Category: Health

  • Breathwork for groups

    I guide breath and bodywork sessions for (private) groups in this beautiful yurt (and other locations too).

    I notice, and hear back from others, how a personal style is emerging. I feel grateful to be doing this work and to experience how it’s growing.

    Sometimes I only understand why I do things the way I do when I receive feedback from participants:

    “It’s as if you’re being breathed.”
    “With you, it’s not such hard work.”
    “It’s very gentle and deep at the same time.”

    And most of all, I see what it does for people:

    “The wise woman in me woke up.”
    “I moved beyond time and space.”
    “I saw myself lying there and felt cared for.”
    “I met a beloved who has passed.”
    “I feel whole.”

    The breath brings you into the here and now. There, you can access great power. It’s so simple that many people overlook it their whole lives. For me, it’s a true medicine.

    Of course, breathwork in a group setting is different from an individual session. Each has its own charm. In a group, you journey with the group’s energy and receive occasional guidance that is specific to you. In an individual session, there is space for in-depth one-on-one work with your personal challenges. But don’t underestimate the effect of a group session. Precisely the amplified setting, the shared experience, and the audible and tangible presence of others, each in their own process, can be profoundly deep and powerful.

    Conscious breathing can be a life-changing experience.
    Would you like to include a breathwork segment in your retreat or program? Feel free to get in touch.

    With deep gratitude to the hosts, facilitators, and participants.

  • Gele curry met spinazie en kikkererwten

    Klaar in 15 minuten, met maar 5 ingrediënten (plus water en bakvet).

    Giet een blik kikkererwten af, spoel ze met water en bak ze aan in olie tot je ze hoort ‘poppen’. Prak ze grof in de pan met een stamppotstamper of de onderkant van een glazen fles.

    Voeg een blik kokosmelk, een theelepel (of twee) bouillonpoeder en een eetlepel gele currypasta toe. Roer en verwarm.

    Voeg ca 400g verse bladspinazie toe en warm door totdat deze is geslonken.

    Serveer in een kom. Nóg lekkerder de volgende dag.

  • Beetroot & blueberry smoothie bowl

    I tend to have food phases, where I eat lots of the same type of food for some time, then move on to something else, and return to it some time later.

    A while ago I was eating about 500g of fresh tomatoes with roasted pumpkin seeds every morning.

    Now, it’s red smoothie bowls. The basic recipe: a basis of cooked beetroot, berries and an apple. Sweeten with dried fruits or a piece of banana. Top with banana, pure cacao and more fruits.

    I buy the ingredients from the store; beetroots precooked and berries frozen. This way, my meal is ready to go in a matter of minutes.

    It’s a great feeling starting off my day with half the daily recommended dose of fruits and veggies already down! (And, tip for parents: my 2-year old daughter loves smoothies too!)

    Red beetroot blueberries smoothie bowl:

    • 2 cooked red beetroots
    • 2 handfuls of frozen blueberries
    • 1 apple
    • 3 dried apricots, prunes, or dates (more or less to taste)
    • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (nuts work as well)
    • Optionally: 1 tablespoon flax seed if you need extra fiber
    • Just enough water so that your blender will run smoothly

    Cut the larger ingredients in blender-suitable pieces and… go!

    Top with whatever you have in stock, more fruits, cacao, crunchy muesli, oats, nuts or seeds.

    Pro tip: add Yogi Tea Curcuma Chai spices by cutting open the tea bag 😁.

    Enjoy!

     

  • Wholewheat bread with pumpkin seeds, raisins & banana

    I love bread, especially wholewheat with lots of seeds. Really good bread tastes best with only olive oil and salt, some salted butter or even just as it is.

    At my daughter’s kindergarten, they bake bread with the kids every day. As soon as my daughter comes in, she is handed a piece of dough and she starts rolling her bread of the day herself. It is such a beautiful sight to see all the 2- and 3-year olds knead their own little buns and make all kinds of shapes (snakes ans snails are favorite). It really calms them down as well. It’s nice to knead. That’s still true for grownups, by the way.

    I felt inspired to start my own starter dough for sourdough bread. I spend a lot of time in Germany, where bread is still made with sourdough in stead of yeast and ‘bread enhancer’ (yuk!), as has unfortunately become practice in The Netherlands. But this is not meant to be rant.

    I started a sourdough as soon as we landed in Germany for a couple of months, enjoyed the delicious bread here for a week or two or so, then checked my belly and – oh. Bread. I love bread, but it really makes me bloat. No idea why. I am not convinced gluten are bad per se, nor carbohydrates, nor yeast or sourdough bacteria – I just know that bread makes my belly grow and I look like I’m 5 months pregnant.

