Beyond the Long Stroke: Integrating Esalen® Massage and the Healing Art of Deep Bodywork®

This five-day healing workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, is a professional training in Deep Bodywork® and Esalen® Massage, led by Johanna Holloman and Perry Holloman. It is written for practicing bodyworkers, including massage therapists, acupuncturists, physiotherapists and chiropractors, who want to bring intermediate and advanced deep tissue skill into the presence-based long strokes of Esalen Massage.

What to Expect

Deep Bodywork combines the integrating quality of flowing massage with therapeutic deep tissue work. The aim is relaxation, restored tissue health and lasting structural change. Participants learn to work into deeper soft tissue layers, where dense, hardened areas may be chronically painful from a lack of fluid exchange and energy flow. As those areas soften and re-organize, chronic tension patterns can release, bringing blood, lymph and chi (life) energy back into the tissue.

The curriculum is clear, and the moves are designed to fit easily into an existing practice. You will learn Deep Bodywork techniques for the entire body, from the surface to the deeper layers, and blend them with the long strokes of Esalen Massage. The result joins structural change and pain management with deep relaxation. Proper body mechanics get steady attention, so you can work with inner ease and without needless strain on your own body. The group also looks at how these techniques sit alongside other healing modalities in treating soft tissue pain, for a multidisciplinary approach to pain relief and functional restoration.

The week begins on Sunday evening, 7:15 to 9:30 pm, with the Esalen orientation "How to Drop Into Esalen" and a workshop welcome. Monday through Thursday there is a morning session from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm and an afternoon session from 3:30 to 6:15 pm. Thursday evening offers an optional extended session from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. Friday closes with a final session from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, and the rest of the day is left for integration and getting ready to leave.

About Johanna Holloman

Johanna Holloman is a German-born clinical psychologist and Diamond Approach® teacher. Her international teaching includes Integrative Gestalt Coaching™, Integrative Somatic Practice™, Deep Bodywork®, Esalen Massage® and yoga. It centers on embodied presence and inner development through inquiry, breath and movement.

About Perry Holloman

Perry Holloman has facilitated and taught Integrative Gestalt Coaching™ at Esalen for over 40 years, specializing in body-oriented approaches to inner development and trauma recovery. He is a senior teacher of Esalen Massage and the creator of Deep Bodywork®. With Johanna he co-developed Hologenic Breathwork™. The Hollomans developed Deep Bodywork over some 40 years, drawing on the knowledge that early bodywork masters brought to and created at Esalen.

The Setting

Esalen Institute sits on the Big Sur coast. Guests staying on campus have access to the hot springs and other campus features, and can take part in the open class schedule. Meals are breakfast, lunch and dinner, with coffee, tea and snacks. Lodging ranges from shared sleeping bag space and bunk rooms to private queen and king rooms, premium rooms with ocean or forest views, and yurts. The Price House Suite, the former home of Esalen co-founder Dick Price, is also among the options.

Before You Go

Participants should have prior hands-on experience giving bodywork, whether massage, somatic work or a related modality. You should also be physically able to give and receive deeper touch over several sessions. Previous massage experience is recommended.

The workshop includes instruction, lodging on campus, all meals, coffee, tea and snacks, hot springs access and open classes. Esalen Massage and other healing arts sessions, specialty coffee, tea and alcohol from the bar, and bookstore purchases are extra. There is an additional materials fee. Thirty CEUs are available through the NCBTMB, provided by Deepbodywork® LLC, for an added processing fee. Recommended reading is Quantum Healing by Deepak Chopra.