Lessons in Liberation: Power, Surrender, and Choice

Lessons in Liberation is a five-day somatic workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, led by Betty Martin and Marcia Baczynski. It is for people who want to explore power, surrender, and choice as felt, embodied states rather than ideas, in erotic life and in everyday relationships. The work is built on the Wheel of Consent®, and it welcomes anyone curious about desire, boundaries, and how they move between leading and yielding.

What to Expect

The premise is simple: power without surrender is force, and surrender without power is collapse. Over the course of the workshop you practice embodying both. BDSM is often taken to mean only rough sex or kink, but at its core it is the consensual exploration of power dynamics, and the workshop approaches it that way, as a matter of trust, communication, and the courage to feel deeply.

Sessions are experiential and participatory. You work through guided exercises, movement, and quiet noticing, using breath, sound, and movement to widen your awareness. You practice paired dynamics such as take/allow, serve/accept, and lead/follow, and you look at the emotions, sensations, and meanings that arise in each. Some practices offer the option of learning through touch, or with simple props like rope or blindfolds. All participation is optional, and your consent leads the way.

The workshop will not include nudity, sexual activity, or BDSM technique tutorials, and nothing you do not enthusiastically consent to.

The week begins on Monday with room keys at 4:00 pm, an orientation from 5:00 to 6:00 pm, and the first workshop session from 7:15 to 9:30 pm. Tuesday through Thursday have morning sessions from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and afternoon sessions from 4:00 to 6:15 pm (6:00 pm on Wednesday), with open classes available through the day. Friday closes with a morning session from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm and a closing circle.

About Betty Martin

Dr. Betty Martin has worked hands-on with people professionally for over 40 years, as a chiropractor, a certified surrogate partner, and a somatic sex educator. Her explorations in somatic-based therapy led her to create the Wheel of Consent®, the framework this workshop rests on. She is also the author of The Art of Receiving and Giving: The Wheel of Consent, the recommended reading for the week.

About Marcia Baczynski

Marcia Baczynski is a coach, educator, and facilitator focused on sexual communication, boundaries, consent, and desire. She is co-author of Creating Consent Culture: A Handbook for Educators, and teaching faculty at the School of Consent and Shakti Shiva Academy.

The Setting

Esalen Institute sits on the Big Sur coast, and the workshop is held on its campus. Meals are taken in the Lodge, and guests have access to the hot springs and other campus features. Lodging ranges from shared sleeping bag space and bunk rooms to standard and premium private rooms, yurts, and several named suites, some with ocean views. You can also attend off-site or with a day pass.

Highway 1 access to northern Big Sur has been managed through twice-daily Caltrans convoys, at 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., which are the only times to travel in or out. Plan your arrival and departure around them.

Before You Go

No prior experience is listed as a requirement. The workshop includes an additional faculty tuition fee beyond the base rate. With on-site stays, the program includes housing, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, coffee, tea, and snacks, hot springs access, and classes on the open schedule. Healing Arts sessions such as massage, specialty drinks and alcohol from the bar, and bookstore purchases are extra. Guests in a sleeping bag space bring their own sleeping bag and bedding. Scholarships are available through an application.