Product Details

• Actors: Esalen Institute Massage staff
• Directors: Steve Purcell
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: At Peace Video
• DVD Release Date: September 25, 2003
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00013A0E2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,605 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly transformative approach to my massage work, July 29, 2004

By 

Karla Cornwell "Karla" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Esalen Massage (DVD)

I own the Esalen Massage VHS tape and I just bought the Esalen DVD -- it's fantastic. I use the remote all the time to go to specific parts of the body - and I speak english, but it's also got spanish and german soundtracks. Although the above review comments about draping and hair touching clients is true enough -- I also know from having been to Esalen that all the clients in the video were fellow massage therapists of the folks who were doing the work! So they were all friends. But it's also true that the Esalen Massage DVD is used in a lot of massage schools around the country because massage teachers like the blending of massage techniques into one, whole body massage. I know that some massage schools focus heavily on one particular approach, and that often inhibits therapists from developing massage styles that are creative and constantly evolving in order to help their clients. I tell friends that the Esalen DVD is great for couples who want to learn the basics of massage-ing each other -- you can turn it on and follow along. And I'm sure massage school instructors are quick to yell - and don't EVER drape like THAT! But it's a great tool for learning massage without getting bogged down in any particular technique. I wish I could have been one of the lucky ones on the table.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love the DVD, July 25, 2005

By 

congoAG (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Esalen Massage (DVD)

The video is great and I have incorporated the towel draping in my practice. Yes i am a CMT with over 1,000 hours of training and have my practice in Colorado. Most of my clients really love just having a towel including the women and i do get a few who are uncomfortable and we go with a sheet. The reason for a towel is to make the broad long strokes and not have anything in the way. If you people who are CMT's or LMT's find that sexual then you need to change professions. as for being close to the private area, have you ever done adductor work? You get closer to the private area with adductor work or even lower abs work than you do with Esalen Massage.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, although sometimes misunderstood, August 11, 2009

By 

R. Trimble (San Jose, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Esalen Massage (DVD)

I'm a male Certified Esalen Massage Practitioner with a practice in California, and it's apparent from reading the other reviews that there's a good deal of misunderstanding about the way Esalen Massage is practiced out here.

First, the draping used in this DVD is not typical of the way that I work, nor is it typical of the approach used by any other bodyworker I know. And in Esalen Massage training, held outside of Esalen, standard draping techniques are taught. I'm not opposed to giving a session with a more flexible approach to modesty issues, with a lover or friend, or with another bodyworker, but when dealing with the general public such an approach would be not just inconsiderate and unethical, it would be professional suicide.

In the many trips I've taken to Esalen, most often to watch the therapists work, I have yet to see a recipient draped as liberally as is shown on the DVD. The only "marginal" situations I have witnessed were the few occasions where members of the staff worked on each other, and even then draping was always used. At no time have I ever seen anything remotely improper in all the sessions I've observed.

The Esalen Massage DVD shows members of the staff working on each other: these are people who have reached a heightened comfort level with their own bodies and the bodies of others, and it's reasonable to understand that the liberal approach used by them in this context is not typical of the way the work is done outside of Esalen. After all, this DVD is not presented as a How-To for working with the general public. It was created years before Esalen Massage was first taught outside of Esalen, and was intended largely for people who were unfamiliar with the style and wanted to expand their approach to bodywork. And for that purpose it's very successful.

One reviewer suggested that "there obviously aren't strict ethical boundaries established" in California. That's both unfair and inaccurate. The city where I'm licensed is typical and has regulations as long as your arm, covering everything from draping to proper attire to exchange of gratuities. Some cities require national certification, which tends to eliminate all but the most dedicated practitioners, and one has to take an assortment of medical tests to become licensed. I should add that as a male practitioner in a female-dominated industry I have had to be especially careful of boundary issues. It's hard enough to get female clients on my table because of trust issues, and the last thing I want to do is give them a reason to not come back.

I was taught during Esalen training, and I think it's excellent advice for all therapists, to always communicate well with the client. If you're not sure about something, ask! The only time I don't ask is when the issue concerns draping a female client, because some clients will be suspicious of the question itself. So I utilize standard draping techniques as a matter of course. If I've worked for some time with a client then sometimes the issue comes up in conversation organically. If it doesn't, I'm not going to mention it. I honor the client by communicating openly and giving them space to ask for what they want; if they don't ask, then that's their decision. I believe that because comfort levels vary so widely one has to be somewhat flexible, but at no time would I ever risk creating discomfort or fear in my clients.

I have a collection of instructional massage DVD's and tapes, and while I use many of them for technique, I use the Esalen DVD for inspiration. It offers a glimpse of a more profound approach to bodywork, and for myself and many other practitioners (as well as our clients!) it's proven to be a path to a deeper, more rewarding experience.