Break your habits through movement

Break your habits through movement

by | Dec 30, 2024 | Body Intelligence, Feldenkrais Neuro Somatic Movement Coaching, Quantum Human Design

There are so many invisible rules we follow, often without knowing it. Whether it's an instruction your mother gave you in childhood about sitting up straight, or that as a woman you should keep your knees together as an expression of virtue, or that you shouldn't raise your head above the ground because that's haughty...As well as physical advice from your sports or yoga instructor to raise your shoulders a certain way or keep your belly in... Postural patterns that they once thought were ‘right’ for everyone.

Most of us walk around with a lot of conscious or unconscious instructions and assumptions about how we should be in our bodies. And slowly we are losing the ability to listen to our body -our natural intelligence- in the first place instead of giving our responsibility and sovereignty to another person ‘because they will know what is good for us because they are the expert’. Another such assumption!

Two years ago, I started training as a Quantum Human Design coach. Human Design is like a personal energy map of you. It teaches you how your personal energy field works. It acts as a roadmap that gives you an entry point to discover who you are, how you experience and process the world, how your system can help you make good decisions and what you can do to stay closer to your true self. It helps you get to know your inner sensory compass. And it helps you live that story you have felt in your heart all your life. The story your soul came to earth with to share its gifts, gain life experiences and complete old lessons.

Looking at a Human Design body map is also a bit like looking into a Mirror. It shows you your personality traits, your talents, your wisdom, and your vulnerabilities. And it shows you where you are disconnected from your true self. Where you think about yourself in a fragmented way instead of in your wholeness.

It also shows you where you struggle with limiting beliefs and where you live by rules imposed on you by the world or where you have unconsciously or consciously adopted beliefs and thinking patterns of others, or adopted or reinforced the energy of others. In (Quantum) Human Design, this is called conditioning. Conditioning is the way you have learned to behave in response to your life experiences, your family patterns and beliefs, and how you experience the energy of the world. Some of it is great and some of it really limits us to be in touch with who we are in the heart of our being. Your neurobiology also has conditioning in the way neural networks work in your brain that create habitual patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions.

The latter is what makes the Human Design roadmap overlap very nicely with what Moshe Feldenkrais -the founder of the Feldenkrais method- says about learning habitual patterns, and how our system plays a role in this by the way it functions and is programmed to protect us from emotional/physical pain.

Feldenkrais practitioners approach movement as a mirror for becoming aware of what you have consciously and unconsciously internalized in terms of rules, learned instructions, beliefs, and values throughout your life. It shows you how you have come to attach certain meanings to certain words, stories, and images, which have led to a misalignment with your physical-emotional being. It shows you where you are not in connection with yourself and where you think fragmented of yourself instead of sensing your wholeness. On the other hand, it also puts you in touch with the voice and wisdom of your body and who you are beyond the stories and in the here and now.

To mature, in both the Feldenkrais method and Quantum Human Design, means becoming aware of this unconscious conditioning. and what is true for you in this. And that you start making other choices, choices that are in tune with who you are and what you need and want for yourself.

It invites you to explore where can you let go of what limits you in being authentically yourself and taking good care of yourself. Where you need to create a more accurate self-image and start living more of your truth in the way you perceive, feel, think, react, make decisions, choose, do, and give meaning to what you perceive, feel, and think.

From both the Feldenkrais neuro-physical point of view and the Quantum Human Design metaphysical, and archetypical point of view, this is what really aligns you with your unique energy blueprint: your potential, power, creativity, health, the talents of your soul and how you use your body and life energy most joyfully and efficiently to live the story in your heart.

Do you want to get to know yourself better?

Check out this retreat in which I help you discover how to use your energy more optimally so you can enjoy yourself more, be more yourself and ‘use’ your body and nervous system more kindly and according to their way. So that you can start to release prolonged tension, pain and overwhelm.

    What about your inner castle?

    What about your inner castle?

    by | Dec 29, 2024 | Blog, Changing the story, Ignite your sparkle

    Sometimes I read a text whose symbolism completely coincides with what is going on in my inner world at that moment. At such a moment, when the words reflect this back to me, peace and clarity arise in my mind.
    The text below is such a text. It comes from the inspiring book "Dark side of the light chasers' by Debby Ford

    "Imagine being a magnificent castle with long hallways and thousands of rooms. Every room in the castle is perfect and possesses a special gift. Each room represents a different aspect of yourself and is an integral part of the entire perfect castle. As a child, you explored every inch of your castle without shame or judgment. Fearlessly you searched every room for its jewels and its mystery. Lovingly you embraced every room whether it was a closet, a bedroom, bathroom, or a cellar. Each and every room was unique. Your castle was full of light, love, and wonder.
    Then one day, someone came to your castle and told you that one of your rooms was imperfect, that surely it didn't belong in your castle. They suggested that if you wanted to have a perfect castle you should close and lock the door to this room.
    Since you wanted love and acceptance, you quickly closed off that room.


