Free Your Energy, Transform Your Life: Liberate Emotions and Creative Change with Biofield Science, Psychoneuroimmunology, and Tantric Healing

This healing retreat at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, brings together biofield science, psychoneuroimmunology and tantric healing practice under the guidance of Shamini Jain, PhD. It is for people who want to release held emotions and pain, sharpen their discernment, and open to more creative and spiritual expression, and who are curious about how research and ancient wisdom meet. Over five days, breathwork, vocal work and meditation sit alongside a look at the published science of energy healing.

What to Expect

The workshop works with the biofield, the subtle energy field that Western researchers are now studying for its effects on pain, anxiety, hormone and immune function. Shamini pairs that research with energetic self-healing practices drawn from tantric and other biofield healing traditions. You are invited to:

- Practice breathwork and movement to deepen your felt sense of energy and vitalize body and mind.
- Learn energy psychology techniques for easing anxiety, stress and pain.
- Explore your voice as a healing tool through vocal opening practices and Tantric Shakti mantras, to feel and free your energy, ground in your power and open to creative flow.
- Sit with divine feminine and Buddhist meditations aimed at ancestral patterns and trauma cycles, and at intuition and a sense of possibility with less "efforting."
- Look at how systems and complexity science and quantum research suggest that shifting energy and consciousness can shift our relationships and the course of a life.
- Hear about research on how mind and energy may support healing down to the cells, beyond placebo effects.

The days have a clear rhythm. The week opens on Monday with an orientation to Esalen, followed by an evening opening session and welcome circle. Tuesday focuses on biofield and energy psychology, with a morning session and an evening practice. Wednesday turns to Tantric Shakti mantras and vocal opening in the morning, and the voice as a healing tool in the afternoon. Thursday brings divine feminine and Buddhist meditation in the morning and an evening session on systems science and consciousness. Friday closes with a late-morning synthesis and practical tools for carrying the work home. In all, the workshop runs about 20 hours across the five days. The tone is one of curiosity and learning, with room to leave with both knowledge and tools.

About Shamini Jain

Shamini Jain, PhD, is a psychologist, scientist and nonprofit leader. She is the founder and CEO of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative, a collaborative accelerator of scientists, healers, artists, educators and social entrepreneurs working to advance the science and practice of healing. She is an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego and teaches the art and science of healing at conferences, universities, hospitals and retreat centers. Her two-time award-winning book from Sounds True, Healing Ourselves, is available at bookstores worldwide. Her teaching draws together scientific research, East Indian spiritual practices and vocal empowerment, showing people how they can heal themselves and live joyful, meaningful lives.

The Setting

Esalen Institute sits on the Big Sur coast, a place long known for openness and exploration. Meals are included: breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus coffee, tea and snacks through the day. Guests have access to the hot springs and other campus features, and to the open class schedule.

Accommodation ranges from a budget-friendly sleeping bag space in a shared room, through bunk rooms and shared or private rooms, to premium rooms with ocean or forest views and wooden yurts with private decks. Day passes and an off-site stay option are also offered. Travel into Big Sur has at times run on Caltrans convoys along Highway 1, at set morning and evening hours, so it is worth checking current Highway 1 conditions and planning your arrival and departure accordingly.

Before You Go

No prior experience is listed as required. The workshop fee covers your workshop sessions, housing, meals and access to the hot springs. Esalen massage and other healing arts sessions, specialty drinks and alcohol from the bar, and bookstore purchases are extra. A scholarship application is available for those who need it.