To touch without an aim but to simply be with another, ignites awareness — a kind of meditation in touch, if you will.

CELESTE from VULNERABILITY by Steve Karle

A 12-day immersion
with Steve Karle

Water is soft but also remarkably strong. Water flows and shows our reflection when still. Water vibrates to the subtlest sound or touch. Water, a living symbol of resonance and transformation. During twelve days we’ll dive into this fluid medium, exploring its soft, formless quality, which can scorch control and established structures, to liberate and open up pathways towards free flow. We’ll gradually let go, each at our own rhythm and pace, gently stirring our stagnant waters, illuminating our depths within, clearing the rocks that lie in our way, until we achieve that which water does best: to unite what seems fragmented, so we may return to our wholeness.

The journey

This 100-hour residential immersion is designed for 12 people, allowing a dynamic but intimate container. It has an intensive yet organic flow based on the individual and collective process. We’ll explore touch in many forms until we find a quality of neutral. From there, we will practice the art of listening as we explore the spontaneity in our bodies while giving ourselves space to be vulnerable. The element of water will be our medicine. As we bring awareness to our patterns, conditionings and identities, we will invite an organic structure to emerge, both on a personal and collective level: a fluid form that may reveal, re-wild, and cleanse, leading us on an unpredictable journey.

Cayetana & Steve, Oaxaca by Emma Medina

The process

In part, the immersion is a retreat, as we’ll have the chance to relax deeply, explore our inner landscapes, and heal. Partly, it is also a workshop, where we will explore connection, and practice a way to be and be with others that goes beyond the therapeutic, to return to our deep humanity which is intuitive, creative and rich in empathy. At the same time, it is a journey in community, as we weave the threads of our togetherness.

  • At the heart of the immersion are the many partner exercises and session practices in and out of water. Besides being on the facilitator’s role, you will also be on the receiving end. This will give you the opportunity to relax, to deepen within yourself and navigate your own journey. You will have space for silence and stillness to integrate your process at your own pace. You will also have the chance to integrate your experience within the group. Your very own rhythm and voice will be welcome as an essential part of the collective flow.

  • You will learn to facilitate Primordial Expression in a very experiential way and through your own process. Following our daily practices, explorations, and partner exchanges, we will share our experiences as a group, so we can learn from our individual processes and invite greater sensitivity and awareness in regards to our quality of connection with one another. We will build on this very organically as we follow our curiosity for what shows up in the moment, giving ample space for discovery and creativity. Ultimately, you will develop your own art of connection within the therapeutic frame we offer.

  • We look at the group that comes into being as representing a collective system relevant to each participant in that moment in time. This gives us an opportunity to re-discover ourselves within it, as we are shown a range of mirrors to recognise the various aspects of self, and as we navigate projections. We'll bring our awareness into the group dynamics that naturally unfold, with the premise that every single individual on this journey is a fundamental part of the whole. We believe there is a greater intelligence that emerges in the field made up of the wisdom of each individual and which, if we let go of control, can take us much further than where one single person could ever take us — this intelligence will be our teacher.

Rosa & Michael, Oaxaca by Mayra Garcia

“The human body is not a closed or static object, but an open, unfinished entity utterly entwined with the soils, waters and winds that move through it – a wild creature whose life is contingent upon the multiple lives that surround it, and the shifting flows that surge through it.”
— David Abrams, Becoming Animal

The itinerary

We will journey through a total of 90 hours in 12 days. Approximately 70% of this time will be spent in water and the rest in the studio. The schedule has been prepared to support deep immersion and integration of our practice and your personal process. We will wake up and go to bed early, following our natural circadian rhythms, and we will be nourished with highly nutritious vegetarian and vegan meals and snacks. In addition, we will have a series of online group meetings, for a total of 10 hours, both before as well our residential time together.

Cayetana & Steve, Oaxaca by Emma Medina

A focus on silence & inwardness

On a journey centred on connection such as ours, we have a unique chance to come into relationship with each other in rather mindful and creative ways. To support that, during the first half of the immersion we will invite you into greater silence and inwardness outside of our workshops. This means cutting off the small talk, the habit to connect with each other during breaks, the need to define ourselves and establish ties, so you may nurture that subtle quality of connection that we’ll be cultivating in our practices while also having plenty of time to turn inwards. You will also be invited to turn off your mobile phone for the entire duration of the journey.

  • As interconnected beings, we are wired for connection, yet our verbal communication can sometimes lead us away from it. It can mask a fear of silence where vulnerability and intimacy may be found. We may attempt to fill an emotional void by replacing it with intellectual speech, giving priority to our knowing rather than just being. We may also unconsciously create social hierarchical structures or barriers of privilege through our sharing. Conversations often begin with questions such as 'where are you from?' or 'what do you do?' – topics that define and sometimes restrict our freedom to reinvent ourselves and be in the present moment. We can also fall into cultural or societal modes of speech and get carried away by them. We want to precisely interrupt these habits and propose another direction towards connection – one where we can meet each other at a more primordial level.

