my life, spirituality, travels and more
Health is your greatest wealth - my experience with Susa's Deli (home delivered healthy meal plan service)
*In collaboration with Susa’s Deli
New Year - New me? - A cliche worth committing to!
Well hello hello hello and happy new year everyone!
Each year, there is a desire in each one of us to do a little better than we did the previous year, and in particular when it comes to taking care of our bodies and our overall health. With infection rates on the rise and new variants appearing from right and left, there’s even a deeper emphasis on health this year. Boosting the immune system is not only good for you, but actually provides protection against disease by creating a barrier that stops those nasty invaders (antigens) from entering the body. Perhaps this profound significance of staying healthy will also aid us all to not only making, but actually sticking to our new years resolutions of a “new healthier me” this year?
Many people may think that new year’s resolutions are nothing but silly cliches that people create to make themselves feel better. Personally however, I find that new years are magical. Energetically they offer us a fresh start a clean slate and therefor an opportunity to start anew and create better healthier habits. I actually once turned a new year’s resolution of becoming vegetarian into a 12 year lifestyle commitment (until I noticed I was low on iron).
You can check out their different meal plans here.
What makes the first week of January even a little more special for me, is that both mine and my boyfriend’s birthdays happen to fall on that very first week of the year. This year we were lucky to kick it off and celebrate all these festivities with a collaboration with a small family run meal delivery business, Susa’s Deli.
Susa’s Deli is a prepared meal home delivery service that currently offers three different plans: 7 days, 30 days and for two weeks. You can choose between a vegetarian or mixed meal plan. You’ll get three meals per day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. All meals are made with healthy and nutritious ingredients, using fresh local produce and you set up the drop off times according to your schedule.
If you’ve followed me for a while (or read some of my previous blog posts), you may also know that I am really into subtle energy, and that I also emphasise Albert Einstein’s quote of “everything is energy”. The food you eat, the thoughts you think and the actions you take. Since food is a huge source of energy and an actual component of what makes you into you (a.k.a. you are what you eat) it is extremely crucial for your overall health and wellbeing to eat healthy. When we eat nutritious rich food, not only do we feel better, but we vibrate on a higher frequency, and therefor have more energy, feel better and actually think clearer.
One of the beautiful things about Susa’s is, that all their meals are home made using local produce and Finnish ingredients. You can check out their list of the producers they use here. I enjoyed all the meals, but my personal favourites were the green smoothie (pictured), veggie soup, chicken curry, mozzarella wraps, sweet potato patty pasta, quinoa salad and fish soup. Another aspect that I enjoyed about this service, is the easiness and convenience of it. Instead of spending time (money and energy) on thinking about what to cook and what to buy from the store, you have these lovely ready made meals that you only need to heat up. It also made me think how this service would be very suitable and helpful for busy people or families alike.
Another thing that felt great about this collaboration was connecting and working with another small business. When I received the first delivery, I was touched by the hand written note explaining each meal, which made it feel very personal.
Interestingly, there was a strong synchronicity of me landing this collaboration. Just a couple weeks before being contacted by Susa’s, I had connected with a customer at my Pop Up Shop who spoke very highly about Susan (one of the founders of the company) and her other services as a channeller. As it also happens, I’ve actually once had a session with her many many years ago, even before my years moving to Mexico. This made it all feel very aligned and like a collaboration meant to happen. As I am a strong believer in synchronicities (instead of coincides), perhaps there’s also reason you’re also reading this blog post… perhaps you've decided that the coming year is dedicated to changing your habits and start living a healthier life? If so, I truly recommend this service. Not only is is all of the above, but it’s quite affordable in my opinion! You can check out their website here and the different meal plans here and give them a follow on their instagram here. We all know covid-19 has been tough on small businesses, so let’s choose wisely the ones we support and buy from!
Cheers to a happy healthy 2022!
Xx,
Eva
Wrapping up 2021 & What I learned from hosting Pop Up Shop(s) in Helsinki
Well hello hello, long time no blog.
