Self-Guided Explorations Weekend of January 29–31, 2027

There is a particular kind of rest that only arrives when no one is asking anything of you. This wellness retreat at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, offers a weekend built around that invitation: three days on the Big Sur coast where the schedule belongs to you, and the only real instruction is to follow your own curiosity and intuition.

Self-Guided Explorations is designed to help you reconnect with yourself, your dreams, and your desires. Whether you are awakening dormant passions, tending to old wounds, or simply remembering the joy of being alive, the weekend gives you a supportive place to reset, refresh, and recalibrate. Musicians Sam Stern and Micha Merrick are part of the teaching presence, alongside the Teachers in Residence who lead the daily open classes.

If you are weighing whether to come, consider what you need most. Some seekers arrive wanting movement and community. Others want long hours of quiet, a journal, and the sound of the land. This retreat holds both, and trusts you to know the difference.

What to Expect

The weekend is framed by an opening circle and a closing circle with your cohort. Between them, the days are yours to shape. Rather than a fixed curriculum, you choose from the open schedule of classes and activities, or choose nothing at all.

Offerings may include:

- Yoga and dance-based movement, including conscious dance
- Breathwork and meditation
- Journaling and writing sessions
- Creative arts
- Presentations by guest faculty
- Time for solitude and quiet enjoyment of the land
- A long soak under the stars

Optional Esalen® Massage and holistic healing services are available for those who wish to deepen the experience, and are booked separately. Guests leave with a renewed sense of vitality and well-being, and with the experience of having directed their own renewal.

Please note that self-guided guests have access to the open classes but not to preregistered workshops.

About the Lineup

Sam Stern is listed as a musician among the teachers for this weekend. The organizer's page does not share further biographical detail, so what can be said with confidence is that his music is part of the retreat's offering of embodied, joyful practice.

Micha Merrick is also a musician on this weekend's roster. As with Sam, the published material does not detail background or credentials. Together with the Teachers in Residence, who lead open classes that may include yoga, dance-based movement, journaling, and breathwork, Micha contributes to an atmosphere designed to encourage joy and mindfulness.

Venue & Logistics

The retreat takes place at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. Registration options include a workshop with on-site stay, a workshop with off-site stay, and an individual day pass. The on-site package includes housing, 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, specialty coffee, tea or bar purchases, and bookstore purchases are not included. A scholarship application is available for those who need it.

Highway 1 access around Big Sur has been affected by road closures and travel advisories. Please review Esalen's current travel advisory before planning your journey, since conditions may change.