Hello there and welcome to Zhen Bodywork.

My name is Anna and here is my story of personal healing and transformation which I would like to share with those who are looking to discover and heal themselves on a multitude of levels: physical-mental-spiritual-emotional.

Since young, I have always been wondering why I was born (and why in my family) and what is the purpose of life.

These existential questions grew stronger in my teens and again in my twenties when I began questioning life as it was. After attaining a degree which I never practically used (and paying a lot of money for it), I was, like many others sucked into the idea of material successes which many of us believe to be true about needing to be millionaires or retiring early just so we can be “successful” in life. I wondered what else was there beyond this life?

Am I meant to be a cog in the system, mired deeply in the rat race, competitiveness and material accumulation and being so deeply unhappy and depressed that I was losing myself in such a process?

By the time I was thirty, I was depressed and weary of life because I did not know who I was anymore or what the purpose of life was. The day came when I decided to free myself from the attractive trappings of a materialistic society and country that I was born into and examine what lies beyond.

Quitting is definitely harder than beginning; deconstructing such deep mental beliefs that translate into to a false realities that sadly many people including me subscribe to and which certainly held me fixated for a very long time before I was forced to look at my own stuff: past wounds from childhood, relationships that no longer worked and kept me stuck into the reality that I thought was my life for the rest of my life. And not to mention, countless worries of a future that has yet to come.

Physically from a young age, I was in a lot of pain especially in my back and neck. Not realizing that there could be physical pain from emotional blockages, I sought physical avenues in the hope that the pain would go away. After spending a lot of money on my body on different treatments (acupuncture, chiropractor, massages), the pain persisted. The pain eventually led me to a way that opened my body up to heal and transform with time. I learnt that this process called Rolf Structural Integration can help to heal bodies that are structurally imbalanced (physically, posture-wise) and that emotions and parts of us that were hurt before (whether physically, emotionally, mentally) can be examined and healed.

 Inspired by my personal healing, I decided to pursue Rolf Structural Integration to become a practitioner. The journey of healing had just begun. Looking to fulfil my dreams of traveling to Europe before I signed up for the Rolf Structural Integration training, I signed for a series of plant medicine retreats there and backpacked to 10 countries over 9 months which further expanded my view of what it means to live with only 3 pieces of luggage on me (which is still a lot). Life as I knew before stopped. I started to feel more alive and see more of what life is, without the clutter of things and the feeling of adventure that came into being.

At the same time, the intensity of the spiritual awakening process grew as I began to realize a different reality and walk my own path. In 2015 I left my birth country Singapore and migrated to the Netherlands to join my husband.

Coming to the Netherlands has literally been an upheaval process in many ways. Migration and uprooting from everything you knew is not easy, as is learning a new language. Also over the past ten years I have spent much time and energy trying to maneuver the sudden and intense spiritual awakening process with the help and training from my spiritual teacher who also had a Kundalini awakening.

I have over the years released a lot of resistance and anger towards being thrust into this unexpected journey. I realize how difficult it is to have an intense spiritual awakening process in the modern world. Especially when the spiritual journey gets tough and you feel like there is no one else but you who is struggling. I understand how difficult it can be for people who are facing challenges and painful struggles in their path of awakening, especially when real physical pain and discomfort takes over. I have over the years slowly released the feeling of being a victim in this process. It is hard but it gets better.

With this renewed sense of purpose of being of service to those who need physical-mind-body-spiritual healing, I have relaunched my website Zhen Bodywork which offers certified  Structural Integration sessions (in-person in the Netherlands) and the Body Deva (certified in Inner Child work) available online and in-person).

If you feel called to work with me, drop me a line and we can have a non-obligatory chat (15 mins) about your situation and we can take it from there. I hope to be able to facilitate your healing path in discovering your authentic self.

Wishing you the best in your healing journeys.

Anna Du-de Smit