When you engage with another — whether a lover, friend, or colleague — are you doing what they want you to do or what they allow you to do? What is the difference, and why does it matter?

Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent is a groundbreaking model of relating that brings greater clarity and authenticity to our relationships in all areas of life. It creates a practice of separating out receiving and giving, which will challenge you, surprise you, and teach you a lot about yourself! As you become exquisitely aware of your desires and limits and how to communicate them, you will be free to make more embodied choices.

In this small group workshop uniquely crafted for Esalen, we will build on the somatic experience of the Wheel of Consent and its natural outgrowth of personal empowerment. We will expand our views to look more closely at our own power and how we can use it well.

This workshop will include curriculum, discussion, and practices to support participants in:

• Learning how to take action for yourself or for another, and knowing the difference.
• Understanding who is doing and who it is for, and knowing the difference
• Noticing, trusting, and valuing both your desires and your limits, which leads to empowerment and self-responsibility
• Learning what power is (and isn’t), making friends with it, and using it beneficially.
• Accessing parts of yourself that have been hidden away that are ready to be seen, appreciated, and healed.

The Wheel of Consent is best experienced somatically — in the body. We will include the option to learn through touch, and, of course, you never have to experience touch you do not want — ever.

Recommended reading: The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent, by Betty Martin

This workshop includes $50 of additional faculty tuition.