Inspiration

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My curiosity for life inspires me to continuously bring my own liberation and healing forward and to integrate this into my work to be in service of the world. Topics that I am deeply passionate about are inner freedom, leadership (to serve the whole), embodiment, conscious intimacy, sexuality and relationships as a source of growth and inspiration, birth as a transformative moment for both mother and child, how to turn challenging moments into meaningful gifts to the world, parenting without obedience, and interdependence in community.

To liberate my self and support others as a trainer and coach I have studied many practices such as systemic work, transactional analyses, neuro-linguistic programming, pranic healing, emotional release, ecstatic dance, contact improvisation, breathwork, shamanism and meditation. I followed and integrated intensive programmes in mindfulness, yoga and tantra. My work is grounded and marinated with empathy through nonviolent communication.

I have travelled, studied and worked in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, North America, the Caribbean, Guatemala, New Zealand and a long list of European countries. Travelling inspires me and gives me a sense of connection to the world. I have worked with communities, mixed cultures, refugees, different sexual identities, children, elderly, men's groups, pregnant women, language barriers, and projects around isolation and loneliness. I feel comfortable with openness and vulnerability. Every time I can support people I feel deeply touched.

Nature, which I consider myself to be part of, is my greatest teacher. I maintain my connection to nature on a daily basis through hiking, biking and when I have the chance swimming in the ocean. I love to bring my camera, for me it is like meditating my surroundings, I feel peaceful and connected when I look through my lens. I feel at home with trees and my bare feet on the earth.

On this page you will find a list of what inspired me in the work I do. This list is not complete as I don't remember all of what inspired me until the point where I am now. I made this list to acknowledge the wisdom of each practice and provide more information about what I have integrated in my work. If during a session or training you have any question about the heritage of an exercise or method and I am not mentioning it; please feel free to ask. If you prefer a more detailed list of education that I absorbed, you can click here.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient medical tradition from India. The term is derived from the Sanskrit ayur, meaning "life" or "longevity," and veda, meaning "knowledge" or "science". The concept of ayurveda is based on two major principles. The first principle is that the body and mind are interconnected, and the second principle is that the mind is powerful enough to heal the body. The body is cured of illnesses only when one's awareness of the self expands. According to Ayurveda, the body is a combination of three doshas, or "energies." These doshas are vata, pitta and kapha. Every individual has one dosha that is more dominant than the others, depending on the prakriti, or "natural constitution," of the person. Factors that influence the doshas include age, diet and climate.

Contact Improvisation

Contact improvisation is a free dance form without choreography that was introduced in the early seventies by Steve Paxton. It involves the exploration of your body and how you can move in relationship to others by using the fundamentals of sharing weight, touch, and movement awareness. It can come in many flavours: fast, acrobatic, gentle, slow, energetic, quiet & attentive. The dance changes all the time and allows the dancers to explore themselves, their body language and the way they are interacting with other people. Every dance is one of a kind with new movements through the connection with the floor, yourself, others and your surroundings.

Ecstatic Dance

Ecstatic dance is an inner and outer journey, an authentic moving meditation where true presence can be experienced. It takes place in a free-form dance playground where music is the leader and participants are free to weave their way through the different soundscapes of carefully crafted music with the intention of creating a healing journey. It is a place without observers, without conversations, without shoes and without alcohol or drugs. A space where everyone can feel spontaneously safe to try new things and allow their body to move freely. It is a place for all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes.

Emotional Release

Emotional Release tools are practices being used to release unpleasant emotions through the body. The intent is to move the emotional body into ease and a felt sense of wellbeing while being present and witness ourselves as we let go of what no longer serves me. Among others it includes screaming, stomping, pounding, thrusting, tantrum and freeze exercises. We use pillows and mattresses in order to not harm ourselves or others. The space that opens up through this release can be filled with resolution, freedom and love.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress. There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment.

Neuro Linguistic Programming

Neuro-linguistic programming is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a behavioural technology, which simply means that it is a set of guiding principles. Neuro means that it includes the physical components as well as the mental and emotional components of our neurology. Linguistic points to the language that you use, how you communicate with others and how you communicate with yourself. Programming is the way our past experiences, thoughts and emotions affect all areas of our lives.

Nonviolent Communication

With Nonviolent Communication (NVC) we learn to hear our own deeper needs and those of others. Through its emphasis on deep listening - to ourselves as well as others - NVC helps us discover the depth of our own compassion. This language reveals the awareness that all human beings are only trying to honour universal values and needs, every minute, every day. NVC can be seen as both a spiritual practise that helps us see our common humanity, using our power in a way that honours everyone's needs and a concrete set of skills which help us create life-serving families and communities. The form is simple, yet powerfully transformative. Read more about NVC here.

Pranayama

In yoga, prana is symbolized by the breath, a tool through which it can be controlled, manipulated and moved. For thousands of years, yogis have developed techniques to work with this energetic system through the practice of pranayama, as a means of cultivating balance and wellness in body and mind. Pranayama uses deliberate control of the breath in order to extend and expand vital life force energy. Not only does pranayama have the potential to steady the mind, but the practice has far-reaching physiological benefits such as increased heart rate variability, improved oxygen saturation and overall re-balancing of the nervous system.

