Smiling Minds Club

24/12/2022

Wishing you all happiness, warmth and lots of laughter for the coming days. Hope you will spend these holidays in a way that feels right to you - with family, friends or by yourself, celebrating or not celebrating... ❤️

📷 This picture was taken while I was practising yoga and meditation - being surrounded by our four cats who settled in with me and enjoyed the calm energy in the house.

31/08/2022

What does Mindfulness mean to you?

Many of us have the belief that practising mindfulness means having to sit down in order to meditate in silence... True, this is one way to practise mindfulness. The last few months I have hardly been alone and I felt guilty to carve out some me-time in order to meditate. So, lately I practised being mindful and filling my batteries while being active with a new hobby: on a paddle board ;-). Being totally in the moment with all senses - feeling the movement of my body, listening to the sounds of the water, the animals, the sounds from the streets around. Watching the trees, plants and sky being reflected in the water like in a mirror, the water plants, all sorts of green around me, the little movements the water makes while paddling on it. Smelling all kinds of smells. And then becoming aware of the moment itself and watching and listening to my own thoughts. Consciously being with my breath - which feels like a little present and moment of bliss in itself... I'm so grateful that the weather is so inviting to get on the SUP. I might have to find a new name for it, "battery recharger" is quite long and doesn't do it justice as it means so much more to me.

So, how do you practise mindfulness and how do you recharge your internal batteries?

❤️

26/03/2022

What was the last brave decision you made?

10/02/2022

"The universe takes care of a surrendered heart."

Just sharing - I read this sentence today and it resonated with me.

Sometimes it's hard to surrender and trust - simply because life just happens and kind of takes over and we feel more "being lived" than living consciously.

In my experience, life feels more intense when I fully surrender and trust with all of my heart, automatically feeling more aligned within myself. To me, this is when the real magic happens and I appreciate life and all the daily little and big things as a miracle itself. Feeling grateful with all of my senses (my body, my mind, my soul... ) 💖💖💖

Does this resonate with you?

31/01/2022

👉👉 Please, share if you can, no matter where you live... 😉😊 - thanks a million in advance! 👈👈

So excited! 🙂🙃🙂

Tomorrow the online Mindful with your Baby Training will start.
Today is the last chance to sign up if you'd like to join this training together with the lovely moms and their babies who are participating.

The dates of the training have been slightly adjusted to Tuesdays and Wednesdays, see https://www.smilingminds.club/mindful-with-your-baby/baby-training-in-english/

I will schedule another training very soon - either in English or Dutch. So, if you'd like to join a Mindful with your Baby Training in the near future (yes, as it's online you can join from wherever you are), don't hesitate to contact me via hello@smilingminds.club

For Dutch residents it might be interesting to know that most Dutch health insurances and even some employers partially reimburse the training costs.

Another bonus for Dutch- and English-speaking parents is that UvA Minds (University of Amsterdam) is conducting an online study on the effectiveness of this training in a preventive setting. The effectiveness in a clinical setting has already been scientifically proven. Participating in this study means receiving a discount on the training costs up to 100% (income-dependent).

This Mindful with your Baby Training is rather new and not known by many people, yet. Everybody joining a mindfulness training leaves the training with a different personal gain - one common gain of this Mindful with your Baby Training that I have witnessed is that the moms participating experienced more joy and peace during this precious time with their baby while feeling more confident with what they are doing and dealing with stressful situations in a more accepting and relaxed manner. They experienced the training as highly valuable.

It would be great to make this training more known and reach parents that could benefit from this Mindful with your Baby Training no matter where they live.
So, please, even if you don't know someone with a baby at the moment, feel free to share - I'd really appreciate it a lot! 😊❤️🙏

22/01/2022

***Thank you Thích Nhất Hạnh for all your wisdom and wise words - rest in peace!***

>>> "The monk and the empty boat"
by Thích Nhất Hạnh

A monk decides to meditate alone. Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate.

After a few hours of unperturbed silence, he suddenly feels the blow of another boat hitting his.

With his eyes still closed, he feels his anger rising and, when he opens his eyes, he is ready to shout at the boatman who dared to disturb his meditation.

But when he opened his eyes, saw that it was an empty boat, not tied up, floating in the middle of the lake…

At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization and understands that anger is within him; it simply needs to hit an external object to provoke it.

After that, whenever he meets someone who irritates or provokes his anger, he remembers: “The other person is just an empty boat. Anger is inside me.“

15/01/2022

The kindness and self-love not only moms with newborns deserve from time to time... more often... regularly...
EVERY SINGLE DAY... ❤️❤️❤️

Be kind to yourself, you achieved the most incredible - you created life!!!

>>> “I’ve really let myself go”:
A statement so often heard.
Words drenched with deep meaning
That should really be shared.

Gone where? To do what?
It’s quite frankly absurd.
Yet, in that simple statement,
So much angst is inferred.

We’re tired. We’re weary.
Our self worth has waned.
Our confidence shattered:
Our waistbands are strained.

These new arrivals
Demand all our attention.
A love so consuming.
A love too great to mention.

What if, to our bodies,
Some of that love was shown?
What if we marvelled at
The miracles we’ve grown.

Body parts one time firm,
Are now soft, but so strong.
Perhaps that is how
they were meant all along

So, next time you think:
“I’ve really let myself go.”
To your strong birthing body,
Some kindness please show💔

10/01/2022

In februari starten de online Mindful met je Baby Trainingen.

Doe mee met het online onderzoek van UvA Minds en ontvang korting (tot 100%) op de trainingskosten.

Meer informatie vind je hier: www.smilingminds.club (link in bio)

05/01/2022

Found this card while packing boxes for a house move when it felt as if the days did not have enough hours... Found the empty frame right after. Put such a smile on my face back then and still does today. Our kids' artwork on the card makes it perfect... 😊❤️

So, "smile, breathe and go slowly". Maybe these are the words that you need when you read this post...

04/01/2022

Online Mindful with your Baby Trainings starting in February again.

More info here: www.smilingminds.club

03/01/2022

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."

by Denis Waitley

💫 Happy New Year everyone! 💫
Hope you make the best of it! 🍀☀️☺️
❤️ X

26/12/2021