About The Studio Journal
The Studio Journal was born during a sabbatical that became something much deeper, a turning point.
What began as a pause from routine turned into a journey of unlearning, rediscovery, and reconnection. I wandered, I listened, I wrote. I stepped into unfamiliar places, both on the map and within myself.
This journal is a space to share what I’ve gathered along the way. It holds reflections from the road, questions from the quiet moments, and the stories that shape how we travel, live, and grow. You’ll find pieces of my journey here, but also prompts, insights, and encouragement for your own.
Because transformation doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in the in-between. And this is a place for that.
What You May Experience Through Luontopolku — Back to Your Senses® method
✔ A renewed connection to your own nature
✔ Greater clarity about what truly matters now
✔ Deeper trust in your direction and inner guidance
✔ Courage to move forward with alignment and intention
Horse Energy
Mirka, the tranformative travel coach on a horseback with Maiju, the Kannuskylä horse stable owner and riding instructor in Vitsai, partner at the Slow Travel Horse Holidays.
There are things that pull us, quietly, yet powerfully, drawing us closer to see, explore, and experience.
For me, that pull has always been horses.
My earliest memory is of holding onto the leg of an old workhorse, hugging him with complete devotion, to the horror of my grandfather, from whom I had escaped. A few years later, I climbed from that same leg onto the back of that great Finnish breed. From there, the path continued naturally: riding school, working at trotting stables, and eventually owning my own mare.
Growing up with a horse
As a teenager, growing up with a horse was an education in responsibility but even more so in relationship.
It meant learning nuance, presence, and trust.
Learning to understand another being beyond words.
My mare became a grounding force in my life. A companion on nature trails, a quiet friend I sometimes even slept beside. We learned to read each other, to respond to the subtle shifts in energy that each day brought.
A thread that follows
Life later took me across the world from studies in the United States to family and work across Asia and Europe.
And still, horses remained.
Sometimes close, sometimes more distant but always there, gently calling me back.
A western saddle, a dressage lesson, a bareback ride by the sea.
Back in Finland, returning to my lakeside summer place in Vitsai, I connected with a neighbour’s horses and began a long relationship with a gentle thoroughbred I rode for fourteen years.
The dream
For years, I had a recurring dream.
A horse in a barn; hungry, thirsty, waiting to be fed.
Each time I woke from it, I felt a quiet urgency. As if something in my life had been left unattended. A responsibility not fully met. A connection not fully seen.
Only later did I understand.
Returning after burnout
After my sabbatical travels following burnout I found myself once again close to horses and their owners. This time, I gave space to riding in a different way.
The more I responded to their presence, the clearer their “voice” became.
I remember guiding a tinker horse who seemed to long for movement beyond the stable. Together with his owner, we returned to the forest trails. It was a quiet triumph for all of us.
Since then, I have continued working with both horses and people supporting courage, presence, and the connection between them.
Horses in the Luontopolku® journey
As my coaching deepened, horses naturally became part of my Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® experiences.
From this, an opportunity emerged to co-create horse holidays with Pegasus.
It felt like a natural progression to bring together:
slow travel
Finnish nature
and the presence of horses
At my lakeside home, Blueberry Villa, built by my father in the 1990s, I now welcome guests to experience this way of being.
Here, on Taipalsaari island by Lake Saimaa, life slows down.
In Finland, horses spend their summers on green pastures. During our 5- and 7-day retreats, we collect our horses from the nearby field, walk together to the stables, and set out onto gently curving trails through birch and pine forests.
There is no rush.
Only presence, rhythm, and connection.
Feeding the inner horse
The dream of the hungry horse no longer returns.
Somewhere along the way, my inner horse was fed.
And perhaps this is what draws people here too.
Not only to ride but to reconnect.
To listen.
To respond to something within that has been waiting.
I hope to meet you there, by the lake, and to gently support you in feeding your own inner horse.
After all, it is a time to trust your energy and follow where it quietly leads.
If something in this story resonated, you don’t need to leave it here.
Each summer, I host Slow Travel Horse Holidays at Lake Saimaa, where you are paired with your own horse and guided through nature-based reflection using the Luontopolku Back to Your Senses® method.
This is not just about riding.
It is about reconnecting with nature, with the horse, and with yourself.
→ Discover upcoming Horse retreats at The Journey Studio
→ Or book a discovery call to explore if this experience is for you
A Threshold Between Years
As we stand between the years, this quiet moment invites us to slow down, listen inward, and return to what truly matters. In this reflective piece, I share the defining moments of 2025 from a life-changing question on a mountain in Bernia to the gentle clarity found in nature, horses, and mindful travel. Welcome the Year of the Fire Horse by turning inward, trusting your path, and walking into 2026 with presence, courage, and a renewed connection to yourself.
