Mindfulness Based Vitality & Ageing (MBVA) (Online)
Next cohort
Starts on Wednesday the 22nd of April 2026 at 10.00-12.00 (CET)
and continues for the next 7 Wednesdays.
Session 7 (3rd of June is 4 hours long – so 10.00-14.00).
Are you ready to invest your time and commit?
This is an 8 weeks course that was developed and researched as part of my Master Thesis on Vitality & Ageing, which I created, taught and researched in coorporation with Leiden University and Leyden Academy of Vitality & Ageing in the Netherlands.
The course roughly follows the well-known 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, created by Dr. Jon Kabat‐Zinn. The Mindfulness Based Vitality and Ageing (MBVA) course, has the same length, structure, and content as the MBSR program because the positive effects of it on various aspects on health and wellbeing has been researched and proven in hundreds of studies. However, the MBVA is adapted to the challenges and opportunities of people over the age of 55. It includes teachings on vitality and ageing, including coaching around what matters at this stage of life, a stronger focus on the relationship between body and mind as well as practicing self-kindness. The home practices include coaching oriented assignments (inspired by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and there are shorter guided meditations (about 10-15 min) available than there is for a standard MBSR (about 30-40min). Session 7 is a special 4 hour online partly silent “mini-retreat” focusing on self-compassion.
Schedule:
| Week 1 | Introduction to mindfulness, vitality and ageing. Getting to know each other and our own baseline of well-being. Starting to improve our ability to choose and sustain where we keep our attention. |
| Week 2 | Befriending our body. Most of us spend way too much time in our head, but now we start listening to our body and the messages it sends us. Starting to feel it without judgement. |
| Week 3 | Exploring patterns of reactivity to stress and difficulty Learning to stop reacting instinctively and start responding wisely to changes and difficulties. Learning to thrive rather than just survive. Seeing ageing as an opportunity for growth instead of decline. |
| Week 4 | Dealing with difficult thoughts and worries. Learning to see thoughts for what they are – and practicing detachment from them. Identifying our personal Automatic Negative Thoughts. |
| Week 5 | Exploring emotions. Embracing change and difficulties instead of running away from them and add extra suffering to ourselves. |
| Week 6 | Exploring Vitality – physical and mental. How can we gain psychological flexibility and choose to focus on what truly matters to us in the phase of life. What gives us pleasure? What gives us purpose? |
| Week 7 |
Treating myself kindly. How can I stop beating myself up when I – or my body – fail or make mistakes? How can I start treating myself as I treat my friends? How can I re-wire my brain and body towards compassion for myself and others? How can I make sure I maintain fulfilling relationships? How can I truly listen to my body and live a life in balance between achieving my goals on one hand and rest and heal on the other? This session is a special 4-hour “mini-retreat”, including periods of silence |
| Week 8 | A mindful life. Bringing all the insights of the the last 8 weeks together and make a plan for how to continue living a mindful, thriving and healthy life |
I feel that I have a whole new approach to life with mindfulness, I try to use it all the time and I am calmer and more in control of my thoughts.
It is not a quick fix – but it sets you up for life
You can expect to learn a lot during each session, but the real magic happens between the sessions. The mindfulness-based home practices that you will be encouraged to do, literally changes the neurological pathways of the brain towards new habits of behaviour and patterns of thinking that makes you more resilient. You can expect your brain to be rewired for thriving instead of just surviving. It is not a quick fix! Just like building physical muscles, building mental muscles takes effort and commitment. But don´t worry – you will be supported by the group and me. It is so worth it – and as a bonus you might make some friends around the world for life.
Honestly, I promise you that if you fully commit to this course, it will change your life and how you age.
– If not – I am happy to give you back your money!!!
Course fee:
SAVE €100 if you sign up before 1st of April 2026
Early Bird (before 1st of April 2026): €299 (incl. VAT) / Normal: €399 (incl. VAT)
Get money back on your mindfulness course through Health insurance reimbursement
Most Belgian and Dutch insurance companies reimburse part of the cost of mindfulness courses. I am a VMBN (Dutch mindfulness association) category 1 member, which is often required for reimbursement.
Need a payment plan? – Reach out to me, and we can talk about splitting up the payment.
Let´s have a chat
Please fill in the form if you are interested in this course, and I will reach out to you to have a chat. It is important that you know what to expect and for me to ensure that this is the right course for you at this time of your life. After the chat, you can decide if you would like to sign up.
This was a very well delivered course, with a good pace and content. The resources were excellent and access easy – it was like having an online personal library. There was a good balance of teaching, discussion, reflection and mindfulness and the tasks in between sessions enhanced our learning. It focused on the issues of vitality and aging and would be of interest to anyone wishing to explore how to develop coping strategies.
The course has given me a better quality of life
The MBVA course gave me information and exercises to be aware of daily life stress moments and how to handle them. The course is led professionally, with attention and compassion. It changed my life and opened my mind in a loving and kind way. It is what I want, but could not find. Now I have keys to go on further and enjoy life even more.
Thanks for giving me the present of mindfulness. I will profit from it the rest of my life and I will be able to share it with others. A multiplying effect to make this a better world.
“I haven’t thought much about the word [vitality] before the course and now […] this has become one of my favourite words. […] I think that vitality is […] to do with the vitality of your mind. I have learnt that from mindfulness, whereas probably before, I just thought of vitality as being energetic, healthy, in terms of mobility. Now I don´t. “
“I have come up with this word: change-readiness-vitality. Because I think that things will change and then I can make changes to what vitality is for me”