SOL - Yoga with Melanie

The perfect way to slow down, ground and reconnect with yourself before sliding into the buzzing, festive days.🌟This Candlelight Christmas Yin is packed with:

- Gentle heart opening stretches
- Grounding meditation & breathwork
- Soothing, acoustic Christmas tunes
- Flickering candlelight

All to help you ground, drop back into your self, rest your nervous system and nourish your soul.

Feel welcome to join this gentle practice. All proceeds of this class will be fully donated to Doctors without Borders in Gaza. Your presence on the mat does really make a difference.🧡

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Feels too far away or wanna decide last moment? I feel you. But if this resonates, it’s best to pre-book your mat now. Spots have been filling up super fast already, and we are down to the last 2! ➡️ www.studio-bondi.com/workshops

🙏 With much thanks to Studio Bondi for making this special possible

The perfect way to slow down, ground and reconnect with yourself before sliding into the buzzing, festive days.🌟This Candlelight Christmas Yin is packed with:

- Gentle heart opening stretches
- Grounding meditation & breathwork
- Soothing, acoustic Christmas tunes
- Flickering candlelight

All to help you ground, drop back into your self, rest your nervous system and nourish your soul.

Feel welcome to join this gentle practice. All proceeds of this class will be fully donated to Doctors without Borders in Gaza. Your presence on the mat does really make a difference.🧡

——

Feels too far away or wanna decide last moment? I feel you. But if this resonates, it’s best to pre-book your mat now. Spots have been filling up super fast already, and we are down to the last 2! ➡️ www.studio-bondi.com/workshops

MATTERS OF THE HEART

In a time & society that easily falls into opposition and division, I feel little reminders to take care, embrace your humanness and connect from a place of authenticity, are incredibly important. So here I am, hoping to bring a smile or tear to the face, a warmth to the heart or bring awareness to the simple recognition that we are all human. All the same. We unite in our imperfections, our messiness and vulnerabilities, our joys and hopes, our fear and not-knowing. And with that in mind, let me share a short story. One about courage in tough times. For real strength arises from daring to be vulnerable. Allowing yourself to be seen - by yourself and the world - just as you are. 🌟

A while ago, my friend lost a loved one. A hard time began for her. Yet, a few days later she rolled out her mat and showed up for my Yin yoga class. It touched me, quite deeply. Because let’s face it: showing up for yourself is not always easy. Especially not when your inner world feels like a wind storm, where challenging feelings like grief, sadness, anxiety, insecurity, groundlessness or numbness are swirling around.🌪️ Or when you're going for a slow-paced and meditative practice, like Yin. 'Cause when there is nothing much to do - like in Yin yoga - you are left with only one option: to be with what is. But what if what's here feels really uncomfortable, painful or scary?

Well, to start with: let’s to go easy on ourselves, making sure we are on our own side, feeling held by our own tenderness. And trust me: I know this is a tough cookie!🍪 Especially when your loud and chatty inner critic is not afraid to take over the show. But hey, we can practise holding space for ourselves. Again, and again, and again... And when we do, we are much more able to explore how to lay out the welcome mat for our friend, called sadness. We get to bring our own soothing attention to grief. We learn to sit with our naked vulnerability. And that isn’t always pleasurable or what we are most pulled to do. Nor easy. But the good news is: self-care or healing doesn’t always need to be. 🧡

👉Continue reading in comments below & read the full letter via link in bio

IMMUNITY BOOST🍁

Whether you are currently feeling under the weather or want to prevent sneezes & sniffles, these 2 postures - waterfall and dangling pose - are great to do if you’d like to support your immune system. Here’s why👇

Did you know that our lymphatic system works optimally in driving toxins out of our body, when it can flow from our toes to our head? Woops. That’s the opposite direction of how we stand, sit and walk throughout our day. Time to bring the body upside down! 🤸🏽‍♀️By lifting our feet in the air, for example (squeeze in a cushion underneath the bum for extra support). Or lowering our upper body in a dangling pose. In either posture, it’s absolutely fine to keep a gentle bend in the knees.

