Mindfulness in the core of movement

All of our lives we are grown to believe that strength is something very hard and masculine. But if you give it a little deeper thought, which do you in fact feel is more powerful, the tangible or intangible, masculine or feminine, physical or mental? And when we talk about strength, what kind of strength can actually take us closer to what really matters in life? Did we have it all wrong when persisting on growing our physical strength and our material belongings as opposed to investing in our inner strength?

Jutta Niala at Olo-Tila

Jutta Niala, 44, has many times experienced that it is the intangible, feminine and mental things such as our thoughts, attitudes and emotions that actually seal our destiny. Simply by getting to know her inner reality she was able to overcome her goal-oriented nature and give up on the endless demands that she had on herself that drove her to the verge of anorexia and burnout. No wonder Jutta breaks into tears when she tells us that Vijnana yoga, officially characterised as "practising from inside", has been a life changer for her. It has given her the tools to connect her body and mind, peace of mind and permission to face herself in a tender and loving manner.

A while ago Jutta opened her own yoga studio Olo-Tila (translat. 'a state of being') at the heart of Helsinki. A wonderful little place where you feel nothing but welcomed!

Check out her website:

www.joogaolemus.fi

Jutta takes care of you and heals you via the amazing methods of Vijnana yoga. Vijnana yoga is not a very widely spread form of yoga (yet) and Jutta delicately describes Vijnana as a kind of "boutique yoga", where each movement is fine tuned into being the smoothest way of ever coming into an asana (yoga pose).

Jutta Niala

In the book 'A Million Ways To Love Yoga' Jutta shares her transformational yogic path that took her to Israel, where she ended up living a large part of her life, and even studying to become a yoga teacher in Hebrew!

Tiina & Sofia

Preferring natural stiffness to natural flexibility

Ruusu Hulmi is a 31 year old photographer and a mother of two children, who has recently turned her life around for the pursuit of becoming a certified teacher of Iyengar yoga.

Ruusu distinguishes Iyengar yoga as 'engineer yoga' due to its detailed approach to understanding the human anatomy. Studying to be an Iyengar yoga teacher is a thorough process and takes at least five years. Finland is still lacking senior Iyengar yoga teachers and therefore all the teacher training instructors come from abroad.

Ruusu Hulmi

 

Ruusu appears very down to Earth about her relationship to yoga 'Yoga is fun and makes me feel good, that's about it'. Against common belief, Ruusu highlights that flexibility of the body is not a goal in itself in yoga. Ruusu's body has always been naturally very stiff and for a long time she used to consider this as a weakness. But once she got deeper into yoga, she found that in fact it is one of her strengths, making her body more sensitive to signals from within. 'For beginners in particular, it can be good to first have a stiff body, letting your flexbility augment in the same pace along with your strength and technique'.

 

There were many things that made Ruusu fall in love with Iyengar yoga after having been an Ashtanga practitioner for years. By Reading Ruusu's story you will see that whether you are flexible or not does not make any difference, everybory finds their way to yoga! Ruusu also reveals to us other fascinating benefits of trying out Iyengar yoga.

 

Tiina & Sofia

 

Yoga to recover from overtraining

As the title of the book underlines, yoga for different people means different things. One of the incredible benefits of yoga is its ability to balance our lives and give us the missing piece to make our lives feel whole. Emil Heikinheimo was in acute need of restoring his body and he found what he needed through yoga.

 

Emil Heikinheimo

 

In comparison to our previous interviewees, Emil's approach to his yoga practice is very soft and restorative, with a focus on relaxation. In the fall of 2013, Emil's life had taken a turn for the worse soon after he had started extreme crossfit training. A doctor diagnosed Emil as suffering from a state of overtraining, where his body was not able to physically or mentally bounce back from his hard physical training. Crossfit training had ended up being too overloading for his body, but luckily he found restorative Satyananda classic yoga to provide him with much needed body balance.

