Stephen Monné, senior teacher
While walking the GR10 on a mountain top in the French Pyrenees, I received a text message out of the blue, telling me there was one spot available for the Transformation Breath® incentive. I instinctively felt drawn to follow the cue that would set my life on another path. During the training, I was so touched by the depth and healing of the beautiful breathwork that I decided to dedicate myself to it professionally.
I was already a DofNa therapist at the time. (DofNa is a method that discharges charged memories and emotions from your physical and emotional body.) Connected breathing was a seamless fit with this. My further deepening brought me to Soulvoice™, where I learnt to deepen my breathing using the voice and sound.
In these years, I ran through Michael Brown’s ten-week intensive, The Presence Process, several times. During these ten weeks, you do two daily breathwork sessions and practice deepening into presence. I still use his motto during the breathcoach training: ‘The process isn’t about feeling better; it’s about getting better at feeling.’
Over the course of five years as a ceremonial leader for The Sacred Voyage, I had already guided many people on connecting their breathing as an instrument to open the self to allow experiences to enter more deeply. Many voyagers would retrospectively classify their first exposure to breathwork as mind-blowing. During these breathing circles, I also learnt about the magic and functioning of group dynamics.
Today, I’ve spent many years giving individual breathing sessions in my practice. In 2015, I started the Breathcoach Training. In 2018, I added the International Breathcoach Training and a deepening three-day retreat held by breathwork coaches I’ve trained.
I can state from my own experience that connected breathing is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to set change processes in motion. I wish every human being a lot of breathing space and joy in life.
Juli Pohan, senior teacher
I’ve travelled many roads since my birth in 1975. Physical, emotional, spiritual, mental – the variation is considerable. And all are equally valuable.
Every day I learn and experience something new, observing the world around me with a sense of wonder. Life simply fascinates me. People, with all their abundant opportunities for development, fascinate me. I continue to find it all quite magical.
After several years in commerce, I reencountered an old love in 2012 – massage! Different forms of touch. And starting there, so much more! Approaching the body differently; emotions, consciousness, intimacy. A whole world opened to me.
I cannot tell you how much my work has changed. I’ve travelled roads that I didn’t even knew existed. Breathing sessions, emotional bodywork, de-armouring, traumas stored in the body – it has been an amazing experience, for me and for the people I’ve worked with. The physical, emotional, cognitive interplay – mixed with a hint of magic – fascinates and inspires me.
If I had to describe myself in a few short sentences? I’m a born optimist with a zest for life. Curious, adventurous, a little crazy, full of energy, soft-natured, courageous, open, and compassionate. My work is my way of life and is fully aligned with who I am.
Ruben Oude Rikmanspoel, teacher
I became hooked on breathwork five years ago after watching a documentary about Wim Hof. I was genuinely surprised very few people were working with this amazing modality and immediately signed up for a teacher training. While training with Wim Hof, I learnt a lot about the breath, but also about fear, our behaviour, and how formative the first few years we spend on this planet are for us. Since that time, I’ve been giving workshops and trainings to individuals and groups of people in the world of business. Every year, I organise a trip to Poland, in which an international group of participants and myself go deep into the cold, our mindset, and our breathing.
After the training, I felt I wanted to go deeper into breathing and ended up finding Stephen’s Adem en Stem. I’m grateful I did. His training gave me a completely different perspective on life (and breathing). I started acting much more from my feelings and intuition as a result. And I believe this is a level on which many people can gain a lot. We predominantly act from our heads, spending most of our lives living up there. Most of us have become incredibly good at it. But when we learn to combine our head with our heart and intuition, we take a great leap forward, becoming more complete people in the process.
The breath is one of the safest, fastest, and most beautiful ways to turn inwards. In doing so, we meet all kinds of emotions, fears, and convictions. The process has helped me create a freer, nicer, and more profound life for myself. I’m incredibly grateful that I’m able to use my breathing sessions to give other people a similar experience.
I joined this training’s team last year. During the training, I mainly talk about the physiological aspect of the breathing process. I also talk about other breathing techniques and exercises, and how they can be used to help people in their daily lives.
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Ruben Oude Rikmanspoel