Dr. Femke E. Bakker

Dr. Femke E. Bakker helps people soften their inner critic. A meditation teacher since 2018, she has taught thousands of people to be gentler with themselves, and she is the creator of the Selfgentleness Perspective. She is also a TEDx speaker and political psychologist, and a former professional actor and screenwriter. Selfgentleness means radically accepting yourself as the most important person to consistently deserve your own gentleness. Especially in those moments when your inner critic gets loud and caring for yourself suddenly feels off. Femke blends psychology, meditation, and lived experience into clear, gentle practices that help you stop treating yourself as a project. At Leiden University she teaches and researches leadership, beliefs, decision making under stress, and how meditation shapes social and political processes. Over the years she saw how often people slip back into old patterns, even after years of inner searching. That is normal, and it is okay. It made her want to create a safe place where nobody has to find their way back to gentleness alone, which became The Home of Selfgentleness. On Insight Timer, Femke offers meditations and courses that help you meet your inner critic more gently. Every second Friday of the month she hosts The Selfgentleness Hour LIVE, where you can experience her guidance in real time.

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