This month we’re featuring one very special lady, thats near and dear to all of us at The Juicery, Suzan van de Roemer. While it’s easy to describe Suzan (fun-loving, free-spirited, honest, down to earth, and someone with an extremely calming energy), what Suzan does and who she is, is hard to describe. Saying that she brings people to their awareness is too dogmatic and saying that she’s a mindfulness trainer is too cold. She does many things and one of those happens to be giving meditation sessions to open people to their authentic selves. Suzan believes that people are in so many roles these days and can’t answer the question “Who are you inside and what do you truly want?” and all she wants is to guide people to the place where they can answer that question for themselves.

Suzan worked as a photographer for over 20 years and while it was fun, she realized that based on a person’s outside and how comfortable they were in front of her lens, she could see how they felt about themselves on the inside. Her job as a photographer required her to be able to take a beautiful picture but she saw that not many people were truly comfortable with themselves. After 20 years of being a photographer it was time for her to do something else so she decided to do something else and to her, becoming a mindfulness trainer, giving meditation sessions and much more, was a logical step. That’s how she came to start Mindful-Matters. 

When asked about the purpose of life Suzan said, “I don’t think there’s really a purpose of life. We’re so small in the universe and when you think about it, it gives you the sense of humility. Your personal purpose in life however, is to be completely awake everyday. To be aware of what you do, how you feel, how your body feels, be aware of how you’re doing and see the world in an open view. To allow yourself to be awake and comfortable without judgement”. 

For her, meditation isn't a concept - it’s a method and a way of life. She says “through meditation, you become able to distance yourself from your thoughts rather than being overcome by them. It’s training for the mind. By creating a judgment-free atmosphere with my energy, I encourage to be comfortable with how they feel and If they experience emotions - that they are comfortable with them. Even if it’s pain. And I never tell people that they have to change their life or what they have to do, I always say that they need to add something to it whether it’s through meditation, through their breath, or through their senses.”

Q: Why’d you name your business “Mindful Matters”?

A: Of course it matters to be mindful. But a good friend of mine is a copywriter and he came up with the name haha! 

Q: What’s your favorite thing to eat?

A: My absolute favorite thing to eat is fresh fruit when I can pick it from the tree myself. 

Q: What’s your guilty pleasure?

A: I don’t have a guilty pleasure because I love it all and I don’t feel guilty about it. Why should I feel guilty about it if it gives me pleasure!

Q: What’s your morning ritual?

A: I exercise for 5 minutes, meditate for 30 minutes and then start the day with a big bowl of oatmeal and berries. 

Q: What’s one thing we’re allowed to wake you up in the middle of the night for? 

A: A trip! You’re allowed to wake me up and say “come pack your bag, we’re going to Paris or Asia, or anywhere” (and) I would love that!

Q: What’s your most important self-care practice?

A: For it, it’s meditation, having fun and having fun with the people I love, good conversation, expressing my emotions, and being in my emotions. Even sadness because most people walk away from emotions like sadness and are so uncomfortable with them. But that’s why I have so much work. The most important self-care practice for me would definitely be having boundaries without being hard, because saying yes to someone is saying no to someone else and most of the time that someone else ends up being yourself. 

Q: What makes you the happiest?

A: This is so hard to define because when I’m in the flow, happiness overcomes me in the littlest, most unexpected moments. It’s those little moments. 

Q: What’s your favourite juicery location?

A: Herengracht! It’s the tree and the energy. 

Q: What’s your favourite juicery product?

A: Definitely The Sh*t or The Pro