"Always trying to heal myself, trying to find a cure or reason for my chronic pain, I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and Tietze syndroom - leaving me with daily pain & chronic fatigue - I remained a fighter
Fighting it didn’t bring relief. It brought me the opposite. I felt sad about the loss of my health. I felt powerless. I was afraid I'd have to stop teaching yoga
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In 2013 things started to change for me. I met a very wise & compassionate teacher. She was teaching some yoga workshops here in Holland. I remember the first morning. We had a break and after listening to her story I cried. I'd found a teacher who knew from her own experience what is was like to live with chronic pain. I knew she could teach me the tools I so desperate needed
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So she began mentoring me & I did my second teacher training with her. Both yoga and meditation gave me the tools to treat myself & my body differently. I stopped fighting. I learned more & more about mindfulness & loving kindness practices & how to integrate that into my yoga practice & daily life
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I started to teach yoga to people in chronic pain at the same time. I could share what I learned. I made what first felt as my weakness, my strength. It felt so empowering. I could help others to help themselves
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A few months ago I started teaching online live yoga classes. This way I can make yoga even more accessible for people in chronic pain or with a chronic illness. They don’t have to leave their home & can even practice yoga in bed
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Yoga isn’t available for lots of people. I made it my personal mission to do something about that. Through teaching yoga online I can make a change. I can help others to help themselves. So they can trust themselves, their bodies & intuition again as our healthcare system often takes this away from us. We can practice yoga in our own unique way & on our own terms
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If you want to practice yoga your way, you have to do it different to anybody else. Its your body, your yoga: Do it in a way that feels right for you 🙏
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