Relax into each pose for about 3 minutes, allowing each exhale to soften your body & mind a little further. The breath is another important key to our health & vitality, so let your breath support you throughout the practice - and beyond. Deep, nourishing inbreaths, long and easy outbreaths - maybe sighing it out on your exhale to release even more profoundly.

No better way to wrap up this immunity practice than with a cup of warming cinnamon & ginger tea (anti-bacterial & anti-viral qualities) or make a fresh brew of sage leaves combined with a slice of lemon. 🍋🫖

A nourishing way to slow down, tend to your well-being and slide into the colourful autumn season. Enjoy! 🍁

YOGA EVERYWHERE 🌊

Last week I guided this playful, all-level workshop for a group of 21 teachers. We gazed at the blue sky, mindfully listened to sound of waves rolling in and out - and all of that while breathing deeply and wiggling our puppy pose.🐶 it was great fun!

Rijnland Lyceum decided to incorporate a yoga session as part of their teambuilding day. Cause only when we find that connection with ourselves, we can truly connect to others.

With a similar philosophy behind it, I am happy to see yoga being more and more part of shared activities outside the traditional yoga studio as well. For example, I guided the actors and director of The National Theater, in preperation for their rehearsals and upcoming play - which helped the crew to harmonize, set focus and embody their characters more profoundly. Or how about that bachelorette party where I shared a yoga practice, just to find a moment of calm in between the ecstatic festivities? Students with whom I dropped into a mindfulness meditation, right before an important exam training. And let’s not forget about the supershort yet powerful sessions of yoga or breathwork during a workbreak at the office. Clearing the busy mind and increasing productivity during the rest of the day.

Yes, ! 🙌

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Wanna learn more about the possibilities of yoga & mindfulness in your (team) event, school or work? Let’s chat! Feel free to reach out or check: solyogawithmelanie.com 🧡

New Yin Yoga class!bondi
Every Thursday 9.30-10.30

Last few months I paused my yoga guiding. I felt I needed to direct my energy inwards, rather than outwards. And so I devoted myself to my own practice, went on adventures in Aussie and Bali, filled myself up with new practices, inspiration and connections. From woman’s wellbeing - e.g. hormonal (dis)balances - to trauma sensitivity. Born from my intrinsic drive for health & wellbeing for everyone, and pure fascination about the body’s wisdom. And now I am bursting of excitement to share all of it again with you. Just from one human to another. As - in this beautiful life - we are all walking each other home.
Thank you .bondi for sharing your beautiful place & vibes for this!🙏

Craving an easeful practice? Nourish yourself with the calm, feminine, intuitive and grounding yin energy. Starting tomorrow, 17 August, with a wonderful heart opening practice, accompanied by acoustic guitar tunes. Will I see you on the mat? 🧡

Book your class via www.studio-bondi.com.

YIN & YANG - A story about Popeye gangsters and sweet surrender

Today I went to the gym. Whaaat? Yep. This girl landed right between the Popeye gangsters, jumping onto big ass equipment, conquering fictive mountains on the crosstrainer.🏔️ Must admit: to me the environment is uninspiring as hell, but you know what? It felt good.

And this is the reason why:

I needed my yang. Or perhaps in more human language: I needed the drive, the radiant energy, the inner lion 🦁, the ‘whoa let’s rock and roll mentality’. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Yin - hence my love for teaching this style of yoga. I feel the softness and the intuitive, feminine quality to it, is much needed in our yang-focused society. There is so much gold to be found in the introspection, stillness, surrendering and letting go. But there is a reason Yin (the moon) & Yang (the sun) form a beautiful symbol together: they need each other to be in balance. And continuously finding that balance in ourselves is like riding a 🚲: we got to keep tuning in, feel towards which side our energy is leaning a little too much and respond accordingly. Each moment again.

