Thailand is Calling

Thailand is a magical place.

In so many ways. 

What I personally enjoyed the most was its diversity, its varied sides and characters. You have tempels, rivers, mountains, beaches, islands, culture, amazing food… big cities like Bangkok, you have Northern historical cities like Chiang Mai, a joyous and relaxing athmosphere in the South, pristine beaches, breathtaking nature and beautiful waterfalls.

But rather than trying to put too much into words, I highly suggesst you travel there yourself. If you are looking to combine yoga and a retreat full of wonders and connection with your travel experinece, don’t miss a great opportunity next September.  

Join me and Gabriel Azoulay for a magical SPACE. JOY. LOVE Yoga Retreat in Khanom, South Thailand. (more info below)

Here is a photo stream of some (this is only a fracture) of my experiences of the beauty and excitement of Thailand, from January 2013.

Can’t wait to get back there soon - hopefully together with you!

Enjoying the river athmosphere on a boat and visiting the beautiful tempels in Bangkok

Delicious oh so delicious

If the food gets too hot… ice cubes help :)

The magic of elephants…

Learning the magic of Thai Massage at Pichet in Chiang Mai.

Gabriel’s yoga retreat near Hua Hin… sea and sun shine.

Setting some wishes into the sky

Beach dinners…

This experience was like no other. At the Elephant Sactuary Park in Chiang Mai…

ps. Lek Chailert, the amazing woman behind it all, is there in the pic too, between the Elephants that just adore her. Please check out Elephant Nature Park & Foundation homepage oron Facebook for more pictures and info on the beautiful and serene sactuary she has created for abandonded and abused Elephants.

Hangin out with firends by the pool…

Mountain views

Chiang Mai night market

Enjoying the beauty of Mandarin Oriental

Yes, it was a little cloudy day for the picture, but still breathtakingly beautiful at Aava Resort, Khanom.

Pristine beaches everywhere 

Cruising around the area…

Time for an afternoon nap…

Aava resort’s reseption area with huge windows, sea breeze in your hair

Hiked to a beautiful waterfall, lovely views, pure water, no-one at site…

Khanom’s happy children laughing

Aava by night

Sunset at Aava

Here’s Khanom on the map.

You are most welcome to join us - any level yogis/yoginis, even beginners are welcome! <3

SPACE. JOY. LOVE. Yoga Retreat is awaiting you in September. Join us on a revitalizing experience like no other – created by world-renowned yoga authority Gabe Yoga and health & lifestyle creator Nita Wellness. This yoga and wellness retreat takes place in the beautiful and elegant Aava Resort on a pristine beach site in Khanom. Get ready for fall by booking your place to a dream retreat in South Thailand’s breathtaking nature and views

You have two weeks to chooce from: 

1)     14th-21st September
2)     21st-28th September

For more information, you can go to the event on

• facebook
• nitawellness webpage
• gabeyoga webpage
• or email us: info@nitawellness.com

or just check out the VIDEO here and get inspired!

My First JourneyDance Class Blew My Mind

Couple of weeks ago I finally got a chance to experience a JourneyDance class led by Nita at HIMA Jooga’s last partysession event (of all the summer’s amazing free lunch yoga sessions) organized at beautiful the WDC Paviljonki here in Helsinki. (by the way: free lunch yoga sessions continue every Thursday’s at 11-12 as YOGA GOES KAMPPI)

Ever since I heard about JourneyDance, I’ve been real curious about it, since I have a long background in dance and find dancing still really important part of my life. My background lies in ballet, modern dance and in Latin dances such as salsa, merengue and other similar styles.

According to Toni Bergins, the founder of JourneyDance, classes include simple guided movement sequences and free dance exploration. During the class you will find your own happy state of wellbeing through your own movements. Your mind becomes clear, positive and free and your body starts to feel powerful and energized. JD is practiced to inspiring music, and your dance is an empowering journey to self- acceptance and personal transformation.

For me dance has always been a way of expressing myself, whether it was feelings of joy, happiness or sadness. I used to love ballet, but at some point I found it too strict and restricting and found my passion in modern dance. Improvisation is a big part of modern dance and there is always some freedom in the movements, even in the most strict choreographies, although when dancing with a group, movements must be aligned and timing is crucial.

