Frequently Asked Questions

MindStrength signifies a quality of mind that we all have, but might not be using enough. We can cultivate this quality more through training and understanding our mind. With MindStrength you will be able to deal with life’s ups and downs in a balanced way and experience more wellbeing, enjoying life more and living your life the way you want to. MindStrength is just like body strength, you have to keep training to keep it up and to get fitter, only a couple of minutes a day is already a very good start! MindStrength does not target symptoms, it’s more a lifestyle than a quick fix, but you will notice quick changes in your wellbeing soon after you start practicing MindStrength.

The aim of MindStrength is to empower you to understand and manage your own happiness and wellbeing. By understanding and training the four elements of MindStrength you will be able to do that. This is more effective than providing a quick fix for specific challenges or issues you may be facing. Two elements of MindStrength (Focus and Awareness) are about calming, understanding and stepping back from our mind and all its thoughts. The elements of Appreciation and Power of Kindness are about cultivating mind-states that are constructive and support happiness and wellbeing. The four themes have been chosen as they form the basis of mental strength and wellbeing. They are based on a combination of different psychological schools, including ACT, CBT, MBCT, Buddhist Psychology (including Mindfulness).

MindStrength was founded by Maaike van Min. You can read more about her in the ‘about’ section. She has a MA in Psychology and was trained in MBCT (Mindfulness based cognitive therapy) at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, she is a certified Yin Yoga teacher and has done different retreats. She started teaching in 2015 and before MindStrength worked in senior management roles in International Development.

MindStrength is not therapy nor was it designed as therapy. However, you are your own expert, if it feels ok for you to follow the masterclass and train your mind, then you can do so. You can always book a call with us and we can give more personal guidance (to book a call, please email maaike.vanmin@mindstrength.org). If you are not sure, then ask your psychologist or health care provider. Training your mind with meditation is not always easy and can be quite confrontational, so be kind to yourself and take it slow and see if this is the best path for you.

It can be, but you can be the best judge of that. If things feel overwhelming at this moment of time, then you might want to speak to us first and choose the personal guidance option and start your practice in a safe and a more supported environment.

No, it is not designed as such. While a lot of the meditations and practices have Buddhist roots, MindStrength aims to be fully secular and based on scientific evidence of the practices. The way it is taught is factual and down to earth, focussed on training and understanding your mind so that it can become your ally in life and help you thrive.

MindStrength helps you manage your own wellbeing and ability to thrive. Your mind plays a critical role in this and can become a true ally when trained and (a little) understood. The Masterclass is designed to support you in that, it will give you a basic knowledge about the functioning of our mind, the pitfalls and why the four themes are critical to mental strength. Intellectual understanding is not enough to really benefit from MindStrength and we ensure experiential learning through the ‘experiencing’ and ‘doing’ exercises – which need some time to embed into your system. You have different options as to how you want to do the masterclass, either online as part of the subscription, in person or in groups.

Of course, if you feel that you do not need the masterclass you can skip that and subscribe directly to receive regular MindStrength moments in your inbox.

We aim to give you choice with short exercises that fit into your schedule, or longer exercises and articles for when you have a bit more time. If you go for the online Masterclass it will take you 15 minutes a day for 28 days (your choice if you want to do 28 consecutive days or take longer), we will check in with your regularly during that time to see how things are going. After the masterclass you will get email reminders regularly (if you want to) and will get a suggested MindStrength exercise, never more than 15 minutes long. You can also choose your own exercise and duration in our library, with longer exercises if you choose.

If you choose an in person (group or individual) MindStrength masterclass it will take 6 weeks, 6 1-hour sessions + daily exercises that will never be longer than 15 minutes.

Meditation is the single most effective way to train our minds. It is not about emptying your mind, about relaxing, or about achieving a special state. It is about getting real about where you are right now, how you are right now. With this information, and with the attitudes of allowing and kindness to your experience, you will build MindStrength and start to live with more happiness and wellbeing.

“Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at the bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn

MindStrength uses three principles of learning in our teaching: Intellectual learning (think), experiential learning (feel) and behaviour change (do). It activates different parts of our learning capacity when we use our intellect, when we experience something, and when we adapt our behaviour. We are usually very focussed on learning something with our intellect, and this is where we feel quite comfortable. However, the full benefits of MindStrength will only be felt when you also experience it and embed it with (small) behavioural changes. These two elements can feel much more challenging, as they are not in our comfort zone and can indeed sometimes be difficult. When this is the case, remember that you create strength when things are challenging, just like when you do sports, it can be very good to feel the burn (without injuring yourself). If it does not feel good, back off, take care of yourself and be kind. But know that you will only feel the burn when you experience things or change your behaviour – just using your intellect will not get you that, just like reading about strong abs will not get you strong abs.

The million-dollar questions! Rest assured, feeling like this is perfectly normal, and we have all gone through it. Commitment is hard, fitting something into your schedule is not straightforward, you can read our article (with some tips) about that. Change is a process, however much we would like it to be instant, it is not. Your habits and patterns have formed over years, it will take some time to change the ones that need changing and form new ones. No worries in another words, if you do not feel a massive change (yet). If you have any concerns or questions you can always book a call with us.

On the sign-in page, click the ‘Forgot Password’ link. When asked, enter the email address you used to register with us and we will send you a link for resetting your password. Please check your spam/junk folder (and Promotions folder if you use Gmail) if you don’t receive the email within a few minutes.

Quitting and restarting your browser, or restarting your computer, may takes care of logging-in issues.

There are some other steps you can take:

— Check you are using the most up to date version of your browser and your operating system.
— Delete the cookies and website data from your browser. Please see the following web page which shares details on how to clear cookies from popular browsers on phones and desktops: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-how-to-clear-cookies.html.

If you’re having trouble playing videos or meditations, please follow the following steps in order until the problem has been resolved.

1. Clear website and cookies from your browser

If your video or meditation is not playing, or isn’t playing as it should, please try removing website data and cookies from your browser. Please see the following web page which shares details on how to clear cookies from popular browsers on phones and desktops: https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-privacy-how-to-clear-cookies.html.

2 Restart your modem or router

— Turn off your computer.
— Unplug your modem and your wireless router if it’s a separate device.
— Wait for about one minute.
— Plug in your modem and wait until no new indicator lights are blinking. If you unplugged your router, plug it back in and wait until no new indicator lights are blinking.
— Turn on your computer and try playing your video or meditation.

3 Update your browser

If your browser is not updated it may cause problems with your streaming. Is your browser updated?

4 Do you use Adblock or anti-virus software?

Check if your anti-virus or Adblock Plus software is interfering with your video streaming.

5 Chrome users – Are you using a data saving extension?

Please disable the extension while playing the videos.

Still having trouble?

If you’re still having trouble viewing the videos, contact us and we’ll do our best to help you fix the problem. Please include the following information in your email:

1. The device you are using (laptop, desktop, iPad etc.)
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