OH SUMMER WHERE ART THOU

This winter has been the cloudiest, therefore darkest in 50 years. This video gave me some light of hope as the day's will be now getting longer and lighter, yei!

Finland - Land of the Midnight Sun from Flatlight Films on Vimeo.

PACKBAG IS BACK MAN

New packbag from Paris. The shirt I got for free from a friend at Sunday's fleamarket, luvz it!

BEST IN TOWN

TAPAS FOR MAMAS

Going out for a dinner. Wearing vintage dress, bag, belt, shoes and necklace. Earrings made
by me, nannanda. 

Ladies in Bar Tapasta, Helsinki. I hadn't been there for  some time now, not after they've
renewed the place and was actually very happy with our food. Table full of different
kind of tapas and a carafe of sangria, perfect Wednesday evening!

Picture of my girl wearing nannanda earrings last evening. They look perfect on her!

Same earrings originally seen here. More pics in my Facebook group, check it out!

LAUGH LOTS

Hanna & Janna - double trouble since 1998

Congrats Master Antti and Ville! And thanks photo bomb Jarski haha!

Picture via weheartit.

DEAR LITTLE ME

A while ago I was contacted by one of my readers and a blogger herself too, and to give a interview. The questions were interesting but very big, people write books about some of the issues haha, so I really put my mind and time to it. It made me think again about the big questions in life - am I enough, what do I want in life, am I happy, what makes me happy. Then a friend sent me this picture (which looks even a bit like me with the similar kind of sunglasses!) and it was exactly what I needed, a reminder. I hope it gives some comfort too for the little dear you!

PS. I'll link you the interview when it's out - should be soon! Yikes!

GREEN SUNDAY

A good big bowl of buckthorn porridge with berries, raisins, muesli and a bit of turmeric -
berry power to get the day started! 

First some gardening in our plantage in Viikki, ecological living area.

Then collecting nettle for cooking.

Crazy amounts of it, just in the backyard! 

Full bag of nettle leaves, super food of Finland.

Food, sleep and later on sauna and swimming in the pool. Sundays are the BEST!
Hope you had a good one too! x

TAKING THE NEXT STEP

I've been working since I was 16 years old - first at my dad's company and later in different small, local companies, mainly in design and fashion. When I think back, I remember knowing already then that someday I would be a entrepreneur. I didn't know in what, what would be my business but just knowing that someday in the future I'd have my own company and be my own boss. Some years ago the idea really started to take form when I got into yoga. I found my Path in something I never thought would be it - I've never been that "sporty" and to think that my future job would have to do with body and movement, it was just crazy! I've always liked to move and tried different sports but never found my "thing". But yoga - it was something else. The body-mind-soul-world connection fascinated me and for me yoga is about that, not only physical tool but a way to live. Slowly I noticed that as my body started to change, got stronger and more balanced, it all kind of turned inside and started to change my thinking, my way of seeing life and most of all, seeing myself. "I" as in the "real me" got stronger and more balanced and started to have bigger role in my life as Ego started to loose its power. It was really an eye-opener that had a huge impact in my life, from divorce to the point where I am now: not in fashion business anymore as I thought I'd be but in health.

When my yoga teacher mom asked me for the first time to give her yoga lesson, because she had to go somewhere, I was very resistant to the idea. How could I do that, teach somebody? I knew nothing! I was only a student, not ready to tell anyone else what to do! But you know mothers so there I was, class soon starting and me shaking, gasping breath and hands sweating. I had practiced what to say almost from word to word, planning the whole lesson. But then something happened when the class started. How I would describe the experience is that some energy kicked in and suddenly I was the teacher. I wasn't as nervous as before and when one of the pupils asked me something, I could hear myself answering. It was like hearing and looking myself from distance but still being just there, in the core of everything, in the Flow. This was it. This was That Something I had been looking for for soooooo long!

So here I am now. In the beginning of this month I bought my mothers business, a yoga school in Helsinki and starting a new stage of my life as a entrepreneur. I believe that if you really believe in something and want it with pure heart, it's bound to happen one day, one way or another. I got really lost in the way here but suddenly found my Path again and now knowing what I don't want, I know a bit better which way to go forward. What I've learner during these couple strange years is that never think blindly that "I can't do that", "That's not my thing" or ""I know what I want". You can do and be so much that maybe you don't really understand it yet! And sometimes you don't know what you want - it might be your Mind or Ego that makes you want or do things that don't actually follow your Soul plan. It's the box which we've ourselves build around us that limits us from doing or saying things that we would want but are too afraid to. Get out from the box, be bigger than you ever thought you could be and start living the life you really deserve! Gandhi already said it: be the change you wanna see. Don't be afraid of risks - life is a risk but also a beautiful adventure if you are up for it! Life always finds its ways.

Also to the end I wanna say something about teaching. I had misunderstood the concept of being a teacher, that you should know everything to be able to teach others: If you know something that can benefit others too, have a positive impact in their life, you should always share it out of love and compassion. Never "teach" something you don't know and act like you do - share what you've learned from your own experience but don't think that's the Truth, the only way. Share what you know now and here and be open to changes, updating your information and sometimes admitting that "I don't know". But I will find out.

PINEAPPLE COCONUT SMOOTHIE

Loved this one. Found the recipe here.

Throw in some...
pineapple chunks
apple
banana
real vanilla powder
coconut milk

Drink and say mmmmmmm.

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

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

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!