Fabian Atlantis grew up in Berlin, Germany. From a young age, he felt a deep longing for nature. Before immersing into his transformational healing phase, Atlantis worked with technology startups, the United Nations, and founded a nonprofit dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs in Africa.
Feeling burned out and depressed, he began attending wellness retreats focused on yoga, meditation, shamanic sexuality, plant medicine, and more. During one program, he envisioned a dolphin while participating in a Native American-inspired spirit animal practice. This vision guided him to move to Egypt and become a volunteer in dolphin conservation. Leaving everything behind, he moved to a fishermen’s village in the Sinai mountains, where he lived for three years. He also discovered the power of somatics during a three-month intensive training. Re-igniting his entrepreneurial spirit, he began organizing retreats around the power of water.
Since 2021, Atlantis has hosted two international retreats in Egypt annually. He is a retreat host for Oceanic Ventures and a somatic water therapy practitioner for Pink Dolphin Therapy. For the past three years, he has been traveling the world, combining his hunger for grounding with indigenous culture, yoga teachings, and water therapy, following his mission to spread the healing power of water. Here, he shares some of the practices that help him stay well.
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness means, first and foremost, self-love to me. In today’s world, we are disconnected from the needs of ourselves and our bodies. We have to think before we act. Due to the constant noise and outside stimulation by technology and society, we are distracted from what we truly need. We try to conform rather than connect with our inner core needs.
Wellness is about creating a space for these needs and making them come alive again. A feeling of weightlessness or entering another dimension during a savasana after a yoga practice or a water therapy session is a great way to get into the body again. Wellness also means having no shame in stepping into our inner child, playing in nature, in the mud, or in the sea. Basically, getting out of our heads and breathing in fresh air, feeling the ground under our feet, and connecting with wildlife. Life is about joy, and we need to bring back that mission of lightness and dance into our lives.
What are your favorite things to do to maintain your personal wellbeing?
I am still on the journey of learning to take better care of myself. Some of the practices that I follow personally are yoga, breathwork, and freediving. In addition to that, I attend plant medicine ceremonies in the Amazonian jungle. I believe that these ancient medicines are very effective for the prevention of modern-day diseases. Another big one is the sea for me. Whenever possible, I stay close to the ocean, enjoy the view, and take several dips per day. Running Oceanic Ventures, which is centered around the healing power of nature and water, allows me to embody these values as much as I can in my life
Is there a specific fitness activity that you love and why?
I love Vinyasa Mandala Yoga. It is the method I am trained in as a student and teacher. It is dynamic, fast and slow, and allows 360-degree movements around the mat. It integrates creative, flowy transitions and links movements to the four elements, targeting hips, hamstrings, and glutes to build deep mobility and strength. The teacher and music play a very important role in the practice, as the energy sets the tone for me. It allows me to let go and surrender to the flow.
What is your favorite healthy food, and do you have a favorite way of preparing it?
A true health food that comes to my mind is organic, locally farmed minced meat in all its forms. Simply fried in the pan and possibly with some cheese, onions, and tomato paste. That said, I am still on the journey, sometimes feeling stuck between being vegan and carnivore for ethical reasons.
I am a big foodie and easily satisfied with all sorts of healthy foods. Simplicity and natural, local ingredients are key for me. Imagine if we could all eat products that don’t have a bar code. I feel like this is where we should go. We have to be more attentive to what we put into our bodies. Modern supermarket food is often designed to look good and be convenient. It is scary, and we need to change that.
What is your favorite healthy beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), and do you have any insider tips for preparing it?
I love a good kombucha; it has incredible benefits for the gut. The preparation can take longer, and I have actually never prepared it myself.
What is your greatest wellness achievement?
I feel like my greatest wellness achievement is the ability to connect with the intuitive needs of my clients, let’s say in the water. Is the client ready to be floated and fully immersed with deep breath holds leading to a feeling of being reborn, or is it simply enough to hold their hand and be present? This diversity in the healing process, versus for example a fixed sequence, is what I enjoy most, and I believe it serves my clients’ needs best. It is also about the ability to feel how deep we can lean into an emotion to resolve an unresolved inner conflict without going too far. It is almost like a dance between allowing and pushing, a dance between the masculine and feminine. A great space-holder needs the capacity to feel and embody both sides of the spectrum. It is where a lot of trauma resides.
What is the best piece of wellness advice you have ever received and from whom?
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Jiddu Krishnamurti
What is your favorite place for a healthy vacation or escape?
I strive to climb Mount Sinai, the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God, once per year. It is located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The first time I went to the valley of St. Catherine, which hosts the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world, I drank water from a well. Since that day, I knew I had to organize retreats and have never stopped. It is a magical place that reminds me that we don’t need much in life. Meeting strangers up in the mountains means we come naked and show up as we truly are. It is the complete opposite of meeting people in a busy city. It is where we see the true soul of a human being. Coming down the mountain, there are endless tales to discover together with a local Bedouin guide. It feels like the desert allows me to strip away all the protective layers and focus on the essential. It naturally helps us to elevate our innate power of connection.
One time in the desert mountains, I deeply connected with a donkey called Filfil (Arabic for pepper). In the middle of the night, Filfil started braying loudly. I woke up feeling scared, and the moment I realized it was him, I felt deep love for him in my heart. When that feeling arose, he immediately stopped. We are all connected.
How do you celebrate small victories?
I usually reward myself after each retreat I run by booking a training or a healing retreat. The next one I have in mind is a dry-fasting retreat. I also like to treat myself to really good and healthy home-cooked food with loved ones.
What brings you joy?
Dance. Dance is the meaning of life!
