integrating psychological and spiritual work throughout her career. She is the executive director of the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR and the author of several books and videos on EMDR, including, Attachment-Focused EMDR: Healing Relational Trauma and A Therapist’s Guide to EMDR.
Lauren is a certified group personal training specialist (NASM-CES), yoga for athletes instructor, and nutrition coach based in Sacramento, California. Her signature class, NAMASWEAT, is a blend of yoga and strength training designed to alleviate insecurities and promote interconnection and overall well-being.
Laurence Cole has led song circles at gatherings and festivals across North America. He is an advocate for reclaiming our natural right to sing together as a most basic and primal technology of belonging and connection. Through singing we regain the enlivening power of group singing using our hearts, souls, voices, and love.
Laurie Cahoon is a licensed acupuncturist, Zero Balancer, and advanced Process Acupressure practitioner in private practice in Petaluma, California. She is a certified teacher of Process Acupressure 1 Gateway To Soul and Inner Child Healing.
Laurie Lioness Parizek graduated 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.
Laurnie Wilson is a multidisciplinary hypnotherapist for women, BIPOC, and queer folks. Her work is centered on the belief that every soul desires to embody their purpose, to love and be loved, and to fully embrace their innate worthiness.
Leah Song is a storyteller, song-catcher, musician, poet, and activist primarily known for her role as front-woman of Rising Appalachia, alongside her sister Chloe Smith. As a soloist she incorporates sultry vocals, folklore, boleros and the blues into her troubadour performance. Her music is based in the traditions of Southern soul, the diasporic music of the Celtic Isles and her deep studies of traditional folk music from across the Americas .
She has studied and worked alongside some of the greatest teachers and tradition keepers of our time... including Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Bobby McFerrin, Martin Shaw, Joanna Macy, Charles Eisenstein, Winona LaDuke, Guadelupe Urbina, Sobunfu Some, and Rosemary Gladstar to name a few... Gathering tools and teachings of resilience, music, mythology, and ritual through sound.
Come dance and sway alongside us
Leah Weiss, PhD, MSW, is a founding faculty member of the Dalai Lama’s Compassion and Cultivation Program at Stanford University and a lecturer at Stanford Business School. She has dedicated her life to teaching people how to leverage research-based mindfulness and compassion insights to create outstanding leaders and thriving work environments.
Leanne O'Shea, DPsych is a psychotherapist based in Melbourne, Australia. She teaches internationally and is a senior faculty Member of Gestalt Therapy Australia.
Lee Holden 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.
Lee Klinger Lesser has led Sensory Awareness workshops for more than 40 years. She studied and taught with Charlotte Selver, an original Esalen pioneer and the founder of Sensory Awareness in the United States. She is the co-founder of the nonprofit Veteran’s PATH, which shares mindfulness and meditation practice with returning veterans.
Lee Mun Wah is a renowned Chinese American documentary filmmaker, author, educator, community therapist, and master diversity trainer. He’s the executive director of StirFry Seminars & Consulting, providing educational tools and workshops on cross-cultural communication, mindful facilitation, and conflict mediation techniques.
Lena Axelsson, PsyD, is a psychotherapist, trainer, and supervisor specializing in the treatment of trauma in private practice and public health/social service settings. Focusing on the relational dynamics of healing and empowerment, she draws on the neuroscientific and somatic basis of contemporary Gestalt-based trauma and recovery work. She coauthored (with Gordon Wheeler) the book Gestalt Therapy.
Fueled with the belief that nothing is done in isolation and that self-help only works in community, Lennon Flowers is hell-bent on creating spaces where humans can be human. She is the co-founder/executive director of The Dinner Party and The People’s Supper.
Leora Gaster has been teaching Mind Body Studies internationally for more than 40 years, expanding practical applications and collaborating with her mother, Mia Segal, in developing the curriculum and methodology of Mind Body Studies for MBS Academy.
Leslie Cerier is an international chef, educator, recipe developer, farm-to-table caterer, health coach, TV guest chef/presenter, and author of six cookbooks specializing in local, seasonal, organic vegetarian, and gluten-free cooking for health, vitality, and pleasure.
Leslie Howard is a yoga educator who pioneered the growing field of yoga for pelvic health. Sonima Health named her one of the top 50 yoga instructors in the U.S. Leslie leads Pelvic Floor Yoga™ certification trainings and other workshops internationally. Her most recent book is Pelvic Liberation.
Leslie Salmon Jones is CEO and co-founder of Afro Flow Yoga®. Leslie and her husband, Jeff, developed this integrated embodied practice, combining dances from the African Diaspora, yoga, and live healing music. Leslie is an Alvin Ailey-trained dancer, yoga practitioner, teacher, and wellness coach. She speaks, coaches, and teaches internationally and, in addition, is a co-creator and faculty member of the annual Omega Women’s Leadership Intensive.
