My name is Anneke van Genderen.

I am Dutch, so subtle is not my thing. I will tell you straight. And I will use everything at my disposal. During the 1 day session there is no time for long, drawn out stories. Not that I wouldn’t be interested in your stories, this just isn’t that kind of day.

After my engineering degree in International Agricultural Trade and working in that field for several years, I got ill. Very ill. Once the doctors had done their thing, they had nothing more to offer, so I started looking for other options. And that is how an engineer came to the world of holistic healthcare. Sceptic doesn’t even start to cover it. But I had nothing to lose, other than my life. Which I thought was worth fighting for.

That was in 1999.

Because I was in such a bad state, I did several things at once to get myself better. I got proper nutrition advice (long story). A herbalist helped me with some extra potent herbs. And I needed my energy sorted out for which acupuncture was advised but that was to much to bear for me so I had Reiki instead. We lived in the countryside, so fresh air was abundantly available. Exercise was out of the question, I couldn't even lift a kettle or open the children's gate. Talking about a base line....

Once I felt a bit better, I was curious about which of the things I had done, had actually 'done the trick'. So I set out to learn the things that I had experienced, in order to put my analytical mind to rest. Reiki was the obvious place to start. Easy and quick to learn. And as mentioned before, sceptic didn't even start to cover it. So I was doing the course trying to prove it didn't work and that I could scrap it of the list and put it under the heading: 'stuff that doesn't work'. To my surprise it did work. And I was actually good at it. Bother.

What next? It very quickly transpired that even though Reiki works, if clients keep the same mind-set, they can re-create the problem. Luckily my Reiki teacher was well versed in NLP and Time Line Therapy. So I did that. Practitioner, Master Practitioner and Trainer.

Then what? I had done the energy level, and I had done the mind. So I thought it would be prudent to do something with the physical body. I have always been sporty. Loved gymnastics and Jazz ballet (I'm a trainer in both modalities) so sport-massage seemed a logical next step. This was an eye opener. People can really hold onto stuff in their bodies. Equally, sometimes they think they suffer from one thing and it turns out to be something completely different. For example when they come in with a stiff shoulder and a headache and it turns out to be something in their leg.

What am I up to now? Currently I'm studying Biomedicine, leading up to Nutrition, which then leads up to Herbalist.

This path hasn't always been smooth. I have changed my mind since I have done the Reiki course. I no longer go into a training trying to prove it doesn't work. I now go into any training with an open mind. Whatever happens happens. And by the end of the course I review how the experience / information sits in my norms, values, experiences, other things I have learned and know work.

There have been trainings that I have pushed aside on the grounds of 'I have better techniques then that', 'this is a scam' and 'this is not a group of people I want to be associated with', to name a couple of reasons.

The base of my skillset is quite wide and deep. It is easy to spot similarities between different modalities. They just use different language to describe the same thing.

But the biggest change I have made over the years is that I'm no longer looking for the one thing that 'does the trick'. There are always layers. And the body works with the mind. If one is out of whack the other will be out of whack as well. It really takes a holistic approach to healthcare.

Where should you start? Whatever is the low hanging fruit for you. When I was ill I couldn't exercise. But I could lay down for Reiki. I could juice some vegetables. I could eat food that had a good nutritional values. And I could sit outside in the sun getting some fresh air. So that is where I started.

I can't tell you where to start. But if you can hack it to work on yourself for a whole day to sort out your mind, that is a big win.

Where am I at the moment? Today I am a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP and Time Line Therapy, as well as a Reiki Master and a Sports Massage Therapist, with a couple more modalities under my belt. As a coach and trainer I have worked with clients from all kinds of backgrounds: surgeons, funeral directors, accountants, soldiers, veterans, athletes, coaches, translators, farmers, photographers, engineers to name a few. People with office jobs, outdoor jobs, jobs that require mental strength and agility, jobs that require physical strength and agility, jobs that require both.​

I am a very private person. Most of my clients like their privacy too. And I respect that.

At the same time, if you are willing to leave a testimonial (which could be anonymous) I will be very grateful.

If speed is your thing, and you think you can hack this, then I'm looking forwards hearing from you.

Best regards,

Anneke