Combining western physiotherapy and eastern medicine

My journey

My journey in becoming a practitioner all started as a young boy watching all these kung fu movies. All these energetic masters performing amazing movement skills made my jaws drop everytime in front of the television. But what impressed me the most was the master that always fixed pain and aches of warriors and common people. At that time I already knew when I grow up I'd learn to optimize the body with manipulations, applying ointment, qigong, movement and wisdom. At that age I somehow already understood that improving one’s own life energy, the body, mind and soul had to be strengthened together. As a kid I must say I’ve been devouring movies of Bruce Lee, Jacky Chan and all that showed kung fu.

It was a later stage in my life that seeing a lot of people in my family getting older and stacked with body pains that I decided to gain more knowledge helping them. Since then, my journey to achieve this “secret” wisdom has been a rollercoaster of adventures that opened my eyes. Medical school somehow didn’t resonate with my being, so after two years I switched to a master's degree in physical therapy. I knew already a lot about moving the human body, how educating patients and performing hands-on/hands-off treatment could optimize the healing process, but my hunger still remained with a lot of questions that kept unanswered. So after a few years of being inspired by a collegue practicing acupuncture, I took the step and took on a course for a postgraduate in traditional Chinese medicine education. That’s how my life got infused by western and eastern wisdom.

But it didn’t stop there. I also looked for new ways expressing the moving body. And I know I switched a lot in different sports, but looking back it was only a matter of searching for freedom exploring and experiencing the joy of moving. I went from gymnastics and swimming to soccer and running. From going to a local fitness all the way to crossfit. I also became a coach in Crossfit Antwerp where I got the privilege to hone my skills of coaching and guiding people to move better. I went down the martial arts world trying and testing all these different worlds from capoeira, thai box, kendo to wushu and lion dance what I’m still learning now.

In the last few years I have also indulged myself in spirituality. I learned life coaching, reiki, transcendental meditation, Qi Gong. The more you get to know yourself, the better you’ll be able to help others, that’s what I learned. Life is a journey discovering who you really are and what’s already there. Since understanding that principle I’ve been to countless coaching sessions (from equine therapy, to hypnotherapy, SRT, psychotherapy, energetic therapies, ...).

I am and always will stay an eternal student of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical movement, that’s my motto. The more I experience and learn, the more I feel everything is connected. The journey doesn’t stop, stay hungry a wise man once told us.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

-Steve Jobs-

My origin story

The reason behind my firm beliefs all started around 2011. I was active, fearless and in the top of life until life threw a big lesson at me… A weak neck, a few accidents and an unresponsible high load of strength training volume caused my neck to suffer a serious herniation that required immediately surgery. 

Optimistic as I was, I told people not to worry, that I was fine, that I would recover on my own keeping myself strong in front of the world. But inside I felt broken, desperate, hopeless, alone, filled with weakness, self-pity and guilt.

I kept asking myself questions: 'Why? Why me? And what will happen? What about my future? My active life? My future jobs?'

The answer I got from medical experts was that my life from now on had to be careful, not too intense. I was told that it was best to consider giving up on specific sports, specific activities and even that it wasn’t sure if the prosthesis in my neck would last more than 10 years. For a young grown-up this was my turning point that I instilled so many limited beliefs on myself.

After 1 year there was still such a slow recovery. All I did was giving up. My motivation had never been so low. Even when the motivation rised up to a specific point, I would frequently have recurrent strains that freaked me out.

After that year, things started to change for me. I surrendered to the fact I would be able to do it all on my own. I delved into movement research, searching for mentors, coaches and people who could show me the way of a better healing practice. I opened myself up for possibilities and I learned a lot in those 2 years. I learned to trust in my body to trust in the process. I changed my approach and beliefs that movement would not hurt me again if I didn’t obsess myself with intensity, volume and goal setting. I learned to listen more to what my body had to tell me. Patience, faith and trust taught me to take more care for my body. Since 2013 I am painfree, haven’t had serious neck issues again and my body feels better than ever before.

This process of two years made me more grateful for life, aware, listening to body signals and guidance. I learned that pain can be layered. But the biggest gift I received was to REDISCOVER THE PASSION in helping people overcoming pain and regain freedom by destroying limited beliefs.

I never blamed any medical expert. I only blame myself that I allowed these negative and limited beliefs to stick with me for such a long time. I could have done so much more in those years! But that time didn’t go wasted. it allowed me to OVERCOME and experience a TRANSFORMATION of a new belief. I’m a living example that the way you think and act can change the course of a story.

The reason I’m telling you this story is because I care. I don’t want other people to go through the same road I’ve been on before. I want people to learn from my mistakes and to overcome their fears and pain. I had the opportunities to learn a lot about the human body, mind, spirit & soul. But not everyone gets the chance to see all this. That’s why I wanted to share my story. To be there for people who’ve lost hope, strayed, and need a supporting brother.

Vision

We have the right to OWN our own bodies. We have to trust the power of our own body. We are made to heal, to recover, to thrive and to experience life to the fullest. Pain can be more than just a physical wound. Your recurrent pain or pain that doesn’t recover optimally always has a reason. It’s a signal and message our body is telling us, but we haven’t listened to it 'yet'. 

My dream is to provide inspiration and knowledge to the people. I want to break through barriers: cultural, regional, religion, language, age by using an universal language: PAIN, LOVE, COMPASSION, CARING. Something I want to change is these fixed beliefs that pain only can be taken away by someone else. I want to inspire people to build healthy beliefs about their bodies and to regain the trust in their body's healing potential.