Hi, I'm Janine.

2 years ago I met Twan.

I was looking for a yoga class when I moved back to the Netherlands from New Zealand.

In NZ I practiced Iyengar yoga for 9 years, and although Twan doesn't teach Iyengar yoga, I immediately felt at ease.

He has developed his own style of yoga and teaches it in his own calm, confident way.

These exercises did me a lot of good.

Moreover, the atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxed.

I also got to know Tanja, whose always smiling face made me feel welcome right away.

Through yoga I also started the barefoot walks, started by Twan & Tanja.

A cozy walk together on the beach followed by a drink in a beach pavilion.

Always very nice.

I also tried an ice bath, recommended by Twan, which I found great for my body.

Through Twan & Tanja, as a stranger from NZ, I've gotten to know quite a few people, and that has given me a lot of confidence.

What is better for body&soul than yoga, walking, making friends and feeling at home?

I haven't gotten around to running yet, because Twan helps you wonderfully with coaching there too, but someone else can surely tell you more about that.

I'm going back to NZ, but Ahimsa was a top experience for me!

Although my mother, who has been doing yoga for over 45 years already, often advised me over all those years to start yoga too, I only began five years ago. Out of necessity, due to a severe burn-out, where during my recovery I had to learn to take better care of myself.

During this process I came across various options; I underwent body-oriented therapy, followed mindfulness, because I couldn't read my body, learned Tai Chi to find a natural brake, and ultimately chose yoga. Because yoga for me is an ideal crossover between balance and active movement.

Yoga is an age-old tradition for bringing healthy balance to body and mind. If you want, it can even be a way of living and thinking. I found that last part oppressive, so after a few years of yoga elsewhere, I started with a trial class at Twan and Tanja's.

Yoga with Twan and Tanja has nothing airy-fairy about it and is very down to earth for me, with a fresh and surprising mix of beautiful music every week, which, together with Twan's guiding voice, takes you through the exercises.

Through yoga I learned to breathe healthily.

When it's busy or when I'm tense in daily life, (conscious) breathing can bring me back to myself.

That allows me to carry on afterwards.

Sigh... shake everything off

Breathe calmly in and out

Step into downward dog

Step into plank

Breathe calmly in and out

Do the half candle

Stand like a tree on your toes or on your heels

Breathe calmly in and out

Don't go further than you can

Mainly keep breathing

Let everything go and calmly follow your breath

Let gravity do the rest....

A deep sigh....

It's over again

Warm greetings from the lighthouse of Bresjes Joke

For years I had been thinking about taking yoga classes.

But because I was afraid it would be 'too airy-fairy' for me, I never got started.

Until someone told me about Twan's yoga classes.

I summoned my courage and went to Twan for a trial class.

The welcome from Twan (and Tanja) was very warm, and I had a good feeling right away.

I found the class fantastic, it really did me good. I learned to relax and I was more flexible than I had expected.

We are a year on now and yoga has become part of my life.

If I can't attend a class for a week, I really miss it.

I take the classes at the Korre or at ChrisFit, depending on when I can.

In daily life too, I get a lot out of the tips we receive during the classes.

I pay much more attention to my breathing and consciously take time to relax.

What I find the absolute best are the classes held on the beach during the summer months.

What a luxury to ride your bike along the dike to one of the most beautiful beaches in the country and get to do an hour of yoga there with the sound of the waves in the background.

Afterwards, a lovely cup of coffee (or two) at a beach pavilion. You can't start the day any better.

Twan's yoga classes are a real recommendation!

I felt that I needed to do something again.

Partly due to positive reactions about yoga, I started with Twan a little over a year ago.

Calm, no forcing, and your own pace is his motto.

Lovely to go a few times a week with a friendly group, and of course it's also easy to do at home.

What it does to your body you have to experience yourself, but I wouldn't want to go without it anymore.

Your muscles become more supple, your breathing comes under control, and your balance improves!

I regret not starting sooner, but... better late than never!

Marian van Os

Dear yoga friends

Yoga for 2 years now.

I started yoga on the advice of Frans Daalman.

At that time I was not feeling well, restless, anxious and sleeping badly. Then you also have no energy during the day. The running, which I had been doing for about 10 years, also became less and less. I visited the doctor, had examinations, and for about two years I struggled with balance disorders and a low heart rate, in short a less good period.