An overkill of Yin energy often makes me feel a bit passive, stuck and sluggish. There are moments where my body just nééds to move. Dance. Run. Letting the energy out. Or where I need to be reminded of my strength, which often reaches far beyond what I initially think I’m capable of. I want to jump, do, conquer, use my energy to create and act. That’s what drove me into the gym today. But it could as well have been a run through the dunes or dusting off my painting tools and make some art.🎨

In contrast, there are times where I feel my doing mode is taking me for a ride. I am not allowing myself enough time to pause and feel what’s going on in my body, mind and soul, cause ‘s**t needs to be done, woman!’ That’s exactly - after many years of rebellious trial and error, believe me🙃 - when I know I need to roll out my mat, grab 100 pillows, and connect to the Yin-energy. Softening, feeling, letting myself be. Creating space for new energy to arise.

➡️ Read more in comments below or in my brand new newsletter (link in bio).

THE WAY WE DO THINGS MATTERS

Finding yourself exhausted at the finish line: feeling tensed, depleted, but hey: you made it! 💪 You have absolutely smashed this deadline. Nailed that Crow Pose on your yoga mat. Managed to tick off 5 to-do’s in one day. Forced yourself into meditation. Tried to be everything for everyone. Yet, now that you have finally reached what you thought you wanted, ease & enjoyment are nowhere to be found.

Ha! Sounds familiar? No worries, I think we’ve all been there at some point.

I remember realizing that forcing myself into any shape or form - whether that would be a yoga pose, a job or a relationship - in order ‘to get it right’, was NOT the way for me. God knows I’ve tried. Many, many times. And I still do, occasionally. Just to be sure. But life keeps showing me: this isn’t your road. Stuff can (and perhaps should) be done differently... You CAN dance lightly with it all.

Afterall, if we aim to feel good and relaxed in life, does it really make sense to struggle & stress ourselves down the road? How we feel in the process, determines how we feel once we ‘get there’.

So what if we would experiment with taking our eyes of the prize and getting much more interested in the road ahead? The journey we travel, one step at a time. 🥾Day by day, carving our way consciously. Knowing that in each moment we can stumble upon a crossing and choose again:

✨ Which road supports me best, right now?
✨ Which one feels light, open and playful?
✨ Which road allows me to fill my cup the most, so that I have plenty to give to those around me?

And once you love the road you choose to travel, who cares where you end up going? 🙂

Olé, summer wedding #1 of my dear friend. Can’t ever get enough of celebrate love love love 💕

Smiley face with these lush yoga views 🍀- Bali & Aussie land

Hello Bali ☀️

‘Ik heb herinneringen
Zwart en goud
Ik heb honderden verhalen
In mijn mouw
Ik heb een rugzak met wat wijsheid
Jong en oud
En ik loop

Ik discussiër met de wind over het pad dat ik kies
Ik luister naar de stad, omdat ze alles ziet
Ze zegt: ik snap het als je door moet, maar vergeet mij niet
En ik loop

En als ik val geeft geloof zijn hand aan mij
En als ik breek dan geeft liefde een lijn
En als ik huil komt de regen langs en zegt: je bent niet alleen

Ik heb mijn angsten neergelegd op het centraal station
Ik laat ze altijd daar wanneer de avond komt
De maan en ik hebben elkaar toch al gezien, in elke vorm
Dus ik loop
Ik loop’

⛰🧡 - Linde Schöne

Beetje woordkunst kan nooit kwaad.