    As time went by, more and more people came to your castle. They all gave you their opinions of the rooms, which ones they liked and which ones they didn't. And slowly you shut one door after another. Your marvelous rooms were being closed off, taken out of the light, and put into the dark. A cycle had begun. From that time on, you closed more and more doors for all kinds of reasons. You closed doors because you were afraid, or you thought the rooms were too bold. You closed doors to rooms that were too conservative. You closed doors because other castles you saw did not have a room like yours. You closed doors because your religious leaders told you to stay away from certain rooms. You closed any door that did not fit into society's standards or your own ideal.
    The days were gone when your castle seemed endless and your future seemed exciting and bright. You no longer cared for every room with the same love and admiration. Rooms you were once proud of, you now willed to disappear. You tried to figure out ways to get rid of these rooms, but they were part of the structure of your castle.

    Now that you had shut the door to whatever room you didn't like, time went by until one day you just forgot that room altogether. At first, you didn't realize what you were doing. It just became a habit.

    With everyone giving you different messages about what a magnificent castle should look like, it became much easier to listen to them than to trust your inner voice: the one that loved your entire castle. Shutting off those rooms actually started to make you feel safe. Soon you found yourself living in just a few small rooms. You had learned how to shut off life and became comfortable doing it.¨(from the book of "Dark side of the light chasers' by Debby Ford)


    How recognizable, THIS! Many of us put away so many facets of who we are. Those facets are like rooms in the colorful castle we once were when we were born. And as more rooms in our castle are locked away and forgotten, we become more like a small studio in an apartment complex that is constantly being tweaked to look the same as all the other studios in the building and meet the aesthetic requirements of the housing corporation (read society). And we may not even remember over time that we were once a very special castle with many colorful rooms.

    In Quantum Human Design (QHD) this ´tweaking ourselves to meet society´standards´, is called conditioning. A QHD map helps you see which rooms in your inner castle you have closed, and forgotten and it gives you keys to re-open and reclaim those rooms of your inner castle. It also helps you see where you let others decide about how your rooms should be. And it helps you re-attune to your inner voice of wisdom. Since living more according to my unique Human Design, I am more and more my whole castle again, and more and more of my quirky, crazy, colorful and sacred rooms are open to me again.

    Last year I certified in the last level of Quantum Human Design; level 4. Studying and certifying is one thing and important. However giving as much Quantum Human Design readings is even more important to become skilled and confident in delivering others their unique Human Design roadmap. So I decided to offer free Quantum Human Design reading in the one-to-one Dance Healing retreat Reclaim your inner Freedom.

    Move into Joy offers a holistic and sensory-based approach to healthy joyful being in all aspects of life. I offer transformational retreats for women seeking self-connection, self-acceptance, and expression of their authentic inner sparkle.

    Are you ready to reclaim your power and life artistry? Join me for a retreat at Jardin de Luz Inner Sparkle Sanctuary, Spain

    What is your story?

    What is your story?

    by | Dec 29, 2024 | Blog, Body Intelligence, Changing the story, Somatic Wisdom

    What is your story?

    And is it still the story you want to tell yourself?

    The way you move tells your personal myth and shows you the hidden parts of yourself. It reveals to you the deepest beliefs and feelings that underlie the story you have come to tell yourself about yourself and the world around you.

    Your way of moving tells you f.e. about the unconscious thoughts that dominate your self-image from the background. You can read your deep basic beliefs and unconscious habits, and also how you are in relationship with your body and the world around you.

    The way you stand, sit, move, reach out, and turn inwards tell about (unconscious) emotional patterns. These often originated long ago and impose themselves in the way you carry yourself; your personal conditioned patterns of muscle-contraction as well as the way you talk to yourself and about yourself.

    Meet yourself in movement

    Over the years, I learned about the many unconscious stories I was telling myself by landing more in my body and becoming aware of how I was moving and how that made me feel.

    I now recognize the stories that are well hidden in the depths trying to keep their grip. They used to control me with subtle posturing patterns that kept me small. Now I am aware of their ways and can choose whether and how to respond to them.

    Your body tells your inner story

    Most of these subconscious stories, that live on quietly in the background, reveal themselves in a moment of challenge. Often through a sudden sensation, or an abrupt change in your inner energy flow, that gesture you always make, or that small but all too familiar movement. And even more often through that subtle familiar but unconscious body posture that you have become accustomed to over the years.

    They are those hidden stories that were written when we were very small and sometimes even long before that. And sometimes the stories live on through us, but belong to our family or ancestors.

    How do your stories reveal themselves? I love to hear from you.

    Over the years my practice of Feldenkrais and NIA  turned me into a curious movement and sensation detective who uses dance to unravel the inner stories that move, challenge, and touch me. I like to use the movements for my´Body Wise Soul Guide´cards and write a little message to my soul on them.

    So from time to time I draw a card like this to remind myself that I am worth loving myself for who I am, that I am enough as I am, and that my needs want to be valued and honored.

    Move into Joy offers a holistic and sensory-based approach to healthy joyful being in all aspects of life. I offer transformational retreats for women seeking self-connection, self-acceptance, and expression of their authentic inner sparkle.

    Are you ready to reclaim your power and life artistry? Join me for a retreat at Jardin de Luz Inner Sparkle Sanctuary, Spain

    What if you could have a no-regret relationship with yourself?

