Kaayolia

A part of Thai yoga massage is yoga-like stretching where you relax and do nothing while I slowly stretch out your body listening to and respecting your body's limits. The treatment also includes acupressure following the energy lines on the body, and these two parts of the treatment are intertwined in a flow of movements.

I have available times in April: 17th & 19th; 24th, 25th & 26th. Possibility to book a weekend appointment is on Saturdays 20th & 27th of April.

60 mins massage - 500 kr ~ 75 mins massage - 600 kr ~ 90 mins massage - 700 kr
(possible to get a receipt to use for friskvårdsbidrag)

Contact me for available times or with any questions you have about the treatment!

🪷 Breath is the connection between the body and the mind, by paying attention to our breathing we can get to know and influence both the body and the mind.

🫁 How often are you aware of and can observe your breathing and what happens to your body and your mind when you do?

🫁 What effect does that have when you do yoga or meditate, and what effect does it have while doing everyday things, like waiting for the bus or washing the dishes?

"In recovering from our creative blocks, it is necessary to go gently and slowly. What we are after here is the healing of old wounds - not creation of new ones"
Accepting the mistakes and chosing progress over perfection are my weak spots. Also seeing progress in "small" steps, instead of comparing it with expectations. Especially been struggling with it last few months while fighting consecutive bad colds and having no energy. But maybe something good is coming out of this - besides learning to accept low activity periods (which is extra difficult while starting up a business), realizing I could actually plan to escape nordic winters instead of suffering through them 😊

Are you interested in exploring your creativity and yourself, with the help of embroidery, guided meditations and art therapy techniques? Join my "connecting stitches" spring group! 🪡

~ Connecting Stitches is a series of workshops for exploring creativity and the healing power of embroidery taking inspiration from female artists.
The continuous group starting 5th of March will take inspiration from performance artist Marina Abramovic whose work explores topics of body, pain, love, conflicts, control, relationships and identity, always challenging physical and psychological limits of body and mind.
~ No previous experience in embroidery is needed. We will go over basic stitches which are enough to express yourself.
~During the 3 months we will be working on an "embroidery diary" marking different processes, feelings, events, topics, that we will go through.
~The group will meet 6 times: 5 & 19 March, 9 & 23 April, 7 & 21 May. In between the meetings we will communicate in a closed Facebook group. Possible languages besides English, are Swedish and Croatian. Maximum 8 participants. Cost is 160 eur/1800 kr, possible to divide in 3 payments.

~ questions and registration - DM or email to [email protected]

The most important factor when doing thai yoga massage, for me, is that my client feels safe. We have a conversation before the session, where client has opportunity to express themselves and what is important for them to feel safe. I explain what I am gonna do during the session, but it is possible that a client gets surprised of the level of closeness some postures require (which just shows that being clothed or naked is not the only factor, but also the position and parts of the body being touched or being intertwined). This is why during the whole session my attention is on the clients body and the signals it sends me.

Free online workshop on the 20th february! ⚛
I am starting a continuous group that will work with embroidery combined with other methods such as guided meditations and art therapy techniques. The topics for the groupwork will be inspired by performance artist Marina Abramovic.
The free workshop is a taste of the continuous group, but it's a workshop on its own, and for that one you don't need to know how to embroider :) All the info in the facebook event - link in the comments! For questions or/and registration - send a DM 🏵

since this photo of my hands in clay appeared as a fb memory last thursday, few things happened that brought me back to art therapy 🐚 I got invited to go see Banksy exhibition and to join a workshop that combined movement, connecting to nature and creativity 🌿 These events made my heart beat with joy and excitement, and I got reminded to listen to it. Things always turn out good when I do :) And then I got into a wonderful education after being on a reserve list. So, from next week I will be studying art therapy and sociopsychodrama 💜

This yin yoga position is called banana, and it seems easy.

But, for a lot of people, yin yoga is difficult psychologically since poses are held for some time. It can be challenging to stay still. Your mind gets very active and you become aware of your own thoughts and feelings. They can be uncomfortable so you want to get out of the pose.