Een middag helemaal voor jou. Om te vertragen. Diep te ontspannen. En te verbinden, met jezelf én elkaar. Maak je klaar voor een heerlijke Slow Flow & Yin yoga, een verdiepende breath journey, reflectie en akoestische tunes. ✨

Zin in deze oase van rust? Ik verwelkom je graag 💛 Boek nu je plekje via www.helderyoga.nl/yoga-retreats (link in bio)

MIDDAG RETREAT VERTRAGEN
Zaterdag 24 september 13.00-17.00
(vlakbij het strand🏝)
€49

This weekend I traded my beloved yoga leggings for a ‘lady in red’. My dear friend said yes, and what an honor and joy it was to be part of this unforgettable celebration! Love love love 🥰

My right hand caresses the strings, while my left hand forms funny shapes. In this moment, there’s no thinking, no logic, no ambition to perfect it, and definitely no performing. Lost in a melodic flow. Boy, did it take some time, practice (and letting go) to get.... nowhere in particular, really, and simply enjoy the process of tunes emerging!

Sounds dreamy? Wait for it, you know I like my share of science too. ✌️ Appears that not only our hands work together when playing an instrument, but our left and right part of the brain harmonize as well. They befriend each other, snuggle up, so they can help produce the most beautiful sounds. Blood pressure lowers, our nervous system is soothed and happy hormones start to kick in. And that can leave us with a sense of calm and balance. The perfect soil from which even more creativity can bloom. 🌼 And if you are not the player type, no worries. Listening to a beautiful piece of music, brings about the same effects on our well-being.

So this evening it’s just me, my ukelele and a bunch of cozy lights. ✨🌜Okay, a purring cat as unexpected backing vocals too, I must admit. 🙃 As I pick the strings, one by one, I listen to a new rhythm being born. Absorbed in the moment, almost like a meditation. I surrender and let the melody carry me, as the instrument happily takes over.

Moments like these, nothing more needed. 🧡

Tooling down the island, loosing track of time 🏝

From freedom, food in the fridge and the sweetest gesture of another human, to the simplicity of our fresh inbreath & heartbeat keeping us alive. 🧡 What have you been taking for granted today?

My journey from a little, curly cookie monster into a 33-year young woman. Thankful for these years filled with liveliness so far and all the ways I have grown, fallen, risen, adventured, loved, connected and felt genuinely cared for throughout these beautiful years. But one thing will never - ever - change: attacking cake like it’s the last piece on Earth. Jiiiihaaa ✌️

LAUNCH: SUMMER MALLORCA RETREAT 🌞

Señores y señoritas, it’s official: our website has been launched and ticketsale opened! 💃 We can’t wait to welcome you from 30 May - 4 June 2022 in the stunning, colourful . This retreat venue – with sun-lit yoga shala, private pool, sauna and palm tree-hammocks to ease into – is a real gem in the green countryside of Mallorca island. If you ask us: the ideal place to relax, recharge, connect and soak up the summer vibe! 🏝

Summer is the season of the fire element 🔥, expression, abundance and celebration. You can find these themes in our day-to-day program on our website 4seasonsretreats.com. To give you a little sneak peek: a morning yoga session & picknick on the beach, reflective journaling practice, Ayurvedic cooking workshop and a campfire kirtan (music session) are awaiting you! And because we understand that in some cases time is the greatest gift we can grand you, we’ll make sure there is plenty of free time as well. Ready to dip into the pool, cozy up with a book in your hammock or explore the beautiful, green island? 💚

Because we are so excited to share this journey with you, we offer - besides our regular prices – two special deals! For the early birds amongst us, that book before 31 March 2022: we got you covered 😊 A 10% off your ticket price, just because you seem to be as excited as we are! And what can be more fun than sharing this journey together with a friend, family member or colleague? Bring them along, and you’ll both enjoy a discounted ticket! ✌

Getting curious? Find out more about the retreat program, the venue, hosts and tickets via 4seasonsretreats.com (link in bio). Hasta pronto!☀️

Co-host retreat:
Delicious Ayurvedic catering by:

New year, new adventures. ✨ Cause as human beings and as a start-up we keep growing, changing and exploring. And so this year will be a little different than usual.

