Stress coaching helps you understand what happens in your body when the pressure builds, and gives you something you can do yourself. At De Adempauze that is your breathing. You learn it in a session and apply it the same day.
Stress coaching is guidance in which you learn how stress works in your body and what you can do about it yourself. At De Adempauze this happens through your breathing: in a 1‑on‑1 session, in English or Dutch, you learn techniques that calm your body, and Ada helps you apply them every day via WhatsApp (in Dutch for now, English soon).
Stress coaching focuses on how your body and your mind respond to sustained pressure, and on what you can do about it yourself. Together with a coach you look at your patterns, your energy and your stress responses, and you practise ways to calm down again at the moments that matter.
At De Adempauze I work mainly with your body. Talking helps to get clear on what is going on, and your breathing then gives you something concrete to work with. Something you always have with you: on the train, before a difficult conversation or in bed at night.
Stress coaching suits people who notice that the tension of their work comes home with them. You want to be able to switch off after your working day again, sleep more calmly and relax your neck, shoulders and jaw. Also if you feel you are heading for burnout, or have just come out of one, this is a good place to start.
If you have serious symptoms, have been off work for a long time or suspect depression, your GP or a psychologist is the first step. Stress coaching fits well alongside that, as a complement or as the next step.
Your breathing happens by itself, and you can also steer it consciously. That makes it one of the few entry points to your nervous system that you always have with you. Breathe calmly with a long out-breath, and you reach a slow pace of about six breaths a minute, at which your heart rate drops.
In research at Radboudumc (Kox et al., PNAS 2014) we see that after training in breathing techniques, meditation and cold, people could measurably influence their stress response and immune response. Processes long thought to be beyond conscious reach. Want to practise right away? Then start with the breathing exercises for stress that I often give first.
You start with a 1‑on‑1 session. It begins with a twenty-minute online intake, in which we discuss what is going on and what you want to achieve. Then follow 75 to 90 minutes of breathwork, in person in Zandvoort, Haarlem or Amsterdam, or online. Live or work around Haarlem? Read more about the sessions with your breath coach in Haarlem. You go home with a breathing technique that suits you, with an explanation.
You make the difference afterwards, in the days and weeks that follow. That is what the daily guidance via WhatsApp is for. Ada, the AI coach of De Adempauze, draws up a personal weekly plan for you and walks alongside you for a few minutes every day, at the moment you choose. I read along and adjust where needed. Want a session with me every month too? Then there is Ada Intensive. Ada only speaks Dutch for now, but will be speaking English soon.
If the stress mainly plays out at work, an approach for the whole team may fit. Read more about that under team sessions.
A 1‑on‑1 session costs 149 euros, including the online intake and a breathing technique for home. Daily guidance with Ada costs 19 euros a month, or 190 euros a year, and the first two weeks are free, without payment details in advance. Ada Intensive, with a 1‑on‑1 session every month, costs 129 euros a month. Everything can be cancelled monthly.
Employers regularly reimburse stress coaching from a wellbeing or training budget, so it is worth asking. Reimbursement through Dutch health insurance is rare, because breathwork falls outside registered care.
You can start today. Try a few exercises at home and notice what they do for you. If you feel the tension has been with you for a while, also read my article on preventing burnout with breathing.
Want to talk first? The introductory call takes twenty minutes, is online and free, and in English. You hear how I work and we look together at what suits you. More about my background on the about page.
A stress coach helps you understand how stress works in your body and teaches you techniques to calm down again yourself. At De Adempauze that is mainly breathwork: you learn it in a session, and you then practise it daily, so it works at the moments you need it.
A 1‑on‑1 session costs 149 euros, including a twenty-minute online intake and a breathing technique for home. Daily guidance via WhatsApp with Ada costs 19 euros a month, and the first two weeks are free. Ada Intensive, with a 1‑on‑1 session every month, costs 129 euros a month.
Employers regularly reimburse it from a wellbeing or training budget, so asking pays off. Reimbursement through health insurance is rare, because breathwork falls outside registered care. For teams in the Netherlands, breathwork counts under the Working Conditions Act as a measure against psychosocial workload.
In two minutes you breathe yourself calm. A short breathing session every day via WhatsApp, tailored and at your moment, two weeks free. Ada only speaks Dutch for now, but will be speaking English soon. Rather talk first? The twenty-minute introductory call is free too, and in English.
