Ellen Bergstra and Jan Buis are the founders of Breathing Space. The idea to create a place where people can come to do deep selfexamination in a safe environment arose in 2017.

Ellen had a fantastic house with a huge piece of land around it at her disposal in the Algarve where she and her partner Jan decided to settle in 2018. In a closed valley, a piece of land was leveled on which a yurt was built. At the beginning of 2020 everything was ready to be put into service and “Breathing Space” was born.

Ellen was open and communicative. Intuition had always been her compass. Challenges in her life were without exception “blessings in disguise”; times of distress had led her to several tools to realign with her “Inner Guide”.

To come back down from the “head space” (thinking mode) into the “heart space” (feeling mode) she found the practice of meditation, breath work, prayer and periods of silence essential.

Ellen was aware that perceived “problems” were wake-up calls and that we need each other to “get the message”. It was her joy to offer spaciousness and closeness to those who want to make the shift from fear to love.

Unfortunately Ellen left this realm in April 2022 but her Spirit is still present here.