The trick is to turn your focus to your breathing. Notice your lungs and belly moving with air going in and out. This can sound simple but can be very difficult - the challenge is to train yourself moving your focus back to the breath each time a thought takes it elsewhere. Over and over again, during the pose. With time, it gets easier. And it's something that can be used in other everyday situations, when you need to calm your thoughts.

I read that yoga means (among other things) “to tie the strands of the mind together”. Today my yoga practice is staring at this photo, remembering the smell and the sound of the sea ... to pull back the strands affected by the daily news from Palestine ... yoga also means to unite, body, breath and mind... If I focus on the sea, maybe I can calm my breath? To calm the thoughts, pull the strands back. To focus the mind, to direct my attention consciously, so that I am able to find my way through.

This book title caught my attention in a bookstore in Kathmandu.
I have been thinking about it again these days since a lot of people make "new year resolutions" and struggle with keeping them.

Krishnamurti's text gave me a new perspective on (trying to) change. He challenges the usual understanding of change and claims that simply conforming to a pattern or an idea of how we or others think we should be is not change. That what we usually call change is merely a shift from one limited and known way of thinking/behaving to another. In order to fundamentally change we need to try to understand why we want to change and try to avoid thinking in dualities. Freeing the mind from the known (patterns, ideas) we are able to move towards the unknown and able to transform.

Think of something you have been trying to change about yourself - and ask yourself why you want to change, observe yourself to understand. Investigate the conflict you created between what is and how you want it to be. See if you can stop judging yourself or comparing yourself to others. Look at the problem (behaviour you want to change) without thinking you already have the solution for it, start from the beginning.

I am offering some spots next week for those who want to try the singing bowls vibration massage. This kind of massage is done by placing the bowl on the body and striking it which creates vibration and sound. Vibration travells through the body massaging the cells, and the sound calms the mind. It's a unique and relaxing experience 🌿

Tuesday (16/01) & Thursday (18/01):
30 mins - 200 kr
45 mins - 300 kr

combined with Thai massage * 75 min - 600 kr

for questions and booking send me a DM or email [email protected]

Address: Gamla Huddingevägen 417, Älvsjö

🌿 What is Thai Yoga Massage?

🪷 A full body treatment including a combination of acupressure on the points following energy lines, and assisted yoga-like stretching. Benefits of the massage are physical and psychological, helping restore the energy balance. The massage is done on the matrass on the floor with the client fully dressed.

🪷 There are different styles of Thai massage, mine is slow and gentle. In my work I am applying the principles of loving-kindness and compassion, and I am specifically focused on working with women with the aim of helping to achieve a state of relaxation, feeling connected to oneself and feeling safe.

🌿 I am offering gift cards and punch cards - available to buy during november and december, valid through 2024. As a present to a loved one or to oneself.

The cards can be digital or paper (can be sent by post or picked up). DM me here or email [email protected] if you want to purchase or if you have any questions!

// I don't have a web shop but can issue a faktura to be paid (swish or bank transfer) to my company, and I can give a receipt usable for friskvårdsbidrag for those who still haven't used it for the year.) //

I am located in Örby/Älvsjö, Stockholm.

I am thinking a lot about how people who are in difficult situations are the ones who have least access to other resources, that besides food, are important for one's well-being. Which one of us can afford therapy, yoga, meditation, retreats, dance and similar workshops? I love Alla ska få mat's project "Centrum for gemenskap", coz they give me a chance to help, and coz they inspire me to continue in the same path ❤

Alla ska få mat Centrum för gemenskap

Last 2 days were a reminder that creativity and sharing does wonders ❤ Sunday morning was listening to Betsy Greer talking about making choices while creating, by creating we create ourselves, and by sharing we encourage others to create and share too ... and so with crafts we can build realities, build new worlds, or at least (which is not little at all) - open conversations :) In the afternoon we had our "Frida group" where everyone contributed in their way, creating safe inspiring and laughing space ... on my way home, I continued to embroider, to relax and process after a long day :) On Monday I helped few woman with "embroidery/knitting traumas" to try embroidery - I was amazed to see them turning it into positive and joyful experience ❤

I am starting an embroidery project called Connecting Stitches, a group for exploring creativity and the healing power of embroidery, taking inspiration from female artists.
The “Connecting Stitches - Frida” group will start in september!