Fortunately, things are going better again. Running is still my greatest passion, but I have scaled it back a bit: shorter distances and running more by feel, enjoying it.

I try to train 3 times a week: 1 time with members of De Wielingen, which is relaxing and nice in nature, interval training. The other 2 times I usually do a long run of between 5 and 10 km. I also regularly run races, which I find very enjoyable.

I am a true outdoor person.

Yoga also goes well for me. I always go with pleasure, and Twan is an excellent teacher.

He does everything well, and nothing is forced.

Only, I am not as flexible as some in our group, but I suppose that comes with the years.

If I didn't do yoga, I think I would be as stiff as a board.

The breathing exercises are also very good for me.

It is important to calm your mind, which is not always easy.

I always feel relaxed afterward. It's a pity that I still have to go home, when you have been lying so pleasantly relaxed.

I am very happy with it: a pleasant group, a beautiful location. I hope to keep it up for a long time.

I can recommend everyone to come along and pay a visit to a yoga class.

Greetings, Tonny.

I still hear Peter Ooms saying in my sports club in Tilburg, now thirty-two years ago, " Gerda'' You should start doing yoga, it will do you good".

And Peter Ooms was not just anyone: he was the coach of Irene de Kok, two-time World Judo champion and Sportswoman of the Year.

If I had followed his advice, my life might have turned out completely differently!

Even one of my best friends at that time was a yoga teacher, but I was completely not interested.

It has only been a year since I started, and I have not regretted it at all.

In my case, the turning point was, I think, my age.

All that running and flying was somewhat behind me, and the time had apparently come for a new view on how to treat my body. I enjoy "doing yoga" very much, and I also find the group atmosphere pleasant.

Because the strength training I did before is more something you do alone.

My life has not completely changed because of yoga, but I am more aware of how my body functions and of my breathing.

Gerda Muizebelt

No Forcing

A fitting piece of advice and a recurring saying of Twan. In early January 2017, I came into contact with Twan Timmermans' running group.

Running barefoot > Barefoot running.

For me, a way of exercising that was unknown until then.

(movement, flexibility, relaxation and above all fun)

My first introduction was mainly a discovery of myself and my body.

I discovered that training and moving can also be done without pain and exhaustion. The way Twan has the exercises and efforts performed is perfectly balanced, with a mix of endurance and load.

Relaxation through exertion.

The variation in training and the diversity of interim exercises ensure a gradual build-up and adaptation for the body, and prevent injuries.

After such a training, you feel relaxed and full of energy.

The development of the feet, the muscles and your feel for the ground also makes tremendous progress.

The foot is not hindered by a sole and therefore achieves a natural rolling motion.

Of course, at first it takes getting used to contact with the shells, pebbles and unevenness that "lash" your feet. The wind and the water also make it clear that you are training in ...... and with nature, but that is also what makes it so extra and fantastic along our beautiful coastline.

In short, if you want to enjoy yourself, relax, be one with nature and train your body and mind, come to Barefoot running, every Sunday morning at 10:00 from Loods 10, but as Twan always says: no forcing.

Alongside this renewal of training and relaxing, through Twan I also got acquainted with yoga. I too had plenty of prejudices about yoga and the world behind it beforehand.

A dreamy world full of unreality and above all a pastime for women.

Well, I have experienced it, and I have to admit I was very wrong: I have completely revised my opinion.

Yoga provides an introduction to the whole body.

The varied exercises, based on your own abilities and with the breath at the center, bring flexibility, relaxation and challenge.

Flexibility of muscles and joints.

Relaxation of body and mind.

A challenge to perform each exercise as well as possible.

But here too, Twan's wisdom: No forcing

Breathing, letting your life energy flow, connecting with your inner self, freedom in body and mind, feel the earth, feel the universe with playfulness.

Keeping balance without judgment!

For a little more than a year I have been practicing yoga with Twan twice a week, and I walk barefoot more!

I have experienced that through yoga and going through life barefoot I can be more myself, and I listen more to my body and feel space in my body and mind.

Energy is transformed (aches, emotions, bad habits etc.) by releasing it to mother earth and flowing back from mother earth, "Breathe in and breathe out'

Body and mind receive the wisdom of life energy, I can park my worries for a moment, and I look at them without judgment!

