AMNIMAKEN
LINES · WAVES · WIND · MIND
Small-group ski touring, surfing and freediving journeys, joined with meditation and Tsa Lung breathing practice — in the mountains, by the ocean and within.
WHAT IS AMNIMAKEN
AMNIMAKEN is a personal project by Oleg Gritskevich, built around journeys through mountains, ocean, breath and mind.
Some journeys are mainly about skiing, splitboarding or surfing. Others focus more on meditation and breath practice. Sometimes these directions naturally come together in the same journey.
THE STORY
In 1997, while waiting for a flight at John F. Kennedy Airport, I came across a book called Snowboarding to Nirvana. My English at the time was only good enough to understand the title (fortunately). But that was enough. It sounded almost like a plan.
Since then, that plan has taken me through snowboarding, mountain guiding, publishing, travels across the East, meditation and Tibetan practices, with quite a few unexpected turns along the way.
Today I still spend much of my life in the mountains, while surfing has opened up a new relationship with the ocean. Somewhere between moving over frozen and liquid water, meditation and breathing practices have become part of that same exploration.
WIND & MIND
Wind & Mind is the thread running through AMNIMAKEN.
WIND is the physical and energetic side of experience: body, breath, movement and energy. MIND is awareness, attention and direction.
Physical activity moves energy. We can notice this while skiing, surfing, running, riding a bike or simply walking. The practice is not only what happens before or during the activity, but also what happens afterwards: instead of immediately turning to the next distraction, we can pause, feel the body and breath, notice the energy that is present and consciously choose where to direct our attention.
In board sports, movement often follows the eyes. Where we look influences where we go. Wind & Mind explores a similar relationship between movement, energy and attention.
Movement → Energy → Awareness → Direction
Tsa Lung and meditation are formal ways of exploring this relationship, but the same principle can become part of physical activity and ordinary life.
FOUR DIRECTIONS
LINES
Ski-touring and splitboarding journeys, from day tours to remote camps and expeditions, in small groups that follow the conditions. Mountains are a space for self-exploration and a reminder that we are part of something larger, which is why yogis and siddhas have sought them out in the Himalayas for centuries.
WAVES
Surfing and freediving offer another path of self-exploration, and meditation and breathing practice take it deeper. Balancing on a board is not so different from balancing the mind: let your attention slip for a moment and you lose control. Freediving, with its single breath and inward focus, is close to meditation itself.
WIND
Body, breath, movement and energy in everyday life and physical activity. Tsa Lung explores this through breath and movement, working with inner winds and mind to support clearer, more stable meditation. Its breathing methods may also help the body adapt to lower oxygen levels, which is relevant for freediving and high altitude.
MIND
Meditation is the practice of awareness and of how we relate to experience. It can stand on its own, become part of daily life, or give adventure sports a deeper meaning, turning them into a path of self-realisation. Simple as it is, it sharpens attention and steadies the mind, a little like updating software and clearing the cache.
WHO THIS MAY SUIT
AMNIMAKEN is for people drawn to nature and self-exploration, who prefer small groups of like-minded people to mass tourism, and who value silence and remoteness.
You do not need previous meditation experience, and most ocean programs do not require previous surfing or freediving experience. Mountain programs have their own technical requirements, described on each program page.
MY ROLE
My role varies with the journey. In the mountains I may guide directly; where specialist instruction is required, such as surfing or freediving, I work with qualified professionals. My role is to integrate meditation and breathing practices as fully and naturally as possible into the activity itself.
Upcoming Journeys
Where I’m planning to go next
I organise only a limited number of group journeys each year.
July 2026 – July 2027 is a year of study and practice for me, so the calendar is deliberately light.
More journeys return from autumn 2027.
WINTER 2026/27
GEORGIA
CLOUD & BREATH
TSA LUNG RETREAT
19–23 December 2026,
Gudauri
SPRING 2027
KYRGYZSTAN
HIDDEN LINES
SKI EXPEDITION · TIAN SHAN
10–23 April 2027,
Tian Shan
SUMMER 2027
SRI LANKA
BREEZE & BREATH
TSA LUNG RETREAT
2–6 August, 2027,
East Coconut Farm
SUMMER 2027
SRI LANKA
SURF & BREATH
SURF RETREAT
7–13 August, 2027,
Arugam Bay
SUMMER 2027
SRI LANKA
BREEZE & MIND
MEDITATION RETREAT
14–18 August 2027,
South Coconut Farm
STILL WILD MOUNTAINS
Guidebooks, Ski Trip Design and Winter Expeditions
Still Wild Mountains is the part of my work dedicated to guidebooks, mountain research, route development and expedition design. It is where exploration becomes practical knowledge: books, routes, custom ski trips and expeditions. Also available on Amazon.
GET IN TOUCH
A journey can begin with a simple message
You may want to join something already planned, or perhaps you have a place, route or idea of your own. Write to me directly and I will tell you whether I think I can be useful.