    What if you could have a no-regret relationship with yourself?

    by | Sep 3, 2024 | Blog, Changing the story, Ignite your sparkle, Somatic Wisdom

    Sadness and anger are as much a part of our life as joy. And we have a choice in how we receive and respond to all the challenges life throws at us. Much of it comes down to how we label our emotions, how we perceive ourselves and the world, and how we give meaning to the words we use and receive.

    Can we be genuinely open to all aspects of who we are? Can we begin to have compassion for the parts of ourselves that we have excluded from our light? Can we take a step in welcoming back our bodies and the shadow parts that live there hidden in the darkest of our cells...?

    When we are able to do this, we begin to build a relationship with ourselves that is grounded in love, authenticity, respect, and living our soul potential.

    It is here that words like unconditional love take on a felt meaning and a higher vibration.

    It is here that we experience ourselves in a free body that can again move with grace, vitality, and sensuality.

    Through a concsious and intimate relationship with our bodies, we can reconnect to our heart's inner wisdom and healing capacity. Being in touch with our whole self helps us tap into the vast innate intelligence of our body and soul, Create a beautiful life with who you are, and what you have. This is what I call a no-regret relationship with yourself.

    Become your own body whisperer and dance in your sovereignty and inner power!

    Embark with me on a magical, intimate, and mindful journey through your body. Reconnect with your uniqueness and your heart's deepest desires, move through your emotional landscapes, and get in touch with your body's sensations and energetic vibrations.  

    Move into Joy offers a holistic and sensory-based approach to healthy happy being in all aspects of life.  I offer transformational retreats for women seeking self-connection, self-acceptance, and expression of their authentic sparkle.

    Are you ready to reclaim your power and life artistry? Join me for a retreat at Jardin de Luz Inner Sparkle Sanctuary, Spain

    Are you kind to yourself?

    Are you kind to yourself?

    by | May 11, 2024 | Blog, Nervous System Health, Somatic Wisdom

    Today I participated in a pruning course for hundred-year-old olive trees and young olive and fruit trees. We have a lot of old olive trees that were treated in such a way that they are screaming for help. I wanted to know for myself if pruning can be an act of kindness. I have seen horrendous things happen when chain saws and eager farmers come together to assure as many olives as possible.

    Actually I learned what my heart already knew. Now my mind knows how to follow both my heart and that of the tree. Basically, there are two ways of pruning:
One is about a productive tree. The tree serves only as a production machine for olives and has no other value to the farmer. A bit like how animals are treated in the bio-industry. It hurts me terribly to see that. Afterward, there is a stumpy tree that has been robbed of its soul and shape, where first there was a proud big grandpa tree of 100 years. They call this the hard way.

    There is also a way of pruning that is about collaborating with the tree. You listen to the tree its growth wishes. You help the tree find its structure again, by creating order out of chaos so that the nutrition can get from the roots to the branches. In this way, the tree has a clear focus again and can remain healthy. It can grow in such a way that it has an equilibrium. It’s called pruning with a heart for the tree. And you see the tree flourish when you prune.

    What does this have to do with people and movement? Everything!!!

    Our bodies have more in common with a living being like a tree than with a machine or a robot. (Did you know that a tree also has a kind of nervous system in its root system?) I just have to look at the way many of us have become alienated from the body and force the body to look and move in a way that ignores its intelligence and design… Turning a deaf ear to the body’s messages.

    In the somatic movement classes of Feldenkrais, we are like the pruners working with the tree by gently pruning away neural ‘branches’ that get in the way of our resilience and growth. We listen with curious attention to the body, to its desires in movement, and to the ´noise`: The habits that interfere with its ability to move freely. We explore the internal relationships that have been disrupted by what we have learned in the past, by pain experiences, emotions, our thoughts, etc.

    And we ask the nervous system ´What are the neural patterns behind these habits and how can we rewire or unwire these gently?´

    Pruning is then looking for ways of moving that the body enjoys, helping the nervous system see new neural network options and remove neural connections that do not contribute to efficiency, and pleasure in the body. In this way, we help the body to move again as it was meant to move: with pleasure, ease, vitality, and sensuality.

    Would you like to explore a Feldenkrais lesson with me? You can find my free Feldenkrais introductory series Your compass to wellbeing and vitality here

    A Musing about being connected to the rhythms of life

    A Musing about being connected to the rhythms of life

    by | May 11, 2024 | Blog

    One of the awe sensations of living in your body is being connected to the rhythms and movement of life.

    There is no movement without rhythm. All in life is rhythm.. universal rhythm, cosmic rhythm, earth rhythms, the rhythm of you, the rhythms in you, the rhythm of me of us together, the symphony that we -earth beings create in interconnectedness, the rhythms that transform ordinary movements in a dance,  and the rhythms that turn ordinary sounds in a symphony.

    We are all both the music and the dancer, in every moment of our lives.

    And every time when we find a way to move with more pleasure, more ease, more variety, more expression, more wonder, we come back to our very own nature and gain more artistry in dancing through life.

    I love the video about human rhythm
    Watch until the end to see some rhythm and dance that will leave you in awe.