Sleep Alchemy

Meditation Workshop

Sunday, March 29 - 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM

The pace of our crazy times leaves many utterly exhausted and yet unable to truly rest—caught in a cycle of depletion without renewal. Fortunately, we bumbling Daoists have spent millennia perfecting the fine art of lying around, and as such, have uncovered some rather ideal methods for rectifying these modern maladies.
 Join us Saturday, April 11 from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM, for a Daoist Sleep Alchemy Workshop, where we will explore ancient methods to deepen rest and unlock the transformative potential of sleep and dream. 
Through both lecture and a variety of guided meditations, we’ll explore:
  • The subtle cartography of the body

  • Daoist perspectives on the continuum of the sleeping and waking worlds

  • Ways of navigating the liminal space in between sleeping and waking
In this workshop, we will examine and directly experience how sleep isn’t just a meaningless period of blackout, nor a means of "optimizing" our productivity, but a potent method of practice, cultivation, and… well… awakening.
We’ll delve into the embodied constellations of the Five Phases, as well as the deeper, non-dual layers of the self, and explore the hypnagogic threshold—that twilight terrain where the boundaries between waking and dreaming soften. That place where we sometimes may feel more awake, sometimes more asleep, sometimes both, and sometimes neither. . .

Details

  • The workshop will be held on Saturday, March 29 from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. 
  • Bring a cushion (or several) as well as some warm clothes/blanket to start out the class with. 
  • Be sure to show up on time—i.e. at least 10 minutes before the workshop begins. To preserve the continuity of the class, late comers will not be admitted. All new students to the school will be required to fill out a waiver.
  • This workshop is open to the public. 
  • The cost is $99 per person.

Discounts

If any of the following discounts apply to you, please email for a discount code.
  • 50% off for previous Sleep Alchemy participants (at the school or Esalen) 
  • 50% off for currently enrolled Five Branches students 
  • 10% off for current Wudang Santa Cruz students
Register for the Workshop