my life, spirituality, travels and more

Eva Estlander 18/12/2019 Eva Estlander 18/12/2019

5 x 5: My Top Lists of gift ideas this Holiday season, my current favorite instagram accounts, beauty products and more...

Everyone loves lists! Lists are a quick and easy way for our brains to gather information and make sense of things. Whenever we encounter new information, our brains immediately try to grasp wether or not this new piece of information is relevant for us. Just like you are currently assessing these lines that you’re reading. The process is instantaneous and we don’t even understand that we are constantly evaluating what we are seeing or reading. As we are continuously bombarded with images, headlines, news and texts, our attention span is nowadays extremely short and there’s something in numbers that make them pop out more than just the ‘normal’ headlines. Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and arranging information at a subconscious level; they hit our attentional sweet spot. Cool, so now that you’re on board with lists, I’ve gathered a few for you to enjoy; everything from silly favorite beauty products to my favorite podcasts at the moment and so forth.

5 ideas for gift giving this Christmas that doesn’t involve buying more stuff (aka zero waste!):

Give a staycation: pick a nice hotel in the city and plan for a romantic getaway in your own home town/city (this gift idea is only for your partner duh)!
Give a massage session or session to a chiropractor or any other healing/bodywork or pampering gift!
Give a wine tasting course… I mean who wouldn’t benefit from a little extra knowledge other than always ordering that same ole Sauvingnon Blanc or Malbec…. 🙋🏼‍♀️
Give a yoga private/course or a one month yoga pass to their favorite yoga studio!
Give a floating experience!

My five fave podcasts at the moment:

The Goop podcast by Gwyneth Paltrow - from doctors to creatives, CEOs to spiritual healers, this is a good mix of it all.
Expanded by Lacy Phillips - Get your manifestation to the next level, no more unicorns, puppies and “only positive thinking”.
The Influencer podcast by Julie Solomon - If you’re in the marketing biz, there’s some useful tips and interesting convos.
Auta Antti! by Antti Holma (in Finnish) - In this hilarious and brilliant podcast the Finnish NY based actor answers to his listeners questions and the answers are not just funny, but actually very very wise. I almost pee myself as I laugh so hard.
Under the skin with Russell Brand - In this podcast Russel explores what's beneath the surface - of people we admire, of the ideas that define our time, of the history we are told.

5 tips for surviving winter in Helsinki

Embrace the season. It’s crazy how in our society things tend to speed up during Christmas with the year coming to an end, people run around like crazy. The problem is that at the same time people are tired, exhausted and stressed AF as naturally we feel like hibernating and sleeping in for longer. The reason is simple: we are not living in alignment with the season. Winter should be a time to slow down, cuddle up and get cozy with your woollen socks. This is literally the opposite of our modern society. So my very first tip is to cut out the unnecessary commitments. Make space for nothingness.
Yoga. Not a shocker here, but self-care goes a long way and especially during the darkest time of the year. If you’re not into yogi, then do your thing, whatever it might be (crossfit?). But exercising will give you well needed boost of feel good hormones (serotonin).
Get a sun lamp. Some people argue that this is going against the natural rhythm and season (and even my first tip). HOWEVER, some people get truly affected and depressed of the lack of day light and if you happen to be one of those people, there are luckily methods to counteract the darkness blues. I use mine in the mornings so that I have an easier time getting out of bed.
Pretend that you’re a tourist. Helsinki is a really nice city and there’s lots to do even in the winter time, so put your jacket on and go on a city stroll to Tuomaan marrkinat (market) and walk around and voila you’ll start to feel all jolly and fuzzy inside.
Decorate your home during the holiday. I swear, when we got a christmas tree last weekend everything felt a little better.

Being a tourist in my own home city is kind of nice.

5 Interesting & different instagram accounts worth following:

@connecting_consciousness : Mysticism, kind of out there, might be too much for the science loving instagrammer.
@chaninicholas : Astrology as its finest. Chani started learning about astrology at a very young age of 12 years and shares her wisdom on her feed.
@emotionalclub : Depression isn't funny, but dark humor sure is. This account is all about embracing the humor in everything, even depression.
@tobemagnetic : Lacy gets it. Her instagram is straight on and she cuts through the New Age ‘just think of something positive and you’ll attract it into your life’ BS.
@wat.ki : This feel good account follows the life of tho adorable dogs: Watson and Kiko along with their other animal friends.