That’s why it was so great to find JourneyDance and realize that you can just go with the flow, you don’t need to follow any strict alignments and whatever way you move and dance is correct and exactly what you needed at that precise moment.

I didn’t really have any expectations about the JD class, and it totally blew my mind. I loved it! It felt so good to move freely, express my feelings through the dance and watch other people express theirs and connect to them while dancing.

Since I’ve always known that dancing has great abilities to heal your mind and I’ve done it by myself, I felt such a joy to realize that people with no background in dancing can experience the same feelings and healing through that free movement. It felt awesome to see people’s faces full of joy, gratitude and trust towards their lives.

At first I worried whether Finnish people will feel confident dancing freely with strangers and express their intimate thoughts through movements, but it was just beautiful! People seemed to love it and looked so happy and grateful for this opportunity to express themselves without words.

JourneyDance is for sure one of those things that will stay in my life and be a big part of it. I look forward to do the teacher training with Toni, and I want to start spreading the good energy, beautiful thoughts and healing through JourneyDance.

Come and experience it yourself, come express your thoughts, start appreciating your inner god/ goddess and start living your life with joy and gratitude while dancing all your worries away!

- Jenna

ps. Yay!! The next JourneClass will be held in Helsinki in the evening of Sunday 23rd September! You get to the event and more info by clickin HERE, but you can also shoot us with an email so you’re already covered.

pps. In case you are interested in doing a JourneyDance teacher training and spreading the wonderful joy of free dance and exploration, Toni wil be coming to teach to Finland. Send us an email and we’ll keep you posted with the details.

Alkaline Diet to boost your vitality

Maintaining slightly alkaline body is ideal for your health and essential if you want to have properly functioning immune system. Your acid-alkaline balance is measured with pH, which is on scale of 0-14. An alkaline pH is above 7 and an acidic pH is below 7. Optimally you want your pH be little alkaline, about 7.36.

Some foods make our blood and tissue more acidic, such as dairy, eggs, sugary goods, highly processed foods, coffee, alcohol and animal products.

And more alkaline foods are obviously then veggies, green juices, berries and beans.

Our blood is slightly alkaline, with a normal pH level of between 7.35 and 7.45. Ideally our diet should reflect this Ph level and be slightly alkaline, as it used to be in the past. Many doctors and scientists believe that diet high in acid- producing foods interrupts our body’s natural balance and promotes the loss of essential minerals. This imbalance is thought to make people prone to several illnesses.

It might sound rather complex to follow an alkaline diet, but with this few simple steps it might get a lot easier!

But remember to take it slowly, don’t be too strict to yourself and don’t forget to enjoy your life - beacuse that if something is higly acidic ;)

1 . Hydration

Almost 90 % of people are chronically dehydrated and this condition makes them feel ill and affects really negatively their bodies.

Being properly dehydrated will make a huge difference in your health, energy, vitality and immune system. The quantity and quality of your water makes a huge impact, aim to drink up to 2,5 litres of water during the day.

2. Eat your greens!

The alkaline diet is about eating alkaline foods. Alkaline foods are generally those you will already know are good for you, such as fresh vegetables, salads, leafy greens, low-sugar fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy oils; unrefined, organic, high-water content foods.

Acid forming foods are those you also already know are not good for you: refined foods, fast foods, trans fats, meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, white bread, white pasta and rice, alcohol and sugary goods.

Aim for 80/20 ratio, eat 80 % alkaline foods and 20 % acidic foods.

3. Oxygen

Simply breathing deeply couple of times per day will help your body remove acids from your body. It also allows you to relax and focus your mind which is greatly alkalizing for your whole body.

4. Supplements

Few supplements will help your body get more alkaline.

• green powder
• lemon water
• alkaline minerals; sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium
• Omega oils, such as Udo’s oil is great

Most importantly, take it easy and relax. Don´t beat yourself up if you end up eating chocolate cake or drinking few glasses of wine; life is made to enjoy!

