Vol. 7 med Mikkala Marilyn Kissi

What does July mean for you?

The month of July holds a very special place in my heart. It's my birth month and I'm a summer girl through and through, a true Leo! I love how July invites us to let go of our normal routines, taking time off with family and friends to have fun and go with the flow. It's a huge luxury to enjoy time without looking at my calendar or my watch - I appreciate this so much! I like to delete the apps off of my phone to truly disconnect and tune into the beauty of the present moment. July is expansive and full of celebration, and I love to tap into this energy without distraction. There's a special smell of July: the warm earth, long swims, the sunshine on my skin, the warm breeze blowing my summer dresses. This month is so potent and will go by so fast if you don't take the time to fully witness its magic. It's about love, about family and friends, and most importantly about self-love, so make sure you set the time aside to focus on the love all around you in July!

You inspire and educate women of all ages - how do you see the woman in 2022?

I see women in 2022 as awakening to the power of the feminine. For too long, women have been operating in a very masculine energy because our culture promotes productivity, pressure, control, and competition. We need to balance this masculine energy with our precious feminine power, as a balance of both is truly what we all need in order to achieve. 

We cannot create and produce all the time, the same every single day. We are doing too much, have too much pressure to be perfect, set expectations too high, and believe we need to be the best mom, lover, friend, worker, etc. and we simply burn out living like this. 

I see more and more women coming to me wishing to awaken and balance these unrealistic goals, realizing that the only way they can live the abundant, nourishing, and beautiful lives of their dreams is to look after themselves with deep care and love first, treating their bodies and spirits like their own best friend. 

Once women stop living to please society and begin to live in alignment with who they are, once they listen to their heart's desires and needs, honoring and embracing their feminine power and cycles, they begin to take their power back, protecting their energy, time, and space. The awakened woman, lives in circular cycles, and respects her ovulatory phase energy and her menstruation phase need to restore - she is not the same everyday throughout the month and there's power in that. Practicing feminine leadership makes for a sustainable life, a beautiful and powerful life, and women are realizing this - it gives me so much hope for our future and our world.

would you describe your lifestyle?

I live a natural and down to earth lifestyle. I share a sweet garden house in Copenhagen (kolonihaver) with my family and love spending time at home in our garden oasis. I also love to travel, sharing Living Yolates through retreats all around the world, from Denmark and Sweden to Zanzibar, Mexico, and Bali. I love to choose natural settings that have as little human impact as possible. The wilder the nature, the better! There's so much wisdom to learn from mother nature and I try to listen in as much as I can! 

Another important element of my lifestyle is the belief that I am creating my reality every moment. My dream life needs to be enjoyable and feel good and creating a reality that is full of joy and love helps me to live a life that's in alignment with my core values. If something is not a yes, I need to listen to my intuition and to my heart. I try to say no to anything that's not in alignment as much as I can.

I try to live as sustainably as possible by choosing organic foods, second-hand or consciously-produced clothes, and I love to grow my own berries, herbs, and veggies in our garden. I ride my bike as much as possible and also live a balanced life that allows me to go with the flow. Being spontaneous is a gift and I love to go with the flow with life, have fun, drink a glass of wine, balance my mostly plant-based diet with animal products sometimes if my body needs them. I like to live by the 80 / 20 percent idea - 80% of the time doing what feels healthy and nourishing to my body and 20% of the time what feels healthy and nourishing to my soul and spirit.

Where do you relax, recharge or get inspired?

Besides my sweet house and garden, I recharge by swimming in the ocean all year round - no matter how cold it is! I also love walking barefoot for grounding, listening to podcasts, being with my kids and my husband. Meditation and breath work, dancing, yoga, and pilates, also help me to recharge and get inspired. Living Yolates, my biggest passion from my inspirations, was created from what I do to relax and recharge and it's amazing that it's helping others do that all around the world now too! 

I also love to laugh! Surrounding myself with bright and uplifting people who don't take life too seriously allows me to laugh, have fun, and be free to express my joy!

Book, podcast, music or movie would you like to recommend?

Podcasts: Moshi Moshi Mind (check out my episode!), Noelle Crystals.

Music: Huge part of my life, playlists for all the seasons, workshops, and would recommend you check out my Spotify channel for all my favourites: Mikkala Marilyn Kissi. I love meditation music, house music, African, hip hop and soul... so many kinds!

Books: Lunar Living - Kirsty Gallagher, Dit hemmelige våben - Nanna Ewald Stigel and Laila Tórsheim, Hav tillid til livet - Louise L. Hay, Undskyld, dit liv venter på dig - Lynn Grabhorn, Untamed - Glennon Doyle, Krystaller - Noell Elise Wakeroots.

What do you dream about the most?

