Yoga and diving in the Philippines

Reconnect Discover

During 2013-2017 we had our own company called Reconnect Discover. This was a crazy dream to combine our love for the Philippines with scuba diving, yoga, meditation and coaching, and to share this with others. In other words, my first big Passion Project 🙂 

It really is a story for another time, but this was the BIG IMPOSSIBLE DREAM we had while working in the corporate offices of snowy Finland. To escape to the white beaches, to quit the day-job, to do something totally different, to live closer to nature and closer to each other. I wanted to live my Passion of coaching, yoga and creation, which I felt was not possible at the time in Finland.

So when it comes to Passion Projects, I know what I’m talking about. And no Passion will be ‘too crazy’ if you ask me. I am a living proof that even the craziest of dreams do come true with some dedication, affirmation, visualisation and belief.

WHAT WE CREATED

The concept of Reconnect Discover (and Reconnect Diving) was one of the most extensive brand products we have created to date. Our Passion baby, and our dream come true (us = me and my hubby). We created the concept, the branding, and the services were ran from the Philippines. Social media accounts were active and we even reached the Lonely Planet Philippines! Videos were done by our partner in the Netherlands, VDK Studios.

HABITS DRIVEN APPROACH TO HEALTH & HAPPINESS

IMPACT BODY & MIND

I have the pleasure of knowing Dominika from long time ago, from days when we were both walking the halls of a large financial institution plotting our ‘Exit Strategy.’ That’s what we called it, the desire to quit the boring day job and start something exciting. We would talk about e-strategy over lunch, and at the coffee corner.

It took us another decade to grow up, to come to our own and to finally make concrete steps towards this infamous e-strategy. But it doesn’t matter. It’s never too late, and the timing is always just right. Sometimes we are not ready as 20-somethings to take on the mission that is meant for us. Sometimes we need to go through life, learn our lessons, grow and thicken our skin before we are ready.

In 2018 Dominika was ready. And so was I.

Impact Body & Mind is Dominikas passion project, and I’m so pleased to have been able to be the one to give her the Kick-Start she needed to bring it from an idea to something concrete.

Here’s what she said after the process:

“Kaisa made my passion project possible.

She has built very inviting, well structured and full of energy website, which I am proud to call mine. WHAT she does is great and speaks for itself online.

I am even more appreciative for Kaisa’s WHY and HOW. She stands for passion, authenticity, loyalty, transparency, integrity and enabling others. She listens to understand, stays patient, kind, constructive and challenges sufficiently. She helped me clarify my vision and the business model. She helped me stay dialed in, in times of doubt and overwhelm. She provided for very educative and fun process, and made me grow along the way.

Thank you for showing up as a creative website developer, business coach, accountability partner and true supporting friend. Thank you very much for getting me closer to living my passion.”

– Dominika Dorobisz, Founder of Impact Body & Mind – 

WHAT WE CREATED

We started the process when I was still on a maternity leave, so we took our sweet time. Dominika had a clear concept in mind when we started, but it needed a bit fine-tuning. We spent the first (creative) sessions together to brainstorm a concept and a name for her passion, and did the initial set up of the mood and colors.

The I created the initial website as a portfolio for Dominika to showcase her interests and approach to holistic wellness. Step 2 was to add offering, and a community around her interest. 

I also helped her to set up relevant Social media channels, with the appropriate on-brand images. 

meditate to the sounds of the nature

5 minuutin loma

During the years of 2014-2016 I had a brand called 5 Minuutin Loma. This is Finnish, and means “5 minute vacation.” I created it to help others who were struggling with stress and busyness in the hopes that they would find help earlier and avoid what happened to me… 

During my early 30s I was working hard in the Corporate game in Finland, and slowly but surely the constant grind and busyness took its toll. I burned out, not severly, but enough to want to quit my job and find alternative ways to deal with my mind. 

I studied to become a certified Life Coach, I deepened my knowledge of Yoga and Meditation with a Yoga Teacher Training (RYT 200), and I received a NLP Practitioned certification to understand how we can influence our thoughts and feelings by the language we use. 

Learning to relax in the midst of busy

 During our time in the Philippines 2014-2017 I wanted to share the incredible power of the pristine nature around me, and I wanted to offer my lessons learned to others. To relax in the midst of your daily life, instead of waiting so long that you need years to decompress.

5 Minuutin Loma offered short, 5-10 minute meditations for every day of the week. They had nature sounds in the background (which I recorded, like the waves, crickets, water falls, small springs, tropical rain etc). All meditations were designed to be short enough to listen to on the way to work, or even at the office.

WHAT WE CREATED

We created the concept of “5 Minute Vacation” to the Finnish market, did the branding (logo, colors, e-product pictures etc) and web design, as well as the social media presence.

The products were sold via the website, and via a large Finnish wellness product platform during 2014-2016.