Damjan Athah, a beautiful soul whose playfulness and energy, as well as faith in life and goodness, can take you on a journey to meet your own paths and your own strength.
His vision in where to put each plant that grows in Casa Maya reflects his desire to create richness in diversity in one place. With the same passion, Damjan Athah creates environments for every person whose wish is to grow and spread at their own pace.
Damjan Athah has completed a variety of education programs driven by his interests and will, which brought him to where he is today—able to do several different jobs yet with a deep desire to contribute to making Casa Maya a community space. A place from which it is easy to contribute to the world with people who are both present and aware.
As per formal education, I have a degree in law (dipl.iur), finished in 2003. I practiced as an attorney at law for two years and then three years as a diplomat in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A degree in preschool teaching I attained in 2007, and I worked in the Jewish kindergarten of Zagreb for three years, 2011–2013. From the Faculty of Philosophy Zagreb, I hold a degree as a Professor of Portuguese Language and Culture, finished in 2009. From my studying days, I have worked in tourism as an animator.
I hold the certificate of a local guide in Croatia and have, from 2005 onwards, guided groups and tours in English, Portuguese, French, and Croatian in the region and all over the world. In 2014, I founded my own tourist agency named Kufer Travel Ltd., in which I am the sole employee but take other guides and drivers for services I provide, mainly for American, Canadian, Brazilian, Portuguese, and French customers, both FIT and groups.
I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner from July 2021, having learned with Mr. Berns Galloway and Linda Stelte. I have been assisting and coordinating in Croatia, and assisting in Greece, Serbia, Canada, and the US ever since, under Berns Galloway, Kavi Gamin, Linda Stelte, and Dea Parsanishi and Mahshid Hager. I assisted and coordinated the Peter Levine Retreat Croatia in September 2022, as well as Peter Levine online workshops, and I am trying to have him back to the region. I am actively involved in building a local SE Community in Croatia and the region, and a retreat center, Casa Maya, in Istria, Groznjan, bringing experts in the field.
I am trained as a holistic counselor (Working with People training – holistic counseling with Rafia Morgan and Turiya Hanover, founders of Path of Love), and an Awareness Intensive Facilitator, trained in 2019 with Ganga Cording and Jivan Sunder, and ever since co-leading, assisting, and helping organize and starting to lead the process of inner exploration “Who is in Awareness Intensive.”
I work mostly with adults on various themes, like the inner child, inner judge, emotions, and developmental trauma. I offer private sessions in English and Croatian, online and live, in Croatia/Zagreb and Istria.
Privately, I am passionate about traveling, nature, different cultures, and languages. Any spare time is spent with my beloveds.
Marina has participated in numerous educational programs to enhance her expertise:
Damjan Athah and Marina are both passionate to include Somatic Experience in a daily life so it is no surprise it is a strong base of Casa Maya as well as their own life which is rich with two more special members Ela and Maya.
Trained as a nurse and worked in the Intensive Care Unit in the early and mid-nineties, she has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and several post-graduate three-year training certificates, such as:
For years she has been working with children, adults, and families to build resilience and capacity within their systems, partnering with the wisdom that animals have taught her over five decades to join with and support clients in deepening and broadening their connection with Nature in honor of our mammalian heritage.
Hrvoje Vitturi was born in Zagreb in 1967. He graduated from the Higher School for Physiotherapists in 1989 and worked in the profession for several years before moving abroad.
From 1992 to 2006, he lived and worked in Graz at the state clinic “Sigmund Freud” in the neurology and psychiatry departments, as well as in private practice. He further specialized in the Bobath method, Analytical Biomechanics of Joints by Sohier, and the McKenzie method.
While in Austria, he completed professional training as a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method (Functional Integration and Awareness Through Movement). He also trained in the Alexander Technique, Craniosacral Therapy by Upledger, Myofascial Release, and became a trainer for the “Bones for Life” method. In 2007, he returned to Zagreb and opened a private practice for a somatic-integrative approach to enhancing personal growth and development.
