A beautifully landscaped grounds overlooking the Pacific ocean is the home of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur California. The institute has a center for the arts, a center for theory and research, lush gardens, natural hot springs, and massage. While the owner wanted it to be known for the arts and research and such, Esalen became known for its unique style of massage.
Californians are very laid back when it comes to massage. Esalen became known for doing massage without draping (as long as the client was comfortable with it). There were times even when the therapists wore nothing because they were comfortable with it. At one point, when the local licensing board became aware of this, they told the therapists that they would have to wear something or be licensed under Adult Entertainment.
While they do Esalen in California with little or no draping, it can be done within most people’s comfort levels. Sometimes creative draping is needed to keep a person covered, but it can be done. Minimal draping is best, but full draping can be used.
What came out of this freedom was a very unique style of massage that was geared to major relaxation. It utilizes long strokes done with slow motions to create a very relaxing feeling. The client is encouraged to breathe deeply, and the therapist tries to match that breath pattern in their breathing and motions. Movements sweep the entire length of the body in straight lines and swirling patterns. These movements are done with the hands, forearms, elbows, and so forth.
The client is moved around a bit more than a normal Swedish massage. Stretches are done, matching the breath cycle. Some muscle groups are stretched, and then worked in the stretched positions so when the stretch is over, they are much looser than if they had been worked normally.
The client is moved around by sliding the sheet they are laying on up and back. This creates a unique feel just in the moving itself. But what this does is allow the head to be worked without the table to interfere, so that it reaches its maximum stretching potential. This technique is also used to work the legs and pelvis.
The client is also turned on their side. This allows the back to be worked using the body’s weight to create the needed pressure. It also allows a stretch so that the shoulders, spine, and glutes can be worked.
One of the things that Esalen massage offers is relaxation in the extreme. To achieve this, it uses long, slow strokes with varying pressure. It also does continuous movement with pauses placed in there to allow the body to assimilate what has just happened.
But one key is, is that there is no pattern that one follows. In most massages, the therapist starts with a routine. Now if the therapist is any good, the routine will vary with every person that gets on the table because each person’s needs are different. With Esalen, there is no routine. It is completely intuitive. There are moves, and those moves could be ones used in other styles like Swedish or Lomi Lomi, but they are put together based on what feels right at the time.
The idea is to treat the client like a whole being rather than parts (which is what most massage styles do). The flow of the movements makes all the parts feel integrated into the whole that it is. At the heart of the session is a sense of empowering each individual to regain a sense of harmony, reverence, and balance, and to awaken inner resources for healing.
Esalen massage does not use any special movements, but instead utilizes movements that can be found in other styles to create the slow, relaxing effect that is Esalen. In truth, there are only so many types of movements. Many styles use certain ones specifically. Like Lomi Lomi uses the forearm almost exclusively, and Swedish is more geared to the hands. The key with Esalen is that it combines any move to make it into the slow, relaxing flow that makes this style of massage what it is.
Now, since Esalen massage came from the Esalen Institute, and the name is copyrighted, a therapist can not claim to do Esalen massage until they have completed the 150 hour certification program. However, therapists who have been trained in this style in workshops may claim that they do Esalen-inspired massage.
Caring Palms performs Esalen-inspired Relaxation Massage in the traditional 1-hour and 90-minute length sessions. Come in for a very relaxing session. You will feel much better afterwards.