STÉPHANE VERNIER
WISDOM IN THE WAVES
How to surf the waves of life with agility?
Cofacilitated with Ken Otter

©Isabelle Chapuis

©Isabelle Chapuis

©Isabelle Chapuis

©Isabelle Chapuis
With a unique combination of real surf sessions (designed for both beginners and experienced surfers), creative Life/Art explorations (dance, drawing, creative writing), sensory explorations in nature, and time for reflection and integration, you'll explore the connections between ocean waves and the waves of your life, and transfer your learnings to your daily life and relationships. You'll leave with invaluable discoveries that will inform your life!
This workshop is for everyone from beginners to experienced surfers, and all levels in between!
From September 2nd to 6th, 2026
in Lacanau Océan - France
€500 before May 31st, 2026
€550 after
Payment plans available
Surf lessons, wetsuit and board, translation included
ACCOMMODATION & MEALS
€360 for 5 nights / €400 for 6 nights
Accommodation in shared houses with arrival on September 1st and departure on the evening of September 6th or the morning of September 7th
Lunch and dinner included (vegetarian cuisine) - breakfast not included
The living world organizes itself through successive waves of energy, more or less harmonious or chaotic, whether in nature, at the beach, or in our personal, social, or professional lives.
Surfing immerses us in a complex, constantly transforming environment that demands both inward and outward attention in order to organize ourselves to catch and ride this emerging energy: the wave.
We can then identify and develop the key skills and abilities to navigate this organization of life and find our flow.
With a unique combination of real surf sessions, creative Life/Art explorations (dance, drawing, creative writing), sensory explorations in nature, and time for reflection and integration, you will explore the connections between the waves of the ocean and the waves of your life.
By learning to surf real waves, you develop a creative and embodied intelligence that allows you to skillfully and elegantly navigate the waves of complexity and change in all areas of life. Your learning will inform your life, your relationships, your work... surfing becomes a way of life!
What are the connections between surfing real waves in the ocean and being in the flow of life?
1. It requires a high level of presence and participation in a complex and dynamic life environment.
2. It requires coordinated, focused, and purposeful action to respond to meaningful patterns within this life environment.
3. It requires developing a dance of relationships that is both intimate and reciprocal—giving and receiving.
4. And it requires finding the flow to accomplish your task and succeed.
Each day:
- A surf lesson with experienced instructors.
- Reflective sessions with Ken to share his philosophy and teachings, and to guide us in making sense of our experiences.
- Daily 2-3 hour Life Art Process® sessions (sensory explorations, movement, drawing, creative writing, sharing) focused on nurturing our process.
- Depending on the day, nature explorations in the dunes, pine forests, and on beaches facing the ocean.
Ken Otter, Ph.D., is a lifelong surfer who also has over 30 years of professional experience in human and organizational development as a educator, coach, and consultant in the United States and internationally. He is a senior instructor at the Tamalpa Institute in California.
In his work, Ken bridges the gap between contemporary and traditional knowledge, art and science, and the mind, body, and spirit. He bases his research on the connections between inner and outer change and how this connection can be harnessed to enhance individual and organizational well-being, as well as to advance what he calls the art of leadership.
Stéphane Vernier is a multidisciplinary artist, a D.O. osteopath with a degree in psychosomatics, a somatic educator, and co-founder of Tamalpa France, where he teaches the Life Art Process®, a method linking movement, artistic expression, and personal development.
An improvisational dancer since adolescence, he studied in California with Anna Halprin and simultaneously trained in theater, singing, and somatics.
He teaches at several universities (Lyon, Toulouse Jean Jaurès) and with Harmoniques, working with singers and artists on bodywork, posture, proprioception, and the body-breath-voice connection.
His workshops and training programs are designed for diverse audiences—artists, therapists, managers, women in recovery, and teenagers—focusing on the link between body, creativity, and self-awareness. He conceives of art as a catalyst for individual and collective transformation, and today draws on his training in neuroscience, which illuminates and enriches his approach to the body, movement and relationship.

