The Wisdom of Aging: Self-Care, Community, Inquiry, and Celebration

With Jim Gallas

May 20 - 24, 2024

Workshop Schedule

Monday
7:15 pm – 8:00 pm * How to Drop into Esalen *
8:15 pm – 10:00 pm
Tuesday
7:30 am – 9:00 am (Rooftop)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Wednesday
7:30 am – 9:00 am (Rooftop)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Thursday
7:30 am – 9:00 am (Rooftop)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
4:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Friday
9:30 am – 12:00 pm

See general schedule information including arrival, departure and meal times.

  • Sleeping Bag Space – $900.00
  • Bunk Bed Space – $1,200.00
  • Standard Shared Space – $1,500.00
  • Standard Queen Room – $2,000.00
  • Standard Room Two Beds – $3,200.00
  • Premium Queen Room – $2,800.00
  • Premium King Room – $3,000.00
  • Premium Plus King Room – $3,400.00
  • Premium Wooden Yurt – $3,400.00
  • Premium Wooden Yurt Two Beds – $3,400.00
  • Rolf Suite – $6,500.00
  • Point House – $6,500.00
  • Fritz Point House – $6,500.00
  • South Point House – $8,000.00

How do we celebrate aging and become wisdom holders for our communities in a youth-obsessed culture? As we ripen into the late summers and autumns of our lives, how can we let go of what no longer serves us and enjoy the abundance of each precious moment?

The experience of living through many years and different eras affords the ability to see life through the lens of compassionate presence. In this retreat, we will celebrate this perspective and create space in our hearts and minds for joy and curiosity about the future.

During this time together, we will:

  • Build the foundations of a consistent, sustainable self-care practice, including qigong, gentle meridian stretches, and shiatsu self-massage.
  • Explore the profound influence of breath on the autonomic nervous system and the relationship between breath and the quality of mind.
  • Open to the subtleties of the energy body, thus recognizing ourselves and all things as manifestations of the life force.
  • Develop healthy routines for a daily sitting practice and learn to consider meditation as intimacy with the self.
  • Practice silent inquiry, followed by group dialogue about grief, loss, death, mentorship, gratitude, and freedom.
  • Savor poetry from different wisdom traditions as nourishment from the divine.
  • Dance and sing — or, if you prefer, walk and hum — and play improv games offering laughter as gifts of the spirit.

Students aged 50 and older are welcome. Basic mobility is required; otherwise, please come with someone who can assist you. You must be able to lie on the floor and put your legs up the wall for five minutes and accept your physical limitations without judgment. Please come with a beginner’s mind, even if you’re not a beginner.

Recommended Reading: Still Here by Ram Dass

About the Leader

Jim Gallas

Jim Gallas has been teaching yoga and qigong with a sense of deepening silence and the lightness of laughter for over 30 years. He has had the great joy of teaching at Esalen since 1999.

Learn more about Jim Gallas

Categories : , , ,