    Exit sourdough. Not worth the effort of feeding a dough every couple of days and keeping the bacteria balance in check, if I end up never eating the bread.

    But I still love bread, and will bake my own every now and then. I use ready made, store-bought wholewheat bread mix. Perfect for the occasion and my lifestyle. Thank you, Koopmans & co.

    This bread is sweet, rather healthy and very special due to the banana surprise. Really delicious!

    Wholewheat bread with pumpkin seeds & banana

    For 3-4 big buns

    Cut 2 bananas in the middle once lengthwise and once crosswise, so that you have eight long pieces of banana.

    Mix and knead the bread as indicated on the box.  Add raisins to taste (I like to add a lot). Divide into 3-4 portions and let the dough rise. Then roll out the dough portions and fold each in three (as indicated on the box), but add a banana piece in each fold and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and cinnamon (again, I like to add a lot 🙂 ) before folding over. Each bun is now folded in three and has two pieces of banana folded in.

    Leave to rise again and bake in the oven as indicated.

    Yum!

  • ABC-smoothie bowl (Apple, Beetroot, Carrot & more)

    I’ve had this smoothie for breakfast almost every day in the last two weeks. Temporary crazes are part of my life :).

    This healthy red smoothie recipe is based on (and an extension of) the famous ABC (apple-beetroot-carrot) juice, but leaves in all the fibres that are important for a healthy sugar digestion.

    I love starting my days with fruits & veggies. The fats in nuts and seeds help the body absorb the many nutrients better, so be sure not to skip those. Figs are added for taste and sweetness, needed because the red fruits (at least the frozen ones that I use) are rather sour. Add more or less of those as you like.

    This smoothie (breakfast) bowl is great with toppings such as banana, berries, oats, pumpkin seeds and a bit of crunch. In this case, I used a 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of chocolate crunchy muesli bits, but raw cacao nibs would work as well.

    Without further ado, here is the recipe:

    ABC-breakfast bowl (Apple, Beetroot, Carrot & more)

    Serves 2-3

    1 apple,
    2 red beetroots, cooked (the pre-cooked ones from the shop are perfect)
    1 carrot, medium sized,
    ginger to taste (I use about 1/2 thumb size)
    2 big tablespoons red fruits (fresh or frozen)
    3 figs,
    2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds,
    water enough to let your blender mix smoothly, and not more so that the smoothie stays thick.

    Toppings:
    Bananas, pumpkin seeds, crunchy muesli, cacao nibs, berries and whatever you fancy.

     

    Enjoy!

  • Start with a sigh (breathe in…… let go)

    Start with a sigh (breathe in…… let go)

    Did you know that only breathing IN requires effort?
    Breathing out is simply a release.

    How it works:

    Breathing in, the diaphragm contracts, pulling down into the belly, creating a vacuüm in the lungs which are thereby filled with air…

    Breathing out: full release. Diaphragm relaxes and automatically moves back up, air flowing out effortlessly.

    This is your natural breath. Try it:

    1. Breathe in……. let go
    2. Breathe in……. let go
    3. Breathe in……. let go

    How did that go?

    You may well find that your ‘letting go’ is not so effortless at all. If so, you are probably (medical issues aside) unneccessarily restricting your outbreath somewhere in your body. Why? Because of stored stress and tension: the physical manifestation of unhelpful thoughts and feelings.

    Places we often notice people holding their breath include the belly, solar plexus, chest, shoulders, throat and lips. When we start to explore, we may find that some of these areas correspond to certain personal issues. One example:

    Nicole was struggling during her breath session. She was holding back the flow of breath in her throat and couldn’t find a rhythm. Her breathing became unbalanced and she started to cramp up. Noticing the tension in her throat, I then affirmed to her: it’s ok to express myself (in affirmations, we speak from the first person). Instantly, she started to cry. And then she released. Big sighs of relief she was breathing and what followed was an effortless, strong, rhythmic conscious connected breath in a soft, wide open throat. Beautiful.

    She later shared that it was the experience of finally allowing herself to let go that had the most impact for her. You see, it all starts with a sigh.

    Becoming aware of your outbreath you may find yourself sighing all day, like me when I started breathwork. That’s ok, in fact it’s perfect. That’s your body releasing unnecessary tension. You will feel happier and healthier because of it!

    Start with a sigh.

  • The 4-8 relaxation breath

    The 4-8 relaxation breath

    I’m sure you have heard of the fight or flight response. That’s when your adrenaline spikes, sending superhuman power to your arms and feet and razor sharp focus to your mind set to one thing: survive. Your breathing speed and heart rate go up. Blood flow is redirected from some of your organs to your extremities. You are alert and your body is tense, ready for action any moment.

