Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
Learn More.

Learn more.

Due to road closures along Highway 1 to our north and south, Esalen is closed through April 11.
Esalen Institute is open! However, Highway 1 to the south is closed — please review the current travel advisory.
past workshop

Compassion & Connection: 5Rhythms® Heartbeat & Mindfulness Workshop

December 4–8, 2023

Lucia Horan

Love is not a mood but a state of being.
– Gabrielle Roth

Gabrielle Roth’s Heartbeat map is a guide to how our emotional energy moves and morphs. In this practice, we embody the art of being a fluid emotional athlete. This map teaches us how to navigate the emotional terrain of life without getting stuck, holding on, or pushing away.

We will dance with the transformative qualities of fear and courage, anger and forgiveness, grief and surrender, joy and generosity, compassion and connection. We will practice with the Brahmavihara meditations that cultivate loving kindness, equanimity, joy, and compassion.

Together we will integrate the stillness of Buddhist mindfulness meditation with the moving meditations of the 5Rhythms®. In sitting meditation, we have the opportunity to observe the mind and body at rest through silent introspection. In the practice of the 5Rhythms, we engage in mindfulness while in motion. The two polarities together mirror the dance of life and open the door to peace, well-being, and balance.

Connection and compassion are keys to finding peace and happiness in a world suffering from fear and isolation. Cultivating compassion can relieve stress and allow more kindness to be present in our lives.

All skills taught are meant to be taken home and applied to your daily life. All workshop hours contribute to 5Rhythms® teacher training prerequisites.

Recommended Reading: Sweat Your Prayers, Maps to Ecstasy, Connections by Gabrielle Roth; Dancing With Dharma: Essays on Movement And Dance In Western Buddhism edited by Harrison Blum, Published by McFarland & Company.

Lucia Horan

Lucia Horan was born in 1976 on the sacred land of Esalen in Big Sur. She was raised in the Esalen community and taught the practices that were developed by those who came before her. She was certified as an Esalen® Massage practitioner in 1994. She became a Hatha & Ashtanga yoga teacher in 1997. Lucia received lifelong direct training with Gabrielle Roth in the 5Rhythms® moving meditation practice and has been teaching 5Rhythms since 1998. She also has a BA from Goddard College with a major in expressive art therapy.

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