Mindfulness
Enhance mental and physical balance and resilience.
Nurture (self) compassion.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is mental fitness training that can help reduce the adverse effects of stress. It’s not about getting rid of thoughts and emotions. It’s not a relaxation technique. It’s not some spiritual escape. Mindfulness helps train the mind to turn its attention to what is unfolding inside and around you at any given moment, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, with curiosity, non-judgement, and compassion. So this way, the challenges of life don’t dictate who you are and how you behave.
What can I expect?
By learning how to be more flexible with your attention and to nurture positive attitudes, you are able to gain access to a more relaxed and balanced state of being. In this more open, spacious and Graceful state, you are better able to let go of your unconscious, automatic impulses in the face of challenging situations and act from a more resourceful place, with greater wisdom and trust. These innate capacities, which we all possess, will help bring you into greater energetic and emotional balance and help you relate to the imperfections and messiness of life in a more supportive way. Don’t be fooled. Mindfulness may sound soft to some, however it requires a good measure of Grit, determination and perseverance.
You are overly stressed if you notice an unusual amount of worry, anxiety, irritability, mental rumination, fatigue and/or tension. You might also experience sleep disturbances and headaches.
If you identify with some of the statements below, the mindfulness training might just be for you:
- I tend to get stuck in thoughts about the past.
- I am overly preoccupied with tomorrow’s to do list.
- I feel as though I am not in charge of my life.
- I have lost touch with pleasure.
- I have a tendency to worry, to feel negative or discouraged.
- I feel as if life is passing me by.
- I often say to myself even when I am tired, “just one more thing before I stop…”
- I feel overwhelmed by the expectations at work.
- My energy levels are always low.
- My body and mind have forgotten how to relax and let go.
- I am recovering from a burnout or a depression.
The mindfulness training Kim offers incorporates elements of two widely researched mindfulness programs. The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program developed in the United States in the 1970s by molecular biologist and yoga and meditation practitioner Jon Kabat-Zinn and the Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program developed by UK-based cognitive psychologist Zindel Segel, Mark Williams and John Teasdale. Both combine the best of Western psychology and Eastern philosophies and practices.
The effects of these programs have been studied scientifically for over three decades. Hundreds of published studies show that mindfulness engenders positive changes in cognitive and neurobiological functioning and enhances mental and emotional strength, balance and resilience. Mindfulness is no panacea. It is just one approach that can help you in stress reduction and personal growth. Kim teaches mindfulness because of how it has helped improve her overall quality of life. If you wish to receive more information about the course and scientific evidence around it, be in touch with Kim.
1. Living on automatic pilot
2. Relating to obstacles and challenges
3. Getting to know your boundaries
4. The landscape of stress
5. Responding to stress with awareness
6. Thoughts are not reality
7. Taking better care of myself
During the training, you receive clear and detailed instructions and background information:
- Guided instruction in mindfulness meditation practices
- Guided instruction in gentle stretching and mindful movement
- Benefits from group dialogue during each session
- Individual tailored instruction
- Detailed information about each session’s theme and home assignments with the support of recordings in both Dutch and English.
The training language is English. If all participants understand Dutch, group discussions during the training are in Dutch and/or in English as needed.
“It’s a present to yourself. It’s been a valuable step in heightening my self-awareness and in learning to listen to myself. Kim is an authentic trainer who creates a comfortable atmosphere.”
Babet Hoeberigs, Practor Internationalisation ROC van Twente & ROC Mondriaan
“I have more self-compassion. This training is so beneficial because of Kim’s attitude. The meditations are so positive because they invite you to look at yourself with a beginner’s mind. I am allowing myself to be curious about my inner world. Kim is supportive, has a wonderful calm voice, and is a great storyteller. Her baking is fabulous!”
Sonja Buijs, Sensuality coach
“I now know what my automatic pilot reactions are when I am under stress and have started consciously choosing to respond differently. This course is a good start to live with greater awareness and more mindfully. Kim is warm, engaged and experienced.”
Eva van der Kruk, Elementary school teacher
“I can now stop the stream of unhelpful thoughts when they arise. I notice much faster when I am in self-judgment mode and can let go of it. I am more self-aware generally, I can recognize my emotions much more easily now and am generally kinder with myself. Kim knows what she is talking about. She is open and invites trust.”
Yvonne Izaks, Dutch language teacher
“I now have the ability to create inner space. I know that I have a choice in how to relate to stress and how to more easily look at the world from a different perspective. Kim is a strong woman, who like everyone else has experienced her struggles in life and has found her way with mindfulness (and other methods) to grow and is now capable of successfully sharing her knowledge with others.”
Linda Lambertina, Marketing manager
“I learned several tools that help me get less caught up in mental or emotional traps, how to look at myself and others with a “beginner’s mind” and with more compassion. But the true gift for me was investing time and money in myself, just for me. Being in a training for 6 weeks helped me stay on track with the practices. Kim is a great listener, down to earth and shows how she is not a “perfect mindfulness example. This helped me accept that it not necessarily is easy and to trust the process.”
Lisa Kasman, Dancer