Everyone deals with stress and anxiety at one point in their life. And every person gets overwhelmed for different reasons. That’s why I decided to have a live chat with my best friend of 25 years Maruja Retana to talk about it!
Maruja Retana
Maruja (Maru) helps singers & songwriters achieve peak performance, also known as ‘the flow’. After obtaining her Master’s Degree in Cognitive Psychology, Maruja started working as a psychologist in the Netherlands. In her role as facilitator – helping other people define and reach their goals & dreams – she realised that she herself wasn’t living her most fulfilled life. She quit her job, and decided to go straight for the thing she wanted most: music. She signed with Sony/ATV in 2011 as a singer/songwriter; worked with several top producers, artists and songwriters; released songs that appeared in the charts, on the radio and music festivals; and performed all over the world. Having achieved her childhood dreams, Maruja felt inspired to help other singers navigate the challenging music industry. She founded the Vocal Psychology program – a combination of voice coaching, performance coaching, and mindset coaching – and has successfully coached hundreds of singers (beginners and professionals) for the last 10+ years.
MORE ON MARUJA: Her music video for Right Through Me hit 1 million views!

How do you deal with stress?
The recent Lockdown due to the Coronavirus gave some people a great sense of peace as they finally had time to spend at home with family and sleep a few more hours a day, but many people were suffering from depression, sadness and anxiety because of the unknown. We cover everything and even go ahead and did a breathing exercise! Watch it below:
Panic attack
A little secret: Just before the filming of this video I had a minor panic attack. Felt dizzy etc. So it is true that everyone has some kind of anxiety at some point! Maruja talked me through it, and once we started filming, I started relaxing and enjoying the video.
What can you do to deal with stress and anxiety
One thing I learned from my conversation with Maruja: Address your stress and anxiety, and become friends with it. You have stress and anxiety for a reason, for instance to stay awake and perform well right after. So if you can use it to your advantage, you can become stronger and better.
Youtube
I hope you subscribe to my Youtube channel if you like this video and want more. I have fun doing them and hope you enjoy them too!
Love, Lonneke
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Lonneke Engel
Lonneke Engel is the Founder of Organice Your Life®, a Certified Health Counselor since 2008, and a successful Dutch top model. Lonneke is mostly known for her work for Ralph Lauren. She has worked for him for 15+ years, including an exclusive 6 year contract. She has continuously been working in the top of the fashion industry by doing many high-profile exclusive campaigns for different brands and magazines. Lonneke has retired from modeling in 2013 after a very successful career of 20 years. Lonneke focuses now for 100 % on her work for Organice Your Life®, and on projects that promote green & healthy living.