Like many people, my mind was always on. I worried a lot, made endless to-do lists and slept badly, but I could also (especially as a child) spend hours in a fantasy world. Until I came across Headspace and a short mindfulness exercise. I found it difficult, but also interesting: suddenly I became aware of all those racing thoughts. At first I mostly used it to fall asleep, but I soon noticed it had a positive effect on me and began to practise daily.
A friend had done a multi-day silent retreat and I was intrigued. When I faced setbacks in my personal life, I decided to go too. I set out on a path of personal growth, and the longer I followed it, the more I noticed that my work as a history teacher no longer offered everything I was looking for. I saw how valuable it would have been to learn as a child what I was now learning as an adult.
Many of my students were dealing with difficult situations. I became convinced that the most important thing we can teach children is how to handle those situations by becoming more aware. Although I still loved teaching, I wanted to teach students what I had learned myself. So I trained as a mindfulness-in-schools teacher. I hope to contribute to a more aware generation.
What matters most to me is that students feel at ease and lose their shyness. Mindfulness can feel exciting, like anything new; I try to make it something normal. I pay attention to each individual student, overlook no one, and above all make it fun. Because I spent years in front of the class myself, I know what a class and young people need.
I am a qualified secondary history teacher (eerstegraads) and taught for years at a secondary school in Amsterdam, where I also gave mindfulness training and wove mindfulness into my history lessons. I also completed training as a mindfulness-in-schools teacher and a course in systemic therapy and constellations.
Qualified secondary history teacher (eerstegraads) · Trained as a mindfulness-in-schools teacher · Course in systemic therapy and constellations · Certificate of conduct (VOG)