Sometimes a path begins with a single unexpected moment.
For Jingni Wang, it happened in a small room in France — a quiet doorway, a naked client, and an instinct that changed her life.
She had learned Chinese medical massage back home. Clothes on. Meridians. Pressure. Structure. But in France, when she stepped out to let the client prepare, she returned to find them fully undressed.
Her method no longer fit the moment. Her language wasn’t strong enough to explain.
So she reached for a bottle of oil. She began moving her hands the only way she intuitively knew.
“I realized later that I was imagining a kind of massage that was meditative and quiet,” she says. “And half a year later, in Bali, I found it.”
The Doorways That Opened — France, Then Bali
Before massage became her path, Jingni studied media art — photography, documentary, performance. She loved improvisation and authenticity, qualities that moved into her dance and yoga studies, and eventually, into her hands.
Massage intrigued her, but China offered few opportunities to practice creatively.
France opened the first door.
Bali opened the second.
There, at age 28, she witnessed her imagined practice come alive. Ellen Watson stood leading a public demonstration, surrounded by practitioners from Japan, Indonesia, and Europe.
“I saw body movement and massage coming together. It was very fascinating — like a union of human and nature,” she recalls.
This moment became her “yes.”
Planting a Seed in New Soil
Ellen came to China shortly after. The summer was hot and humid, the rooms were small, but the curiosity was large. In 2015, their first training began with only a handful of students. They finished a year later, and for a time the work paused, then bloomed again.
Esalen Massage was new territory. China had therapeutic massage rooted in fixing problems and a service-based culture that left little room for presence or pleasure.
“Why learn a massage from the US?” people asked.
Yet something deeper resonated.
“Esalen Massage echoes Chinese philosophy,” Jingni says. “People can read the unspoken messages.”
Slowly, the practice found its voice in China — not through explanation, but through experience.
The Teachers Who Nourished Her Path
When asked who shaped her, Jingni answers gently:
“Different stages need different nutrition.”
Ellen offered intuition and artistry — the freedom to express story, metaphor, and movement. Later in Bali, Rob Wilks brought structure. She filled a notebook with his teachings, then forgot it at home. A year later, when Rob spoke again, she realized the notes were already inside her.
“Only then I understood how important structure is.”
Her work now carries both qualities — fluidity and clarity.
Where Cultures Meet Through Touch
Jingni often describes culture as a “beautiful human hot pot,” where influences mix and return in new forms. Esalen Massage, for her, is one of these crossings — East and West meeting through hands rather than words.
She remembers Chinese and Japanese students working side by side, histories once heavy now touched with quiet honesty.
“By touch, we don’t need language. Connection appears naturally.”
Her meeting with Ellen in Bali grew into years of collaboration — trainings, mentorship, and now preparing to enter the Esalen Massage Global Village together.
Where Her Practice Lives Today
Jingni teaches in China, blending somatics, movement, and cultural inquiry. Her work is guided by intention without strain — effort that feels like breath, not force.
This is the essence she brings to her EMGV26 offering, rooted in her own practice of Wu Wei.
Offerings at EMGV26 — Wu Wei in Esalen Massage
Wu Wei means “effortless.”
In Jingni’s session, practitioners explore how the body moves when force softens — how long strokes emerge inside short ones, how bodyweight can flow instead of push, how harmony appears when we stop trying to change.
Explore her class here: Wu Wei and Esalen Massage
“When we don’t deliberately try, noise fades. Change occurs naturally.”
Invitation to the Global Village
When asked what she would tell practitioners around the world, Jingni speaks with quiet conviction:
“We can transmit wisdom through the hands.
Different cultures, different histories — we meet in presence.
This gathering is a great opportunity for our community.”
In Chinese, her invitation becomes even more tender:
“在瑞士，我们第一次可以真的在一起。
在当下相遇，体验不同文化的智慧。”
A call beyond language — a meeting of worlds through touch.