Pranic Healing

Pranic Healing is a highly developed and tested system of energy treatment that uses prana to balance, harmonize and transform the body's energy processes. Prana is the Sanskrit word that means life-force. The Chinese refer to this subtle energy as Chi. This invisible bio-energy or vital energy keeps the body alive and maintains good health. Pranic Healing is a simple yet powerful and effective system of no-touch energy healing. Anyone can learn it. It is based on the fundamental principles that the body is a self-repairing living entity that possesses the ability to heal itself. Experiments show that the healing process is accelerated by increasing the amount of life-force in the system that is readily available from the sun, air and ground to address physical and emotional imbalances.

Quantum Physics

Quantum physics explains how everything works: the best description we have of the nature of the particles that make up matter and the forces with which they interact. It underlies why chemistry and biology work as they do. What quantum physics discovered was that a particle cannot manifest in reality (space & time as we know it) until we observe it. Quantum physics calls this phenomenal “collapse of the wave function“ or the “observer effect.“ With this discovery, mind and matter can no longer be considered separate. At the subatomic level, energy responds to our mindful attention and becomes matter. Dr. Joe Dispenza, who is my main teacher in this field, teaches how your life can change if you learn to direct the observer effect and to collapse infinite waves of probability into the reality that you choose. How things can start to change when you learn to observe the life you want.

Shamanism

Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and moreover, a way of life. It is a way to connect with nature and all of creation. The word shaman originates from the Tungus tribe in Siberia. Anthropologists coined this term and have used it to refer to the spiritual and ceremonial leaders among indigenous cultures worldwide. The word shamanism can be used to describe the ancient spiritual practices of these indigenous cultures. Clearly, the countless similarities between various ancient traditions played a role in the continual generalization of the word.

Tantra

Tantra refers to both the philosophy and set of spiritual practices that emerged in India around the 6th Century, focused on the direction and manipulation of universal energy as a means of liberation. The term is derived from the Sanskrit root tan meaning "to weave" and refers specifically to instructional texts, that outline rituals and practices which can be used to invoke different flavours of energy. Tantric teachings are believed to bring spiritual transformation and even supernatural powers. Tantra is a life-embracing philosophy, loosely defined as a path to liberation.

Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis is a psychoanalytic theory and method of therapy wherein social transactions are analyzed to determine the ego state of the communicator as a basis for understanding behavior. In transactional analysis, the communicator is taught to alter the ego state as a way to solve emotional problems. Transactional analysis practice is based upon mutual contracting for change. Transactional analysts view people as capable of deciding what they want for their lives. Accordingly transactional analysis does its work on a contractual basis between the client and the therapist, educator, or consultant.

Vipassana

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago. The technique of Vipassana Meditation is now taught at ten-day residential courses. Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

Voice Liberation

The liberation of the voice is a healing process where you can learn to connect to fears, to express fixed emotions, to grow dignity and self-worth, to invite relaxation, recognition, trust, strength and freedom, through the voice. It springs from the idea that what you feel when you are singing is not separate from what is going on in your life. It's about allowing yourself to be there, daring to feel all your emotions and turning them into sound. Singing or making sounds without holding back, without judgment, without right or wrong. Learning about who you are, what you need, what stands in your way and how you want to continue your (life) path.

Wheel of consent

The Wheel of Consent is a foundational tool for all human relating developed by Betty Martin. Understanding and embodying the Wheel of Consent can only happen through a somatic experience; you have to feel it in your skin. Learning the Wheel happens through touch exercises that you can use to learn more about making authentic choices, honest communication and transparency, understanding the dynamics of receiving and giving and taking them apart, understanding who is "doing" and who it is for, and waking up sensuality. It can support in getting to know your body and the nervous system, understanding longings and boundaries of self and other(s), upgrading and maintaining your relationships, learning how to enjoy sex (even) more and how to play in a fun, juicy and nourishing way.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga, incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other styles. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body known as meridians in Chinese medicine and as nadis in Hatha yoga. Yin Yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues of the body - the tendons, fasciae, and ligaments - with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility, both physically and mentally. A more meditative approach to yoga, its goals are awareness of inner silence, and bringing to light a universal, interconnecting quality.

Yoga Nidra

Yoga nidra is a state in which the body is completely relaxed, and the practitioner becomes systematically and increasingly aware of the inner world by following a set of verbal instructions. In yoga nidra the practitioner remains in a state of light withdrawal of the 5 senses (pratyahara). Only hearing still connects to any instructions given. The goals of both yogic paths, yoga nidra and meditation are the same, a state of meditative consciousness called samadhi. It is among the deepest possible states of relaxation while still maintaining full consciousness. The regular practice of yoga nidra has been found to reduce tension and anxiety. The autonomic symptoms of high anxiety such as headache, giddiness, chest pain, palpitations, sweating and abdominal pain respond well.

Yoga Therapy

Yoga therapy is a process of supporting and empowering individuals to move toward improved health and well being through the application of the teachings and practices of yoga. Yoga is an ancient wholistic practice of harmonizing the body with the mind and breath using physical poses, breathing exercises, philosophy, mantra and meditation. Yoga therapy uses all those techniques of Yoga to create, stimulate, and maintain an optimum state of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

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