Wineke van Aken

Balancing head and heart

Wineke: “The moment I dared to start living from confidence in myself and in the world around me and I dared to listen to my feelings (my intuition, my heart, my gut feeling, or whatever you want to call it) , but without losing my head (!), I started living happily and was able to let all (unnecessary) stress slide away.”

“I learned to deal with stressful thoughts and emotions, I didn’t have doubts about my choices every time and I no longer fell out of balance so quickly. And if it did happen, it wasn’t as intense and it passed (quicker). I experienced more peace, had much less tendency to look for distractions ‘outside’ and was able to be satisfied with myself. My practice made me pay more attention to the things I did and the people I was with. As a result, I got much more satisfaction from the things I did and the contact with the people around me became deeper and more meaningful.”

Before Wineke founded MettaMind, she worked in the business world for 17 years, as a marketing and communications consultant for large (often international) organizations such as Sanoma Uitgevers, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Municipality of The Hague and MSL (part of Publicis Consultants, a of the world’s largest communications agency).

During her work as a consultant, she discovered yoga – through the gym – and soon afterwards meditation and mindfulness. Later, the Indian health theory Ayruveda was added. She discovered how powerful these age-old methods are in learning to deal with stressful thoughts and emotions, how it helps to stay true to yourself, find happiness within yourself and live the life that makes you happy.

The inevitable career switch
Enthusiastic about the power of yoga and meditation, she decided to study with the best teachers, attended annual multi-day silent retreats and registered for the mindfulness trainer training at the IvM, the pioneers of mindfulness in the Netherlands. Ultimately, a career change was inevitable and Wineke founded METTAMIND. With METTAMIND she provides mindfulness and compassion training, yoga holidays and coaching.

Wineke makes the lessons and insights of age-old wisdom such as yoga, mindfulness, meditation and Ayurveda accessible and combines them with modern contemporary insights (such as from neuropsychology) to share with you. To also give you the tools to find your own place in a society that demands so much of you.

Ray Klaassen