• 5/5 Soothing Sundays: What I've learned •

Hi guys!

Today is the last Soothing Sundays post and I thought I’d reflect on the past month.

When I had the idea of having a soothing, relaxing, stress free January, it was right before Christmas and all the stress in the world was piling up. I was buried under a blanket and watched back-to-back episodes of various tv sitcoms. A lot has changed since then: I got out of my apartment and back home to my family for a while, I begun paying attention to what I ate and most importantly let go of all the obligations that didn’t feel like something I would want to pay time or effort to. It made a world of difference. 

However, it’s not always just what is going on on the surface level. It’s not always about the essays and exams that are getting frighteningly close or the work that is expecting a lot from you.  Sometimes we need to take a closer look at the choices we have made and whether they are making us happy. We need to let go of the ideas of who we think we want to be and try and find the things that we actually want. Is this really how I want to spend my days? Is this really who I want to be? Is this really the direction that I want to be heading in? It’s a scary and long process, but the first step into anything is always the hardest. 

I think we often forget that it’s never too late to start over or at least to make some changes in our lives. It’s not too late to change your studies or to drop out, it’s not too late to move abroad or to another city and it’s definitely not too late to start being who you’ve really always wanted to be or at least trying to figure it out. 

This might all sound way too easy and utopistic. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not. It’s incredibly hard, arduous and makes you wish that you’d never tried to get out of your bed in the first place, but with time it will all look so much different. Whatever it is, give it a year, a month or even a week and you’ll have a different perspective on it. In the mean while start finding the things that make you happy and glad to be alive on a smaller scale. Start finding the things that aren’t connected to your work or education and are in any way connected to yourself. Because as much as the society, our parents or our financial situations want to tell us otherwise, school is not your everything. There’s a whole world outside your campus that is waiting to be explored. 

This is what Soothing Sundays was all about. I wrote it in the hopes that it helped someone find some sort of peace or courage to pursue their passions. If not that, then at the very least I hope it gave someone some inspiration for a healthier life. 

Thank you for this wonderful month!

With love,

Emilia

⎮ Soothing Sundays is a series of posts in which I go back to what is really important in a quest to find joy, serenity and a softer way of viewing the world. A new post will be up every Sunday in January. ⎮

• 4/5 Soothing Sundays: "Dear self..." •

Dear self,

You’re a magnificent being built from light and stars and all the wonderful things that you could’ve ever dreamed of. I wanted to state that in case you had forgotten. 

There are so many things you would tell yourself if you were living in someone else’s body. You’d speak of their intelligence, their poise, their relentless efforts to make themselves good. You’d deliver it with a smile and maybe a few cupcakes. 

Because you deserve nothing less, I’m here to tell you a few things. The cupcakes are coming. 

There are a few things I would tell anyone. Firstly, if it doesn’t make you happy, find a way to change it. Whatever it is. Secondly, nobody is invincible, but everyone is a superhero. Things will happen, you will bend, but you can choose not to break. Thirdly, loving yourself is the most important thing in the whole wide world. Or at least in your whole wide world. 

But the most important thing I would tell anyone is that time passes. Everything changes and it’s so easy to get lost in the illusion of time. To be overwhelmed by time passing or it standing still. But none of it matters. Because, as cliche as it is, all you really have is this moment, right here. I’m starting to believe that money is not necessarily meant to be hoarded, nor are people or possessions. I’m starting to believe that if it adds value to your life, buy it. If it makes you feel anything short of happy, let it go. That goes for people, clothes and ideas. There is no need to be around something you detest. There is no reason to force yourself to love something that you know you never will.

My darling, life is a process. Rarely anything you choose comes easy. Decisions become more difficult the more you obsess over them and the threshold to do anything grows higher the longer you wait. It’s okay to choose wrong, to take a wrong turn every now and again, because where ever you are, whom ever you are with, there’s always a lesson in everything. You can always go back to safety, but you can’t live your life afraid of everything. 

