Self-Guided Explorations Weekend

There is a particular kind of rest that only comes when no one is telling you what to do next. Self-Guided Explorations at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, is a wellness retreat built around that kind of freedom: a weekend where the cliffs, the Pacific light and the open hours are yours to shape.

Opening and closing circles with your cohort bookend the experience, and between them the schedule is an invitation rather than an instruction. You might deepen your yoga practice, explore breathwork and meditation, move in conscious dance, write, or take a long soak under the stars. You might also do much less, and that is held as a fully valid way to spend the weekend. Musicians Sam Stern and Micha Merrick are part of the gathering.

If you are weighing whether to come, this retreat suits the seeker who wants to reconnect with themselves, their dreams and their desires without a fixed path. Whether you are awakening a dormant passion, tending an old wound, or simply remembering the joy of being alive, the format lets your own intuition and curiosity set the pace.

What to Expect

The weekend moves from gathering to open exploration and back to gathering.

- Opening and closing circles: You begin and end with your cohort, which gives the weekend a shared container around your individual time.
- Open Schedule classes: Choose from offerings such as yoga, breathwork, meditation, conscious dance, the creative arts and presentations by guest faculty.
- Solitude and the land: Time alone, writing, quiet enjoyment of the grounds and soaking in the hot springs are all part of the invitation.
- Healing arts: Esalen® Massage and holistic healing services with compassionate practitioners are available as optional extras.

Esalen's facilitators draw on backgrounds in psychology, mindfulness, somatics, creative arts and holistic healing, offering a supportive framework without prescribing a route. You leave having listened inward, with an experience shaped around what you needed in the moment: reset, refreshed and recalibrated.

About the Lineup

Sam Stern is a musician among the artists associated with this Self-Guided Explorations weekend. Further biographical details were not provided, so we would rather leave the rest unsaid than guess. Check the event page for any updates from the organizer.

Micha Merrick is a musician also associated with this weekend at Esalen. As with Sam, no further biography was available, and the weekend's wider faculty of yoga teachers, somatic practitioners, creative facilitators and healers supports the open format.

Venue & Logistics

The retreat takes place at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. The registration fee covers housing accommodations, breakfast, lunch and dinner, coffee, tea and snacks, access to the hot springs and other campus features, and classes on the Open Schedule. Healing arts sessions such as Esalen Massage, specialty coffee, tea or alcohol from the bar, and bookstore purchases are extra. Self-Guided guests can attend open classes but not preregistered workshops.

Registration options include a workshop with an on-site stay, a workshop with an off-site stay, and an individual day pass. Scholarships are available through an application. Highway 1 near Big Sur has been affected by road closures and travel advisories, so please review Esalen's current travel advisory and plan your arrival and departure accordingly before you travel.