Thanks for tuning back into my scribbles! We are soon to be wrapping up the year, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon this past year and also share some of my experiences from now having hosted two Pop Up Shops for my yoga clothing brand, Moonah Wear. And, yes, if you’ve lived under a rock, this may be new information for you, but I launched my own sustainable yoga clothing line back in 2020.
Having my own yoga clothing company, in addition to being an entrepreneur within the fields of wellness and yoga has been a rollercoaster and such a massive learning experience. I’d be lying if I wouldn’t also say it’s at times been challenging, frustrating, scary and even stressful. That being said, I get to work with things I love.
Okay, so I think it’s fair to say this year has been a crappy sequel to 2020 (in terms of the pandemic). Right now, infection rates are on the rise and new restrictions in place here in Helsinki (hence having the time to write this blog post as all yoga studios are currently closed). Looking at the bright side however, it seems as if this new variant may be less dangerous 🤷♀️. Anyways, this blog post is most definitely not about the big C, but neglecting its affect on us all when reflecting upon the last year would also be disingenuous. The toll it has had on us small business owners is devastating.
If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen my stories last year about me missing out on all Christmas Sales with Moonah Wear due to the pandemic and various production problems (not that I expect you to remember them lol 😅). Due to that experience, I had decided that history was not going to repeat itself this year. This is why I had decided to book a venue for hosting my very first Pop Up Shop in the heart of Helsinki before Christmas. Turns out renting a beautiful venue in the city centre is not only expensive, but quite challenging as a one (wo)man show. Long story short and a few meetings later, the lovely Pukhraj Ranjan from Moi Namaste and I decided to team up as we share the same values, are both female entrepreneurs working within the sustainable textile industry and both quite new to the world of running our own businesses. Together we decided to co-host our beautiful Mindful Moments at Spalt PR on Iso Roobertinkatu 30 in Helsinki in November and then another Pop Up Shop in Ullanlinna on Tehtaankatu in December.
As my business is an e-commerce business, the whole idea with the Pop Up Shop was to create a week filled with different events so that people would get a chance to get the full brand experience, meet up with the founder, hear the story behind Moonah Wear and get a chance to see and try on the yoga wear in person. We made sure to create an interesting schedule with free events everything from sound baths, yoga, a full moon circle to even an influencer event with Champagne Yoga.
Our beautiful Instagram wall wouldn’t have been the same without the Peacock chair from Parolan Rottinki. Pic by Johanna Keto.
The key is having a killer Instagram Wall
But, the one thing that lured in customers and people alike (in addition to the great location in Punavuori), was our amazing Instagram Wall. And this, we wouldn’t have been able to pull off without some of our very generous sponsors including Parolan Rottinki with the most stunning Queen chair (they call it the Peacock chair, but honestly, I felt more like a Queen on my throne on that chair 👸) and Cafe Cucca with their flower installation.
The chair was such a hit, because not only did almost every single customer and guest snap a photo of themselves on it, they also shared it on their socials, tagging us and generating more traffic and brand awareness for us.
Another great advantage with the chair was that we had positioned it just in front of the main entrance to the shop with a neon sign saying “This must be the place”. This created curiosity in all the people passing by, as they would see the “throne” and that sign, eventually wanting to come check out what it was all about.
MY TAKEOFF FROM HOSTING TWO POP UP SHOPS
Hosting a week filled with events and manning a shop morning to night was tiresome, but such a great experience. We got to meet with so many customers in person and to share our stories and make new connections. I also believe it created more brand awareness and even a small buzz for our brands during that one week period. It did result in more sales than a regular e-comm week as well. I also loved working and collaborating with another woman owned business, as it can be quite lonely at times running my own company. We even created a collaboration Kimono (the Lunar Kimono) as a lovechild from our collab. The Kimono is made out of GOTS certified cotton with a traditional block printing technique honouring Indian craftsmanship.