Like so many people on the internet have already wisely stated: if you’re not completely obsessed with your life, change it. 

With love,

Emilia

⎮ Soothing Sundays is a series of posts in which I go back to what is really important in a quest to find joy, serenity and a softer way of viewing the world. A new post will be up every Sunday in January. ⎮

• 3/5 Soothing Sundays: My Favorite Zen Products •

Hi everyone!

I remember when I first started paying attention to what I bought. It started with a book, Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet. It was recommended to me by Johanna and I admittedly got hooked. The idea of a pure and sustainable lifestyle felt like something that I had been missing. And it was. 

I got to know all the corners of an eco-friendly lifestyle a bit by bit. It was new and exciting and at first I didn’t really know what to buy. There was this aura of mystery around the eco-isle of my closest department store. The benefits of coconut oil, or almond oil; the kinds of different teas and coffee substitutes; good sweeteners and bad sweeteners it was all so much ground to cover! However, I did get to know everything little by little. 

I was like a kid in a candy store sometimes. The way the products that I buy are made affect the feeling I get when I buy them. If I buy organic beauty products for example, I feel like I’m making the right choice, like I’m spending my money right. The same goes with food. Of course there are the additional benefits for the body. Eating organic food for example, makes me feel so much purer and in touch with everything. Getting rid of ingredients I can’t even pronounce was one of the best decisions of my life. It might be just psychological, but for me it works. 

This week I thought I’d talk about some of my favorite eco-products. I divided them into two categories: beauty and food. I hope you enjoy and get inspired!

BEAUTY

1 TEA TREE SKIN CLEARING FOAMING CLEANSER AND LOTION AND HEMP FACE PROTECTOR BY THE BODY SHOP

I fell in love with The Body Shop after a friend introduced me to their products. I’d always bought shower gels and hand creams etc., but I’d never tried their face care products before. Last summer, I bought their tea tree- products and fell utterly in love. They’re really effective and work. However, because of the harsh winter in Finland, I think I need to find something a bit more soothing and not so intense. The Hemp Face Protector is incredible for the winter, however. It really moisturizes well. 

2 SEAWEED IONIC CLAY MASK BY THE BODY SHOP AND SWEER ALMOND OIL BY AQUA OLEUM

The clay mask was a true surprise for me. The masks I’d usually used didn’t seem to do anything to my skin, so I’d kind of lost hope in them. But when I bought the clay mask, my life changed. That might be putting it a bit too far, but it does work wonders! It brings up any impurities and helps to get rid of them. It has truly risen to be a beauty must-have in my ritual. 

The Sweet Almond oil was an impulse buy. I had a gift certificate to use and I’d wanted to try a facial oil. I ended up consulting the wonderful clerk, who recommended it. And I was not sorry! I’ve used it as a toner/moisturizer during the cold winter months and it really seems to protect my skin. 

3 PURE COMPLEXION FACIAL SPONGE BY ECOTOOLS

Okay, I’ve got to admit, I was a bit skeptical when it came to using just a sponge and no cleanser to clean my face with. But it turns out, it really exfoliates and makes the skin really smooth. I bought mine just a week ago, so I can’t really talk about long-term results quite yet, but I am really excited to see how it works out!

4 A SOFT BRITTLE BRUSH FOR DRY BRUSHING

Dry brushing is something I ran into in Pinterest. I thought I’d give it a try and boy was it a good decision! My skin feels so much smoother and it’s so lovely to get my blood flowing at the end of a long day. 

If you want to read more about it, Mind Body Green has a wonderful article about it. 

5 REVITALIZING FACIAL MASK BY LAVERA, FROSTED CRANBERRY HAND CREAM AND EARLY HARVEST RASPBERRY SHOWER GEL BY THE BODY SHOP

I love lavera’s facial masks. They’re a lot lighter and function, at least with me, as more of a revitalizing masks rather than fighting against impurities. It’s lovely for a pampering evening with tea and candles. 