    The relaxation response
    Now compare that to the other, less well known but equally valid state: the relaxation response. In this state, the body rests and digests. Muscle tension is low, blood flows to the digestive organs, energy levels are replenished and cells are being restored. Our heart beats slowly and the breath is slow, gentle, sometimes hardly noticeable.

    Using the breath, we can induce and/or sustain both these states. The 4-8 relaxation breath induces (you guessed it) the relaxation response.

    There are multiple methods for relaxation breathing. I like this one because it doesn’t require a holding of the breath. We can do this type of breathing in one continuous flow, which has its own amplifying benefits by shifting our consciousness to a more expanded awareness.

    Pain free birth
    The 4-8 relaxation breath is the breath that carried me painlessly all through the 13 hour birth of my daughter. Needless to say I am in love with it. The power I felt was grand. The surges were deep and consuming and had me moaning, yes, but I didn’t create any resistance in the process. My body was overflowing with love hormones and I was in full surrender to the contractions. I believe it was the 4-8 breath that carried me (and us) all the way through, along with the strong, loving presence of my beloved and the competence of the midwife.

    The 4-8 relaxation breath technique
    It’s very simple: breathe in for a count of 4 and out for a count of 8.

    On the in-breath, relax the jaw and shoulders. Use your diaphraghm for a nice and full chest-and-belly breath. Soften your belly, solar plexus and heart area.

    On the out-breath, make sure that some air remains in your lungs. Don’t press. Explore how to use your belly, chest, throat and lips in a healthy way to guide the duration of the breath flow.

    I like to breathe this breath to the count of my heartbeats. One thing I notice within two or three breaths is that my heartbeat slows down, an immediate effect of this breathing pattern. When you notice this, you also know that your blood pressure is dropping and your body is entering the restorative relaxation response. This also means that the breathing will take longer and longer every time.

    Stay connected with what feels right for you and don’t hold on to the counts when your body tells you otherwise. For example, when I was pregnant, breathing out for a count of 6 was often better than 8. It’s your body, your breath. The wisdom of you being alive in your body in this moment is infinitely greater than any range of numbers will ever be.

    Book tip
    From Harvard University’s Institute for Mind Body Medicine, there is a wonderful book about inducing the relaxation response and handy guide on how to apply it for healing various ailments: Relaxation Revolution.

  • Conscious connected breathing: technique and effects

    Conscious connected breathing: technique and effects

    If you are familiar with breathwork, you have probably heard of the conscious connected breath. You may know it by a different name, but the basic technique is this:

    1. Relax your jaw, open wide and breathe through the mouth
    2. Breathe into the belly and chest
    3. Simply relax on the exhale
    4. Consciously connect your breathing, so no pauses between inhale and exhale

    (A gentler version can be practiced by breathing in and out through the nose.)

    Practicing 10 minutes of conscious connected breathing at a time can already induce remarkable results. You may experience deep peace, heightened present moment awareness, more aliveness in (parts of) your body, as well as strong emotions and outbursts of laughter or crying. 10 minutes of conscious connected breathing is also a great way to start a meditation or creative session (keep paper and pen at hand!).

    Breathing the conscious connected breath for a longer time will bring you even deeper, but be wise and start your journey into the breath with a breath session under guidance of a breath coach. Seriously, this is strong stuff.

    Physical effects of conscious connected breathing
    On a physical level, breathing the conscious connected breath will bring more oxygen to your cells, stimulate the vagus nerve connecting many body parts, spur on the reptilian brain and impact the autonomic nervous system.

    You may notice all sorts of sensations, ranging from cold, heat, tingling and itching to ticks, trembling, pain or surges of energy and waves of ecstasy. These are all natural bodily impulses which we tend to suppress. Create a safe space and let these movements come. You will feel more alive than ever before.

    Emotional effects of conscious connected breathing
    On an emotional level, all sorts of feelings may arise. Bliss, laughter and joy or fear, anger, and grief. Allow them to arise, and deepen your breath to go into the experience or return to a normal breath to simply witness the unfolding of emotions stored in your body.

    Don’t go into stories now; the body doesn’t speak this kind of language and it knows nothing of your life drama. It’s enough to just let your emotions bubble up, play out and leave as they like.

    Spiritual effects of conscious connected breathing
    You may feel a sense of oneness or wholeness. The sense of separation between your body and the ‘outside world’ may disappear partly or completely. You may experience a strong intuition and inner knowing. Thoughts may cease to exist or loose their importance. You may experience unconditional love and recognize the nature of all of existence, including yourself, as deep peace.