After two years of co-creating and hosting various day retreats together, Marjolein () is taking a step back unfortunately. Her contribution to our retreats have been valued by many and may return in the future again! I continue to move forward with 4 Seasons Retreats this year: same concept of seasonal retreats, but in a slightly new shape and form. 🏝

Recently, I met an inspiring lady - - who has built her off-the-grid life in the countryside of Mallorca, and one thing became clear: we want to create a beautiful experience together! And we are on a roll... 🙌 Plans have been made and converted into action. I am too excited to hold this just to myself, so here’s a little taster: Imagine sunshine, palm trees, island vibe, yoga & mindfulness with a view, Ayurveda (cooking workshop), music, dance, reflection and lots of ease & fun! Por qué no? 💃

Sí, ladies and gentlemen: a Summer Mallorca Retreat is coming up! ☀️Soon more details, an introduction of Marlot and the opening of our ticket sale.

See yourself chilling in a hammock? Let me know if you’re as excited as I am! Hasta la vista, amigos! 🤩

📸: Finca S’Almudaina, Mallorca Island.

Listen lovingly. 💛 When we allow ourselves to become still, the body & soul can whisper. What is there to hear?

Sure, 2021 had it’s own share of challenges, hard and sad moments or obstacles to overcome.

But boy, 2021 also brought me so much gratitude, humbleness, love, growth, joy and opportunities! 💛🎁 My family and friends remained healthy; I enjoyed climbing back on a theater stage again - with my theater family who I feel I grew much closer to. My yoga classes found a new home into the lovely Delight studio and I hosted two beautiful sold-out retreats with 4 Seasons Retreats. ☘️

And there is more! I became a first-time-ever auntie of the smiliest, charming boy 👶🏻; I was warmly welcomed into a new work space where I could write about topics that matter to me, and my mindfulness trainer certification is in the pocket. I felt gratitude for the friendships that feel like family, I enjoyed a summer of little, beachy adventures. And... I was shortly reminded of how it feels to have tiny butterflies playing out in your belly. 🦋

So in all honesty: thank you 2021, for this beautiful year and all that you surprised me with. And yay to those who journeyed together with me this year. You make the adventure of life so much more enjoyable. 🤩Can’t wait to see what 2022 guides us towards ! ✨

Wish you a happy new year, friends! 🌟 Or as Satya beautifully said yesterday: A Happy New Now. Cause quite frankly, all we ever really have is now. Each moment, a clean slate. A new beginning. Cheers!🥂

WINTER: SEASON OF STILLNESS ❄️
3 Questions to help you reflect & connect

A fragment of my brand new newsletter:
‘I wish for you to enjoy the little things this Christmas. Despite - or perhaps because of - the challenges going on. Although much of our outer life is closed right now, let's not forget some things are wide open, ready to be cherished. Here. Now. If... we pay attention.’

‘The current measures perhaps also invite us to sink deeper into the winter spirit. ❄️ A season in which nature turns within and chills out, so that it can regain energy to blossom again in spring time. We too, can drop back into ourselves and align ourselves with the slower pace and introspective quality of winter season. And when we do so, we can reconnect to the stillness inside. A serenity that is already within us, but can be easily overruled by our extravagant and chatty mind. No worries, completely normal when that happens ✌️, but my goodness, when we dare to relax the importance we attach to the stories of our mind and surrender into the underlying stillness.... That's when the (silent) party begins! 💃

In this quiet space, the body, heart and soul can finally speak to us. 'Hey, this feeling is longing to be felt'. 'Wow, listen to this awesome, creative idea!' 'Can you feel that excitement buzzing?' 'I feel scared, please take good care of me.' In this silent sanctuary there is not much to do. We simply listen, and we breathe.’

Feel like dropping a few beautiful, reflective questions in your inner pond? Enjoy the Winter Practice I share via the link in bio.