He is one of five authors and leaders of the unique program “I Am Much More Than My Trauma”, launched in 2013 to assist victims of violence during the Homeland War. The documentary on this topic, “Larger Than Trauma”, won the “Grand Golden Arena” film award in 2023.
He completed a three-year training program to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) as part of the first cohort in Croatia. Since then, he has been an assistant on two educational teams (Croatia and Austria).
He sees his role as contributing to the application of the Somatic Experiencing method, assisting in the education of new generations of practitioners, and improving the quality of life for people in Croatia.
Stefan Jovanović is a therapist, healer, and artist whose work integrates over a decade of experience in spiritual self-development, somatic practices, and trauma healing.
His unique approach combines Family Systemic Constellation Work, Somatic Experiencing®, NeuroAffective Touch®, shamanic visualization, voice-work, and movement to guide clients toward embodied awareness and an authentic sense of self.
Specializing in dissociative states, developmental trauma, and deep listening, Stefan supports individuals and groups in navigating complex emotional landscapes. He has facilitated sessions for artistic collectives and higher education student groups, fostering collaboration, care, and enhanced team dynamics.
A committed advocate for LGBTQIA+ and sex-positive communities, he creates inclusive, autism-aware therapeutic environments.
A qualified Family Systemic Constellator and certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP) and Session Provider, Stefan is also a certified NeuroAffective Touch® (NAT) Certification Session Provider.
Stefan’s creative approach incorporates drawing, sculpting, mark-making, humming, and physicalizing the imaginary through the artistic to support the expression of personal and ancestral stories.
My name is Marija and I have always been interested in the body. At first, I was focused on everything that the body can physically achieve, then I shifted my focus to the body-mind connection, especially relating to health.
All my life I have been practicing some kind of dance (rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, contemporary dance, salsa, etc.). Movement was my way of expression. Although I graduated from the University of Economics in Zagreb, my search for body-mind connected practices continued.
I completed training as a Body instructor at the Kinesiology school of Body technique. I am also a certified instructor of Radiant Lotus Women’s Qigong, by Master Daisy Lee. I am learning the healing aspect of Qigong from Master Chunyi Lin and have completed the 3rd level so far.
My own trauma experiences led me further in my quest, so I enrolled in the Somatic Experiencing® program by Peter A. Levine. I am currently in my final year, finishing in April 2025.
Wishing that each of us finds our own balance, and returns to it over again…
I was born in Prague in the 1980s and have been involved in complementary therapeutic approaches since 2011. Craniosacral Biodynamics naturally appealed to me due to my long-standing love of meditation practices and Chinese arts such as Tai Chi, Qigong, and Yiquan. These disciplines taught me a deep connection with the body and paved the way for gentle work with the nervous system and other methods that honor the wisdom and health contained in the human body and life experiences.
Key approaches that inspired me on this journey include somatic experiencing (SE), the Trager approach, nonviolent communication (NVC), and holotropic breathing. The common element of all these methods is listening to the subtle signals of the body and manifestations of health that are present in each of us.
Since 2016, I have been assisting and supervising the teaching of the Craniosacral Approach, where I support students in discovering the depth and subtlety of this field. Today I lead smaller thematic workshops focused on the basics of craniosacral biodynamics and the quality of conscious contact.
Orientation to health and the wisdom of nature is not only a guide on my journey, but also a challenge that I love and am happy to share with others.
Ivan Vuković is a Somatic Movement Educator certified by the School for Body-Mind Centering®. He graduated from the SME program in 2022.
He had the honor of meeting Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and attending her workshops in person (Gothenburg 2016, Berlin 2016, New York 2018), as well as numerous online courses from 2020 until now.
He is currently completing the BMC® Practitioner Program in Germany with Moveus, a licensed organization offering BMC® education.
He is also a Yoga of Heart teacher (certified by the Heart of Yoga Association), an English and Spanish teacher and translator, a musician, and the creator of Life that Said Yes, a platform for exploring body, movement, consciousness, and the wonder of life, seeking authentic and free expression through movement, sound, and touch.
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