    This means that we will all arrive in silence, and for the first six days, will only connect with each other within our group practices. We will have an introductory circle but with no icebreakers. Instead, we'll let the ice melt naturally, allowing space for mystery and feeling. We will leave our baggage of stories and identities behind and only bring in what’s relevant to the present moment and to our direct experience with one another. So savour your meals slowly. Tap out of your rational mind that often becomes activated through speech and tap into your intuition instead. Feel into the subtle group dynamics, take time to contemplate, immerse in nature, do some journaling. Before you know it, halfway through the immersion, on the morning of day seven, we will break the silence and from then onwards you may flow as you wish.

Coralie & Steph, England

training testimonials

“It doesn’t get much better than this for me – conscious touch, stillness, freedom of movement, presence, warm water. I found myself in the water. The water is like the form of the divine, it eases everything: my body, my heart, my soul, my coming into being, my coming into relationship both with myself and with others. With such safe holding during these twelve days, I was able to touch into all the agony and the ecstasy of the human experience, and emerge in a very tender and loving place. Thank you Steve.”

— Steph Hodgson, Psychotherapist & Educator

“The way Steve is able to tap into exactly what the body needs and wants, is quite astonishing. Learning to ‘listen’ from him has been an experience that will stay with me forever, and will forever impact my dealings with people in day to day life as well as in a therapeutic context.”

— Tom Lancaster, Life Coach

“It was all about learning to express what wants to be expressed — emotionally, mentally, and physically. Steve encouraged us, and sometimes almost pushed us, not to hold anything back. To stop suppressing emotions, impulses, movement, sounds, tears, anger, fear, joy, truth. It was confronting and challenging — but also full of transformational potential. A possibility to meet and integrate the shadow within us. Most of the work happened in the water. Water became the medicine: a mirror, a womb-like space revealing what is hidden beneath the surface.”

— Manuela Müller, Somatic Therapist

“Steve opened the space in a way that allowed a quality of connectivity with water as a means of self-expression and therapy. The journey unfolded in the most subtle of ways, like the water itself. I saw myself floating as a spinning lotus down a river, returning to the ocean of my deepest memories. Layers of us all unravelled, and we learnt to sense how much depth we all have, while surrendering to the water and in the honourable hands of others. Thanks to Steve for being such a gifted conduit.”

— Talisman Gabriel Das Jaguar, Circus Artist

“Soul work in action. I’m so blessed to have you as my teacher, Steve.”

— Carrie Dehner, Craniosacral Therapist

“The space Steve created allowed for deep presence and connection between all of us. I felt held and free to just be. The subtle yet profound process that took place in me, reminded me of Eva Reich’s work: ‘offer minimum stimulation for a maximum response’. Later on, out of the water and into my clothes and life, I was flooded by the extremely pleasant sensation of floating, and I was feeling very connected to the world while also being deeply focused on myself. Thank you Steve, for transmitting to us with such grace, the art of listening and letting go.”

— Oly Patsoura, Biologist & Doula

“This was a profound journey. Steve has a great ability to listen deeply to the body and to transmit that skill in a very easy way. My favourite part was recreating and studying the spontaneous forms that emerged in our sessions in water. We were all very inspired. Many of my fellow classmates even began writing poetry in their time off, which they later shared around the fire. This was an experience that deeply sparked my creativity. ”

— Helena Eflerova, Multi-Disciplinary Artist

“I had such a wonderful experience. I’m missing the close-knit group and the joint journey of exploration and learning, but I’m feeling energised and enthused by all the potential in my future work. I have great admiration for your teaching style. The supported space you gave us to explore both emotionally and physically for ourselves led to a strong feeling of trust within the group. I never felt judged and questions were always answered sensitively. Thank you Steve.”

Esme Turner, Senior Physiotherapist

“I feel fortunate to have trained with such a skilled and genuine therapist and teacher. Steve’s devotion to his work is an inspiration to his students.”

— Alexandra Kapogianni, Movement Therapist

“Steve has such a wonderful way of sharing this practice – total presence, technical precision, but most importantly a sensitive, safe and gentle way of guiding people, with or without experience in such a practice, into total surrender. And he also makes room for sharing, improvisation and play.”

—Kristine Bale, Yoga Teacher

HELENA from VULNERABILITY by Steve Karle

Is it for you?

It is if you seek to dive within, explore healing, develop greater awareness. If you’re a poet, artist, sensitive soul exploring new creative paths. If you’d like to immerse in the art of touch and connection, enrich your relational skills, and be part of a journey in community. If you work in a holistic, psychotherapeutic, somatic, or movement-based context, you will have the opportunity to fine-tune your skills and sensitivity. Besides, this immersion is the first step in our professional training.

Note: the nature of our immersion can invite great opening. While we create a very safe container for processes and integration, it is also important you have cultivated some level of awareness of your own dynamics through past practices be it somatic, psychotherapeutic or holistic.

Join us

All of our immersions are invitation-only. We carefully curate them to ensure everyone shares a genuine commitment to healing and our community values. We invite you to apply — please tell us about yourself through this form.