I adore the scents of the shower gels from The Body Shop. They range from deep and fragrant scents to light and flowery. It’s so nice to pick a gel either based on a mood or a season. Speaking of seasonal scents, this Christmas I was obsessed with the frosted cranberry hand cream (this is quickly becoming a commercial for The Body Shop… my apologies). I adore the scent, it’s just a little unfortunate that the tube is so small!

FOOD

1 CLIPPER TEAS

I drink a lot of tea and am quite picky, I don’t enjoy black tea or rooibos. This is why I am obsessed with Clipper teas. They offer a wide range of different types of tea as well as different flavors. My absolute favorite is the tropical orange and coconut infusion, but the purity green tea works great as well. 

I like that the bags are unbleached and the tea is fairtrade. Clipper has the most adorable webpage as well. I highly recommend checking out their blog. 

2 GREEN & BLACK’S ORGANIC CHOCOLATES

Green & Blacks was the first organic chocolate company that I found. I fell in love with their Maya Gold chocolate. It’s heaven alone, but with a cup of tea, it’s taken to the next level. I love the concept of G&B: they use fairtrade cocoa and seem to care deeply for human rights.

3 CHIA SEEDS

Chia seeds are my favorite superfood. They are rich in fatty acids, vitamins and protein, just to name a few things. I love making chia pudding or eating them in smoothies. They are really nutritional and keep my hunger away for a long time. 

4 RAW FOOD BARS BY NÄKD

I love a good snack bar. These days, it’s not that difficult to find them. Näkd makes some really good flavor combinations. The cocoa orange and cocoa delight bars are my favorites! They keep my hunger away during shopping and occasionally during lectures. 

5 SERIOUSLY VELVETY INSTANT HOT CHOCOLATE BY CLIPPER

This isn’t so zen or necessarily even that healthy, but I love it. It really is like a cuddle in a cup! It does have white sugar and milk powder, but on a cold winter’s night there’s nothing better than to warm up a cup of this cocoa and watch a movie. Nourishing the mind is equally important as nourishing the body. 

I hope these gave you some ideas on what to buy on your next trip to the store. Maybe throw a little fiesta with friends and zen it out? 

Have a very beautiful Sunday!

With love,

Emilia

⎮ Soothing Sundays is a series of posts in which I go back to what is really important in a quest to find joy, serenity and a softer way of viewing the world. A new post will be up every Sunday in January. ⎮

• 2/5 Soothing Sundays: 6 Ways to Zen Out •

Hi guys!

Since we as humans tend to get anxious over different things, this week I'm going to talk about a few ways to calm down. For some the source of anxiousness is the future, for some it’s the past, for some it’s both at the same time. Sometimes letting everything - the past and the future - go and focusing on the present is immensely difficult. Maybe we don’t know how or don’t have the time for it or perhaps we think it won’t make such a big difference anyway. 

But it does. Focusing on the now, or at the very least attempting to, makes all the difference in the world. At least to me. 

These are some ways in which I ”zen out” and try to find some kind of calm in all of the storms. Hopefully they can help you, too. 

1 Wake-up light

This one isn’t so much a ”how to zen out right now” - tip, but more of a preventive kind. I got my wake-up light as a Christmas present a year ago and I swear by it. Instead of waking up to a beeping and vibrating alarm from my phone, I wake up to a - more or less - natural sunrise. It helps me start my day in a more soothing way. At first I feared I wouldn’t really wake up on time, but that hasn’t been a problem. 

2 Walk it off

Spending a full day running from one place to another or staying inside working makes me feel claustrophobic. The idea of not getting a breath of fresh air in nature - or the city equivalent - kind of frightens me. I might be the only one, but I do feel that need to go for at least a little walk everyday. Not only does it give my body exercise, but it also helps my mind clear itself. A stroll in nature is sometimes exactly what I need on a busy day. 

3 Good food

A hummus and halloumi sandwich with
roasted vegetables.

