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About MovingVentures & Ellen Watson
MovingVentures hosts life-changing personal development and educational programs at inspiring locations in nature on planet Earth. Our workshops, retreats and trainings are designed to help you discover and reach your highest potential. MV was founded in 1996 by Ellen Watson, a globally recognized somatic, movement and healing arts educator. Ellen lived and worked in Big Sur, at Esalen for 30 years, while on a staff chef, gardener, bodyworker and mover and shaker; Ellen, from 1985-2003, rebirthed and directed the Movement Arts Program at the historic Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California.
Decades of in-depth somatic arts study inform Ellen’s teachings: Esalen® Massage & Bodywork, Touching Essence™, Vibrance Practices (Dance, Song, Breathwork) along with various moving meditation practices. Ellen works closely with the faculties of Esalen Massage & Bodywork, Touching Essence & Vibrance to create innovative, edge-walking &timeless curriculum that remains as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago; only the technologies have changed that widen our ability to share with those hungry for our programs. Vibrance’s core faculty are: Ashley Johnson, Daphne Tse, and Ellen. Touching Essence’s core are: Elena Gilli, Daniela Urbassek, and Ellen. Read more: www.Vibrance.Global (going live on March 21, 2021).
Moving Ventures’ annual Esalen®Massage & Bodywork Certification trainings in Bali, with its' unique scholarship program teach local people how to earn sustainable income in an enjoyable and sustainable profession. They then serve their communities, from Ubud, to Seminyak, to Singaraja. The Yayasans Bumi Sehat Birthing Center and Senang Hati, center for disabled Indonesians, have sent students to us for training, and return to share with their colleagues, friends and clientele.
MovingVentures is committed to environmental sustainability in all of its programs. Click here to read our commitment to sustainability. -
Personal Information:
Home & Office: PO Box 248, 225 Town Lot Drive, Bethania, NC, 27010, USA
PO Box 572, 55000 Hwy 1, Big Sur, CA, 93920, USA
Date of Birth: January 28, 1948
Married: Steven H. Lane, Husband
Contact Information:
+1 336-923-8656 Home & Office
+1 831-212-1639 US Mobile
Ellen Watson
Ellen Watson is celebrating her 40th year on the staff and faculty at Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA, where she studies, practices, and teaches various modalities of moving meditation practice.
A licensed minister, Ellen believes that the core of all healing begins in the realm of the heart and the Spirit. Among her great pleasures are opening the door for people to dance, to sing and play and pray, to touch and be touched. She is passionate about spreading the good news about how waking up can heal and transform the mind, body and soul.
Ellen is a teacher of Esalen® Massage & Bodywork, Gabrielle Roth's 5Rhythms, Holotropic Breathwork, Vibrance, Touching Essence, Wake Up & Roar and Your Body is a Musical Instrument.
From 1984 through 2003, Ellen developed and administered the Movement Arts Program at Esalen. In 1996, she founded MovingVentures whose mission is education in the somatic arts, focusing on women and men in developing countries, and the southern USA.
MovingVentures faculty offer workshops, retreats, and trainings at Esalen, in Bali, and at other inspiring locations around the globe.
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Our Faculty, Team and Partners
Whilst the majority of our programs are led by Ellen Watson, we invite a range of teachers from Esalen® Institute and other organizations and practices to join us from around the world. Our partnerships with organizers and promoters across the globe make possible the work we do.
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Touching Essence
Touching Essence is a multi-sensory, multicultural, Neo-shamanic approach to healing through touch. Touching Essence combines the physical with the metaphysical, engaging the energies of chakras, meridians and the cosmos. We engage the five physical senses, the three subtle senses of imagination, intuition and inspiration, specifically chosen essential oils, sound, song and mantra creation. Each session is individually crafted in support of highest good and desired outcomes of the client.
