Hey — I’m Janina.
My Path Into This Work Wasn’t Linear
For much of my life, I’ve been searching.
I’ve lived in six countries, moved 24 times, changed careers paths several times, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out where I belonged — and what kind of life I actually wanted to live.
For a long time, I thought the answer might be somewhere outside of me. A different place. A different career. A different version of my life.
And some of those changes brought me closer to myself. But eventually I began to understand that the questions I was asking weren’t only about where I lived or what I did.
They were also about who I was, what mattered to me, and what I wanted to do with this life.
The Search Eventually Led Me Inward
For years, I kept looking for the thing that would make everything click.
I explored different careers, places, ideas and versions of myself. I was curious about personal development, psychology, spirituality, and why we become who we are.
But eventually, the questions became more personal.
How much of who I had become was actually me? How much had been shaped by what I had learned to be in order to belong, be liked, succeed, or feel safe?
What did I actually want? What mattered to me?
And what would my life look like if I began listening to those answers?
How Things Began to Change
The more I began to understand myself, the more I could see the ways I had been shaping my life around what I thought I should want, what made sense, and what I believed was expected of me.
I started paying closer attention to what I was feeling, what I needed, and what actually mattered to me. I began questioning old beliefs and patterns, listening to my body, and learning to trust my own voice.
And then I started making different choices.
Some were small while others changed the direction of my life. But little by little, the life I was living began to feel more like my own.
Learning to Listen Again
One of the biggest shifts was learning to listen to myself again.
To notice what I was feeling instead of immediately overriding it. To pay attention to what my body was telling me. To question the beliefs I had carried for years and become more curious about what was actually true for me.
I began to understand that my emotions mattered, but that they didn’t always have to determine what I did. That fear didn’t necessarily mean I was making the wrong choice. That guilt didn’t always mean I had done something wrong.
And slowly, I began to trust myself more.
Not because I always knew exactly what to do, but because I was learning to stay connected to myself while figuring it out.
What I Came to Understand
I came to understand that if I wanted my life to look and feel different, I first had to know myself deeply.
As I began to see what had shaped me, recognize the patterns I had been repeating, and understand what I actually felt, wanted and valued, I had more choice in what came next.
I could question what I had always believed. I could stop automatically organizing my life around other people’s expectations. I could make choices that were more honest and intentional.
And perhaps most importantly, I could begin to ask bigger questions.
What makes me come alive? What feels meaningful to me? What kind of life do I actually want to live? And what might I be called to do with the time I’m here?
Those are questions I’m still exploring.
I don’t think this work is as much about becoming a better version of ourselves as it is about becoming more fully ourselves — and using this life while we have it.
This work is close to my heart because I know what it’s like to lose touch with yourself — and how much can change when you begin finding your way back.
I know what it’s like to question yourself, to look outside yourself for answers, and to build parts of your life around what you think you should want rather than what is actually true for you.
And I know that coming back to yourself isn’t something that happens once.
It’s something I continue to practice in my own life. Listening more closely. Questioning what no longer feels true. Making choices that sometimes require courage. Paying attention to what makes me feel alive and what feels meaningful. And continuing to ask myself what I want to do with this life I’ve been given.
That is also why I care so deeply about supporting other women in doing the same.
Guiding them to understand themselves more deeply, trust what they discover, and have the courage to live from that place.
This Work is Close to My Heart
Training & Approach
My approach brings together mind-body coaching, trauma-informed principles, emotional awareness, nervous system understanding, and the study of how our experiences, beliefs and patterns shape the way we live.
I completed a 120-hour Mind-Body Coaching Certification with The Embody Lab and have continued my training through programs focused on trauma, shame, perfectionism, negative self-narratives, and the ways our past experiences can influence our present lives.
My work is also informed by years of studying personal development, human behavior, mindfulness and spirituality — alongside the learning that comes from doing this work in my own life.
I don’t believe there is one formula that works for everyone. I see coaching/mentoring as a collaborative process that makes space for your thoughts, emotions, body, experiences and individual pace.
My role is not to tell you who to be or how to live.
It is to help you see yourself more clearly, offer perspective and guidance where it can support you, and help you make choices that feel true to who you are and the life you want to live.
If You’re Ready to Begin, I’d
Love to Support You.
There are two ways to begin working with me, depending on where you are and the level of support you’re looking for.
Go Deeper
1:1 Coaching & Mentorship: Personalized support to understand yourself more deeply, build self-trust, and create meaningful change in your life.
A Place to Begin
Choosing Yourself — A 5-Day Practice: A simple practice to help you reconnect with yourself and begin choosing yourself in everyday moments.
More About Janina
German-born, currently living in Portugal with my husband and two daughters.
I’ve lived in six countries and moved 24 times, which probably explains both my love of discovering new places and my complicated relationship with the idea of “home.”
I’m a sensitive soul, an idealist, and a bit of a hermit at heart. I love meaningful conversations, beautiful spaces, photography, books about human behavior and personal development, sunshine, bougainvillea in full bloom, and a really good oat latte.
I have a BA in Hotel Management and an MBA in Finance — and eventually realized I wanted absolutely nothing to do with a career in finance.
Before coaching, I was a photographer, and before that, I spent years moving between different jobs that never seemed quite right.
It took me a long time to get here, but I finally feel like I’m where I’m meant to be.
Born in Germany.
Home in Portugal.
Soul rooted in Costa Rica.