My five favorite beauty regimens/products I am obsessed with right now:

Hydrating nutrient mist from Mad Hippie - I received this hydrating mist as a gift a long time ago on a retreat that I was co-hosting together with SurfYogaBeer and I just recently started using it. Now I use it every day and it really makes my skin glow like no other serum, cream or anything else I’ve tried in a loooong time.
Skinperfect primer by Dermalogica - I love the velvet texture and it smoothes out the fine little lines and uneven spots on my face.
My Simply Natural - hairbrush. I have hair is fine and gets easily super tangled, so this baby has helped a lot. Especially now with my long extended curls.
Oil pulling with coconut oil - this simple technique of swishing oil in your mouth improves not just your oral health, but your overall health as according to Ayurveda, all disease start in your mouth. I try to do this at least 3-5 times a week in the morning for about 15-20 minutes (which is annoyingly long), but it leaves my mouth feeling fresh and on top of all bleaches your teeth in a non harmful way.
My amethyst jade roller from Embrose - There’s been so much hype in the beauty world about face rolling and gua sha, I had toto try this out and I have to say, I do notice a different. My skin gets more plump and soft whenever I use the roller.

I’d love to hear some of your favorite podcasts or any other input you might have to my lists!

Happy Holidays!

Eva

PS. Make sure to check out my upcoming events if you feel like you could benefit from some strechin’

Tuomaan markkinat by Senate Square in Helsinki. Image: Jonna Monola

Eva Estlander 15/07/2019 Eva Estlander 15/07/2019

SUMMER UPDATE: What I've been up to lately + how to listen to your body

Dear reader, thanks for circling back to my blog even after this mini break that I’ve taken. The reason for the little pause is very simple: I’ve needed time to recharge, reset and relax. I definitely still believe in the practice of commitment and consistency with blogging, but what’s even more important than that (or more valuable than SEO optimising), is to truly learn to wind down when you need to. And I feel like this is something many of us can relate to. People (we) need to stop glorifying being busy and make room for, well, nothingness. Can’t we just please start a new trend where doing nothing is the coolest thing on planet earth 😅!? No but, jokes aside I feel that especially as a yoga teacher and someone who teaches people to unwind and tune in with themselves, I also need to practice it, not just preach it. And that’s exactly what I am doing right now, sitting in my summer cabin overlooking the Baltic Sea and simply taking it super chill without any schedule nor plans. Thanks to taking this time for myself I’ve now finally felt inspired and energized again to start writing and I started to reflect over how much I’ve actually needed this, to just be still without the hustle and bustle of the city life.

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time here at our summer cabin, which is just an hour outside of Helsinki. We are in the midst of remodelling a small cute summer cabin (the sauna house) and making it into a space for me and my boyfriend. It’s been a bigger project than we first anticipated but I won’t go too much into detail right now as I am dedicating a full blog post to it very soon (with before and after pics, so stay tuned!!). In addition to spending time here, I’ve also been to a friends summer cabin celebrating midsummer and then enjoyed a fun and wild weekend in Hankoo (the most southern city in Finland) with an amazing group of friends. I’ve also taught a few yoga classes, gone to an amusement park (Linnanmäki), but other than that it’s been down time and laying low. And lemme tell ya, it’s been very needed. I feel like I am still digesting my new life of living back in Finland and trying to rejuvenate from the heavy winter and the busyness of it all (my day job as an event planner can be pretty hectic). Luckily, I am planning to escape this winter for at least parts of it.

At Linnanmäki, pic by Jonna Monola. Pants Vimma Company.

So how do we make sure to stay energized, healthy and balanced without burning out or over exhausting ourselves? What it all comes down to is learning to listen to your body and knowing when to slow down. I wanted to share some practical tips I’ve found to be useful as I’ve learned that my body is often way smarter than my head let alone my silly ego. The thing with your body versus your mind is that the body is continuously giving you cues and subtle messages on what is good for you and what isn’t, the problem is just that we a) ignore them or b) don’t see these messages in the first place. The mind loves to come up with excuses, distractions and falsities. Listening to your body or yourself is applicable to not just your health, but any other area of your life as well. If you just learn to tune into your intuition and gut feeling more than staying in your head, you’ll start noticing how things unfold in a very different way.

But what if you don’t know how to listen or you don’t know what actually works for your body, then a phrase like “listen to your body” can feel like nagging or plain useless. The truth is we are all different. Not only through our unique lives, patterns, relationships, circumstances, jobs, living situations, rhythms, eating & sleeping habits, we also differ in what our idea of health is. So where does one start? I made a few key notes that I feel that can be helpful on this journey towards becoming more self aware.

