(The video shows what happened in Iceland on the day of the very first Orca Dreaming circle in June 2025. I've never seen the orcas come together like this and just rest. It felt like a kind of salute, in support of this work :) )

Orca Dreaming is a growing community of amazing people leading their lives from the heart. Our online meet-ups are centred around deep rest meditation, storytelling and playful creativity, all along orca and ocean themes…

Hi! I'm Shilpa. I’m an Artist. Storyteller. Community gatherer. Dancer. Writer. Mermaid. Daughter of the Orcas. I’m most at home in the ocean and Ive had a strong connection with the orcas/killer whales since childhood.

Orca populations differ, however, broadly speaking... Orcas can be both fierce and gentle. They are apex predators and usually live in family pods led by a matriarch. They are excellent teamworkers and they sing to each other. They nurture the young and take care of the old and sick. I believe that without human interference, they live in a sense of abundance and play, free from fear. My First Nation Namgis friends and other Indigenous friends I met in Ya'lis/Alert Bay, Bella Bella and Haida Gwaii in BC, Canada told me how orcas are believed to bridge different worlds. They are a mystical creature who does not fear death, with access to the divine.

Expect us to explore these themes :)

Orca Dreaming is a kind of culmination of my professional journey in the last 20+ years; as a community empowerment worker, a teacher of movement, breath, group singing and deep rest meditation.. and now as an artist and writer too. All of this work has been shaped by the characteristics of orcas and how they live.

The community online sessions will be centred around a deep rest meditation practice. This is usually done lying down - people often join the zoom calls from bed! I blend inviting you to feel into different parts of the body with gentle awareness and enjoy visual imagery and sounds (song and poetry) to help the muscles, fascia and nervous system soften into safe connection. People often fall asleep and that is welcome! Someone said ‘I feel clear and open hearted and more like me after the session… it’s like turning the computer off and on again’ ☺️.

I also facilitate discussion and creative activities linked to the meditation, so we can learn from and inspire each other.

I have spent the recent years travelling... following the orcas and a passion for snorkelling, scuba diving and swimming. And travelling into my inner depths too, learning about internalised fear and shame and working to break down all barriers to love. I have written and painted as I travelled. As well as the online sessions, I will be sharing some of these writings and images with members AND suggesting prompts and techniques to help unleash your own creative expression.

I look forward to getting to know you, to hear what makes your eyes sparkle and heart sing. ❤️

Your membership fee or one-off financial contribution will help me live and create from the heart. I ask you to give as generously as you can. Thank you ❤️

In gratitude to my loved ones and teachers, to the ocean and to the orcas, for supporting this work. Also thanks to the brilliant and unique Láki tours and Orca Guardians in Iceland, my Icelandic family, for bringing me close to the whales and thus closer to my heart. Thank you too to my Namgis family in Alert Bay, BC, for welcoming me to learn about their indigenous relationship with the orcas and their values of community ❤️

A gift for you; please enjoy this orca story I wrote to soothe children during the pandemic - it's 15 mins long and adults seem to love it too!

You can email me at shilpashah23 AT gmail DOT com