Lisa Sophie

I am born and raised in Amsterdam with passion for adventure, the ocean, moving my body, and travel. When you don’t find me in Amsterdam, I am most likely roaming around in some far away land. Probably on my bike, pedalling like a mad woman. I love to be out in nature, wild camp and spend hours in the ocean. The fascination to see all earths colours, smell the unfamiliar, and speak in foreign tongs, has send me to all kinds of places. If you want to know more about these adventures, you can read them here.

In the years I spend at home, I was probably sticking my nose in some book or another. Ever since I was a little kid I was mesmerised by the universe, by the stars far out there, by the underwater world and animals. I was fascinated by physics, biology and religion. I’ve spend quite some years studying several subjects, majoring in chemistry going from psychology, to political and social science, and back to a masters degree in Drug Discovery.

My ‘working career’, started at university pursuing a PhD in science communication, it seemed like an obvious choice. That was the logical route after all these years of study, right? It turned out, I tried on a life that wasn’t mine to life. After all these years of studying, learning the facts, measuring and collecting data in laboratoria, I just had enough. This beautiful logical mind that can bring us so much, left out key aspects that I could not ignore.

I followed my curiosity and ended up at a tantric and shamanic arts program in Goa, India. That’s where I experienced and felt the profound power of releasing emotions for myself. After this experience, I started to dive deeper into yoga, energy work, Reiki and massage. It was something I did on the side, something I liked for myself, to feel more, to feel better and to feel alive. Now I use these tools to guide people in my practice.

Never before have we been so conditioned to live life in our heads. To be productive, to create more, to do it better and faster, yet important ingredients in this mix, are our bodies and our feelings. Unlike our minds, our bodies never lie. So how can we know we make a right decision when we are cut-off from our emotions? And cut-off from what our bodies are actually saying to us? We can go to the doctor and get a pill that usually treats symptoms. We can go to a psychologist who mainly talks to our mind, but doesn’t calm our bodies. We can go to a physiotherapist to have our ‘mechanics’ checked, but if the knee is still hurting after months, might there be something else going on?

When I was younger, our family doctor used to almost always send me away with the message ‘it is probably stress, or your emotions’. I can still feel the anger I felt at that time. I wanted to be helped, I wanted to understand what was going on, but I got send away with some vague explanation and no tools to help me deal with what I needed to deal. Neither did the problems go away, neither did I feel supported. It felt like it was my own ‘fault’. Now years later, the conclusions of my family doctor might not have been too off-track, yet where to turn for support when I had no idea how to handle this? I am in no way opposed to doctors or western medicine. I have great respect for these bodies of knowledge and believe they offer important treatments and solutions. Yet when the doctor and traditional health services cannot help us further, where do we turn?

I believe there is more to our bodies than just mechanics, and there is more to our thoughts than our rational mind might have us believe. I offer a place where you can learn to manage your problems, by integrating both mind and body, instead of treating these as separate parts. This can be a tricky path, as there is no clear cut one size fits all solution. We all are unique, all have our own imprints, bodies, emotions and thoughts. Trying to find the root cause of your problems can be a complicated puzzle, which most people do not step into because of the effort, disappointment, and sheer strength it takes to step up, step out and search for your own truth.

It is my goal to help you in that process, to stand next to you, offer support, and teach you how to take the necessary steps for healing yourself. We together, translate the language of your body and the patterns of your mind, so you can hear them clear and sound, guiding you to a version of yourself feeling whole and anchored in your body.

The past years I have been diving into the body and it’s connection to our mind and how this can be used to make us feel better, to heal and to grow. Whether this is through massage, yoga or energy work. It’s been a fascinating journey to discover their intricate connection and how for example postures of the body practiced in yoga have effects on our mental and emotional positions in life. Indeed, it kind of turned my upside down and my inside out, but hey, that’s all worth it.

Credentials

2022-2023 – Reiki therapist, healing space, Bussum, Netherlands
2020-2022 – Ashtanga Vinyasa RYT 900+hr, Level 1&2 Indea Yoga teacher, Mysore, India
2022 – Energetic massage beginner & advanced, healing space, Bussum, Netherlands
2021 – Reiki 1&2, healing space, Bussum, Netherlands
2020 – Tantric and shamanic arts, Mahara Mckay, Goa, India
2017-2019 – Msc. Drug Discovery and Safety, Vrije Universiteit, EC: 126, GPA: 7.8/10
2012-2016 – Bsc. Bèta- Gamma, Major in Chemistry, University of Amsterdam, EC: 248, GPA: 7.5/10
2015 – Minor Political sciences, international relations, University of Amsterdam
2013 – Foundation year Psychology, University of Amsterdam

In progress
2022-2025 – Level 3 Ashtanga Vinyasa, Indea Yoga, Mysore, India