Stine Sandbach and Emil Sandbech, the co-founders of the one-step journal Oakmind.
OAKMIND
Danish international Stine Sandbech (née Larsen) has created a new one-step wellness journal together with her husband Emil to help alleviate the stresses of modern life.
Launched this week as a Kickstarter project, they hope to raise the finance required to bring Oakmind to the general public. Sandbech’s husband Emil, the head of a digital marketing agency, is the joint-founder of Oakmind. Despite their apparently different lifestyles, the entrepreneur has endured similar issues to his wife in dealing with the stress of meeting deadlines and managing the demands of his workload.
After six years playing at Brøndby, Sandbech made the decision to further her career by moving to FC Fleury 91 in France at the age of 23. A year later she was playing in the Women’s Super League for newly-promoted Aston Villa. She confessed that “moving abroad, especially for the first time, is one of the steps that feels bigger than others, I would say. For me, it was also interesting to adapt and to experience other cultures and it helped me a lot to grow and learn things about myself.”
WALSALL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Stine Larsen of Aston Villa during the Barclays FA Women’s Super League match between Aston Villa Women and Chelsea Women at on January 27, 2021 in Birmingham, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
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“I also got more serious about journaling at that time, and I think I found comfort in it. Since I was so far away from home, I needed to find comfort in something, so that helped because there is a lot of unseen stress. That’s a way to handle it. England was a really good year, and a good experience, but I also realised that I liked to win too much. Therefore, I made the move to BK Häcken.”
As a conseqeunce of a New Year’s Resolution, Emil and Stine Sandbech committed to writing down their thoughts but found existing journals were not guided enough to provide what they required. They therefore took to creating their own which they believe will better help people regain balance in their lives. It has since been tested on, and refined, by 100 people including students, athletes, parents, the self-employed and workers.
Marketed as a “one-step journal”, Oakmind is said to be “a philosophy, a mindset, a way of living that helps you take control of your life, one intentional step at a time.” Requiring around five minutes a day to complete, the various sections of the guided journal aim to help people take the small steps needed to create the life they want for themselves through a variety of prompts and tools.
Sandbech explained to me the origins of the idea and how it relates to the increasingly popular Danish concept of ‘hygge’ – finding comfort in small pleasures. “Oakmind is about building a strong foundation,” she told me. “The oak is one of the trees that grows the slowest, but it’s seen as one of the strongest and most resilient trees. If it were to compare itself to other trees, it would feel behind. Instead it grows slowly, steady and with patience.”
“The whole idea about Oakmind is similar. We believe that to have a strong foundation, you need to take care of your mental health, you need to take care of your physical health and your overall well-being. I think that ”hygge” is a big part of our well-being. It’s in our DNA and therefore also in the DNA of Oakmind, yes.”
Oakmind urges everyone to take time to pause, focus and reflect on their day. It asks people to think about what they are grateful for, detailing their top priorities and finding the small things which make them happy. While writing down lists may not work for everyone, and journaling may seem like yet another task to complete, Sandbech believes your mind deserves the same opportunity for self-care as any other part of your body.
“I believe it’s right for different people at different times. For some, it might be short-term, in maybe a tough period. For us, it’s a part of our lifestyle, something we do every day. So, do I think it’s for everyone? No. Do I think everyone needs to find a way to pause in this busy world? Yes. Can that be found in journaling? Yes, I believe so.”
“I can understand the point about it feeling like another job. The way we see it is more like, you brush your teeth to have a clean mouth, or you exercise to take care of your physical health. This is just a way of taking care of your mental health because that’s important too, but easy to forget.”
First capped in 2015, the undoubted highlight of Sandbech’s international career came eight years ago when she played every game as Denmark reached the final of UEFA Women’s Euro 2017. After starting the tournament as a striker, she was drafted in as emergency cover in central defence for the decisive group stage match against Norway.
Norway’s Ada Hegerberg (R) vies with Denmark’s Stine Larsen (L) during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 football tournament match between Norway and Denmark at Stadion De Adelaarshorst in Deventer city on July 24, 2017. (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)
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“It was mentally difficult to switch. We got some injuries in the defence early on in the group stage. Therefore, I ended up playing as a defender for the rest of the games, which went really well. I will admit that I’ve never been as nervous as in the game against Norway, which was the last game in the group stage. The whole tournament for me was mentally tough but also one of my greatest and proudest memories.”
Reaching the final thrust Sandbech and her Danish team-mates into the international spotlight, something she tells me she finds difficult to deal with. “I think the journal helps to step away from the noise of media and matches. It’s a way to help try to be mindful and intentional with yourself and your thoughts which is relevant, especially when it comes to pressure.”
The sudden explosion of interest in the women’s game is not a lifestyle most females of Sandbech’s age were accustomed to when they first started playing. She told me that “some people love it and some people find it really stressful, no matter if you’re female or male. I really believe that grounding and self-understanding is even more important when that happens at a young age.”
In March 2023, Sandbech suffered a second rupture to her anterior cruciate ligament, an injury which ruled her out of playing in the first FIFA Women’s World Cup which Denmark qualified for in 20 years. A few weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant, giving birth to her daughter Lulu the following February.
She told me what it was like handling to those two life-altering changes to her body simultaneously. “That was a challenge, a big one. It actually helped me a lot being pregnant at the same time because I focused on this amazing thing that was about to happen instead of the things that I was missing out on.”
Sandbech returned to first team action with her Swedish club BK Häcken and was rewarded by being offered a two-year contract extension. Last week, Sandbech made her third consecutive starting appearance, completing ninety minutes for the first time since her pregnancy in the UEFA Women’s Champions League Round 3 qualifier against Atlético.
This week, BK Häcken attempt to qualify for the League Phase of the competition by eliminating the Spanish team. With the scores tied after the first leg in Sweden, the odds will be against BK Häcken when they travel to Madrid but, whatever the result, Sandbech told me she will approach the game with a more rounded view than her younger self.
“It’s the same Stine with her excitement about big games. But a Stine with a bigger perspective, more able to cut out the noise and with the capacity to take everything in and not to take it for granted.”