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

Esalen® Massage Professional Training

November 18 – December 16, 2023

Brita Ostrom and Robin Fann-Costanzo

Esalen® Massage builds on the Institute’s rich legacy of studies to integrate body, mind, and spirit. This extraordinary course is designed for certified bodyworkers seeking in-depth experience and training in the famed Esalen massage approach.

After course completion, graduates may call themselves Esalen® Massage professionals. This workshop includes the basic methods and techniques of Esalen Massage and more, including daily exercises in mindful centering and self-reflection, grounding, awakening the senses, and developing the art of being present. Through lectures, demonstrations, and supervised practice, you will learn optimum body mechanics to support the slow flow of the signature long strokes, detail work, assisted movement, and energy balancing. At the heart of the work is compassionate communication. The results will permeate every aspect of your life. “It’s not that the massage has changed; you’ve changed,” said one recipient.

Successful completion includes the course work, two hands-on assessments, and fifteen documented massages at your home site. Once you certify, you earn the right to call yourself an Esalen® Massage practitioner. This is post-certification professional education and does not qualify for CAMTC transcript credit. Those with bodywork experience who are not interested in professional certification may still apply.

We look forward to meeting you to share our love for Esalen Massage.

This is an advanced course for post-certification students only. Please supply your certificate type, source, date, and number on your application at the end of your essay.

Brita Ostrom

Brita Ostrom has led massage and somatic workshops at Esalen and internationally for more than 40 years. She is a founding member of the Esalen Massage School, practices Gestalt awareness work, and participated in Esalen’s two-year somatic education program. She is also a licensed psychotherapist.

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Robin Fann-Costanzo

Robin Fann Costanzo is a senior instructor who uses her background in dance and yoga to inform her practice. Robin specializes in trauma resolution and applies that to her practice.

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