There’s something about feeding the body nourishing, healthy foods that just makes me smile with glee. The label ’healthy’ is often misinterpreted as, basically, a salad. Which it certainly can be, but there are loads of other options out there. Pinterest has proven to be a faithful friend in times of recipe needs. 

4 Yoga

I’ve been an on/off practitioner of yoga for years. Every time I rediscover it, I wonder how I could’ve ever let it go in the first place. Yoga is said to offer many benefits ranging from help with back pain to boosting the immune system. I personally find it to help me find calmness and to focus on the now. A great way of ”zening out”! 

It’s okay if the day is too busy to leave for a class or the positions aren’t familiar, there are for example many yoga videos on Youtube. My personal favorite account is Yoga with Adriene, which I have fallen madly in love with. Her videos are for yogis of all backgrounds, so no need to worry about being too new to the practice!

5 Tea and chocolate

For the longest of times, I have sworn by green tea and chocolate (usually sweetened with something other than white sugar). It’s the ultimate de-stresser. The combo gives energy in many forms: caffeine from the tea and endorphins from the chocolate make a very productive combo. This isn’t so ”zen-y”, if the chocolate consumed is filled with unhealthy fats and sugars, so instead opt for raw chocolate or one that is sweetened with agave, coconut palm sugar or something other than white sugar. 

6 Pampering

Let’s face it, pampering is never a bad idea. Taking a bath, putting on a face mask or simply indulging in some beautifully scented shower gel is very soothing. Light up a few candles, put on some music, breathe and let go of anything that is holding you down. 

Jenna posted some great ethical pampering tips that should definitely be checked out when planning a pampering session!

Hopefully these will help you be kinder to yourself and, through that, to others. I hope you have a very zen week!

With love,

Emilia

⎮ Soothing Sundays is a series of posts in which I go back to what is really important in a quest to find joy, serenity and a softer way of viewing the world. A new post will be up every Sunday in January. ⎮

• 1/5 Soothing Sundays: Getting Started •

Stress. That horrible word makes my toes curl with frustration. When I’m stressed, I get anxious, agitated and lose all sight of healthy living. I begin eating food that is far from nourishing and omit going to the gym and stay in bed binge watching shows on Netflix instead. Before I know it, it becomes the new normal. Feeling drugged under all the sugar, jammed because of not exercising and crabby because of all the procrastination become way too familiar.

When last semester came near its end, I was feeling very busy. I don’t particularly like the word ’stress’, because that insinuates that somehow I’m not enjoying what I do. I do, I immensely enjoy everything that I have on my plate. It’s just that sometimes the plate gets too small for everything that is on it. As for my actual plates, they get filled with unhealthy foods ranging from sugary candies to fatty chips. I get tired, agitated and even more stressed than before. 

It’s not always easy to know when to stop, so the mind does it for us. Exams, deadlines and all sorts of things that one needs to be on top of get closer and closer and the mind just can’t take it. It does put up a good fight usually, because admitting defeat doesn't seem appealing. But eventually the mind shuts itself down and that, at least in my case, results in nausea, dizziness and anxiety. 

For the longest of times I’ve enjoyed zeroing everything out. Finding energy in good food, great company and exercising has been a great source of joy for me. This time it all got lost somewhere in the piles of assignments. To be quite honest, the moment I forgot to take care of myself was the moment it all begun to go wrong. 

So now, a new semester is starting and I really need to take care of myself while still keeping myself focused. For me, taking care of myself means eating good, nourishing food and giving my body as well as my mind something to do. It’s about knowing when to calm down and to remind myself to breathe and refocus. It’s about being kind to myself and to others and about finding that inner peace and listening to it again. 

With that, I want to welcome you to a wonderful adventure, to my Soothing Sundays. 

With love,

Emilia

⎮ Soothing Sundays is a series of posts in which I go back to what is really important in a quest to find joy, serenity and a softer way of viewing the world. A new post will be up every Sunday in January. ⎮