Movement & Breathwork Practitioner
Bastiaan
Groen
30+ years in motion. Always looking for the same thing.
I grew up in the countryside of the northern Netherlands. The fields, the wind, the water — that was my world. On the water I found a stillness I couldn't find anywhere else. No performance pressure, no expectations. Just being.
As a teenager I moved to the city and lost myself. I felt like an outsider — adrift in a world that didn't fit. The martial arts gave me something back: structure, discipline, a home inside my own body.
Karate, Tang Soo Do, Muay Thai, Kung Fu — I threw myself into all of it. In 1996 I became Tang Soo Do World Champion. I thought I had found what I was looking for.
A serious injury during sparring abruptly ended my competitive career. What followed was a dark period — the body I had learned to trust was failing me.
From that place I discovered Qigong and Tai Chi. No performance, no competition — only attention, breath, movement from stillness. It was the opposite of everything I knew. And it worked.
"We teach people to feel first, then understand — never the reverse."
Tenerife has been my home for over 20 years. The ocean, the mountains, the quiet — here I rediscovered the connection with nature I knew as a child. Surfing brought me back into my body in a way no program could.
From Arona I give workshops, personal training, and retreats. Outside, in nature, with the Teide in view — that's where the work reaches deepest.
Bastiaan has shown me the path I want to follow for the rest of my life. At 56 years old he taught me the importance of conscious breathing — and proved it works as medicine for both body and soul.
After two years of online Qigong my flexibility has improved significantly, my back pain has reduced considerably, and my mental clarity has increased. It has truly improved my quality of life.
The combination of breathing techniques, Qigong and self-care is truly powerful. It allowed me to experience personal growth on both a physical and emotional level — an experience absolutely worth having.
"Your body is not a problem to be solved. It is an intelligence to be listened to."