The River is Flowing, flowing and growing

The river is flowing, back to the sea

Mother earth carry me, a child I will always be

Mother eart carry me, back to the sea

Namaste

Josette Steenbakkers

Running with Evi, that is what I did about 4 years ago in my Asics, bought on the advice of the specialist shop and fitted with insoles by the podiatrist, because I supposedly had pronation or something.

At one point, running still consisted of running 5 km three times a week with only pain in my shins.

Diagnosis "Shin splints", physiotherapy tried but the pain remained, so stopping was the only option.

A less sporty year later, after setting aside some prejudices, I got to know Twan from Ahimsa Wereld.

Twan taught barefoot running on the beach and in the forest and taught me the technique of running barefoot and, along the way, also some patience.

Since then I have run about 10 marathons, in blocks of 5 km, which is true, but much more important to me is that it is without pain! So from my own experience I can recommend Twan to anyone who runs with injuries and wants to be rid of them, but do realize that this process requires patience.

I now also follow the Basic Barefoot Yoga lessons at Ahimsa and I regularly attend the cozy barefoot walks they organize on the beach.

Greetings, Conny

My first introduction to Ahimsa Wereld owner Twan Timmermans was with a barefoot walk in winter, it was a revelation

!During the walk I was inspired by Twan, who teaches, among other things, Basic Barefoot Yoga, Barefoot running, Breathing techniques, and Wim Hof training and cold training with ice baths.

Step by step I started following Twan's lessons.

He gives a lot of information on which technique, which breathing, and which yoga exercises suit me best.

The massages Twan gives have also helped me a lot.

The Wim Hof training "Ice man" and cold training is Twan's specialty.

I followed a workshop and, under Twan's guidance, I took my first ICE BATH. "You can't just do this, Twan coached me through it.

I started with cold showers, breathing techniques, yoga, swimming in the sea. When I had this under control, my first ice bath came, from 7 degrees to 0 degrees. A fantastic experience!! A whole new world opened up for me through Twan and Ahimsa Wereld!

Thank you Twan!!

"And now we take off the shoes and socks", said Twan, the running coach.

I took off my shoes and socks and thought that I would die right then and there.

It was four degrees Celsius.

A thin layer of ice lay on the beach.

There were two of us; I was trying barefoot running for the first time.

And we walked a bit.

And we ran a bit.

It was a clear day and it was cold.

Bitterly cold.

And we walked a bit more.

I thought my feet would freeze solid.

What now?

Suddenly my usual brooding stopped; all my attention went to my feet and the cold.

We walked a bit more; we talked a little.

And after an hour, which had felt like a quarter of an hour, we turned back and had something to drink.

I had a coffee,

Twan a tea.

My feet began to glow; what a delightful feeling!

We are now seventy-four runs further. It has been thirty degrees, wind force seven, cutting blowing sand, fierce rain showers, sixteen degrees, beautiful weather, dogs running alongside, seagulls flying away, improvement of running technique, swimming in the sea, many ships on the Scheldt, smooth sand, hard sand, rippled sand, astonished tourists, shells, mud and, on the other side, the ever-changing skyline of Vlissingen.

We are now six of us. We run, walk, and sometimes even run backwards, do stretching exercises. And we talk and we laugh.

For the first ten minutes I always think again: 'What am I doing here? I'm going home!

'My body squeaks, creaks and cracks.

And then the realm of the "runner" naturally arrives: relaxation and clearing the mind.

And Twan is always there, encouraging, with a short chat for everyone and a series of exercises. Gentle but decisive.

Willem van Vliet, September 2017

.Since Twan started giving barefoot running and barefoot yoga, I follow his lessons weekly, and as a result I am more aware of my posture and breathing.

Over time I notice that I have more and more strength and am much more flexible. Cold feet are a thing of the past.

You have to give your body and mind time to get used to the exercises; some lessons I manage to relax better than others, but the relaxed feeling keeps lingering longer and longer.

I enjoy practicing different forms of sport; there are similarities, such as being consciously occupied with breathing.

The barefoot walk organized once a month is, in my view, a pleasant additional form of exercise, where the emphasis is on social contact. ☺

Greetings, Linda