2012/05/30

ANNALA SEEDLING MARKET

I've been growing some seedlings for the summer to plant at our small city plantage in Viikki. I also wanted to have some greenies at my balcony so went to have a look at the seedling market here in Helsinki last week. It was packed with people! Obviously city gardening has become more popular these years and it's not anymore a grandma thing but younger adults city hobby. Go green!




Walked back home with my new favorite shoes from Keep,  from bElles - Baskets for Elles

2012/05/29

NANNANDA VISITED CALI HELSINKI

I was asked to bring my jewelries for a special visit to Cali Helsinki last Saturday when the guys from there turned the shop in to a party house for one day! The girls event Diamond and Cupcakes served Lotta's delicious cupcakes which you've maybe already have had a taste of at the Restaurant Day if you're from around here! If you haven't, Cupcake Corner should be on your list of one-day-restaurants to try!



2012/05/23

LIKE A BOSSSSSSS

Got SUPER good and big news today - I'll share all about it later! This year is gonna be something else!








All pics digged from weheartit

2012/05/14

LITTLE BIRDS TOLD ME THAT


VAPPU MAY 1ST

Party at a friends backyard the night before. They'd made it look so nice!

Mayday brunch at my place - homemade organic food and some wine.



Meri singing with the cuteness.



Pete's Mayday tattoo
SuperOnni super tired after the party. It was a good day!
xxx

2012/05/13

THANK YOU MOM


MOTHER'S DAY

Pic by Terry Richardson.
Finnish vintage wool dress and IVANAhelsinki cape.

Triple Mother's Day!

They say we look alike.
nannanda ring bracelet and the silver ring made by me.
With my baby dog Onni before the brunch.

Strawberry sorbet for brekkie. Special day guys!
Pic from weheartit

SLOW YOGA IN PORVOO

Some pics from a yoga course in Porvoo couple months back. My teacher Janne Kontala held a weekend course of slow yoga with a Saturday evening of chanting and yoga philosophy. Loved it! Porvoo was vibrating with cosmic love!

Quiet and snowy Porvoo, Finland.


Me in the middle. This and the pics below by Meri Mort.

Our teacher Janne.

Couple variations of the shoulder stand, salamba sarvangasana. Me on the right.

VEDIC CHANT TEACHER TRAINING COURSE

Earlier I promised to share what I've been up to this winter/spring, what has been causing the radio silence in my blog so here's a picture diary of a yoga course in Austria, Piesendorf. Couple earlier summer's I've attended Dr. Kausthub Desikachar's yoga seminars in Helsinki and it was there where I hear about this course, vedic chanting arranged by KHYF. Immediately I was fascinated about the course and decided to apply to the program - which in a way was crazy because I've always been shy to sing, to use my voice! I think the reason is the traumas from my childhood when I was laughed at by my teachers, telling me that I can't sing. "You, play some instrument instead!" And I did. Piano, clarinet, drums and such. For years my biggest nightmare was to sing karaoke and it took over twenty years and thousands of kilometers to overcome the fear: I sang in a karaoke for the first time in my life in a small town in Mongolia with some local friends - and I loved it! Suddenly the big Singing Boogieman shrank and felt ridiculous. Why had I been so afraid of singing and expressing myself through voice for so long! Of course due to my earlier work positions and studies I'd held talks in front of an audience but singing, this was a totally different thing.

All the way until the first chanting session I was thinking "You're crazy Hanna, why are you here? Why are you doing this! This is silly and stupid, chanting isn't your thing for sure." This was what my fearful Mind was telling me. But when we started chanting, chanted and chanted  through hours for 10 days, it became very clear that it was just the right place for me to be right then. It felt like it wasn't anymore me "singing", chanting but my Heart. This was what my Heart wanted and needed! Sometimes the things you fear the most are the ones you should jump to with your head first, full on! I don't know where that course will take me with my yoga studies and teaching but I know now that I did the right decision and only later I will understand the Why's.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Steve Jobs


For me chanting has been very purifying and healing tool and I hope to add some elements of it to my yoga teachings bit by bit. For me yoga is about connecting my body, mind and soul and chanting mantras has opened a whole new door to it. Can't wait for the next study period in the end this year!


The Alps - in the boarder of Germany and Austria

The cute village of Piesendorf lies in the middle of the Alps

Mantravalli - the bible of mantras

Nothing to complain about the view of our study room, huh!

Lunch walk in the valley.

Sanskrit language studies

Nothing to add to this pic. Just plain happy and tired!

Another after lunch walk around the village.

Can never get tired of the view.
Women's Day celebration with my study buddies. Miss you all!
Our teachers Rada and Shobana from KHYF, Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation.

Couple students missing from the pic but this is our lovely group! 

Luckily our guest house had a sauna where I could empty my head and relax.

Piesendorf treated us good but it was time to head back home!

Until next time - hope to see everyone again in the end of the year!