Beers with Hanna Attafi: Finding the Yin to Her Yang Across the Atlantic
By Jaime Frey
“Loes is truly the yin to my yang. Together, we balance each other’s lives, and highlight the other’s best qualities.”
Dynamic duos are iconic for their rarity, as it requires a special type of friendship to qualify for this title. Just as the experience of a serene summer day on the boat feels incomplete without the refreshment of a crisp Island Coastal Lager, or the characters Batman and Robin, dynamic duos are essential in filling in one’s missing pieces and illuminating each other's best qualities. The friendship and soul connection shared between Hanna Attafi and Loes Hurkx embodies the true essence of a dynamic duo. Their story begins in 2019 at a Portuguese surf house.
Until 2019, Hanna had been working in the educational field. Initially, as a primary school teacher, Hanna discovered the power of mindfulness and bodily connectivity in the classroom setting, as she and her peers observed a seemingly inexplicable and effortless connection within her classroom community. Hanna knew this connection occurred on a far deeper level than one visible to the human eye and discovered that this was the communication between nervous systems, known as "coregulation". Yearning to deepen her knowledge of the mind-body connection, Hanna returned to school, pursuing studies in the neuroscience of mindfulness, understanding the nervous system, and other science-based intricacies. Additionally, she used this time to strengthen her understanding of yoga asana, her passion for 10 years, by attending a training course for yoga instructors. Utilizing her newly obtained knowledge, she created a small consulting business that educated teachers about nervous system regulation and the formal practices of breath-work and mindfulness through workshops. This work inspired teachers to examine their careers through an intrinsic scope that encouraged them to take time for themselves and prioritize regulating their nervous systems. Although Hanna had explored various regions of the world, in the fall of 2019 she decided to embark upon an adventure unlike those of her past. This time, she would travel on her own. Her journey began in Greece, where she taught yoga, and she eventually landed herself in Portugal.
Prior to 2019, Loes Hurkx resided in Holland, roughly 4,200 miles from Hanna—the woman whom she would soon know as her other half. Loes worked in mental health care as a therapeutic social worker. Employing therapeutic practices like hypnotherapy—therapy focusing on one’s subconscious—, meditation, and visualization to provide counseling to youth struggling to manage the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Working in this field for years, Loes grew increasingly frustrated by the red tape constraining the social work system, and by 2019, she felt her career had been draining her. In pursuit of an opportunity to recharge, Loes paused her career and set out to Portugal, where she explored the country solo. What happened next was pure magic. Meandering about the beaches of Portugal, Loes visited a surf house where Hanna was teaching yoga.
Amidst their first exchange at the surf house in Portugal, Hanna and Loes felt that an instant soul connection had occurred. Inspired to enhance their destined friendship, the duo decided to spend six weeks traveling together through Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. This journey together unveiled just how much they complimented each other, and dynamic duo energy started to unfold. Hanna and Loes shared similar passions and dreams while introducing unique perspectives to each other which perfectly aligned as one. Just as yin and yang balance one another, these women found balance within their relationship. The girls balanced their perspectives in harmony as Loes shared her dreams, passions, and manifesting powers to create plans, while Hanna kept the duo grounded and present. This perfect balance translated into a harmonious connection. Evoked by such a perfect balance, this duo worked in harmony or harmoniously to construct the path that brought their dreams into fruition. Their diverse professional and personal experiences both complemented and challenged the others in a way that inspired such steadfast growth in themselves that they were inspired to share with others.
Fast forwarding to the onset of COVID in 2020, Hanna’s business transitioned to operate virtually. Freed from the geographical restraints of her job, she grabbed this opportunity for growth and explored the world, selling all her belongings to finance this adventure. She traveled to Costa Rica and here, she put the facets of her education into practice and embodied the inspiration that Loes had left her with. Trusting her own process, system, and life itself, she made her way down to the southern region of Costa Rica and continued to connect with Loes despite the 4,000-mile barrier that lay between them. Of course, Hanna asked Loes to join her, and together, they rented a quaint, yellow bungalow in the jungle. Spending hours dreaming and vibing in conjunction from the living room, RYME was born; “RYME” was an acronym representing the phrase “recycle your mindset experiences”. In this bungalow, they were met with an organic surge of inspiration and ideas that flowed together as one to create a foundation for their dream.
Their RYME experiences embody and reflect their unique life experiences and themes evoked from the growth of their friendship. The national evolution of their friendship illuminated the qualities that had such power in maintaining their tight bond among enduring quarantine lockdowns, thousands of miles laying between them, and unfamiliar settings. Hanna and Loes learned that through trusting themselves and each other, they could accomplish whatever they put their minds to. The power of their undeniable yin-yang connection has expanded to their community of RYME clients (or RYMERS), which has inspired a sense of open-mindedness and trust in the clients enduring the RYME experience.
