InHouse Esalen® Massage 175-Hour Certificate Training

This entry level 175-hour, 13-week course offers the basics of the Esalen® Massage approach: personal presence, slow-paced integration strokes, targeted detail, energetic strategies, and self-reflection. Classes will also break out specific aspects of anatomy, pathology, gestalt present-based communication skills, special clients’ needs, a bath ritual, and more. At completion of all assignments and the final assessment, the Esalen® Massage Certificate may give students the option to work in unincorporated areas of Monterey County, such as Big Sur, to use the Esalen name in their work, and to continue to accrue hours toward the California 500-hour CAMTC certificate.

The course encompasses 175 hours of massage curriculum. By its completion, students will be able to give a satisfying Esalen® Massage while taking good care of themselves in the process. Students will also document a weekly practice massage. To complete, students must attend all classes, complete the weekly homework, and, at the conclusion, successfully give a full massage to an instructor. They will document 30 additional massages at their homesite post-course and pay an additional $115 certificate fee to earn the right to call themselves Esalen® Massage practitioners.

The class is open to Esalen staff and residents (spacemates) and Work Scholar/REEP graduates. On a space available basis, residents of the Monterey Peninsula and as far south as Morro Bay may enroll. This program does not offer Esalen accommodations or scholarship.

What to Expect
The class will meet promptly at 9:00 AM on Sundays, closing the day at 9:30 PM, with two one-hour meal breaks. The Tuesday class will meet promptly at 4:30 PM, closing at 9:30 PM, with a one-hour dinner break.

Body mechanics, personal connection, and communication skills form the backdrop for each massage session. The first sessions will encompass sensory education: how to become mindfully centered and how to reach out and contact sensitively. Students will become familiar with the signature flow of Esalen® Massage. During the next sessions, instructors will build specific massage methodology: how to create comfort on the table, practical draping strategies, and how to acknowledge respect to all peoples and experiences. Instructors will demonstrate the Esalen approach in the prone and supine position, with plenty of time for practice and reflection. By the end of the first month, students will be able to give and experience a basic massage. A brief touch-in with the instructors provides one-on-one guidance.

In the second month, instructors will add physical details, moving through the layers of the body to address specific areas with massage, movement, and three-dimensional touch. Students will share full sessions with a focus on quality of touch, integration, and wholeness. Instructors will offer a deep dive into the practical aspects of a sustainable massage practice and the ethical code of conduct. There will be Anatomy/Pathology sessions. Instructors will schedule a group process session to clarify the body-mind connection.

The third and final month will focus on an integrated whole. Instructors address special circumstances such as tender muscles, side work, pregnancy, and the issues around difficult personal histories as it arises in bodywork. Students will learn how to close a session and provide a safe container for any reported shifts that occur. To complete, each student will successfully give a full massage session to an instructor. Their concluding practice sessions will bring the Esalen touch to their friends, family, and future clients.

The required homework includes one documented massage given each week at your home site, anatomy assignments, short quizzes, and hands on assessments, as well as the thirty documented massages post-course. Students may choose to develop a personal awareness practice and journal their personal reflections.

Course dates:
April 13, 2026 to July 26, 2026
(No class on Sunday, June 14, and Sunday, July 5)

Schedule:
Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Each class day includes meal breaks.
Tuesdays, 4:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Sundays, 9:00 AM – 9:30 PM

Course Fee & Payment Information:
A 30% deposit payment is required at time of registration to secure your space in the program. The final balance payment is due on April 13, 2026 (one day prior to the start of the program).

A payment plan is available for Esalen Staff and Esalen Residents: After submitting the 30% deposit to secure your space in the program, the remaining balance payments can be split into three monthly installment payments due April 1, May 1, and June 1.

Esalen Staff Rate: $2,100.00
(Payment plan option: $630.00 Deposit + three $490.00 monthly installment payments)

Esalen Resident Rate: $2,800.00
(Payment plan option: $840.00 Deposit + three $653.33 monthly installment payments)

Esalen Work Scholar/REEP Graduate Rate: $2,800.00
(No payment plan available)

Big Sur Locals Rate: $3,500.00
(No payment plan available)