Welcome to RelaxMore.net
About the Wisdom of the Body. Nourished by tradition, supported by neuroscience. Weekly insights for an embodied life.
What can you find here?
1. Stories
Stories about ancient wisdom traditions such as meditation, tai chi, qigong, and trauma work, in combination with new personal and scientific insights. I regularly write articles about these disciplines, which I have been exploring for the past thirty years.
In recent years, the Polyvagal Theory has proven to be a beautiful connecting theme between the subjects I write about, so it has become a favorite topic of mine under the name “The Polyvagal World”.
If you subscribe, you can expect an email every 1–2 weeks, containing a story or something else that might inspire you to pause for a moment and step out of the rush of everyday life.
2. Information about classes and trainings
At Relax More you can take part in various classes and trainings, both as a private individual or as a professional, as you can read (in Dutch) on this page. Private lessons can be taught in English.
On RelaxMore.net you will find more information about all these activities, as well as links to the articles and the Relaxicon (the knowledge base), and vice versa.
Relax More is not about “relaxing more”, but about discovering
why you are tense in the first place.
It is about finding out how you can approach that tension “more relaxed”,
and how you can become more flexible physically, mentally, and emotionally.
3. Connection
Finally, I would like RelaxMore.net to become a place where users, students, and visitors can connect with each other and with me.
For this, you can use Notes (the “Twitter function” of this platform, but without algorithms and advertising). And of course, under each article, there is space to respond.
If pressure is the problem,
it cannot be part of the solution.
Relax More can.
Ronald de Caluwé
Who am I?
My name is Ronald de Caluwé. For decades I have been fascinated by the interplay between body and mind, the evolution of our brain and nervous system, and how we can apply both new knowledge and ancient wisdom in our lives and in society.
From this interest, I developed a two-day training: “Polyvagal Theory and Trauma Responses.” More recently, I created a new two-day masterclass on polyvagal-informed guidance in (coaching) practice, developed together with senior coach Cees van Elst.
I am also one of the initiators and driving forces behind Terug naar het Midden, a website for people with a sensitive nervous system and GHIA. I am on LinkedIn as well, if you’d like to connect.
You can read more about me here.
Thank you for your interest!
I hope to see, hear, or read from you on RelaxMore.net!
Practical matters
About this platform: Substack
I chose Substack for several reasons. First, it is a newsletter program, blog platform, and social medium in one. Second, it is free from algorithms and advertising. In addition, it is free for users, except when you offer a paid subscription (as I do): I pay 10% of those payments to Substack. Very transparent.
Does Substack also have disadvantages?
Yes. When creating an account, Substack tends to send more emails than many people like. Even when signing up for a free account, you’ll be asked a series of questions — but you can simply answer them with “No, thank you,” “Skip,” or “Maybe later.” You do have to click through them, though. You can change these settings in your account preferences.
A spam- and ad-free reading experience. Also on the Substack app. Cool! For me, the Substack app is mainly useful if you use Notes and occasionally the chat. For accessing all content on your phone, a web browser actually works better.
Why subscribe to RelaxMore.net?
When you’re reading on relaxmore.net, you’ll occasionally see a pop-up invitation to take out a free subscription. It looks like this, and you can click it away (green arrow) if you want to keep browsing first:
By subscribing, you’ll receive an email when new articles appear.
Choosing which emails you want to receive
I send three different kinds of emails in the Dutch language: One when a new article appears on RelaxMore.net, one when a new article appears in The Polyvagal World, and a monthly email with an inspiring quote or reflection. Standard setting is that after subscribing, you will receive only the Dutch articles. Please adjust your settings to receive email notifications for English articles and follow these steps:
Click on your Substack profile in the top right corner.
Go to Manage Subscriptions.
Scroll down a little to Notifications.
Choose which articles you’d like to receive emails for.
You have to manually check the box “English” if you want to receive my English articles!
And uncheck the Dutch articles, so you won’t receive too many emails.
Benefits of a paid subscription
You can also choose a paid subscription, starting at €6 per month or €60 per year. You will then get:
Full access to all content behind the paywall (articles older than 3 months, essays, the entire Relaxicon, and the archive).
A guided meditation (in Dutch) download every month.
€10 discount on meditation days of the Veerkrachttraining.
Access to the chat function.
Priority in contact through Notes.
Would you really like this but cannot spare €60 per year? Contact me, and I’ll arrange access for you. If you can afford more than €60 per year, you can also choose that.
Some articles include a preview of paid content. If that’s the case, you’ll automatically see a “Claim my free post” option.
Payments
Paid subscriptions to RelaxMore.net are handled by the recognized and reliable payment provider Stripe. The name you will see on your bank statement is Relax More.
Paying via Stripe is very reliable, though it often takes a few days. A kind request to use iDEAL whenever possible, and only use bank transfer when you have no other option.
Note:
When paying by bank transfer, €0.01 is withdrawn first, followed by the full amount a few days later. This can raise questions, but that’s simply how Stripe processes it — I have no influence on that.
Ending your paid subscription
This is very simple: just through your account settings. If you want extra support, here’s a link with the steps clearly explained.