Experiences with personal coaching: the stories of Daphne and Esther

Every programme is different

Everyone who comes to me brings their own story. Some are recovering from an injury or surgery, others have had physical complaints for a long time, experience a lot of stress or want to learn to move with confidence again.

No two bodies are the same. That is why every programme is different. Together we look at what you need. Sometimes the focus is on strength and flexibility, sometimes on relaxation, breathing and regaining body awareness. Often it is a combination of both.

The stories below were written by participants who are happy to share their experiences. I am grateful for their openness. Perhaps you recognise yourself in one of their stories and it gives you the confidence to take the first step too.

★★★★★ Daphne Diephuis

"I discovered how much difference there is between performing a movement and truly feeling it."

When I started Pilates, I could usually do the exercises. Yet I kept doubting whether I was really doing them right. That is why I started taking individual lessons alongside the group classes. There I discovered how much difference there is between performing a movement and truly feeling it. I learned not only what an exercise looks like, but above all which muscles I use and how to engage them consciously. For me that was a complete reprogramming.

At first I found it hard to feel what was happening in my body, instead of just thinking about the movement. That is getting better and better, although I also notice that habits built up over years do not change in a few weeks. The beautiful thing is that I apply what I have learned everywhere. During strength training, but also in daily life. I pay much more attention to my posture, sit and stand more actively and notice that my core has become stronger. At 59, I also get up from the floor more easily than a few months ago.

Precisely because I feel how much I can still learn, I decided to continue. For me, personal coaching was exactly the difference between copying an exercise and truly understanding and feeling how my body works.

★★★★★ Esther Heutinck

"Gerri helped me regain trust in my body and find joy in moving again."

For years I have enjoyed Pilates and Yoga classes at Yoga Under Construction in Groningen. In the summer of 2025 this came to a halt when I was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, followed by chemotherapy and major surgery. During the chemo sessions in hospital, Gerri's online Yoga Nidra sessions on her YouTube channel helped me a lot. They helped me turn inward, feel my body consciously and shut myself off from what was happening around me. In that period I surrendered to the intensive treatment and spent a lot of time on the sofa because of fatigue, a lack of energy and other side effects.

After that, while following a rehabilitation programme, I asked Gerri for private yoga lessons. I felt I had lost my frame of reference for movement and physical possibilities. I could not manage to follow online yoga at home on my own or do a Sun Salutation by myself, while the need was there and kept growing. It was as if I needed to be taken by the hand to get moving again.

Gerri listened to me carefully and put together beautiful yoga sessions, linking body and mind well and using suitable exercises. She has a lot of knowledge of the human body and, from her yoga background, can explain clearly what is happening (for example with cramp and all kinds of other sensations) and offer alternatives so that certain movements and postures can be done responsibly. With her personal coaching Gerri helped me get going again, increase my strength and suppleness, try things out, feel, push boundaries, trust, strengthen my feeling of loving my body as it is and above all enjoy the movement and sensation that physical effort and relaxation can give.

I am ready to join group classes again.

Everyone starts somewhere

Sometimes with a complaint, sometimes with uncertainty or simply the feeling that it is time to take good care of yourself again.

With personal coaching we look together at what you need. At your pace, with attention for both body and mind.

By combining yoga, pilates, yoga nidra and other relaxation techniques, we work not only on strength and flexibility, but also on calm, recovery and trust in yourself.

Do you feel this suits you? Book a free introductory conversation via the contact form or send me a WhatsApp message.