Our second Pop Up Shop was not as successful as the first one we hosted in Punavuori. I think for a number of reasons: first, the location was not as great as the one of our initial Pop Up, secondly, we didn’t have the same killer Instagram wall (even if we had the gorgeous chair on display), third, nor did we host daily free events, as the space was smaller, not to mention the infection rates were on the rise again. Now in hindsight, I am happy we hosted both Pop Up Shops, as I definitely learned so much from both of them. In 2022 I am most definitely looking to host more Pop Up Shops, making sure to create an Instagram Wall in each single one and perhaps even taking Moonah Wear on a tour to my beloved Sayulita, Mexico.
But in the meantime, stay tuned and follow Moonah Wear on instagram check out the most beautiful chair from Parolan Rottinki, as they also recently just restocked (it’s been out of stock for a while) and make sure to also give me a follow to stay in the know of my upcoming shenanigans.
Thanks so much for the read and wishing you a happy, abundant 🎉NEW YEAR 2022 🎉
X,
Eva
Below you will find a mixture of some pictures from the Pop Up Shop at Spalt, Pukhraj and me, Moonah Wear shots, as well as the collaboration Kimono and the new High Priestess Hoodie.
"Why am I so tired"... sound familiar? Sometimes rest is not enough! + GIVEAWAY
In collaboration with puhti.fi
I guess it’s safe to say this year has been heavy in many ways. The world is faced with a pandemic that is causing us distress, worry, fear and anxiety both health wise, economically and socially, not to mention the polarization on how we handle and view these exceptional times. Even if we might fall into the group that’s not “that affected”, or are not in the so called “risk group”, the continuous collective worry, media overload and fact that the pandemic is wreaking havoc worldwide can be devastating for the nervous system. No wonder we might feel a little tired, overwhelmed or even depressed.
To be frank, even if I give out a quite positive image of myself on my social media feed, this spring, summer and fall have been pretty heavy for me as well. As you might know, I recently launched my very own yoga clothing line made out of ocean waste, called Moonah Wear (check it out!), which has obviously been so so exciting, but simultaneously super scary. I’ve invested not just a big chunk of my savings into this new company, but also so much time and energy.
It has also felt (and still feels) scary to be starting a new venture during these very unusual times with a downward spiraling economy. If you’ve just found my blog or social, you might not know that in addition to running my yoga clothing line, I teach yoga as my profession, which obviously also has been compromised during the pandemic. Even so, I still consider myself to be very privileged, lucky and blessed to be working with what I love and quite well off compared to many many others that have lost their jobs or even worse. But what I do want to highlight instead, and what I am here to openly share about are my feels in a very real and vulnerable way. So, as much as it’s been super exciting to be working with this passion project, it’s definitely also been a lot.
Even so, sometimes feeling tired is not just a symptom from being overworked, overwhelmed or having an overstimulated nervous system. Sometimes you might actually be lacking important minerals that are crucial for your overall health. And at times, it’s the sum of all of the above. Yet, making sure your body has all it needs to function properly is key 🔑.
I first started feeling tired as the days started getting shorter and the weather started cooling off. I figured it must be the decrease of sunlight (which it actually also is), but I didn’t really think that much of it. Slowly and surely it would get worse and I had some mornings when I actually struggled to get out of bed 😞. It made me think, this can’t just be from “being tired” or “overworked”.
Luckily, I was able to team up with Puhti , which is a company that offers a variety of packages to scan your blood to give you an idea of your overall health. They offer laboratory tests (without a doctor’s referral) and help with interpreting the results.
Nature is medicine, yet sometimes nature & sleep is not all we need.
Shot by Jonna Monola. Halti sleeping bag.
The results come in super quick and I actually got most of my results already on the same day. Oh, and by the way I am scared shitless of needles, but their lab staff is super friendly and understanding and they actually offered me a juice box as I started feeling a little nauseous during the blood test 😊.
Before I share my results I’ll just drop the symptoms of both ferritin and Vit D deficiency here below, let me know if you can relate 😅:
Signs and symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency might include:
Fatigue.
Bone pain.
