Hi everyone, I'm Valentina, founder of Behaviour & Balance. My background is in psychology, and I’m passionate about helping people create meaningful and lasting change through psychology, coaching, and behavioural science. What inspires me most is understanding people and their unique stories. I’m fascinated by how our experiences, thoughts, and behaviours shape the way we move through life, and how greater self-awareness can help us grow into the person we want to become. At the heart of what I do is a belief that change doesn’t happen in isolation. We all need spaces where we feel seen, heard, and supported. I genuinely love connecting with people, learning from their experiences, and having conversations that encourage reflection, growth, and new perspectives. That’s why I’m so happy to be here today. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, hearing about your journeys, and connecting with such an inspiring group of women.

Hello everyone! 😊👋 My name is Ana, I'm Portuguese, and a self-leadership coach and yoga teacher based in the Cascais area (São Domingos de Rana), in Portugal. I come from a science background in Biochemistry and Biology, with over 15 years of experience in research in international environments, which included living 5 years in UK and 4 in Sweden. My passion for supporting and understanding people and the way they lead, plus a desire to create something of my own, led me to invest in this entrepreneurial path. With my work, I help women in science and social impact to connect deeper with themselves, learn to rest and self-regulate, and get clarity for where they want to go in their lives and careers. I take a holistic approach, very much based on connecting body and mind and finding answers from within. I also work with scientific institutions, with workshops and trainings on themes that include emotional and mental resilience, work-life harmony, and self-leadership skills. Working on something that I love has made it hard to stay firm to dedicating time to other things that are purely hobbies but I am committed! I love spending time with friends, being in nature - hiking in the forest or simply walking along the sea, also painting with watercolours and singing to foster my creativity. I love this community, especially our in person breakfasts in Cascais and all the inspiring people and connections we make here. Excited to be here and learn from all of you!

I'm Jelena - Serbian, freshly settled in Cascais, and very happy to be here. My path has been a bit zigzag: ~7 years as a frontend developer, then a leap into yoga teacher training in India, contact improvisation, and somatic movement work. All of it pointed me toward what I'm building now. What I'm building: Syncira, a cycle-aware daily guidance app for women. It blends my tech skills with my love for cycle awareness, somatics, and treating the female body as wisdom rather than a problem. Web MVP is live; mobile app is in progress. What I'm exploring/struggling with: how to build and fundraise as a solo founder without losing the embodied, slow, intuitive way of working that actually makes me good at this. Also - the very real logistics of being a new resident in Portugal while doing all of the above. Really looking forward to meeting all the wonderful women in this community. Hugs to all 🌿