About LimosaLimosa
Ariane van Notten
Realisation of a dream
LimosaLimosa is more than a welcoming place in the midst of Dutch nature; it is the realisation of a dream that has long lived in my heart and mind. Through my own experience with retreats in the Netherlands and abroad, I have come to know the power of pausing, peace and compassion. I would like to pass on these experiences to others. LimosaLimosa, a place for pausing, peace and compassion.
A beautiful journey within
Partly thanks to my practice of various traditions of yoga, daily meditation, and my retreat experiences, I have become increasingly connected with the trinity of body, heart and mind. I experience more peace in my life and can deal better with life challenges, small and big. Acceptance and gratitude have become a permanent part of me, in addition to compassion, zest for life and creativity.
Education and Experience
In recent years I have retrained myself as a certified life coach and Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner (Magnolia Coaching & Support). To this end, I followed the Integral Coaching course at the Consciousness Academy and the Intuitive Systemic Coaching at the Hylke Bonnema Academy. I also followed the intensive international 54-week Compassionate Inquiry training from Gabor Mate (the Wisdom of Trauma), followed by another year and a half of the Compassionate Inquiry Mentorship program, for further depth in this psychotherapeutic way of body-informed way of working. I also followed courses 'Suicide Attention for professionals' and 'Narcissism for professionals'.
I followed various (teacher) training programs in the field of mind & body: Yin (Yagoy Yoga), Yoga Nidra (Sarvanga Flow), Restorative Yoga (Level 1 & 2 Judith and Lizzie Lasater), Breathing for Professionals (2 days; Mr. Breath) and Healing Tao ( Eva van der Plas). In the field of meditation and mindfulness I followed training courses: AYP meditation (Tristan Rose), Essential Meditation (Jan Storms); and the 8 week Mindfulness training by Jon Kabat-Zinn. In the fall of 2024, I will start training to become a certified Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) guide (Natascha Boudewijn).
I am in favor of non-violent communication: not hurting others or ourselves through careful choice of words. To this end, I followed various Non-Violent Communication (Connect2Life by Yoram Moseszoon) and Living Compassion (Robert Gonzales method) training courses for three years. Participation in peer groups and authenticity circles has taught me how to lead group discussions in a safe environment.
A Versatile Background
I am the mother of three adult children and the youngest of four sisters. After studying political science in Leiden and international relations in the United States, I worked in the public relations and advertising world. I worked at a publishing house and published my own restaurant guide. I am the author of the book Bye, I'm Going to Get Freedom (Prometheus). LimosaLimosa is the next chapter in my life, which I hope many will benefit from.
Gratitude and Collaboration
The creation of LimosaLimosa was possible thanks to the help of many, for which I am deeply grateful. Special thanks go to two special men in my life, whose support was and is essential for realizing this unique place.
The Symbolism of the Godwit
LimosaLimosa, named after the Latin name for the godwit, symbolizes for me the direction towards a place for pausing, peace, and compassion. Originally, North Holland was the intended location for this retreat centre, the breeding ground of the godwit. Life took me to the east of the country, where LimosaLimosa eventually took root and continues to grow and flourish from now on.
Leonard de Mol van Otterloo
More than twenty years of Mindfulness
The year 2004 started with a great personal loss. I decided to take part in a retreat in France that summer. I was immersed in mindfulness, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. I also saw other retreatants benefit from silence, meditation, and reflection. What struck me was that mindfulness was not yet mainstream in the Netherlands. I promised myself - at the end of this special retreat period - to make mindfulness my profession. This is how my career as a mindfulness teacher started. Twenty years later, it is time for the next step: creating a retreat center. LimosaLimosa is a place for pausing, peace, and compassion. Through LimosaLimosa I can pass on to others what has shaped me so much and what I am truly grateful for.
Teaching Mindfulness and Self-Compassion
I followed the Mindfulness Teacher Trainer Course at the Institute for Mindfulness and the Teacher Training Course in Mindfulness Self-Compassion with Christopher Germer. I subsequently taught these training programs for more than ten years. I taught adults in the region of The Hague and in Amsterdam via the Center for Mindfulness. I belong to the first generation of mindfulness teachers in the Netherlands.
Making Mindfulness and Compassion my own
Mindfulness and Compassion have enriched my life with self-insight. It has brought me closer to the values that are important to me: being better connected to myself and others, having more courage to accept and face life's challenges, as well as approaching life and others kindly. I experience more balance.
A 2500 year old source
First I came into contact with mindfulness and compassion, and subsequently with its source: Buddhism. The Buddhist view of life appeals to me. The central place that suffering occupies and at the same time showing the way out of it. I have completed various courses to deepen my Buddhist understanding, including the Dhamma Deepening Course and recently the Mindfulness Mentorship Training program led by Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Between 2024 and 2026 I will take the Dhamma Deepening Course for the second time.
Two cultures
A remarkable aspect of my life is that I have lived and worked in both the Netherlands and Scotland. This can be explained by a Dutch father and a Scottish mother. I studied law in the Netherlands and then criminology and social work in Scotland. After my studies, I fulfilled various roles for many years in social care. I worked with juvenile delinquents, adults with disabilities, the homeless, drug addicts, and also for many years as a social worker 'for the elderly' in Scotland. I was a panel member of the Children's Hearings System Scotland and back in the Netherlands, I worked for the Dutch Juvenile Protection Council. My wife was Scottish; with her, I have a wonderful daughter, who also enjoys these two cultures.
Further training
In recent years I have followed the following courses: Coaching course (School for Coaching); Dhamma Deepening Course (Joost van den Heuvel Rijnders & Frits Koster); International Sivananda Yoga Teachers Training in Reith, Austria; Nonviolent Communication (Connect2Life); Dealing with Dying (National Expertise Center for Dying); Teacher Training Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Cancer (Trish Bartley); Gabor Maté's Compassionate Inquiry (Professional annual training); Mindfulness Mentorship Training (Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield).
From going on Retreats to giving Retreats
Over the past decades, I have gone on retreats almost every year. Going on retreat always offers me the ideal environment to make deeper contact with myself. Going on a retreat is a special gift that has ever come my way and has actually positively influenced the quality of my life. Now a new chapter has begun to pass on this gift together with Ariane through LimosaLimosa, a place for pausing peace, and reflection. May this benefit many.
Last but not least
It was noticeable to Ariane and me that the creation of LimosaLimosa happened under extraordinarily favorable circumstances. However, the successful outcome of LimosaLimosa could not have been possible without the wonderful helmswoman at the rudder of this project, to whom I am grateful.
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