I dream about a big house in the countryside where I can host retreats and most importantly to be present and be in the moment as much as I can, full of inner peace and calm. I do my best to create my dream life every day, but I can hope and dream for the future to see the sunset and sunrise from my house where I share Living Yolates with people from all around the world. I dream to see the beauty that's around me, everywhere I go, and in everyone I meet!

What is health and beauty for you?

Health to me means to deeply trust my body, feel inner calm, and balance in my body, mind, and spirit. When I live in deep flow and trust my health, I feel so much stronger and there's an absence of stress. Feeling healthy is to be vital, energized, happy, and strong - it's more than the absence of illness. I live for feeling amazing and fantastic, I don’t live for just feeling okay - I want to feel really good!

I believe beauty comes from the inside. When you have a strong self of self-love, self-worth, acceptance, and self-esteem, you are nourished first from the inside which allows you to shine your beauty to the outside world. When you are confident and trust in yourself you have an inner glow that goes with you and spreads to others. I find that those who are in alignment with themselves shine their beauty from their eyes, they act as a mirror to what's going on the inside and are a big indicator of true beauty for me. It's of course also important to look after yourself: your skin, your digestion, your body, your mind and spirit, and these practices make you beautiful too!

What are you afraid of?

My biggest fear is to not be fully present and awake in my life and to live too much in fear or control. My passion and purpose are to make sure I don’t control my life or make decisions from a place of fear, but instead to make decisions from a place of trust - I listen to my heart. It's so easy to be controlled by fear and trusting in your journey is so important. I also try not to focus on worst case scenarios and believe in the best outcomes.

What are you most grateful for?

I am most grateful for my husband, Benjamin Kissi. The love of my life, father of my 2 children whom I am so grateful for, Isaac and Indiah, together we've built a family to share our values, joy, love, and celebration with. We have so much love and trust and life joy in our family, living a life of our dreams, in a supportive, fun, and uplifting environment. And of course, I'm so grateful to my third baby, Living Yolates. The Living Yolates philosophy is created and influenced by our family's lifestyle and philosophy and and I'm so grateful for how my life and work are so rooted in love and trust.

Do you have a morning / evening ritual that you would rather not do without?

Morning and evening rituals change with seasons and how I feel. In the fall there's a good blend of all energies, and in the summer, I like to move, dance and express, in the spring I like to focus on strengthening movements, and in the winter there's more rest and recovery - but this also depends on the day and what I need!

I always choose to start my day with self-love. Meditation, breath work, running and strengthening exercises, swimming, dancing, etc. could all be a part of my morning. On days when I only have 15 mins maybe I'll only meditate but on days I have the time, I might spend 2 hours moving, breathing, and tuning into myself and what she needs!

I like to end my days with what I'm grateful for, releasing the stress of what I cannot control in my life, and doing a calming and nourishing breathing practice like the kidney breath.

How to create air for yourself in a busy day?

The best way for me to do this is by waking up before my family gets up. This is where I can set aside some time to nourish myself and fill my cup, before I fill the cups of others. It's important that I don't overbook my schedule, as spontaneity is very important for me - I feel too claustrophobic if I'm too booked in advance. Gaps in my calendar allow me to listen to my changing needs every day. This is my biggest challenge, being self-employed and with my incredible family - I need to be mindful about overbooking and to make sure to let my family know when I need some time and space. It's important to communicate my needs so everyone can make time to get what they need too - it's all about teamwork!

What small routines you have in your everyday life (which may seem like a bit) are crucial?

It's so powerful to wake up before family to plug into myself, connected to my essence and my body before inserting others and doing tasks. Breakfast is very important to me, and I love to eat a slow and conscious breakfast by myself once my family is off for their day. A green juice or smoothie when I am busy preparing them for the day and then a warm bowl of porridge later, enjoyed slowly is such a crucial moment of my day.

Who do you follow that inspires you on instagram?

I am not inspired by most of what I see on social media. So much is not real, and I believe we waste so much of our precious life on technology that I don't really love it that much. There are a few people who I find inspiration from and many others that here or there I see something I love, but most of the time I look for inspiration from the people in my life and from nature! @mynewroots @Ayoe_ramati @earthwomen_

If you had to give good advice to another woman, what would it be?

Honour and love who you are, for everything that you are. 
I wish for all women to embrace and fully love who they are. To take a stand and shine your light into the world. With so many high expectations and stress, people forget to enjoy their journey. Don’t play small and shine your light like no one else can.

What are your favorites in the moshi moshi mind universe and how do you use them?

I wear the moshi moshi mind clothes every single day for movement, looking elegant, and for my wellbeing. I especially love the new blue set with Louise Bruun - it's my favourite! I also love the oversized dresses and shirts - all of them! Not only do I wear their clothes for my LY practice and teaching but in my daily life because they're so comfortable - like giving your body a hug! I know and trust their conscious fabrics and products and love their quality!

ESSENTIALS

"I love that we have created a universe where everything doesn't have to disappear."

Stine Skjoldborg