 

www.yogaacademy.se
 

Emil describes his feelings after his first class "I've honestly never felt so relaxed; I slept like a baby that night". Classic yoga practice soon became the highlight of Emil's week. Read Emil's full story in the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga to discover why.

 

Tiina & Sofia



 

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
 

Bringing out a better version of you!

Hope for spring is awakening in our hearts when our calendars show the start of the month March. As John Gray once wrote: Men are from Mars and during this month we will reveal five male yogies which have been interviewed for the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga. Our intention is to contradict everyone who still thinks that yoga is for women...

 

Olli Vilppo

We start with a guy who when starting yoga was a bit concerned how his friends would react to his new hobby. When Olli Vilppo started yoga three years ago he was looking for some much needed streching to make his football training more efficient. "My hamstrings were so tight from my workouts that after playing football I couldn't even run it hurt so badly." After the first lessons of yoga, Olli describes his experience as feeling younger and having much more fun on the football field! 

 

 

What's more, Olli started noticing many positive mental effects as well. Olli describes his feelings after a session of yoga: "I just feel like a better version of myself, more concentrated, more energised and above all happier". 

 

Read Olli's full story in the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga along with other male yoga stories to know how yoga can become a man's best friend and bring out the best in you.

 

Tiina & Sofia



The yoga adventure within

Hanna Varheenmaa has been more or less constantly on the move for the last decade or so, currently in the thirties, she is settled in Holland. Hanna found yoga a couple of years back, when she was looking for a physical workout which would not be attached to any time or place. Nowadays Hanna considers yoga to be so much more than just a physical exercise.

 

For the past ten years Hanna has been moving from country to country, but now she says that she no longer yearns for the change of surrounding since yoga makes her experience change within her. Despite Hanna's relatively brief experience of practising yoga, her observations are nevertheless very inspiring and crystallises so well how we all feel about yoga: "I can see change in my practise on a monthly, if not weekly basis. My discoveries in yoga are like an adventure within".
 

Hanna Varheenmaa

 

Hanna is very musical and says that she has fallen in love with the simplicity of the rhythm in Ashtanga yoga. Her head feels empty and light with total focus on deep breathing. "Yoga for me is a strong buffer against negativity".

  

The book A Million Ways To Love Yoga reveals much more on Hanna's exciting yoga experiences and beautiful pictures of the poses that mean a lot to her. The book also reveals the reasons to why Hanna devotes her time to Ashtanga yoga at least three times a week, and why she would not settle for anything less!

 

Tiina&Sofia

 



A few minutes a day is better than nothing!

Stephanie Seege's yoga story is both lovely and easy to relate to because it is basically about learning to be being kind to yourself and feeling comfortable in your own body.  

 

Stephanie is an entrepreneur who seems to have a lot of things cooking at once; she is an active blogger and a serious food enthusiast and during 2013 she managed to turn her enthusiasm for writing and food into a book! In a very striking manner the book is called Soulflavours. On top of cooking, another way for Stephanie to nourish and nurture her soul is through her daily yoga and meditation practise.

Stephanie Seege

 

When she started practising yoga 10 years ago Stephanie was not even able to sit straight with both of her legs stretched in front of her. "I started practising yoga during my last year of high school and I was incredibly stiff and stressed. I absolutely despised the sun salutation, it only hurt no matter what I did." Today, however, yoga along with a moment of meditation is just as much part of Stephanie's morning routine as brushing her teeth. And a very good point she makes is that it does not need to take more than a few minutes - but it can make all the difference in how you choose to start your day.
 

Those few precious minutes manage to give Stephanie a fresh and energetic start for a great day ahead. When Stephanie shares her story we become truly motivated to squeeze in those few minutes of pure revitalisation into our morning schedules!

 

See more about Stephanie on her blog soulflavours.com and read Stephanie's entire story when the book A Million Ways To Love Yoga is released during 2014!