Leslie Waters is a family physician who divides her professional time between practicing full-spectrum family medicine and serving as residency director in rural Northeast Washington. She spends her personal time hiking, skiing, singing, reading, playing guitar, volunteering, and cooking gourmet meals.
Liam McDermott is 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: Esalen, Tassajara Zen Monastery, and Wilbur Hot Springs.
Licia Sky is a somatic educator, bodyworker, artist, and musician. She guides transformational experiences incorporating dynamic observational exercises, music, movement, vocalizing, enhanced listening, and touch to foster safe, transformative inner and interpersonal connection.
Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of national best-selling novels The Book of Joan and The Small Backs of Children, the widely acclaimed memoir, as well as the novel Dora: A Headcase and books Allegories Of Violence and The Misfit's Manifesto.
Ligia Giese is an obstetrician/gynecologist with Kaiser in Northern California. She lives with her husband and two sons in Berkeley. She practices yoga and meditation, is a serious student of flamenco dance, and is committed to helping her fellow health care professionals explore new paths for personal and career growth.
Linda Bloom is a licensed clinical social worker and educator. She and her husband Charlie are co-founders of Bloomwork and co-authors 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.
Linda Evans Delman has been an international consultant and educator in the fields of psychology, movement and spirituality for over 40 years. Since completing her training with Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais in 1980, Linda has led numerous Feldenkrais® Professtional Training Programs.
Linda Graham, MFT, is an experienced psychotherapist and author of Resilience and Bouncing Back. She integrates modern neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and relational psychology in her international trainings on resilience and well-being. She publishes Resources for Recovering Resilience.
Linda Nicholls, DipC, PhD, is a dynamic facilitator with an extensive background in group process. Her direct yet compassionate approach establishes a respectful foundation for discovering genuine whole-person health and harmony. She has developed and taught energetically engaging workshops on five continents.
Linda Wobeskya, MSPT, is a physical therapist and dedicated teacher with more than 40 years of teaching experience in a variety of fields including Zero Balancing, physical therapy, anatomy and dance. She practices Zero Balancing in Mill Valley, California.
Lindsay Branham is a psychologist focused on embodied and erotic ecology. She is trained as a Buddhist eco-doula and is finishing her PhD in psychology at the University of Cambridge on the reciprocal, embodied relationship between humans and the Earth.
Lisa Desrochers, DPT, MS, ATC, CST-D, is director of rehabilitation at a sub-acute hospital, specializing in gerontology and health preservation through application of CranioSacral techniques. She served as assistant professor at Lasell College, director of physical therapy services at SportsMedicine Boston, and athletic Trainer for the professional men's tennis tour (ATP).
Lisa Firestone is a clinical psychologist, director of research and education at the Glendon Association, and the senior editor of Psychalive.org. Dr. Firestone is the coauthor of The Self Under Siege, Sex and Love in Intimate Relationships, and Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice.
Lisa G. Littlebird facilitates group singing opportunities as a transformational personal practice, healing art and to foster community building in groups. She leads workshops internationally and has been on the faculty at Esalen since 2007.
Lissa Rankin, MD, is an expert in trauma-informed medicine, author of 7 books, founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute, and a mystic who researches radical remission, mind body medicine, and spiritual healing. Her TEDx talks have been viewed over 5 million times, and two National Public Television specials featured her work in the field of healing.
Liz Andolong is a Filipina-American healing arts practitioner, facilitator, and intuitive educator who is passionate about holding spaces for folks to do less and feel more. It is within this “sacred pause” she believes folks are able to truly tap into the limitless healing power accessible within every body.
Liz Rog lives to twine her voice with those of others. She leads a variety of community singing groups in Decorah, Iowa, and is the founder of the Village Fire community singing festival. She loves Village Fire because of the cross-pollination of voices and ideas among so many grassroots movers and shakers.
Llyn Cedar Roberts, MA, is an acclaimed teacher of shamanism. She wrote the Nautilus Gold award-winning book Speaking with Nature, co-authored with Sandra Ingerman, Shapeshifting into Higher Consciousness, and Shamanic Reiki. She has studied with diverse indigenous shamanic groups in remote locations.
Loch Kelly, M.Div., LCSW is an award-winning author, licensed psychotherapist, and recognized leader in the fields of meditation, psychotherapy, and awakening. He has developed a system of micro-meditations to train people in awakening as the next stage of development.
From her experience as a psychologist and social activist, Lorenia Parada Ampudia offers different mindful awareness practices as basic tools for learning about our body-mind relationships for self-discovery, self-regulation, and self-leadership. Identifying and finding clarity in understanding the context and dynamics of our own birth, early relationships with caregivers, and our body expression language are of great support for any transformation toward cultivating a healthy mind, healthy sexuality, and embodied harmonious relationships.