Pleasure Alchemy: Deepening Emotional Intelligence Through Rituals and Sensual Somatics

Pleasure Alchemy: Deepening Emotional Intelligence Through Rituals and Sensual Somatics is a spiritual workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. It is led by Leah Diamond, Tony Holmes and shiloh burton. The workshop is for people drawn to somatic practice and ritual as ways of building emotional intelligence, and who want to explore pleasure as part of that work. It takes place over the Christmas period, and it is one of the winter workshops on Esalen's calendar.

What the Workshop Explores

The title names the workshop's three threads. Emotional intelligence is the aim. Rituals and sensual somatics, meaning work with the body and its sensations, are the means. Pleasure is the subject the group works with, treated as something to be learned from and not only enjoyed. Leah Diamond, Tony Holmes and shiloh burton lead the gathering together, so participants work with a team of three facilitators instead of a single teacher.

The Setting

Esalen is a holistic retreat and nonprofit educational institute on the Big Sur coast. It was founded in 1962 by Michael Murphy and Dick Price and is widely considered the epicenter of the human potential movement. From the start it has been a place for experiential learning, drawing thinkers, artists and spiritual leaders, and its teaching reaches across psychology, somatics, meditation and the arts. A somatic and ritual workshop on emotional life sits squarely within that tradition.

Esalen welcomes visitors with advance reservations for workshops. Lodging at the institute ranges from rustic to deluxe, with options in between, and accommodation and tuition are arranged together when you register. The campus is at 55000 Highway 1 in Big Sur. Access to Big Sur along Highway 1 has at times been limited, with travel restricted to set convoy times. Check current road conditions and plan your arrival and departure around them before you travel.

Before You Go

Workshop places at Esalen are reserved ahead of time. Esalen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and it offers donor-funded financial scholarships so that cost does not keep people from attending. Applications are made through Esalen.

Because the work involves sensual somatics and ritual, it is worth reading the full workshop description on the Esalen site before you register. That will help you decide whether the approach suits you and whether you are ready for it.