Muscle weakness, muscle aches, or muscle cramps.
Mood changes, like depression.
Signs and symptoms of low ferritin levels might include:
unexplained fatigue.
dizziness.
chronic headaches.
unexplained weakness.
ringing in your ears.
irritability.
leg pains.
shortness of breath.
Vitamin D is important for health. Some of its roles in the body include:
helping with the absorption of calcium
maintaining healthy bones
regulating genes and cell growth
preventing osteoporosis
modulating the immune system (via Medicalnewstoday)
Ferritin isn’t the same thing as iron in your body. Instead, ferritin is a protein that stores iron, releasing it when your body needs it. (via Healthline.com)
I had never before had any similar tests taken, so for me it was super interesting to see “my health on paper” so to speak. It made me emphasize with people that have hypochondria, as it was actually super fascinating having all this new information to dwell upon now on “paper”.
And waddaya know, I was deficient in both Vit D & ferritin.
Days are getting shorter, weather is getting colder. Shot by Jonna Monola.
As you can see below on the first chart (text in Finnish) my result for D vitamin falls into the red zone, meaning I am D vitamin deficient.
I am also low on ferritin, as it falls into the “alert zone” just before the red zone. Please note: I’ve been on a vegetarian diet for 10+ years.
Luckily, both of these deficiencies can be reversed with supplements. If you live in a sunny place, you should get enough Vit D from spending at least 20 min outside, but if you reside on the Northern Hemisphere and have long, dark winters 😱🥶 you’re most likely going to be needing some extra Vit D. (PS. I highly recommend checking out Puhdas + and my discount code EVA25 for any purchases).
So, the lesson here is: if you’re suspecting you might be lacking in any vitamins or minerals or having any of the above mentioned symptoms: check yourself!! Health is the greatest wealth, fo reals! Sometimes sleeping more, or resting more, or taking “you time” is simply not enough, especially if you might be deficient in some super important minerals/irons. I truly and highly recommend getting yourself checked, especially now as we are moving towards darker times. Puhti is giving away one free blood screening, so make sure to comment on my blog post, as one of the commentators will WIN A FREE blood scan (participant must be in Finland). Winner will be announced in a week from now, on Sunday, Nov 1st. Yay!
Stay healthy,
xx
Eva
Our New Home: a preview
In collaboration with SMEG
Our New Home: a preview
If you follow me on the gram, you might have lately noticed an increase in sunset shots in my stories. The reason is, that’s our new view from our brand new home. We’ve recently moved into a new building with a stellar ocean view just a stone’s throw away from the heart of Helsinki. I counted that I’ve lived in 17 different homes (in three different countries) before this apartment, which is the first apartment that I have bought (well with the bank 😅).
We’ve now been living here for a couple months and I still feel like I need to pinch myself as it feels like a dream. Having lived in Mexico for so long and having been in such close proximity to the ocean and nature, I’ve really missed seeing the ocean on a daily basis and now having this view and being able to watch the sunsets from the convenience of my own home, I feel connected to the ocean again. I find it very calming and soothing to just stare out at the sea without doing anything else.
We bought the apartment last year before it was completely built, without fully knowing if we would love it when we were going to move in. Some would perhaps argue that is buying a pig in a poke, however as my boo works within the field of real estate and property management, I trusted his expertise on this. Obviously we got to see numerous illustrative 3D drawings and images to get an understanding of what the apartment would be like, its layout and design. We also got to pick all the materials, such as the flooring, kitchen countertop and backslash, bathroom tiles along with choosing between a bigger wardrobe or a sauna (we obviously chose the latter). We also got to pay a visit to the construction site a couple times to see the process.
Buying a new build means we didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of furniture arrangements from the previous occupants, so we had the opportunity to create a layout that works perfectly for our needs. The apartment is a three-room apartment with a sauna and a balcony and as the apartment is high up with big windows with lots of natural light, we wanted to keep the airy feel and keep it light. We both love Scandinavian design, but I am very into well, I guess what some people would describe as ‘bohemian’ decor. So we had to balance out the boho with some clean Scandi elements. We both love small sprinkles of colour and this is something we are slowly bringing in piece by piece.
