Collaborative artists - A Million Thanks!

During our book project we have been fortunate to receive much appreciated help from several brilliant professionals. Without their efforts and wholehearted generosity the book would not have been what it is today.

Photo: Dominika, Illustration: Hanna 

 

We would like to show our deepest appreciation and give a million thanks to the following artists for their collaboration on the book:

 

HANNA von HAFENBRÄDL
Illustrations throughout the book

 

Hanna's beautiful work can be seen throughout the book in the form of illustrations accompanying the different life stories. Her artwork is like icing on the cake and gives our book that personal touch that we were looking for <3

 

"Hanna was tagging along as a stylist during one of our photo shoots and as the true yoga enthusiast she is, she offered to help us out with illustrations in the book. I am tremendously glad I took Hanna up on her offer and I warmly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a skilled illustrator", Sofia comments on the collaboration with Hanna.

 

Hanna has also recently been certified as a yoga teacher and she is now giving her own yoga classes in Helsinki at Pranama yoga studio. Hanna loves teaching private groups and regular office yoga groups in Helsinki. 

 

Contact Hanna by e-mail hanna@perfectwhite.fi

or check out her facebook site www.facebook.com/hannahelsinkiyoga
 

 

DOMINIKA MONTONEN-KOIVISTO
Photographs of Sofia

  

"When I needed help with taking some pictures on myself to be included in the book, I knew just who to contact: Lovely, giggling crazy-about-photography Domi! Talented as she is, Domi is always ready to shoot and not scared of trying something new. The shoot went exactly as I had wished and planned for the book", Sofia laughs regarding working with Domi.

 

Domi is not just into photography, her real passion is making unique personal jewellery for those special moments in life or for simply putting a silver lining on your everyday life.

You can find Domi's photography portfolio online at www.designdomi.com/dmk-photography and have a look at her stunning collection of hand made jewellery at www.designdomi.com

 

 

NADINE LUCAS 
Mandala illustration for book logo 

 

We thank Nadine for lending us her charismatic mandala drawing to form part of the logo on our book and blog. "When I saw the mandala on the internet I just knew it was the perfect symbol for our book, it is intriguing, beautiful and imperfectly perfect, hand made with heart and soul!" says Sofia about designing the book logo. 

 

'Mandala' is a Sanskrit word for 'circle' and it is a spiritual symbol representing the universe. 

Nadine is studying expressive arts therapies in the US and she is interested in doing art therapy workshops with women and children around helping them in recovery from addictions, relationships, trauma, self-esteem issues etc.

You can get a hold of Nadine via e-mail nadineelucas@gmail and see more of her work online at www.flickr.com/photos/n_lucas.

 

The shocking truth about your health

In this TEDx talk Lissa Rankin tells us that the most powerful means we have to improve our health is not directly related to the physical, in other words is it not about how we eat or how much we exercise or what medication we have access to. Rather it is all about being able to live a meaningful life with people you love and not being drained by stress, financial problems or anxiety of some sort.

 

This idea is very similar to what we learned through the interviews in our book; namely the importance of taking care of the whole you, not just the physical, but also the mental side of you. The true wonders of yoga are not merely restricted to whether we are able to perform certain acrobatic poses or how fit we are physically (although an improved physique most often comes as a nice side effect of yoga). What our interviewees tell us is how yoga has granted them with peace of mind, a better understanding of self and thereby a greater appreciation for life.

 

Watch Lissa Rankin's shocking truth about your health here and now!

 

 

Tiina&Sofia

 

Book in progress!

You might be wondering where we left off with the blogposts, thinking that we are most probably laying on the beach all day long enjoying the unusually shiny Helsinki summer...? Well actually we have been spending this hot hot summer holiday steaming up the book! Interviews, photo shoots, writing, editing pictures and fine tuning, fine tuning fine tuning...
 

It is all starting to come together.

 

And boy are we excited to be able to share it with you all soon!! We are now getting a first glimpse of the book taking form - fascinating yoga stories being framed with beautiful pictures and awesome colours bringing out the juiciest parts of the yogic experiences people have shared with us. Although the journey of making the book is a fabulous experience in itself, starting to see the fruit of all our work just feels soooo exciting :)

'A Million Ways To Love Yoga' photo by DMK Photography

 

To throw you a small teaser we want to share some inspirational pics of a photo shoot where we had to use a guest photographer. While Tiina has been occupied with writing and turning the interviews into lovely stories and although Sofia has been busy shooting all the other interviewees, the one shoot which is tricky to make without someone else holding the camera is of course self-portraits. Especially when trying to hold a yoga pose. Fortunately we are lucky to know lifestyle photographer Dominika Montonen-Koivisto, lovely Domi who is always smiling and ready to shoot! So we persuaded her to give us a helping hand with some shots of Sofia and we love the results <3
 

'A Million Ways To Love Yoga' photo by DMK Photography

 

To be fair, let's add that summer has not been all hunching over the computer... We have also enjoyed summer classics like chilling in the archipelago, spending time with friends and family, lazy late brunches and of course, a fair share of yoga!

 

The Finnish summer is way to short for anything else, so let's enjoy it while it's hot :)

 

Namaste

 

Sofia & Tiina

 

'A Million Ways To Love Yoga' photo by DMK Photography

Yoga gives me the best possible start for the day

We are very glad to have had the opportunity to interview Antti Heikinheimo, prominent lawyer and sworn yogi, to hear about his fascination with yoga. As soon as we have shaken hands and stepped into the modern offices of the prestigious law firm in the city centre of Helsinki, Antti Heikinheimo states that "I know I am a bit of an odd one out on the yoga scene, but if I can inspire anyone into practising yoga, I am glad to be of service."

