Special Offerings
Escape for five rich, rejuvenating, and transformative days to the gorgeous Esalen Retreat Center in Big Sur. Movement, “the forgotten language of the soul” will be our primary vehicle on this journey, as we explore one of the most essential dynamics in our lives as human beings -- that of Self Expression.
Would you like to move and express yourself more freely and joyfully in the world? This workshop offers a fun and unique approach to deepening self-perception, awareness, and acceptance. The basis for the work is called Essential Motion. It is a combination of improvisational movement, somatic coaching, psychological and emotional inquiry, communication exercises, group mirroring, and mindfulness practice. Participants are also videotaped in solo, dyad, and group situations, with opportunities for viewing the tapes as a particularly powerful form of personal feedback.
Karen Roeper and Peter Rosselli create a fun, provocative, and safe environment, supported in the natural beauty and peacefulness of Esalen’s
Pacific coast setting. They guide you through a discovery of your own personal vocabulary of expression, and help you explore how these expressions and response patterns directly reflect how you function in your everyday world. These somatic insights create possibilities for greater choice, and the ability to move through daily life with more grace, freedom, expressiveness, and power. Through the Essential Motion process, you reintegrate the physical intelligence and playful body ease of childhood, while cultivating the soul sustaining qualities of understanding, acceptance, and compassion.
Participation in The Great Escape will enable you to:
- Understand how your self-images, expressions constrict/support life goals
- Dissolve personal barriers to free and fully expressive action in the world
- Experience how your nonverbal/verbal communications impact relationships
- Awaken physical sensation, sensitivity, flexibility, and body ease
This workshop is especially designed for those interested in learning how to crack open self-beliefs that constrain spontaneous, playful, and powerful expression. The ultimate goal is to develop a centered presence informed by our hearts and higher intentions, rather than by mental judgments and limiting self-images.
The Great Escape
This event is offered only once a year and is limited to 12 participants.
Check the 2009 Esalen catalogues for dates, or contact us directly for more
info at:
To reserve a space: Call Esalen at (831) 667-3005 or go to www.esalen.org
CEU credits for MFT’s and LCSW’s available. Course meets requirements of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Provider PCE#3272
Karen Roeper’s lifelong focus has been to explore the relationships between the body, emotions, the mind, and Spirit. She is the founder of Essential Motion, and has maintained a private practice and conducted leadership seminars both nationally and internationally for over 23 years. Karen holds a Masters in Counseling and Dance Therapy, and is a Rosen Method Bodywork Senior Teacher. She believes in curiosity and kindness, and is committed to fostering the transformative abilities within each person.
Peter Rosselli is President of Invisible Elephant Training & Consulting, Inc. He has conducted programs in Improvisation, Interpersonal Communications, Presentation Skills, Conflict Management, and Team Building for over 20 years. He consults with companies such as Ebay, IBM, and Kaiser Permanente. Peter has spent a lifetime of study and performance in the expressive arts, particularly music and dance. His background includes graduate studies in Counseling and Movement Psychology, Diamond Heart Training in the Ridhwan School, and twenty years studying Buddhist meditation practices.