It’s all in the details
Head over to my instagram to win a SMEG toaster like this!
Decorating your home in a style you love doesn’t happen overnight. For those of you who have moved know that it takes a while before your furniture and all items find their new places. What really makes a room design special are the little details and for this reason, I was super excited to team up with SMEG from Idelux to collaborate with their kitchen appliances. I am obsessed with their style, 50’s design and colors and in love with my mint coloured toaster and kettle, which sit in our kitchen perfectly. I am also very excited to host a giveaway on my instagram feed, for you to able to win a SMEG TOASTER of your own. Make sure to participate! (in Finland only 🇫🇮)
Even if our home isn’t exactly how I envision it to be yet, I still am quite happy and pleased with how it is right now and the process of slowly collecting more beautiful pieces one item at a time. It’s a creative process and it’s not easy to decorate slowly, it is hard patiently piecing things together over time. But I guess that’s the beauty of it too.
Work in progress…
One of our bigger projects is making our balcony cozy, as it’s quite a large space. I am content with the table and cushions that I got from Nougat as they match the style I want to create perfectly. Nougat offer these tables in two different sizes and have a beautiful collection of decoration items for you to explore, if you live in Helsinki. The best bet is to go check out their showroom in Kalasatama. We are also planning to add a wooden flooring to the balcony to soften the feel, plants and more floor cushions to create a cozy little nook to read a book, enjoy the sunset or perhaps have a glass of wine.
Another still not finished project is the second bedroom that is currently my boyfriends work space (gaming room 🙄)/my yoga space. We are still deciding on how to decorate the room, but in the meantime it works to keep the space quite empty, as I’ve used it to teach yoga virtually during the era of covid-19.
Last but not least, we are also in the hunt for beautiful lamps as lighting has a huge impact on the way a space looks and feels, and it can make or break an interior-design scheme. If you have any ideas on beautiful bedroom lamps, please hit me up!!!
That’s all for now!
Hope you enjoyed this post!
Much love,
Evita
Collaboration over Competition and (Comparison) + 10 reasons why to collaborate
Collaboration over Competition and (Comparison) + 10 reasons why to collaborate
Hear hear! I recently made a post about envy, if you didn’t give it a read, I suggest you at least eye it through to get an idea of my message. That being said, I completely understand your attention span might be below zero, so to save you some and effort and time I can briefly recap it here below in a few bullet points:
Don’t judge social media influencers or yoga teachers for posting pics on their feeds, they’re hustling just like you but in different way, they might feel insecure AF posting but do it to gain traction and biz. They’re simply using this channel for marketing (or at least I’d say many are).
Comparison is the seed for envy. Think about it. Yup, pretty darn accurate.
If you’re feeling envy: aim to emphasize instead of criticize. Remember errbody is a human and even if someone else’s life looks freaking glorious on the gram, EVEN they’ve had the worst raging diarrhea once (sorry not sorry I went there, lol). No, but for reals, my point is, we shall not compare as we have no idea of the whole story or their internal state.
Fight the feelings of envy through cutting the wings of comparison. If you’re feeling envy, try using it as fuel towards your own dreams and always remember that, that you don’t know the reality of their (whoever you feel envy towards) lives, they might actually be in a really bad place with themselves.
K, cool, great, now that you’re all filled in on the envy part I want to take it one step further. Collaboration over competition. Many of my friends are yoga teachers or at least work within the same field that I do. Some might argue that we’re competing with each other. The thing is though, that we all have something unique to offer, have a different vibe, our individual approach and a distinct way of teaching and we all attract a different crowd. That being said, you gotta play nice and fair and for instance being a copy cat is never cool. However, mistakes happen and one of my friends told me that she had just launched a Goddess Workshop (name changed) and was later contacted by someone with the exact same name, this was an honest mistake and not her intention at all. Communication, expression, honesty. It works, yup, the holy trinity once again.
