About The Studio Journal
The Transformation You Can Expect from Life Reconnection Signature Program — Back to Your Senses
✔ Reconnect with your true self
✔ Gain clarity on what to focus on
✔ Feel empowered to make bold decisions
✔ Take aligned action toward meaningful change
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.
Courage is Everything
Mirka Kristiina, a transformative travel coach sits atop a mountain in Cusco, Peru, embracing the vast landscape below. The moment captures reflection, presence, and the courage to embark on transformative journeys, connecting deeply with self and surroundings.
Taking the Leap
A year ago, on 31.7., I took a leap: a sabbatical that would change my life.
I grew up believing anything was possible; my father encouraging, my mother cautioning. I had moved abroad for studies and work, traveled across the world when I got married, and started my own business. Yet after living through a military takeover and a real estate collapse, courage felt far away.
For years, my children, my calm hometown, and my work in the municipal sector provided a safe haven. I embraced Finland fully and gave all the creativity I could to my employer.
Getting Stuck vs. Moving Forward
It’s easy to get stuck in the rhythm of daily life, sucked into work, only thinking about the next weekend. Work trips and holidays were my windows to the world, my moments to explore and discover new paths.
As the kids grew up, the older I got, the scarier the thought of making any changes became.
Until staying put became the scariest thought of all.
I’m still scared every day. But that tingling on your skin when you’re alive? That’s worth everything.
What I Gained
My sabbatical came with a price, but I don’t count what I lost. I count what I gained: myself.
The most precious thing I own. And you can find that too.
Looking back, I hardly recognize the person I was: anxious, exhausted, a tired bureaucrat. Reading the cover of my novel All That is Yours still makes me shiver:
“Anna wanted to turn away from the path, even briefly. The independent Finn longed for a new kind of freedom before finding herself organizing already organized affairs in some central headquarters in Central Finland.”
It’s Okay to Be Scared
It’s okay to be scared. But don’t be afraid to listen to yourself.
Even a single intentional walk can spark clarity.
A short trip outside your usual circles can reconnect you to yourself.
A holiday should leave you empowered, not just until the flight home, but beyond into your everyday life.
How I Can Help
I guide people to reconnect with themselves, awaken their inner calling, and experience journeys that strengthen well-being. I’ve navigated many changes in life, and I’ve never felt more alive.
If you’re ready to explore what drives you:
Fill out an Exploration Session Questionnaire
Book a Discovery Session
Join our Autumn Special, available until the end of the month
For Readers Curious About the Story
And if you’re curious about the story that inspired part of this journey, my novel All That is Yours is available as a paperback or eBook on Amazon.
Alma de Verano
Welcome to my sunny corner in Spain 🌞
A cozy white sofa, golden light streaming in, and Alma de Verano blooming on the wall—this is where slow mornings begin. The doors are open, coffee is hot, and there's a seat waiting for you at the table.
Come join me for a cup and a soul-nourishing conversation.
How we find our way.
Traveling solo is often easier to begin when you have a destination, a program, or a friend to meet.
At least for me, it was a kind of crazy idea to drive to see my friend now residing in Mijas while traveling through Spain during my sabbatical. It’s a bit of a drive from Oliva, Valencia, where I was staying—trailing the mountains and seaside, basking in Mediterranean November.
Excited to get on the road, I planned my route to reach my dwellings by nightfall, stopping to see places and visit cities along the way. Anxious about the highways at first in my tiny stick-shift Fiat, I gradually settled into road trip mode—lunching, navigating parallel parking in narrow streets, and staying in small hotels.
Walking alone at the beach on the third morning in Nerja, I noticed people smiling at me. Sitting down with a coffee and churros, I realized it was me smiling wide while strolling along—attracting smiles in return.
The Detour That Wasn’t
That afternoon, I navigated my way to Kristi’s panoramic villa.
We had been colleagues-turned-friends for over a decade, and there was the typical laughter, memories, and reflections on where we both were in life. But there was something more.
The two days we spent walking, sharing meals, or simply sitting and gazing at the sunset over the sea became a turning point in the trip for me. Without realizing it, I kept repeating something—which she gently asked back to me. Hugging each other warmly, I continued my journey toward another destination: a hike at Caminito del Rey, reflecting on our conversation in the back of my mind.
My road led me to Alhambra in Granada by accident, and the walk there felt as meant to be as the earlier legs of my journey—each grounding the pebble stones under my feet, helping me carry on. As I grabbed the wheel and drove back to the Montgó mountainside, I felt I needed to continue being here.
By the time I returned to Oliva, I had one day left for sightings yet to be seen.
Coming Full Circle
Now developing my own transformative travel coaching services for travelers and destinations, I come across the same limiting beliefs I also once carried.
I see the dreams, the aspirations, the urge to do something—to live the life we are called to lead. But we often carry a backpack full of unresolved issues that quietly weigh us down.
I now notice others repeating themselves—and I gently ask their words back to them, just as she once did for me last November.
The journey is always traveled a step at a time, without knowing the destination.
There are transportive moments along the way—moments that bring you back to yourself.
Alma de Verano
Next to me now hangs Alma de Verano, a painting I ordered from my mentor Kirsti.
It did its own winding journey, trailing through Estonian and Spanish post offices, before I finally collected it at the Denia post point and had it locally framed.
My gaze turns toward the light shining above the flowers.
Begin Your Journey
Follow your soul’s calling—whether it’s faint or banging loud—and begin taking steps toward your inner self.
Empowering solo journeys grow on you, leading you to bold decisions when the time is right.
And before that? It’s a good idea to travel to a friend and vocalize your aspirations.
Sometimes, it’s not the closest ones you say them to first.
Sometimes, it’s the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with—yourself.
Because you, too, deserve happiness.
✨ Book a free discovery chat to explore how to start your journey.
🌿 Travel to meet me or join the October 9–12 retreat in Alicante to look at your life from another angle.
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