Have warm Christmas and a bright 2022 everyone. 🎄🌟

It’s Thursday and that means... time for a throwback! 🙌 We are still enjoying the sweet memories of the Autumn Day Retreat that Marjolein and I recently hosted with 4 Seasons Retreat, and all the wonderful messages and reactions we received thereafter. We’d like to share a few of them today! 👆

To all who were part of the lovely group of this edition: thanks for sharing your presence and contributing to this beautiful, mellow day of Autumny self-care. 🍁🧡

With

About the Autumn Day Retreat last Sunday... 💛

A fresh sneak peek in my stories, to (re)experience this wonderful day of seasonal self-care. 🍁 A day filled with relaxing Strala & Yin yoga, a breath journey to boost our lungs, Ayurveda in Autumn season, outdoor coaching in the woods to let go of what no longer serves us (just like the trees shedding their leaves), candlelight journaling.... and looots of delicious food and good vibes! ✨

Big thanks to all of you joining us and contributing to this wonderful day! And in winter time, we’ll be here for you again with a brand new edition attuned to that season of cocooning, reflection and stillness. ❄️

Interested in joining our next retreat? 👉 Sign up for our waiting list and be the first to be notified when ticket sale starts! Check: 4seasonsretreats.com/booknow

With

We can’t share what we don’t practise and embody ourselves. And so Marjolein and I had been challenged to let go quite a bit lately. Of little things not going according to plan, or stuff that feels closer to our hearts, like: the overwhelm & intensity of certain relationships, a new job or motherhood, the restlessness that rumbles through our society right now, and - with both of us having been sick just before the retreat - our health. 🍊

It humbled us: we are only human and all the same. And we are part of a bigger universe, kindly reminding us that we can’t always be at the steering wheel of life. It follows its own rhythm, just like the seasons of nature do. 🍁

We all have our struggles, resistance and emotional rollercoasters that we need to let go of from time to time, in order to float again in the river of life. To feel lighter. More free. More like ourselves.

And from that remembering and place of ‘common humanity’ we can’t wait to welcome you (back) warmly, connect with you and guide you through our Autumn Day Retreat coming Sunday. The retreat has been fully booked, while respecting a 1,5m distance for everyone to feel safe. We are humbled by your interest in our seasonal self-care practices and are excited to spend this wonderful day together. 🧡

And winter time we will be back! ❄️ Interested in joining our Winter Day Retreat? Stay notified when ticket sale begins via 4seasonsretreats.com/booknow.

——
4 Seasons Retreats brings you closer to nature and the wisdom & self-care practices that each season embodies in order to feel balanced and well.

Collaboration with , Autumn Day Retreat co-created with

Yep, team 4 Seasons Retreats is ready & looking forward to our upcoming Autumn Day Retreat on Sunday 7th of November! 🙌 Only a bit more than two weeks to go before we meet each other for a wonderful day at Oohm, where we will immerse ourselves into a day of wellbeing and self-care practices for the autumn season. 🍁

We have a beautiful program for you, with various activities focused on the theme of letting go. Autumn is the perfect season to let go of anything that no longer serves you, just as the trees shedding their leaves. 🍂

On the program: yoga, mindfulness in nature, outdoor life coaching, breath work, emotional release, and journaling… All of that surrounded by a beautiful nature reserve, where Oohm is located! 🌳 Yes, we got you covered. And let’s not forget the delicious Ayurvedic snacks and lunch, nourishing body and soul. 🧡

This is a mini-vacation just for you. A day to reflect and recharge in a beautiful surrounding, and a boost for your vitality, so that you can take on the stormy days of the fall with a sense of calm and ease.

Would you like to treat yourself to this seasonal one-day retreat? Secure your spot now via 4seasonsretreats.com. Don’t wait too long, cause we are down to the last 3 tickets! 🙃

We look forward to welcoming you November the 7th. With love,

Melanie & Marjolein

With .vogelenzang

‘Let it go’. In Disney's blockbuster Frozen it all sounds easy and appealing, but when the going gets tough in the non-Disney world – which happens to all of us, from time to time – how do you do 'letting go'?

