Meeting the Whales – Program, Sri Lanka

With Žan Perko and Angelina Borisova

Meeting the Whales invites you into an immersive journey where somatic wisdom, water therapy, and embodied presence open a gateway into the ocean’s deeper intelligence. As we enter the waters of Sri Lanka to meet the whales, we cultivate sensitivity, groundedness, and inner clarity. The program weaves experiential practices on land and in the water, preparing the body–mind system to encounter whales not only visually, but through resonance, somatic attunement, and deep inner listening.

Žan bridges somatic understanding with water therapy, presenting aquatic work in a grounded, accessible, and embodied way. Through principles such as attunement to sensation, nervous system pacing, breath, anchoring, and relational presence, he offers a gentle and safe pathway into aquatic experiences. His approach integrates body awareness, therapeutic touch, and emotional integration to create a supportive foundation for entering the water world.

Together, these modalities create a rich and transformative container – preparing participants not only to meet the whales in the ocean, but also to meet themselves with depth, openness, and somatic presence.

PROGRAM POSSIBILITIES

1. Essentials of Water Therapy

An introduction to core principles of water therapy and the art of supporting another human in warm water. Participants learn foundational holds, head supports, and flotation principles that cultivate somatic listening, presence, and fluid awareness.

2. Somatic Relating on Land and in Water

Developed with Sasha Bezrodnova, Somatic Relating explores how movement – especially in water – awakens early developmental material stored in the body. Through practices on land and in the water, we deepen attunement, sensitivity, and embodied communication, working with the sensory–motor loop, feedback loops, and resonant presence.

3. Authentic Movement in Nature

One element of the journey introduces Authentic Movement, a contemplative practice rooted in listening to one’s inner impulses. Developed in the 1950s by Mary Starks Whitehouse, a dancer and pioneer in movement therapy influenced by Jungian psychology, this practice invites movement without choreography – eyes closed, guided by sensation, imagery, emotion, and impulse. Each mover is accompanied by a witness whose grounded presence supports self-awareness, emotional clarity, and integration. Later expanded by Janet Adler and Joan Chodorow, Authentic Movement today serves therapeutic, creative, and spiritual exploration.

Guided in natural environments, these sessions reconnect movement, breath, sensation, and voice with the rhythm of the land and sea – opening a pathway into deep internal awareness and expression.

4. Beyond: Field Dynamics

Žan’s core modality developed over 15 years, integrating somatic practices, Family Constellations, IFS, and energy work. Participants learn to orient within emotional fields, body signals, and group dynamics, sensing the subtle communication beneath words and strengthening intuitive perception.

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5. Voice Activation and Sounding

A space for opening the voice through breath, resonance, and sounding practices. We explore vibrational expression, group harmonics, and the voice as a bridge into deeper emotional and somatic layers – preparing us to tune into the frequency-based communication whales use in the ocean.

6. Freediving Foundations

For those unfamiliar with underwater immersion, Žan offers introductory freediving guidance as a certified Molchanovs instructor. Participants learn the basics of breath, relaxation, equalization, and underwater orientation – cultivating safety, ease, and trust in the ocean environment.