Orange & Walnut Salad

1 head of lettuce of your choice

1-2 avocados sliced

cucumber

1/3 cup of raw walnuts

(1/3 cup hemp seeds)

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

chopped mint leaves

Dressing

Juice of 1 grapefruit or lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbsp honey

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp fresh sliced ginger

1 tbsp mustard

Combine the dressing ingredients in a cup and wisk well together. Put lettuce and mint leaves to a large bowl and toss well with the dressing. Top salad with avocado slices, orange, walnuts, hemp seeds and cherry tomatoes. 

by Jenna:) 

Ohoi - Adventures Ahead

photo by Nico Backström

Where is home? Is it an physical location, people - or maybe an inner state of mind? Or all of that just in different levels?

In the physical reality, do you mostly find your home to be the place where your stuff is, or the place you most spend your nights at? The place where you shut your eyes at night and then open them again in the morning? Where is your home and what does home mean to you? Does one need a home or can we go as nomads?

The word ‘home’ resonates quite a lot in most of us. In me it awakens feelings of both joy and longing, peace and sadness, connection and insecurity. Real home, in all its purest dimension including true and honest love - can be scary at times. We might have experienced it at some point but lost it. The word home often awakens strong memories, but also visions and hopes for something that is not here yet. And last but not least, in me it also awakens an inner deep longing to a ‘home’ that doesn’t exist within this life as we know it, but somewhere beyond. This longing nevertheless holds me as a seeker on the spiritual path. Keeping me hungry to learn, grow and love - and be loved - more boundlessly.

My physical home has been in Finland for the past one and half years. After living in New York I was looking forward to settling down for awhile back to Helsinki, my hometown that is. I believe that different kinds of processes within us rise depending on the surrounding we are in. And sometimes ‘home’ brings up something much deeper that being far away in new a and exiting environment and people. There are times to sail away, and there are times to sail to your home shore. All as important. As the breath itself. Inhale. Exhale.

 

Now it’s soon time to set the sails again for a short, few months time. New adventures are ahead. It’s time to connect with something that already lies within me - a vision, a path. Something I know I can only connect with by leaving my home shore. My travels will take me this fall to Santorini, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Costa Rica and India it seems. And maybe some unexpected places too, to keep the itinerary open.

During my last ‘travels’, or more to say - moving to a totally new environment and city, was definitely challenging, but at the same time very calming and balancing. As it shook me in many ways, it also built a strong seal with my ‘inner home’. I truly learned that home is where my heart is. Home is the peace and calmness within me, it is the love and compassion I allow to present to myself - at all times, in all surroundings, among all people. Home is trusting that the Universe has my back, that everything I need will be provided to me. That every encounter I come across is there for a reason and the people I’m better off with, will stay at distance. The experience, as you can only imagine, was worth much more than a million bucks.

I understood that home is being in unfamiliar places, among unfamiliar faces and connecting in depth nevertheless. The key is that when I learned to love and support myself unconditionally, fear resided and I was open for authentic connection. It provided me with tools to build bridges with anyone, anywhere. I found similarities and saw myself in others rather than focusing on the differences. And that’s like having a home anywhere.

I believe that adventures keep us young, keep us alive. Adventures keep us connected with the truth of constant change, that is always happening - whether we want it or not. But adventure doesn’t necessarily need to be in the form of traveling to foreign countries and scenery. In my opinion, adventure is not so much about the outer, but an inner attitude we choose daily, in this moment and in the little things. 

How can you choose to have an adventure today? Could you try something out of your normal routines, a new hobby? A different road from work to home? A new way to address a challenging topic at the office, with your companion or kids? Be more open to new ideas or get all funky with your friend and do something wild and out of the box instead of the normal coffee-meetup?

And how could you create a more solid ‘home’ here and now - and connect deeper even with the same people you see every day? How could you be more you, show a part of you that you didn’t show before - something truly authentic? What is the veil you could let go of today?

My journeys will start from October on and I’ll do my best to keep you posted on new insights during my travels. I will be taking some workshops and trainings and hope to bring back something new.

Much love & light to all you fellow seekers and travelers! xoxo

ps. All my Helsinki clients, please book soonest any sessions you want to have before I leave. While I’m away, skype is also available most part of the time. And our new amazing assistant Jenna will also be here to help you with anything while I’m away.

pps. Travel dates coming out soon so you can book sessions in any of the cities I’ll be visiting during the fall! And skype is available from anywhere!