Developed over the last 30 years at Esalen Institute, California, Centro d’Ompio, Italy and Bali, Indonesia, Touching Essence is inspired and nurtured by Ellen’s plant medicine work, sound healing, and breathwork practices and teachings, by Elena's (founder of Tactus), art of touch and energetic work, and by Daniela’s study and practice Esalen Massage and of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Daniela, Elena and Ellen have a combined total of 75 hears of study, practice and teaching Esalen®Massage & Bodywork, along with various healing, somatic and expressive arts practices.
Touching Essence uses the Indian Map of 8 Chakras, the Chinese map of 12 meridians, along with specific essential oils, vocal and sound healing, visualization and affirmation in support of desired outcomes. These act as conductors through which the body, mind, emotions and energy interact as an integrated system. Any imbalance at the level of the chakras and meridians is closely correlated with tensions and disharmonies on the physical level.
The focus of the work is to access these powerful energy centers through a combination of the five physical senses and the three subtle senses. We teach students how to direct breath and sound to release holding patterns throughout the physical and metaphysical bodies.
The intention of this course, is global fusion of highly effective approaches and protocols that address patterns of holding in the physical, emotional, and energetic bodies. -
These are Touching Essence Introductions
with Ellen Watson, Elena Gili, and Daniela Urbassek -
See more photos by going to our Media page.
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Esalen® Massage & Bodywork
The Esalen® institute was founded in 1962 in Big Sur, California. It has become the most renowned healing center in the world and combines a range of Eastern & Western philosophies, beliefs and practices to help truly understand how to heal and develop.
Esalen® Massage is known for it's long flowing strokes from one end of the body to another. Most common massage practices are sequential with the therapist having been taught a standard routine to practice on all of their clients. Esalen® is a form of intuitive massage where the therapist may truly understand how to provide the massage that the body on the table requires.
This form of massage leaves the receiver feeling relaxed, nurtured and in a state of well-being. Practitioners integrate an understanding of energy, structure and soul to be able to build a powerful connection that can release daily stress patterns, calm the mind and nourish the body. -
In this video Jessica Fagan performs an Esalen Massage during one of our certification trainings in Bali, Indonesia -
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Vibrance
In this transformational practice we share with you what brings us pleasure, joy, and what we believe is important in your desire to become a DJ, an instructor, facilitator, teacher, and inspired leader.
Through the physical and mental exercise of the ancient practices of dancing and singing we learn to heal ourselves and others whilst getting in great shape!
Sound is a physical vibration flowing through space in every moment and continuously a highly influential effect on us in day to day life. Surrounding ourselves with the right vibrations is key to joy and success.
As Vibrance has grown it's own community and following over the years we have developed it's own website.
Click the button below to visit and take a look at Classes, Workshops, Retreats & Teacher Trainings near you! -
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Show Up & Teach
Show Up & Teach is the name given to our events production service. We provides leaders and teachers with support before, during and after their events.
These are commonly, but not limited to, somatic arts retreats and teacher trainings or cultural immersion tours.
Our team of Indonesians will introduce you to their beloved country and the magical island of Bali. MovingVentures can help you find a venue, arrange transportation and plan excursions during your program.
We want to help you create high-quality, memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that are within your budget, allowing you to focus on spreading the word to your clientele. -
Why choose MV as your retreat agent?
In the business for 14 years, we understand what teachers really need to create a successful program. Those who are new to the business or to our locations find our knowledge and skills to be vital. At MovingVentures, we are producing our own workshops regular, so we know how to ensure client satisfaction. We have accommodations to fit any budget.
What makes us so good at running programs?- We have well-established relationships with a variety of reputable venues.
- We have a cohesive, dynamic and adaptable team.
- We work with reliable transportation companies and individuals.
- We have extensive knowledge of Balinese culture.
- Our excursions are of the highest standards.
- Our local staff are fluent in the English language.
- We are among the most experienced companies to produce retreats in Bali.
- We cover every step of producing a retreat, from conception to completion.
- We love what we do and we will make sure your program works for you and each of your clients!