Possible languages are English, Swedish and Croatian - when contacting me, please state which language(s) you speak. Also write whether you would like to meet in person (in Älvsjö/Örby, Stockholm) or join the online meetings. Those are two separate groups with their own facebook group.
Stockholm meetings will be on Sunday afternoons (17/09, 1/10, 15/10, 29/10, 12/12) and online meetings will be on Tuesday evenings (19/09, 26/09, 17/10, 31/10, 14/11).

The price is 1200 sek for the physical group, and 1000 sek/ 85 eur for the online group.
(people from ex/yu countries, or anybody who is struggling with money, if you want to join - text me for the lower price)

If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to ask!

I found a perfect space! or to be more correct - it found me ❣️ I am spending my working days here, among inspiring & supportive people and some amazing vintage objects 😍 also, I can learn a thing or two about renovating furniture 😊
In my part of the collective, I will be doing thai and abdomen massage, yin yoga classes (online) and embroidery (and other creative and support) groups 🌺🙏🧵🌞

lunch with frida 💚 always more to explore about her many sides and their effect on me 😊

"Her gaze bores into us from portrait after portrait. It is disconcerting: she seems to want something from us"

/Hayden Herrera, "Frida Kahlo-The paintings"/

I spent 3 days on a hill "277 metres above reality" where time somehow dissappears and I am automatically and effortlessly only focused on the moment, only here and now exists.

Here I was sitting at the favourite spot, choosing films to watch, 3 or 4 a day. In between films I ate, read, embroidered, and spent time with friends.

Batteries recharged ❣️

"... once you step into the performance space, you are acting from a higher self, and it's not you anymore. It's not the you that you know. It's something else. There on the gymnasium floor of Melville College in Edinburgh, Scotland, it was as if I had become, at the same time, a receiver and transmitter of huge, Tesla-like energy. The fear was gone, the pain was gone. I had become a Marina whom I didn't know yet. "

summer post from my hometown 🌞💙charging my batteries with the warmth of the sun and salt of the sea, and continuing on my Monica Sjöö-inspired-embroidery.

another kind of meditation 🛠️🌤️🌱🙏

photo_by: 💙

doing thai yoga massage on more and more people while practicing these last months, I have been noticing how beautiful human bodies are ❣️ no massage is the same since it adjusts to the body, I am now learning to listen to different bodies 🙏

/photo by

this is me this morning doing the caterpillar pose after a long pause in practice - I could bend forward only little, almost unnoticeable on the photo but very noticeable in my body! Reminding myself that it's important to honour your limits and not push too much - if you feel the stretch, it's good/deep enough (no matter how it looks on the outside!)

spring (that finally came to stockholm!) can be a time of new possibilities, setting intentions (planting and replanting) and atuning with nature in any way that is available to us 🌱

one of the first things i learned at thai massage course is the importance of c o n n e c t i o n & b r e a t h i n g.
Connection with the earth, myself and the person i am working with. Breathing as a way to get that connection back when I lose it. Awareness of the breath brings me back to being present.
(this applies to other life situations as well 😉)

photo by my teacher (and breathing-reminder ❣️)

Hello! My name is Ivana and I made kaayolia so I can post about topics related to mental health and personal growth.
I am a psychologist and a social worker wanting to work outside the system so I am finding my own way around, learning about different techniques and methods that I find inspiring and useful. Holistic perspective, creativity, embodiment, empowerment.
I am a yin yoga teacher, abdomen massage practitioner, 200h yoga teacher student and sociopsychodrama student. I am a big fan of art therapy since it changed my life during the pandemics. And I love embroidery both as a creative expression and an anti-anxiety tool!