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

Healing Waters: Rites of Passage & the Embodied Masculine

November 11–15, 2024

Douglas Drummond and Tom Little Bear Nason with Guest Faculty Mac Murphy and Guest Musicians Sanga of the Valley and Nick Ayers

Join us for this unique opportunity to explore the masculine traditions of the Esselen Tribe, integrated with the fundamentals of the 5Rhythms® movement practice. Answer the call of 55000 Highway 1’s healing waters and travel with Douglas and Little Bear on a hero’s journey. Together, we will explore what it means to embody the sacred masculine in this modern world. With courage, integrity, and receptivity, we will create renewed understandings of masculinity as a group and learn how we, as men, can “walk our talk.”

Healthy and uplifting rites of passage have always been an important aspect of humanity, yet they are largely missing from modern society. People from all walks of life and religions have historically gone through different experiences and coming-of-age ceremonies to prove they were ready to move into their next stage of life. Men were traditionally taught by their fathers, grandfathers, and uncles, but this traditional upbringing is now missing for many. In order to overcome today’s accepted norms of masculinity, it is important for men to be able to find solace with one another, learn from one another, and relate at the heart level.

In this weeklong workshop, we will have the opportunity to:

  • Learn about the practice of acknowledging the land.
  • Use dance, voice, and 5Rhythms® movement to feel into our bodies.
  • Participate in the reconstruction of traditional rites of passage.
  • Seek deeper connection with Mother Earth.

The intentions for our week together are to create a sacred space for men to come together and reignite our sacred fire, as well as to build a new bridge to manhood — to gentle warriorhood.

This workshop includes an additional $110 of faculty tuition.

Douglas Drummond

Douglas has been a conscious movement facilitator for over 12 years. He is a certified 5Rhythms® teacher. Douglas currently serves as the founder & CEO of the Weaving Waters Collective; an organization dedicated to creating healing and reconciliation centers for living beings.

Full Bio

Tom Little Bear Nason

Little Bear is the Tribal Chairman of the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County. He is a traditional cultural resource specialist, Tribal Archeology Monitor, and Wildland Consultant. Little Bear has a deep history at the Esalen Institute, a sacred site for the Esselen, and has led a lifetime of retreats centering around initiation, ritual and ceremony between humans and their relationship between each other, land and Spirit. 

Full Bio

Mac Murphy

Mac Murphy is a practitioner of Esalen Massage & Bodywork and Human Transformation, and he guides students in harnessing their innate power. Mac teaches a variety of breathwork practices, including Daoist Qi Gong, Tumo breathwork, Kundalini, and Pranayama

Full Bio

Sanga of the Valley | Guest Musician

Sanga of the Valley has played African drums from an early age. Sanga moved to New York City in 1970 from Trinidad, where he met Babatunde Olatunji and became one of Olatunji’s students. Sanga went on to be one of Olatunji’s lead djembe players and spent 25 years as a member of Olatunji’s Drums of Passion. Sanga of the Valley has worked with artists such as Carlos Santana, Nina Simone, The Grateful Dead, the Neville Brothers, and Stanley Jordan.

Full Bio

Nick Ayers | Guest Musician

A musician and dancer for over 20 years, Nick has seen the immediate effect of music on people physically, psychologically and emotionally. He is a constant student of global music and culture, and understands that music is one common language between all humans.

Full Bio