 

And without him saying it out loud we know exactly what he means; the stereotype yogi in modern society would be pictured as a young woman flexible enough to bend in any direction. Antti however is a highly successful lawyer, a man in his sixties approaching retirement and according to himself a little bit stiff as any man in that age would be. Yet, he persistently performs his yoga routine in 99% of his mornings and has even been enrolled in the yoga teacher course of the Finnish Yoga Association for the last 4,5 years!

 A smile spreads on Antti's face when he starts talking about his yoga practise, a huge, sincere, warm smile. "Performing the sun salutation in the morning really gives me the best possible start for the day, which is why I am very reluctant to miss out on it."

 

Antti strikes us with what seems to be wisdoms gathered over a life time of a very intellectual man, boosted by the new found curiosity and deep fascination of the wonders of yoga and Eastern meditation practise. We are very honoured to have the opportunity to listen to Antti and to include his story in our book. We are certain that he can inspire many persons who might think that yoga is not for them.

 

In the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga we will reveal why Antti firmly argues that
"Every man over 55 should practise yoga".

Tiina & Sofia

 

Yoga for clarity, happiness and passion

Even if you are not practising yoga, we bet that you will find Jack's story interesting.

Jack shows us that chasing your dreams, as crazy or as unattainable as they might seem, can lead you to a passionate and fulfilling life. Unexpexted support begin to show up when you are aligned with your passions, doors open up in ways you would not expect. But first you need to get clear on what brings you meaning in life and this is where yoga can help you.

Meeting with Jack Boken is like getting a jolt of pure happiness flipped your way. As a matter of fact, it seems like he just might be the happiest man on earth!
  

 

 

Jack, who is also called "Happy Jack", is a yoga teacher, life coach and musician and he is known for his inspirational teaching style and exceptional ability to connect with other people. It feels comforting when Jack tells us that however content he is with his life today, he has known some very challenging times. What's more, he reassures us that it was yoga that helped him transform his life for the better.

We are fascinated to hear Jack telling us how he has managed to overcome alcoholism, drug abuse, workaholism, obesity and cancer, and that yoga was one of the key corner stones in the process of finally putting these issues behind him.

Happy Jack

See more about Jack on his homepage:
http://happyjack.me

Jack's found yoga in 2010 and his interest in yoga was immediate and overwhelming; it quickly had a huge impact on how he is leading his life. In 2010 Jack was leading a busy life working 16h days in the corporate world - today Jack is following his passion travelling around the world teaching yoga. Read Jack's story and his tips for other yogis in the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga!

Tiina & Sofia
 

AMWTL at charity yoga event with Eva Ungdom!

 We were thrilled to be part of a charity yoga event for the Eva Ahlström Foundation hosted by Matilda Mannström and pop up yoga studio Pranama. Yoga teacher Matilda Mannström, who is also one of the yogies we have chose for our book A Million Ways To Love Yoga, held a lovely, soothing and ravishing Vinyasa Flow yoga lesson! After experiencing a wow-yoga session, instead of paying for the yoga lecture, everyone gave a volontary donation to the Eva Ahlström Foundation.

 

We were up for a feel good yoga session, while supporting a good cause. 

What a perfect combo!

  

 

The Eva Ahlström Foundation is a humanitarian organisation that aims to support underprivileged women, children and adolescents in Finland and internationally through cooperation with established non-governmental organisations. Eva Ungdom is a sub group of the foundation for active young members.

 

www.evaahlstromsstiftelse.fi

 

More about Matilda's interview for AMWTL coming up on our blog during January!

 

If you are curious you can check out Matilda Mannström and Pranama already here

 

www.pranama.fi/matilda-mannstrom

 

 





 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

These stories begin here

‘A Million Ways To Love Yoga’ is a research project that two people started out of unconditional love for yoga. Our aim from the start was to unite passionate yogis and present their fascinating true yoga paths. These real, ordinary people tell their unique stories and we listen carefully.


Simply put, the project and book ‘A Million Ways To Love Yoga’ is about the miracles of yoga that so many people have already experienced and that we believe to be accessible for everyone! So in the end, it does not matter whether you are a beginner or whether you have lived half of your life on the yoga mat, we want to inspire you by reporting different perceptions and experiences of yoga which are simply based on the fact that people are different. The book will shed light on the contrasts of various genres of yoga, however reminding the reader (with the interviewees own words) what yoga is really all about; the things modern apps or a Nintendo Wii game will not teach you, an analysis on what yoga truly entails.

Many of the things that we feel on our yoga mat can be very hard to explain. Yet, our goal is to capture also those deepest emotions that yoga is able to evoke in us. The core of this book is about yoga-inspired living and our unique experiences on the yoga mat.  Ultimately we believe that we can show the reader that yoga is really something for everyone, and that as we are unique as individuals, so should our yoga practice be.

***

The project kicked-off in October 2013 when we decided to write down our own yoga paths. While writing and reading our stories to each other we noticed the multifaceted perceptions that we had of yoga! This is where we got seriously excited! We became hungry for more and started contacting other yogis. Soon it became clear that there are such fascinating stories to be told about yoga that we could not even have dreamt about!  


Right from the start, the passion for yoga we both share has been like a strong wind under our wings. It also seems like the people we meet take notice of this passion and want to take part in this inspiring project.


So whether you have already discovered the joys of yoga or still need some persuasion and guidance in finding your path, the book and the blog of ‘A Million Ways To Love Yoga’ is for you.


The holy grail of yoga is soon at your fingertips... ;) However, remember that the journey is the goal SO STAY TUNED!
 
Kindly,
Tiina & Sofia