Born From Water
People
Born From Water
People
Meet Your Guides
Be held by water and guides.
Meet our people
Born From Water is shaped by a circle of people who are devoted to water.
We are freedivers, scientists, water protectors, indigenous wisdom keepers, teachers, policy makers, and artists
- together representing all the dimensions of water.
Moniek
Founder · Vision · Water Keeper
Joy
Technical · Operations
Lourdes
Indigenous Water Keeper Mexico
Greta
TAO Philosophy · Japanese Martial Arts
Cecilia
Aquatic Therapist Mexico
Estrellita
Indigenous Fire Keeper Guatemala
Bunda
Indigenous Water Keeper Bali
Nirali
Yogic Philosophy· Water as Consciousness
Open roles
• Pathways & Partnerships
• Community & Growth
• Digital Learning Lead
• Retreat Lead
If this speaks to you, reach out here: [email protected]
MEET OUr FOUNDER
Moniek Van Erven
Water intelligence framework · Freediver · Water Therapist · Mentor
With Dutch-Indonesian roots and a background in Finance, Moniek spent over a decade working at the intersection of impact and leadership before water became her primary teacher.
She has guided more than a thousand leaders and high performers through experiences in and around water - drawing on freediving, Janzu water therapy, indigenous wisdom traditions and years of immersion in the science and philosophy of water.
Moniek is a UN-recognized impact entrepreneur and host of the Born From Water documentary and podcast. She works with organizations and leadership teams across the world, and leads immersive experiences in the waters of Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal, Hawaii and beyond.
As a water keeper, freediver, water therapist, water dancer, ceremonialist and songwriter, her relationship with water is embodied.
She believes that planetary transformation starts with personal transformation - and that water has been pointing toward that truth for billions of years.
She dedicates her life fully to the water.
I follow the water on a Water Pilgrimage across the world to listen and learn.
- Mo, Founder
Origin story
Born From Water
In early 2024, at a water altar in Bacalar, Mexico, I offered my service to the water. A deep bodily remembering followed, of the first life forms emerging in the depth of the ocean. The water showed me that life must continue to be created. This marked the beginning of a vision.
In 2025, I offered the water my heart. My life changed. My heart opened. I received the full vision.
Born From Water remembers our origin: how we are all born from water.
It’s a shared journey, because true service happens together: many hearts, one shared mission.
Born From Water brings people across the world into relationship with water through learning, and giving back.
Origin story
Born From Water
"In early 2024, at a water altar in Bacalar, Mexico, I offered my service to the water. A deep bodily remembering followed, of the first life forms being born in the depth of the ocean. I asked the water shat she needs, and she answered "I must continue to create life".
This touched me so deeply, as I understood that there won't be life on Earth, without water. I offered the water my service. It marked the beginning of a vision.
In 2025, I offered the water my heart, in gratitude to all that she had taught me, and opened. My life had changed. My heart opened. I received the full vision.
Born From Water remembers our origin: how we are all born from water.
It’s a shared journey, because true service happens together: many hearts, one shared mission.
Born From Water brings people across the world into connection with water through learning, and giving back."
Moniek - Founder Born From Water
Many hearts. One shared mission.
- Born From Water
Indigenous Wisdom Keepers
We sit with elders and medicine carriers from Nahuatl, Quechua, K’iche’, Tzʼutujil, Wixárika, and other lineages - teachers we know, trust, and love.
They don’t just share knowledge; they open the path of spirit. You’ll meet them online and in ritual, and feel their presence of ancestral guidance.
Indigenous Wisdom Keepers
We sit with elders and medicine carriers from Nahuatl, Quechua, K’iche’, Tzʼutujil, Wixárika, and other lineages - teachers we know, trust, and love.
They don’t just share knowledge; they open the path of spirit. You’ll meet them online and in ritual, and feel their presence of ancestral guidance.
Guest Teachers and Elemental Guides
Our extended circle of Guest Teachers are people we've met over the years, each walking with the water in their own way. They don’t just teach; they embody the way of water. They guide us deeper into the body, the elements, and a sacred rhythm of life.
• Freedivers
• Breathworkers
• Water therapists
• Ritualists
• Plant medicine guides
• Emotional release practitioners
• Vocalists
• Artists
• Dreamworkers
• Embodiment practitioners
Water Protectors
These are renowned voices - marine biologists, scientists, activists, and innovators - fully devoted to water.
They lead with knowledge and action. They protect what they love.
And they inspire us to rise, speak, and act on behalf of our oceans.
Meet your guides
*********
Sofia Young
Head of Marketing
Emma Johnson
Project Manager
Ava Thompson
Operations Coordinator
Liam Carter
Creative Director
Noah Mitchell
Marketing Specialist
Why people come
People arrive outwardly successful. Capable. Intelligent.
Yet inside something feels off.
Always doing, rarely resting
Living in the mind most of the time
Effort and pushing, without flow
Control instead of trust
Fearful thoughts, scarcity mindset
Repeating old patterns
Disconnection from the body
Intuition pushed aside
Purpose unclear
What's next?
Your place is ready. To confirm your seat, complete your payment below.
We will then welcome you into the Water Portal , and send you details to begin.
Only 12 leaders will walk this elemental journey together.
We’re honored to walk with you.
Introducing the Elemental Wheel
The Elemental Wheel cycles through four elements: Water → Fire → Earth → Air. You start with one element, fully engage, then move on once you embody its wisdom.
All four elements are needed to lead fully. Now is the time to gather.
Water is not a resource.
She is a relative. A consciousness. A home.
— Mo, founder Born From Water
Meet Your Guides
Moniek van Erven (Founder of Born From Water)
Ocean Lover · Ceremonialist · Freediver · Water therapist · Spiritual Mentor
Mo guides you and walks beside you. From a place of deep listening, lived experience, and her devotion to Water as teacher and healer. She’s hosting retreats and ceremonies across the globe. Her guidance is intuitive, grounded, and rooted in love.
Mo’s path began over two decades ago in meditation and six years ago with sacred medicine work, and it was Water that truly transformed her. Through oceans, cenotes, and tears, water softened her armor, healed her nervous system, and returned her to feeling.
She founded Oyasin, a global sanctuary for healing, guiding retreats and ceremonies across the world for leaders to help them to return to the body, the earth, the heart.
Her guidance is intuitive and loving, rooted in lived experience and years of walking with Indigenous elders, sacred medicines, and the water itself. She doesn’t teach from a method, she listens, feels, and lets the water lead.
Water is her teacher.
And so, she guides like water.
Indigenous Wisdom Keepers
You’ll sit in ceremony with elders and medicine carriers from Nahuatl, Quechua, K’iche’ and other lineages. They don’t just teach, they transmit. Their presence awakens our memory through ancestral ritual and prayer.
Guest Teachers & Elemental Guides
Our extended circle includes freedivers, breathworkers, ocean protectors, water therapists, ritualists, plant medicine guides, emotional release practitioners, vocalists, artists, dreamworkers, and embodiment practitioners.