Working together is powerful and so much more can be done in teams. I absolutely love projects and working with other people! Here’s a couple examples of what I’m doing/planning currently: co-hosting a retreat in Sayulita, Mexico this upcoming November (JOIN US!!) with my good friend & fellow yoga teacher Jonna Monola, co-hosting a singing bowl Yin + Sound Bath with Pauliina Kuunkajo this Saturday, soon launching a course with my friend Jasmiina Ojala from BärBar this fall (stay tuned), I will be teaching amongst a pool of other amazing yogis at the Magnesia Festival this summer, I am co-hosting a podcast (COMING SOON, launched this NEW MOON) with fellow yoginis Audra Rose Stanley and Sylvie Lacourciere and there’s a few more projects I’m not supposed to talk about just yet (aka keep your eyes open). So you, see, I LOVE co-creation.
An image from a collaboration I made with Jenette Skin Care.
K, well, why you might ask? Well lemme give you 10 reasons right here, right now, so read on folks!
First of all, there’s magic in coming together! Everybody has a unique skillset and different talents, you can just simply create SO MUCH MORE when joining forces with other people. Chances are you’ll also learn something new from them!
Co-creation is the shit for marketing & PR! You double up the reach (or triple up the reach) in whatever you’re doing. More reach, more business, more dinero. Easy.
It’s just so much more FUN! You get to share the workload and responsibilities PLUS it’s nice to have someone to hang out with. My friend Jonna and myself were recently at the Helsinki Yoga Festival with a stand promoting our upcoming retreat wearing sombreros and blasting banda music, imagine if I would’ve done that all alone. Lame.
Brainstorming & new ideas. Two brains are more than one brain. It’s true. More effective problem solving happens when you combine resources in talent and mindset. This also means you can come up with better ideas, projects, and workshops when you’re joining forces with someone PLUS you also have someone to discuss your ideas with and give you feedback.
Your tribe/network/clients get more value. Damn right they do. For instance in a yoga workshop: having two yogis instead of one yogi is amazing since you’ll get more hands on adjustments and help in your practice. If whatever it is that you’re doing is not yoga, you’ll still get more insight and value from having more than one {insert whatever}.
It’s time-efficient. Delegating tasks, planning, and implementation in a group or team is way more productive than doing everything solo.
You will learn from your mistakes and what collaborations/projects work for you. Not all collaborations and dynamics work, don’t let this discourage you. We are all different and it’s just like chemistry, everything does not work well together. Like oil and water = no bueno. Let failures be stepping stones towards finding the right people, organizations, and companies that do work with you. Kinda like fuckboys towards Prince Charming if you will.
Self-awareness. When you work with someone new, you’ll quickly notice your skills and also see what you need to work on. Yay. #selfwork
You’ll get inspired. Working together with someone new will most likely inspire you in some way or form, after noticing for instance your skillset and gifts and areas of improvement, you’ll most likely start working on the things you need to improve and start using more of your strengths to your advantage.
Community building + new doors. You get to create a community and you’ll reach a broader network for future projects with new possibilities and opportunities. Dope.
Cool. So now that the ball is in your hands. What do you want to create? Let’s create some magic together.
There’s a few things I can help you with and things I am working with currently:
Yoga classes + holistic wellness + self work (here’s what some of my students have to say)
Copywriting (if you didn’t notice yet, I love writing; my strongest writing language is English, however I can produce text in Swedish, Finnish and Spanish as well).
Promotion & marketing; either working on your branding or marketing, coming up with creative ideas, or then promotion through my own channels. I wouldn’t go as far as calling myself an influencer just yet as insta has been killing my reach with its new algorithm), but nearly 5K followers gotta count for something 🤷🏼♀️ Oh did someone mention #SHAMELESSELFPROMOTION 💅🏽🙋🏼♀️
Event production (past wedding planner & currently working within this field).
Modeling (yup, I’ll smile at a camera).
Get in touch and let’s make shit happen.
With love,
Evita