Spoiler alert... You don't! Find out why letting go - in my view - is less ‘Frozen’ & more ‘Beatles’. HUH? 🤨Check out my blog via link in bio!

———
Ps. Also more info about our Autumn Day Retreat there! 🍁A day drenched in symbolism of autumn season. A place for you to come back to yourself, amidst beautiful forrest trees! Yoga, breathwork, outdoor mindfulness & coaching and delicious Ayurvedic food? Check, welcome to 4 Seasons Retreats .vogelenzang !✨

Yes, we’re back!✌️ After the success of the Summer Day Retreat, Marjolein and I are excited to open the ticketsale for our Autumn edition today. Join us on the 7th of November for our Autumn Day Retreat - ‘Let it go’: a day to ground, turn inward and come back to your essence.

Autumn is THE time of the year to ask yourself: what nourishes me and feels supportive? And if you stumble upon something that no longer feels like ‘you’, the colourful autumn trees teach us: it’s time to shed your leaves and let it go. ✨

With a combination of yoga, breathwork, emotional release, mindfulness in nature and outdoor coaching, this is a 1-day mini vacation, dedicated to your self-care and wellbeing this season. 🍁🍃

Oh yes, and we found the perfect (new) place to retreat and connect with the autumn season. Right amidst the woods, on the border of nature reserve Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen, surrounded by beautiful lakes and winding paths? 🧡 Check! Welcome to Oohm in Vogelenzang. That place name already made us sing! 🎼🤩 A serene venue that allows you to just ‘be’, while soaking up the stillness and beauty of nature. Plenty of indoor and outdoor space, light and luxury: let the good life begin!

Who’s excited, like we are? 🤩

Our last retreats were fully booked quickly. So if you’d like to join, secure your spot now! ➡️ www.4seasonsretreats.com (link in bio).

With .vogelenzang

~ THE SOUND OF SILENCE ~

A little while ago, I participated in a silence retreat. After a period of guiding several retreats myself, I was happy to be led on one and enjoy a mini holiday. A weekend to reflect, reconnect, and respark my creativity and inspiration. ✨One without distractions too. Adios to social conventions, opinions, Netflix or mobile phones! I was ready to dive into an ocean of stillness. 🌊

'Oh no, Mel, silent for 3 days? You are not going to meditate all day, are you?', some friends replied with a glimpse of worry. I smiled, with a swift 's**t, I hope not' flying through my mind. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy a meditation practice, but I wasn't going for a full-on monk experience this weekend. 🧘🏻‍♂️ I was simply eager to rest and curious what stillness would bring me. And so, with nothing but a small bag, my yogamat, and a belly filled with excitement and a tingly nerve, I headed off to the middle of nowhere. 🏕

This weekend taught me something profound. I learned that in our daily lives we are so accustomed to noise - sounds, distractions from the outside world, our mind that rambles like a never-ending talkshow - that we forget that there is so much silence to be found in and around us. Silence in between words, in between sounds. And in between thoughts. Can you become aware of it, right now? Do you see the space of 'nothingness' in between words, as you read this letter? Can you discover the silence in your current surroundings?

Silence is the fertile soil from which all aliveness is born. Waves of sound arise from an ocean of stillness. 🌊So do thoughts and feelings. And each in their own time will fade away, back into silence. This makes silence not a luxury, nor an awkward experience or something to search for: it is our nature. Our baseline. Our back-drop. Ready to catch us in its open, loving arms of safety, when we are ready to surrender to it. 💛Nothing to do. A simple letting go of our attachment to noise and turbulence, drops us right into the silent ocean within ourselves. A stillness that is always present, when we choose to see it. A stillness that speaks a million words. Do you dare to listen?

👉 Full blog? Link in bio