Fieke Boekhorst

Follow your own wisdom

My name is Fieke and together with my family I live in Amsterdam. As a teacher, I give skate- and yoga lessons to childeren. Besides teaching them new tricks, I also inspire them to follow their own wisdom.

It’s easy to lose yourself in the outside world. Many people look for answers, validation or happiness outside of themselves. Often from a believe that we are not good enough.

For me, this is very recognizable. The world often felt unsafe to me. And as a child, I started to make certain conclusions about myself, which led to a feeling of loneliness. I mainly lived in my head, hardly aware of what i truly felt. I wanted to please others and prove myself, so that i could receive recognition and approval. I started to make myself small and adapt, to avoid rejection. More and more disconnected. Combined with certain traumatic experiences was this a good recipe for depression and later burn outs. It were dark periods.

But nothing is only dark or only light. There is always a balance. For example, for me, skating was a huge bright spot in my life. It cleared my mind, challenged me and taught me valuable lessons. The skatepark in Den Bosch where i grew up was my second home. It felt powerful, safe and free there.

To learn to deal with the darkness and light in my life, i had to learn to turn my focus inward. To be present in my body and truly feel what happens when i’m touched, beyond the stories, so that space could be created again. It was no longer about feeling better, but about becoming better at feeling. So that i could follow my own wisdom more and more. I believe that if we as adults do this, then childeren will naturally follow.

My journey continues, and from my own experiences i like to inspire others. With and without my skates.