Embracing the Journey: How Esalen Massage informs my counseling practice
I first discovered my passion for mental health and inner exploration in high school. I was lucky enough to have psychology offered as an elective in my school and immediately I knew this was something I wanted to continue to explore. In college, I eagerly dove into the world of psychology and mental health, becoming increasingly fascinated by all the topics and classes, soaking up as much as I could. Yet after graduating in 2008, I felt the need to step back a bit—to take some time away from school and get to know myself outside of the structure of higher education. I felt that to truly understand others and feel confident in holding space for clients, I first needed to understand myself more deeply.
During this time, I found myself drawn to bodywork, specifically Esalen massage. Initially, I didn’t see how closely it would connect to mental health. It felt like I was taking a detour, exploring a different interest on my journey of self-discovery. But as it turns out, that detour led me right back to where I was meant to be, with a deeper understanding of the human experience and a new perspective on how I wanted to work with clients.
Esalen massage became more than just a modality for me—it was a philosophy that resonated deeply in both my personal and professional life. Born out of the human potential movement, Esalen massage is built on the belief that every individual has the wisdom within them to find balance and healing. Sometimes, all we need is the right support and space to access it. This idea of access each individual’s inner wisdom really spoke to me, and I found personal resonance in the core principles of presence, curiosity, and the mind-body connection.
In Esalen massage, we spend a lot of time cultivating self-awareness as a way to create deeper connections with others. It helped me see that, much like in counseling, the practice of massage is about relationships—between client and therapist, person to person. This work is relational at its core. By developing a deep sense of presence and awareness within myself, I’ve learned how to better hold space for others, whether I’m working with them through massage or counseling.
Curiosity also became a guiding principle in how I interact with both myself and others during sessions. I am learning to approach each session with a sense of wonder, to live and practice from a place of questions rather than answers. This openness has been invaluable in my counseling work, where trusting the process and the client’s own inner wisdom can lead to profound healing.
One of the most beautiful lessons I’ve learned from Esalen massage is the interconnectedness of mind and body. Often, people come in to a massage session with physical concerns, and as we explore further, stories of grief, struggle, stress, and responsibility start to unfold—those things that make up our messy, beautiful human experience. By being present with them in that moment, in their bodies, I often sense something deeper is unfolding. It’s this experience that eventually led me back to the mental health field, feeling called to offer counseling as a way to more fully address and integrate these profound unfolding insights.
While I still have a deep love for bodywork, I’ve realized that my passion for counseling is another way I can be of service in my community. Here, I can help clients explore the full spectrum of their experiences, still drawing on the principles of presence, curiosity, and trust that I first discovered through Esalen massage. My journey may have taken a few unexpected turns, but each step has brought me closer to where I am today—working with clients to discover their own paths to healing, in both mind and body. I know my journey does not end here and I am excited to see what unexpected turns will show up next as I continue to learn and grow as a counselor.
