The State Shift Institute
The State Shift Method™
One method. For every moment.
From stuck to fully alive.
"On the outside, everything looks fine. On the inside, it could be better."
That feeling is there for a reason. And this is where the change begins.
Sound familiar?
It's not about doing more. It's about being more yourself.
You're doing fine. Your life is reasonably put together. But somewhere inside you feel: it could be richer. More alive. More joyful. More grateful. There's something between you and the version of yourself you sense you could be.
That "something" isn't things you need to add. It's things you get to let go of. Beliefs that aren't yours. Patterns that once protected you but now stand in the way. Layers you built up to fit in, to get it right, to keep going.
The State Shift Method™ helps you remove what no longer serves you. So you can truly be yourself and gain clarity about your path.
What others experience
I was diagnosed as autistic last year and I'm a visual learner, so the State Shift method really resonated with me. What I liked about the method was the combination of Sylvia's recorded guidance and the illustrated card deck created by Natalie. Through the online platform, Sylvia talks you through each card and how to work with it, while the illustrations give a visual representation of the concepts being explored.
As someone who thinks visually, I found this approach very natural. The visualisations helped me connect with parts of myself, including my shadow, inner selves and inner life force.
I also appreciated that Sylvia has brought together ideas from a range of different sources and woven them into one practical method. Many of those ideas were already of interest to me, which made the process feel both familiar and fresh.
What stood out most was that the method worked with the way I naturally process things rather than expecting me to fit into a particular way of learning or exploring myself.
I've been using the State Shift Method cards for two weeks now and I'm really happy with them. Every day I draw a card and see what it wants to tell me in that moment. The beautiful wooden holder makes it extra nice to display the card throughout the day.
I've made my own little ritual out of it and the cards help me check in with myself. The illustrations are also beautiful and perfectly suited to the message of the cards.
Why you don't feel yourself
Something is in the way. Not something you're missing, but something that's too much.
You've spent years building up layers. Ways of being that worked at school, at work, in your relationships. You learned to adapt, to perform, to keep going. Those layers were smart. They helped you survive. But they cover up who you really are.
More knowledge doesn't help. Another book, another training, another insight. It piles up on top of what's already there. What you need isn't more, but less. Space. Letting go of what no longer serves.
What is The State Shift Method™?
A practice of three steps and a card deck of 52 tools.
The method combines awareness work (understanding why you repeat patterns) and practical tools (techniques that work in your body) with the discipline to keep going.
Every card in the deck is a state shift. An exercise for a pattern. You draw a card, do the exercise, take the step.
No insight without action. No analysis without movement. Every single day.
Three steps. Every day.
The core of the method fits in three minutes. Not because it's simple, but because it's repeatable.
Notice
What state are you in? What thought is running? What feeling? Feel it in your body. You don't need to change it. Just see it.
Shift
Draw a card. Do the exercise. Feel, don't think. Shift from the inside out.
Take the step
One action. Sometimes outward: send the message, start the conversation. Sometimes inward: let go, stop holding on. And then you do it.
Insight without action is entertainment. Insight with action is transformation.
52 cards. One story.
The cards tell a story together. From waking up to living fully. The first cards teach you to see: where you're stuck, what's holding you back, who you are when you stop running. The cards in the middle take you to what you've hidden and teach you to let go. The final cards are about movement, love, and living from your centre.
There are multiple ways to work with a card. Simply look at the illustration and feel what it stirs. Read the text and follow the steps. Or listen to the audio and let yourself be guided. The entry point differs per person and per day. The goal is always the same: to feel.
The deck comes with a booklet and a holder to display your card of the day.
The path
Seven lessons. One journey.
Wake Up
You see through the illusion and meet the observer within yourself.
Answer The Call
You feel why you're here and walk through the full practice for the first time.
What's In The Way IS The Way
You get to know the force working against you and why the obstacles themselves are the path.
Come Out Of Hiding
You meet the parts of yourself you've hidden. Your Shadow. Seeing what's there.
Let It Pass Through
Suppressing doesn't work. Acting out doesn't work. Letting it pass through does. The third way.
Do The Work
Through everything. This is where it becomes a practice, not a project.
Be The Change
Everything brought together. Living from your centre.
What it's built on
Four sources, fused into one method. Not invented at a desk, but tested on myself. For years. Every day.
Phil Stutz & Barry Michels
The Tools. Practical techniques that move you through resistance, pain, and fear. Moving through it instead of talking about it. At the time of writing, I am the only European coach listed on thetoolsbook.com.
Michael Singer
The awareness work that explains why you repeat patterns and why knowledge alone is never enough.
Heroic
A treasure trove of knowledge on personal development, and the discipline to show up every day. Heroic keeps me accountable and gives me the structure to keep doing what I know. From knowing to doing. I am a certified Heroic Level 2 coach.
25 years of learning and applying
I love learning. Hundreds of books, dozens of trainings, retreats, programmes. Everything I could find in the field of personal development, I did. And everything I learned, I applied to myself first. The best of 25 years is in this training.
About Sylvia
I grew up with an alcoholic mother. My father passed away when I was nineteen. I was bullied. I developed an eating disorder. I carried all of it with me and numbed it for years. I performed. I kept going. On the outside, everything looked fine.
At twenty-eight, I started working on personal development. I learned a lot. But I kept falling back into the same patterns. The same voice telling me I wasn't enough.
Until I discovered the Tools and everything changed. Not because the insight was new. But because I finally started doing the work.
Since then I've written three books (one of which became a bestseller), built my own practice, and guided hundreds of people. Done by someone who never used to finish anything.
Still at it. You win or you learn.
At the time of writing, the only European coach listed on thetoolsbook.com.
Who is this for?
So you know whether The State Shift Method™ is right for you.
This is for you
Less suitable
What others say
Sylvia is funny, sharp, warm and inspiring, and builds on the work of Stutz. I would recommend anyone to take a training with her.
Sylvia helped me see the parts of myself that I didn't realize I had been avoiding, and offered a way to accept and love myself.
What I love about Sylvia is her ability to create a safe, open space where everything is welcome. She guides you with warmth, enthusiasm and humour.
Ready to begin?
The State Shift Training is seven video lessons, a card deck of 52 tools, a booklet, and monthly live sessions. Everything you need to start tomorrow.
Questions? info@sylviaholtslag.nl
