What becomes possible when we slow down, open our senses, and meet the living world with our full attention?
On Esalen’s spectacular Big Sur coast, this immersive, nature-based mindfulness workshop invites you to meditate amid the beauty and aliveness of the natural world. Through sensory awareness and outdoor meditation practices, we will cultivate curiosity, connection, and love, rediscovering our capacity for presence and belonging in an increasingly digital world.
During our time together, you will:
- Learn to meditate outdoors, developing skills to bring mindful attention to your experience in nature.
- Explore sensory awareness practices that deepen attunement, receptivity, and connection with the living world.
- Engage in heart-opening meditations that nurture love and care for the Earth and all life.
- Practice looking to nature as a teacher and refuge, discovering opportunities for insight, renewal, and a deeper sense of belonging.
- Engage in interactive exercises that support a fun, creative exploration of the natural world.
Come prepared for moments of awe, mystery, and unexpected delight as you discover nature’s capacity to inspire and awaken — and practices you can carry into everyday life.
Recommended reading: Awake in the Wild and A Field Guide to Nature Meditation by Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman
Mark Coleman is a Buddhist meditation teacher who has been teaching insight meditation for 20 years. He is author of Awake in the Wild, From Suffering to Peace, and Make Peace with Your Mind, and leads nature-based meditation retreats and mindfulness teacher trainings in the U.S. and Europe.
Lori Schwanbeck
Lori Schwanbeck weaves her passion for nature into her work as a mindfulness teacher, retreat leader, and Hakomi certified psychotherapist. She is a senior teacher and program developer with the Google-born program “Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute”, where she teaches mindfulness-based emotional intelligence programs internationally. Her current project is called “Re-wilding our Feminine Nature” where she integrates embodied, relational, and presence-based practices to rekindle vitality, joy, and awe through immersion in nature.
