Esalen massage.

[Bccn]

Does anyone here practice Esalen massage or certified in Esalen?

I'm certified in Esalen and had had it listed as one of my modalities for many years. A few years ago I decided to remove it from my list of trained modalities. I began getting suspicious calls regarding Esalen. It seems to me that Esalen has become associated with erotic massage? That's not how I learned Esalen!?

I don't know how or why this happened? The first call I ever got was from a guy who said he had been to Esalen 25 years ago. He seemed like an okay client, but he wasn't. I've gotten calls from men inquiring about Esalen, and when I firmly tell them, "NO I don't practice Esalen", they want to meet me for lunch and "get to know one another first... you'll see I'm one of the good guys..." Really weird stuff!

I've removed Esalen from all of my literature and online listings, but I still get calls and emails from time to time. I firmly tell these "Esalen guys" that "I ONLY DO SPORTS MASSAGE! GOOD LUCK FINDING A THERAPIST! GOODBYE!" and hang up on them. This doesn't happen often (only one or two calls per year), but I'd say 100% of the calls for Esalen massage that I do get, are very suspicious.

Has anyone else had this problem, or does anyone know why Esalen is now associated with something erotic?

 

[answer]

Esalen massage.

It seems to have become a code word. I have had to do some education to those that call thinking it means an undraped happy ending massage and supposedly in Esalen, I am to be naked as well. :roll:

I can understand your frustration, but if you have a love for the modality it's a great opportunity to educate people and reclaim the modality! I have had the same problem with Lomi Lomi. Another practitioner in my area used that as her own code word for her happy ending and when she retired I got a lot of her old clients calling. Once I figured out what was happening I wrote several articles for my site, made a video of what Lomi Lomi was and didn't see anyone who told me they were a client of the other therapist. Eventually those calls died out and Lomi Lomi continues to be a big part of my income and continues to be a love of mine.

Do what is best for you (100% of the calls for Esalen with that kind of response would be tough!), but know that some people will pervert anything and the time could come when you'll have to start taking the words "relaxation" and even "massage" off your site! Pervs are ever hopeful.

 

[Red Dragon]

Esalen massage.

It seems to have become a code word. I have had to do some education to those that call thinking it means an undraped happy ending massage and supposedly in Esalen, I am to be naked as well. :roll:

I have a regular client who once went to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur while traveling on business and he was shocked when the therapist"took off their clothes to perform the massage in the nude.

Now this would have been in the 90's so I don't know if that's still how they do it now? But I totally trust him that it happened.

Angie

 

[Wilfred B]

Esalen massage.

Oh my goodness. I hadn't gotten any requests for my being nude yet... wow! I knew that they did very slight draping, just a tiny towel at Esalen. I knew that they did massage outside in the grass, but I really had no idea that other things were going on! My goodness, Esalen has a booth at the hair and beauty expo in NYC!! Oh, my.

I would consider giving Esalen massage to woman only and educating them. But men... I just don't know. It seems that any man who's heard of Esalen has heard only the bad stuff (or the good stuff, whichever floats your boat! ugh.) The one client who I did take on that was requesting Esalen, got a little weird, didn't want to be draped, started moaning and groaning and when I turned him over on his belly and ignored his "behavior", he stopped payment on the check he wrote me and never did make good on it. I never heard from him again either, thank heavens! Come to think of it, he was a former client of another therapist. He couldn't locate her since she moved her practice. That must have been the type of Esalen massage she was doing!

Hey Vita, nice avatar! I have a big doe that looks very similar. We don't know her breed, she was a rescue from NYC! Yeah, a goat in the city. Poor thing is still very skittish.