Every day make sure to have a quiet moment just for yourself where you ask yourself these three questions: What am I feeling, physically? What am I feeling, emotionally? What am I thinking? Pay attention to what comes up. Just like with any new skill, this will be a process and some days you’ll get answers right away when at times you’ll think about your neighbours dead cat. Lol.
Journal first thing in the morning for 30 days straight. Commit to this practice and write two pages each morning before anything else. You’ll be astonished at how much will come up.
If you feel like you need to learn to listen to your body more think about the why’s. Why do you want to listen to your body. What is it, that is not working for you? Do you perhaps already have some physical symptoms such as tiredness, headaches, bloating, insomnia, lack of energy, a disoriented body image, relationship issues, lack of drive or direction. Or anything else that does not sit right with you. Think about your goals. What are you hoping to achieve? Is there a specific goal you want to reach, such as a more balanced relationship with food or better stress-reduction habits? Why is this important to you? Any goal is most successful when grounded in purpose.
Meditation, yoga or any other practice, exercise or hobby that helps you connect with yourself.
SLOW DOWN. Your health is your greatest wealth and priority. If you don’t know where to start or everything else sounds like gibberish, this one is pretty simply. Just clear your calendar, baby steps.

Towards a healthier, happier mind body connection y’all.

Happy trails and summer smiles!

Con amor,

Evita

PS. I will be posting more often from now on now that I am feeling energized again, pinky swear!

Eva Estlander 16/03/2019 Eva Estlander 16/03/2019

Incredible Iceland & why traveling is my vice

By now you’ve probably created your own eco conscious habits or if not, perhaps it’s time. Global warming is no joke and definitely not fake news, even if the misogonyst, racist, homophobic president of the US claims otherwise.

Taking action is something that must be done on a personal level and we all can do better. There’s many ways to live more ecologically and perhaps one of the most powerful ways is to start checking what you put on your plate, three times a day. If you’re a newbie to this concept, I recommend not just taking my word for it, but educating yourself and an easy way to start would be by picking up the following documentaries; Cowspiracy, Meat the Truth, Forks over knives and Before the flood.

I’ve been vegetarian for the past 9 years, on and off vegan (or wannabe vegan as I like to put it) and can semi proudly say that my carbon footprint is most likely smaller than yours, if you consume meat that is. That being said, I am no saint and I definitely have a footprint as well as my vice happens to be traveling. The thing with traveling is though, that seeing new places and experiencing the beauty of our planet is my thirst, a thirst so strong it’s hard to quench. And even if jumping on jumbo jet is not ideal for our beloved mama earth, it is lesser of a harmful activity, than consuming factory farmed meat.

So traveling it is. The last 9 months or so have been quite the whirlwind for me; I’ve been back and forth to Mexico twice, traveled to Morocco, Italy, Sweden a couple times, Estonia, the US (LA) and now finally last weekend to the beautiful, incredible Iceland. But my thirst does not end there and I find myself constantly longing to hop on the plane and visit new & old places yet again. And yes, I am very aware of how privileged I am and do not take it for granted. That being said, I do feel like it’s a choice to a certain extent. Before getting all agro on me, I mean if you live in a welfare society, or the fact that you have a device to be reading this blog, says that you have some cash to your disposal and it’s merely a consumer choice where you like to put it. Some love Gucci bags, some booze and some traveling. It all comes down to your likings and I am not claiming your preference is worse or better than mine. I am simply sharing mine.

Choices. That’s what it all comes down to. Dropping the steak is simply the most efficient solution you can do on a personal level to fight global warming and the cool thing about is it does not cost a dime, more on the contrary, it will actually save a buck here and there. And not only is it a kinder solution for the planet and the animals, it’s simply a way healthier way of living and being. If you practice yoga, you’ve most likely come across the term “ahimsa”, meaning do no harm to self or others, so it’s pretty damn aligned with the yogic philosophy as well (hear hear yogis aka practice what you preach). If you need more reasons to drop that sausage or entrecote there’s a ton of articles and material on the world wide web of the benefits of a plant based diet.

Okay dokay, so now that you understand my choice of vice and my personal reasoning behind my choice of vice, I will circle back to my passion, traveling. Being the millennial nomad that I am, I want to share some of the beautiful shots from last weekends mini getaway to Iceland. And holy smokes, lemme tell ya, I’ve traveled quite a lot, but never ever have I seen beauty like this before. This trip was a reminder of how versatile and beautiful our Tellus is and how there’s just so.much.to.see. It also made me reflect upon my own consumerism and choices, hence this blogpost.

So Iceland, If you’re planning a trip to Iceland, I recommend renting a car (a SUV that’s 4X4), getting the full insurance and driving down south to at least these few locations (thanks Wille for the tips):

Seljalandsfoss
Skogafoss
Svínafellsjökull
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Diamond beach
Reynisfjara Beach (Black Sand Beach)

Reykjavik is also cool to see, but it’s pretty small, so you don’t need to spend to much time there. My recommendation is to just hop on the car and drive drive drive. You will be in awe of the beauty, at least I was. Below you will find a collection of some of my fave shots. I mean. Oh. My. Goodness. BEAUTIFUL!!!

I hope you enjoy. Feel free to tell me about what your vice is and how you perhaps counterbalance that vice with the choices you make.

Con amor,

Eva