It’s been exciting to observe the rapid growth of Esalen Massage in Europe, Japan, North and South America over the last decade. The pioneering work of people like Perry Holloman and the Gestalt Institute of Dortmund in Germany, Dean Marson and Brita Ostrom in Japan and Canada, and a dedicated core of practitioners and teachers at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur has created a base from which this effective technique can be learned and practiced in more and more places throughout the world.

As the list of students and practitioners worldwide grows, we have asked ourselves the question: What makes this technique as effective as it is? Although we have been practitioner's for many years, we are still impressed by the feedback we hear regarding the power of Esalen Massage to move not only the body but the mind, emotions, and energies of those we work on. Not infrequently we have seen our work touch people at a level catalyzing changes in their lives which are meaningful and lasting.

We realised the answer to our question lay in the uniqueness of the Esalen Institute itself. Michael Murphy and Dick Price intended Esalen to be a place not dominated by any particular approach, open to all approaches without prejudice, supporting those which proved themselves to be effective. Esalen Massage evolved in this environment. We were exposed to masters like Dr. Randolph Stone, Milton Traeger, Moshe Feldenkrais, Ida Rolf, and the students who carried on their work. Pioneers like Charlotte Selver and Charles Brooks taught us about the subtler aspects of sensing the body while Rolfers like Al Drucker demonstrated the effectiveness of deeper bodywork. No single approach ever became dominant.

As we reflect upon the wisdom of having created such an open learning environment, we would like to acknowledge the vison of Dick and Michael. The dynamic, very individual nature of this work (all of us work differently and emphasize different things when we teach) sometimes creates chaos amongst the members of our organization. Dick and Michael themselves were reported to have had some very energetic disagreements over the years. Chaos, as we have all learned from another master teacher from Esalen, Gabrielle Roth, is an essential part of the creative process.

Nevertheless an organization, the EMBA, has evolved, which supports our many creative approaches to teaching Esalen Massage out in the world. We reach out to you as practitioners, students, and associates to support us with your memberships and by spreading the word about upcoming Esalen seminars. We look forward to seeing you somewhere soon!

Namaste, The EMBA