We stand at a quiet threshold between the old and the new, with 2025 turning into 2026 in just a couple of days. This moment invites reflection. There are no New Year promises, no quick fixes, no self-help shortcuts that truly carry us forward. No one else can walk your path, pave the way, or take the steps for you.
There are practices: yoga, meditation, breathwork, deep massage that help us arrive in the present moment. There are also walks we can take, forests we can return to, places where we can finally hear our own thoughts again. These are invitations to turn our gaze inward and listen to our bodies, our intuition, ourselves.
Looking Back at 2025
I walked a long path in 2025. As the new year approaches, it feels natural to look back at the highlights that shaped me. During my sabbatical travels I knew I needed to change something, and in January I felt the earth shifting beneath my feet. After journeying far and walking far, I was finally ready; ready to feel, stand on my own and to understand the inner movement taking place within me.
A Defining Moment in Bernia
One of the moments that comes to mind from 2025 is a hike in Bernia and a powerful question asked atop ancient ruins overlooking the Mediterranean valley. A question so simple and yet so profound, one we all wrestle with:
“Will this make me happy?”
That conversation on the mountain stayed with me. It nudged me deeper into presence and into trusting my own senses. In 2025 I finally understood that letting go is an act of courage, and trusting myself is an act of love.
The Healing Potential of Travel
I also think about the power of travel, its quiet ability to heal and reveal who we are. Sometimes we set out without fully understanding why, only to discover the meaning step by step along the way.
My travel coaching, studies of transformation, Finnish heritage, raising two beautiful adults, and years living across continents have all given me a gentle trust in the world. When we slow down and return to presence, we begin to hear again the world around us, and our own inner voice.
Shared Moments
One moment I cherish this year is riding beside my coachee and her horse after a year in a new country. She had been too afraid to take that first hike with her beloved companion. But she stepped up, and so did I. She faced her fear, and something shifted in both of us.
Another beautiful moment this year was welcoming the Aktiv Resor team and a dear friend into a special collaboration, a holiday that will not end. Our Appelsiinipuut kukkivat jo wellness retreat is already taking shape as the orange trees begin to bloom. This meaningful journey will take place in April 2026, and you are warmly welcome to join us.
I trust the moment now. I trust stillness. I trust the process of working with groups, showing vulnerability, and finding our way together.
I believe in imperfection. I believe in us.
I believe in you.
My Path as a Transformative Travel Coach
Today I live as a transformative travel coach and journey designer, on a journey every day. I have taken my originally author family name as my official name. I design meaningful journeys and help you map your own way. Yes, I have my certification but more importantly, I have done my walk, and I continue to walk it.
I am here for you. I walk beside you, as close as you feel comfortable, listening to what you share as the path begins to form in front of your eyes.
Luontopolku: Returning to Nature, Returning to Yourself
I simply take you to Luontopolku, the nature trail. I guide you to nature so you can reconnect with your own inner nature. You don’t need anything special. No specific equipment, no particular practice, no performance. You simply relax and step out.
You are already enough, carrying the answers within you, moving toward harmony.
There is magic in the silence of nature.
Walking unlocks the mind’s potential.
Science has shown how walking brings clarity and creative breakthroughs.
Nature begins to reflect answers back to us in shapes, patterns, and moments only we can interpret.
One walk won’t solve everything. But it offers gentle aha-moments that open the way. When we return intentionally to reflective walks, we continue to process, to understand, to move toward what is calling us next.
The Horses That Returned to My Life
My love of horses has deepened this year as they returned into my life ever more. I hear them, seek to understand them, and myself better. Hipico Oliva, the place I visited on my very first solo day in Spain in November 2024 has become part of my working landscape. And my home stables, Vitsai Village’s Kannuskylä Stables is now a partner in mindful horse holidays beginning in summer 2026.
Welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse
Happy New Year of the Fire Horse, 2026: a year symbolizing renewal, bold energy, and transformative momentum. A year of unexpected developments, personal growth, and dynamic change.
And yet, while the world may accelerate around us, the most important thing remains the same: Slow down.
Turn inward.
Take yourself into account.
You mean the most.
May 2026 be a year of presence, clarity, courage, and a return to the path that is truly yours.
I am here for you.
Whether you are in Finland seeking a spring reset under blooming orange trees, or anywhere in the world longing to reconnect with yourself through the silence of Finnish nature, your journey has a place here. Let’s find the right path for you.
Read more about Your Journey or join our Appelsiinipuut kukkivat jo wellness retreat.