 

With out latest blog post we wish you all an
Energetic and Inspiring New Year!!

Tiina & Sofia
 

Austrian yoga teacher in Finland

Nicola Moberg's story really blew us away, such strong experiences, such positive air about it. Nicola's love and passion for yoga shines through very tangibly! (We get goose bumps while listening to her)

 

A while in to the interview though, we are a bit surprised when we hear that for many years Nicola was "just an easy going party girl, travelling around the world" as she puts it herself. Nicola is originally from Austria, but she has been living in several countries over more than a decade, and as of now she is situated in Helsinki. For years, she did not find anything that really interested her, at least not enough for her to settle down at any specific place...

Nicola Moberg

 

Yoga was the first thing that really caught her, something that klicked immediately. And it has stuck with her since. As of now Nicola works as a yoga teacher with an expertise in prenatal yoga, helping pregnant women to prepare their bodies, and minds, for birth.

 

But it is when she starts talking about Purna yoga that she really comes alive, it is obvious that Purna yoga has had a profound impact on almost every aspect of Nicola's life. That being said, a life touched by yoga seems to fit very well together with a normal family life including two daughters and a Finnish husband.

See Nicola at:
www.yogala.fi

See more about Purna yoga and the studio Nicola works at:
www.purnayoga.fi

Tiina & Sofia
 

Yoga to increase happiness

In our second interview we met Timo Kurvi - a professional actor, singer, dancer and now also yoga teacher. Once again we were greatly inspired by Timo sharing his personal yoga story!

Today Timo has recently opened up his own yoga practice in Acro and Iyengar yoga, but in the beginning he came into yoga seeking help for a medical condition that had become quite severe. We were fascinated to hear that Timo gives yoga all the credit for him being able to live a normal life, no longer restrained by his genetically inhereted condition.

"Yoga started out as a purely physical exercise for me, but then turned out to be so much more", Timo says. Today Timo's philosophy regarding yoga can be captured in one sentence: Reducing suffering and increasing happiness.

See more at
www.timokurviyoga.com

For Timo it was important to find a yoga practice that would help him to balance his body, which he found in Iyengar yoga. Later he ventured into Acro yoga which seems to appeal to the performance artist in Timo. Listening to Timo's story, we realise that finding the right kind of yoga, one that suits you personally, can make a very big difference to your experience...

Tiina & Sofia 
 



Yoga on higher levels

 

We are both happy and honoured to announce that our first interview brought us to talk to ashtanga yogi and visual artist Asta Caplan! Asta is one of, if not the furthest advanced yogi within ashtanga yoga in Finland.

 

We were invited to the cozy yoga studio Moola in central Helsinki where Asta practices yoga together with her husband Daniel who is also a yoga teacher. Asta greets us with a warm and bubbly smile at 8:15 after her everyday morning yoga session. The atmosphere is relaxed and we quickly notice that Asta has much much to tell about the wonders of yoga.

Asta Caplan

See more about Asta
www.astacaplan.com

See more about Moola
www.moola.fi
 

Asta is one of a maybe a handful of yogis in Finland who have advanced to practice the fourth series ashtanga yoga. "Nowadays one of the challenges for me within yoga is to find a teacher to teach me something new", says Asta.

 

Still, she does not in any way come off as feeling superior to any one else. On the contrary, she insists on the fact that anyone can practice yoga and that it is not the number of asanas (poses) you master that make you a better yogi or person, but the fact that you are willing to work with yourself, and learn to know your true self.

 

And as we learn during the morning, yoga has helped Asta in a number of ways; both with her physique - as she was suffering from serious injury that made her quit her career as a ballet dancer, as well as with her mind - most of the challenges in our lives are actually only in our mind.

 

Listening to Asta excitedly telling us about her most memorable yoga experiences is mesmerizing  and we leave her yoga studio full of inspiration for the book!

 

Tiina&Sofia

 

 

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