Be yourself,
we are too
Welcome to Take a Breath — a space where wellbeing, awareness, and authentic connection come together.
We believe true wellbeing begins with remembering who you are beneath all the roles, expectations, and pace of modern life. It’s a simple idea, but not always an easy one.
Here, we invite you to pause, breathe, and reconnect — with yourself, with others, and with what truly matters.
Our roots lie in the world of start-ups and scale-ups, so we understand the intensity of constant growth. But at Take a Breath, growth means something different: it’s organic, grounded, and guided by impact rather than profit.
We work with individuals and communities — including conscious companies — who are ready to bring more depth, balance, and awareness into the way they live and lead.
Together, we create lasting change, one breath at a time.
Ready to take a breath?
Meet the Team
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Denise Maaskant
Take a Breath was founded by Denise with the intention of helping people reconnect in a world that often moves too fast. At the heart of her approach lies the power of the breath, complemented by practices that bring body, mind, and heart into harmony.
With over fifteen years of experience in dynamic environments, Denise weaves her background in start-ups together with her deep passion for personal transformation.
She guides people through inner journeys using breathwork, systemic approaches, and psychedelic coaching—creating space for calm, clarity, and authentic connection. -

Jochem Laan
Jochem shapes the visual and digital identity of Take a Breath, translating the team’s shared values into an authentic and cohesive brand expression.
With a background in web design and development, he brings structure and creativity together to strengthen the project’s online presence.As a breathwork guide and advocate of the modalities offered, Jochem bridges design and consciousness.
For him, Take a Breath is both a creative collaboration and a personal journey—one that reflects his commitment to connection and mindful growth. -

Margot James
Margot has been part of Take a Breath since its early beginnings, helping to shape its foundation and spirit with her creativity and heart. Driven by purpose and people, she brings over fifteen years of experience in fast-moving environments like Spotify, Podimo, and Spinoza, where she learned how growth and balance can coexist.
As a breathwork coach, she integrates conscious tools to help others find clarity and connection. Music is her second breath—shaped by her years in the music world, she weaves sound and rhythm into her sessions, creating experiences that resonate deeply and open the heart.
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Gideon Mogendorff - Facilitator
Gideon is a coach and mediator who guides leaders and teams through transition, with over 15 years of experience in coaching and innovation. His work is rooted in nature-based leadership: using stillness, breath, and timeless techniques from nature to move out of the head, calm the nervous system, and learn to lead and act from the heart.
In a world that's growing more complex at a rapid pace, nature helps us see the bigger picture again and reconnect with the inner strength and resilience that modern life so often makes us forget. In the circle, Gideon works alongside Denise to create a safe, grounded space where feeling, experience, and reflection can find their place.
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Els van Uum
Els is a facilitator and coach who guides people into deeper connection with their core: the person they truly are, beneath the roles, expectations, and patterns they've grown into. She works with body awareness, movement, the senses, and energetic work, creating spaces where people can explore all parts of themselves.
Els brings a grounded, warm presence, unafraid to go where it's deep. She guides individuals, groups, and organizations; her background advising teams and leaders lets her bring this same depth into themes like authentic leadership and true connection at work. She holds space for people to slow down, feel, and reconnect with themselves.
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Ronald Zwartkruis
Ronald guides psychedelic journeys with a calm, grounded presence, creating a safe space where people can explore, let go, and reconnect with themselves. He believes true transformation comes from creating the conditions in which inner wisdom can naturally unfold.
After 25+ years as an entrepreneur, he followed the call to support human growth. Having completed his Ceremony Leader training at Holy Shit and inspired by his own transformative experiences with psychedelics and breathwork, he holds space with presence, compassion, and deep respect for each persons unique journey.
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Vianne Haalboom - Facilitator
Vianne is a breathwork and mindfulness coach with over 20 years of corporate experience, including leadership roles. After years of measuring success by hard work and meeting everyone else's expectations, she found her way back to herself through mindfulness, nature, breathwork and spirituality and rediscovered what it means to lead from inner stillness rather than from pressure.
Vianne now combines her corporate experience with holistic coaching skills to help others move beyond noise and old beliefs, reconnect with their natural talents, and make choices that truly fit who they are. In her work, love, joy, connection and leadership take center stage.