\u201cIn my life, Big Sur and Esalen have been a through line for me,\u201d\u009d said Mr. [Michael] Barry, who was sitting at the back of the yurt with his wife, Sharon. He added that a \u201cMayan shaman talking about 2012 and the return of Kukulkan\u201d\u009d was a \u201cgood example\u201d\u009d of how Esalen had remained on American culture\u2019s cutting edge.<\/p>\n
But Peter Meyers, an Esalen regular for the past 25 years who was leading a workshop on public speaking, said the center was not moving fast enough to keep ahead of the times.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long time it was the only game in town,\u201d\u009d he said in the main lodge, where a lunch of products from Esalen\u2019s organic gardens was being served. \u201cYou wanted to take yoga and study Eastern mysticism. Now, next to every nail place on every street in L.A. there\u2019s a yoga studio, and there\u2019s an ashram right next to it.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n