Inspiring Women Magazine May 2021

Teaching a yoga class
Home today
In Lyon, I started my own company, Gotta Joga,
developing yoga apps for European women. In
2016, my husband was transferred again, now to
his hometown of Torino (after 17 years abroad).
So here I am with my now 12- and 14-year old
sons, living in Torino and spending the weekends
and holidays in the nearby mountains skiing,
hiking and riding my mountain bike.
What is wellness?
For me, wellness is harmony and self love. I
started seeking wellness to take care of myself:
practicing yoga, eating healthy, spending much
time in nature and (pre-COVID-19) sharing
experiences with my friends and family. In Finland
we all live in houses that have saunas. For us,
cleaning and relaxing in the sauna is the primary
wellness activity. We use the sauna at least twice a
week, often combined with a dip in a lake or snow.
Becoming interested in wellness
I grew up in the middle of wonderful Finnish
nature. It was natural for me to spend time and do
sports outside. In my teens, when I went to high
school in the nearby city and later to study in the
university, it became obvious that the time for
sports was no longer natural. It became necessary
for me to add sports to my schedule in order to
feel well and fit for studying.
I felt the mind-body connection very strongly from
the time I began studying. I did lots of aerobics
and stretching to keep fit. Whenever possible, I
still went skiing, hiking or rollerblading outside.
An introduction to yoga
When I got pregnant in Germany, through my
midwife, I got introduced to yoga. The preparation
for giving birth and the post-natal gym were very
yoga-inspired. Soon after, a Finnish yoga teacher
came to live in Ulm, and we started a Finnish yoga
group in a garage. It was a life-changing
experience for me. I remember that the euphoric
feeling after the first yoga classes reminded me of
the relaxed feeling after coming out of sauna. I
haven‘t stopped practicing since then.
After 10 years of practice (and starting my own
yoga app business) with teachers in Germany,
France and Italy, I attended a 200-hour yoga
teacher training (certified by Yoga Alliance) in
Turin, Italy. It was organized by a local yoga studio
with the lead teacher, Amy Petty, from Seattle,
Washington in the USA. So I have formal training
in modern postural yoga as a Vinyasa yoga
teacher too.
Overcoming obstacles
I started yoga relatively late (at almost 40 years
old). I also have a yoga business, where I work
with many top European yoga teachers. I felt like
starting to teach was too difficult for me, that I had
started too late to advance into teaching.
I continue to practice with Amy Petty, my trainer
from the teacher training. Thanks to COVID, she is
also teaching online now. Despite the distance
between Seattle and Torino, we are in touch
several times a week. I also find great inspiration
from my teacher and anatomy genius, Valentina
Amato, from Torino. Also Anu Visuri, my first yoga
teacher and my business partner, has been my
inspiration in learning and teaching yoga. And
Vanessa de Haas, my teacher from Lyon, France, is
a yoga genius with whom I continue practicing.
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