    And this is all available to anyone, simply through breathing! Pretty cool, right?

    On the other hand, experiences like the above may lead to confusion and disbalance when we don’t have the mental framework or life circumstances conducive to healthy integration. This is why again it is advisable to take it slowly and take your time to explore this terrain wisely, with healthy intent, integrating as you go and seeking guidance where needed.

    Any questions, put them in the comments and I will be available to respond.

  • Chocolate Mango (beans & carrots!) No-Bake Cake

    Yesterday was my birthday. I spent the whole day in the kitchen before moving all the dishes over to my mom’s place who had graciously offered to host the family birthday party. It was a perfect day with some of my favorite people :).

    This no-bake cake consists of 3 layers plus a fruit topping. It is very dense- rich and filling, so be sure to serve tiny slices. The layers should be distinct in taste: fruity for the top and robust, full and indulgent for the chocolate middle layer.

    The beans make for a thick, fudgy chocolate cream. Be sure to add plenty of vanilla to get the richness that cacao deserves. Also, vanilla creates a sweet sensation so you’ll need less dates. You won’t taste the beans, I promise! People have been amazed at how well this works and… beans are good for you!

    The crunchy muesli makes for a great dough, especially the nuts one thanks to the healthy fats in there which make it rather buttery, but vegan and good for your heart! We happened to have two kinds of crunchy and it worked out great but if you have only one (preferably the nuts), that will work as well.

    I have only roughly estimated the amounts, I’m sure that when you’re in the kitchen getting your hands dirty and tasting lots (yay :P), things will sort themselves out.

    Recipe for Chocolate Mango (beans & carrots!) No-Bake Cake

    1. For the bottom layer:

    1-2 cups crunchy muesli with 4 red fruits
    dates to taste
    1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

    2. For the chocolate layer:

    3-4 cups nut crunchy muesli with nuts
    2 cans of cooked black beans (rinse well)
    1 cup of cacao
    10-20 dates
    1 tablespoon vanilla
    2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
    pinch of salt

    3. For the carrot layer:

    1-2 cups crunchy muesli (either nuts of red fruits)
    2-3 carrots
    pieces of mango
    lemon juice and (part of) rind

    4. For the fruit layer:

    150-200 gr frozen mango pieces (or fresh if you’re in the right climate)
    handful of blueberries

    For layers 1, 2 and 3: for each layer separately, combine the ingredients in a food processor. Taste and adjust to improve taste and consistency. They should be sticky, sturdy and chewy.

    Press the bottom layer in the bottom of the cake form. Use a spoon to smoothly spread the mixture. Next, add in the chocolate layer. And finally, add in the carrot layer.

    Top off with a full layer of fruit, which you lightly press into the carrot layer. Enjoy now or refrigerate until shortly before use.

  • 3 breath visualisations: ease your mind, open your heart, step into action

    3 breath visualisations: ease your mind, open your heart, step into action

    Three breathful visualisations for you today:

    1. Ease your mind
    2. Open your heart
    3. Step into action

    You can choose to do them separately as you see fit or combine and include them in your morning routine as a great way to start your day.

    You can do them one breath at a time, or take your time with them and stroll out into nature to do a full hour of practice.

    Intro for all three practices

    Find a chair, cushion or place on the ground where you can sit (or stand) comfortably.
    Breathe only throught the nose or only through the mouth, do not alternate.
    Lengthen your spine, gently roll your head on your neck a few times, then come back to the center.
    Close your eyes, relax the forehead.
    Yaaawn and relax your jaw.
    Relax and soften the belly.

    Now, bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath.

    1. Ease your mind

    The mind is like the sky, white clouds of thought against a background of peaceful blue.
    On the inbreath, you may see  the clouds dissolving. On the outbreath, only deep blue peace remains.

    Breathing in and out, say with your inner voice:

    “Breathing in, thoughts dissolve”
    “Breathing out, mind is peace”

    (Repeat as often as you like)

    2. Open your heart

    The heart is like the Sun, shining with love. On the inbreath, breathe in light fueling the sun. On the outbreath, love’s light is shining brightly.

    Breathing in and out, say with your inner voice:

    “Breathing in, I open my heart”
    “Breathing out, I am love”

    (Repeat as often as you like)

    2. Step into action

    The body is balanced and strong, like a ninja’s. On the inbreath, get ready. On the outbreath, step forward and box or make any ninja move you like while making this sound from the belly: Ha!.

    SAY – Breathing in and out, say with your inner voice:

    “Breathing in, I am ready for action”
    “Breathing out, Ha!”

    (Repeat as often as you like and play with sounds and moves)