Hello
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I am Annemarieke and I was born in The Netherlands in the mid sixties. After studying publishing in Amsterdam I moved to the UK to settle with my partner and work in London for several publishing firms. I have 2 grown-up children, 2 dogs and we live in rural Kent. The last 20 years I have been working as a Teaching Assistant/Learning Mentor in primary and secondary schools working with children of all ages with a variety of special educational needs. In recent years, I also work as a mentor working with students with anxiety and exam/life stress using the skills I acquired in my yoga therapy training. Currently I work at a rural-based local college working with students with learning difficulties, autism, ADHD and anxiety.
I love being out in nature. I grew up in a woodland area and this environment is my sanctuary - the sounds, the light, the scent of the woodland - and observing its inhabitants. I love gardening (my meditation as I am able to switch off), walking, sitting in the garden with a cup of tea looking at the plants, the birds. I love creating, crafts, travel and experience different cultures. Recently, I walk on my own longer distances in nature without the distraction of phone or music and I have experienced the benefits to my own well being doing this. I love yoga, especially to recharge my batteries at the end of the day. I never have been good at early morning yoga despite my best intentions.
My Yoga Story
I started doing yoga in the early 1990's after my chiropractor suggested that yoga may help to alleviate my back pain and headaches. I started suffering from backache since my teens, and at times the pain has been quite severe that I had to take time off. My first ever yoga class was actually in French, when I was an Au-pair in the South of France. Although I never done yoga, I didn't speak the language very well, I loved the class and a seed was planted.
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When I trained to be a yoga teacher, I had one aim in mind and that's to become a yoga therapist. So I trained a few years later at The Minded Institute on a 3-years Yoga Therapy diploma course. The training was very extensive and I have learned so much such as neuroscience, physiology, anatomy, yoga philosophy, therapeutic skills and about a range of mental and physical conditions. My own practices and teaching started to change as they became more therapeutic and using the skills I learned from my course, and most importantly I started to understand my own body and mind. One of the biggest changes to my life was to learn about anxiety and how anxiety affects the body and mind and how to regulate myself and create safety in my nervous system. As I suffered from anxiety during my teens and often felt helpless, I am passionate to pass on my skills to young people as this can make a huge difference to their well-being (and school-life). For the last 2 years I have been working with teenagers teaching them to regulate when they are anxious. I am passionate to support the individual with the tools yoga and yoga therapy has to offer.
My qualifications from my training at The Minded Institute give me the tools to work to work safely with the individual and groups, to teach and empower you the skills that promote well-being and to alleviate the suffering associated with many mental and physical ailments.
"Choose only one master - nature".- Rembrandt
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From the first class, yoga became an important part of my life. Yoga helped me dealing with stress and anxiety, alleviating back pain and yoga has helped me to become more flexible in my body and mind. Yoga calms my mind and improved my breathing. I feel that if I didn't practice yoga, my body and mind would struggle.
When I was younger my yoga practice was much more active and stronger. I wanted to do certain poses or hold poses for longer - I wanted more and better. I found it hard to accept that some poses weren't suitable for me, i.e. a strong back bend such as Wheel or Camel, and if I practiced them I would suffer with pain afterwards. Through years of practice I started to understand my body and mind, resulting in a softer Yin Yoga practice (always with props), restorative yoga, therapeutic yoga with gentle Vinyasa's. Yoga started to feel like 'home-coming' and a valuable aid to deal with life and my back.
My Qualifications
580-hour Professional Diploma in Yoga Therapy Certificate - The Minded Institute, London (March 2020 - February 2023)
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40-hour CPD Yoga Therapy for Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Michelle Fury of Rhythms Yoga Training and the Minded Institute (April 2022)
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40-hour Vocational training Youth Yoga & Mindfulness Training - Live Love Yoga (July 2020)
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200+-hour Yoga Teacher Training Diploma - Yoga Campus London - (June 2014 - February 2016)
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18-hour Yin Yoga Immersion: Softening, Opening, Staying CPD - Norman Blair, Yoga Campus (March 2015)
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30-hour Relax and Renew Trainer - Judith Hanson Lasater (March 2014)
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NCFE Cache Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children's and Young People's mental Health (November 2019)
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Other Courses
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Accessible Chair Yoga with Dina Cohen, Dynamic Flow yoga - 20th March 2021 - 3 CPD hours
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10-hour CPD Somatic Yoga Immersion Series, with Lisa Petersen, Living Yoga Ireland (April - July 2022)
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20-hour CPD Fascial Anatomical Series with Gary Carter (June - September 2023)
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6-hour CPD Yoga Yoga Therapy for Pain Relief with Montserrat G. Mukherjee, The yoga Therapy Institute, Amsterdam (Oct 23)
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Current and future Courses
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50-hour Yin Anatomy Teacher Training with Jose de Groot, Ekhart Yoga Academy
Yoga therapy & Mindfulness for Addictions with Shaura Hall, the Yogologist, February 2024
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I hold a valid 'Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work' Certificated and an Enhanced DBS Certificate (November 2023)
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