DIFFERENT PHASES AND FACES OF LIFE
1. Take a good look at yourself and your goals for the year
2. It might make you wanna go hide in the bushes
3. But don’t worry, just sniff the flowers and keep moving forward, you’ll get there one breath and one step at a time
JANUARY 2026 newsletteR
Happy New Year, everyone! We survived the holidays, welldone us!
The last month and so went super fast; it was mentally really recharging, physically not so much. We had a great time with mum, her partner, and all the family and friends here in NZ. A couple of trips and lots of local adventure. Some people thrive in this sort of excitement, but for me it gets too much very quicky and I crave some peace and quiet. I call it a social sacrifice; it must be done, it charges mental batteries and creates great memories, but requires a period of stillness afterwards. This holiday and actually the whole last year, being my last in my thirties, has made me think of all the different phases in my life and how wellbeing has been a part of it.
From a young age, I have been fascinated about human body, and its capability to function so differently in different people. I admit that I have wasted my energy being jealous of others to be able to achieve certain things a lot easier than I have. I think we all do this; it’s human nature, but it won’t get you anywhere. We all need to recognise our own strengths and weaknesses, and take it from there. Change will happen whether you want it or not; the question is what sort of change you want and whether you are willing to put effort into it to actually achieve your goals.
I’ll give you a quick run through for the past 4 decades of my life, and how I have appreciated and neglected wellbeing. Being a kid in the 80s and 90s, the screen time was not an issue; even when the possibility of it opened up, I had zero interest. I was out whenever I could, alone or with friends. Woke up early, went to bed early, ate when I was hungry, naturally, no arguments, just a dream child, haha.
Teenage years and 20s messed this up big time. My strong pull to a regulated circadian rhythm got neglected, my diet was rubbish and involved a fair bit of alcohol, especially on the weekends. Being used to moving/exercising a lot, that never changed; if anything, it got a lot more intense. Big weekend required longer runs, heavier weights in the gym, and a stricter diet during the week. Perfect storm to mess with your hormones and drive your nervous system to high alert. I had great times, and lifelong friendships and memories were made, but my body was constantly angry. I basically lived a good 15+ years with moderate or severe pain, mainly in the digestive tract, with an occasional overuse/injury based musculoskeletel issues an couple of concussions. Good times! Physically, I was stronger, and my fitness level was way better than it is today, but the price was pretty high to pay.
When I graduated from Uni and started as a physiotherapist, in the middle of the biggest fitness and CrossFit boom, I was still a hardcore musculoskeletal therapist only, just putting down the underlying issues to a lack of self-discipline. Getting closer to 30s a broader view started to open up, and there was no going back. The Finnish body alignment course was one of the first steps towards holistic wellbeing for myself and for my clients. There were so many emotional blockages and years of neglect in rest and realignment that it has taken me a good decade to get where I am. I am physically weaker than I probably ever have been. I can’t run 10km easily, which used to be a minimum; if you can’t run that, don’t bother at all. I can’t do squats with 100kg, and last years pull up records have gone down again. But what I do have is inner strength, stillness and a lot more knowledge of how to respect my body and mind to work with them, not against them. So my next 4 months will be dedicated to physical strength. I miss it, and my nervous system is finally capable of dealing with it. Fit for 40 here I come!
That was a very simplified life story to give an example of how things matter when they are constant and repetitive. And how sometimes we think we are doing the right thing, but we are actually causing more stress and damage to ourselves. The human mind always wants more and better, and modern day human also want it now or preferably yesterday. Wellbeing is not something you can achieve overnight, it’s life long and constant journey, that will stop when your heart stops beating. Every day, every week, every month, every year, and every decade throws us different challenges that we need to deal with. But every moment offers a chance for something new, needed and exciting as well. Be aware, don’t let the opportunities and dreams drift away.
I have a good feeling about this year; big shifts are coming. I’ll let you ponder your life phases and the possible masks you are still wearing. And I am hoping I have something new and exciting to reveal to you in February, from a work perspective as well, not just in the size of my biceps! But do keep your eyes on that as well, so you can hold me accountable, haha.
Love
Kaisa❤️🐾🌱
Adventuring through the neighbour hood. Any chance to jump in the water or climb a tree or a mountain needs to be taken, for wellbeing’s sake, otherwise it might slip through your fingers!
Just a peek through the window of time, I had a good month to view mum and our similarities and differences. That really could be me in the chair.
Should have taken an identical photo of me for comparison’s sake, but only came to mind while I was writing the newsletter, and Christmas classes are already packed away!
