2021 EndorphinGirl®, EndorphinKids® & EndorphinGuy® Year in Review

Dear EndorphinFriends,

In the words of EndorphinGirl® Mia, it's been a minute! It’s been a long minute. We hope our EG community is doing well. While we have been a bit silent in 2021 with newsletters and such, we thought it would be good to reflect back on the year and re-connect. Taking the time at the end of each year to look back as well as ahead at what is to come can also be very grounding. Reflecting on the year can give us perspective to stay present, and in turn help us use what we have learned in our everyday lives - either personally or professionally. We can't believe how fast 2021 has gone by. And for many, it has been a more challenging year than 2020 - EG herself has certainly felt this way.

Similar to past years, the EndorphinGirl® team did a mental recap of their 2021 activities and decided to share these thoughts on paper with you, our readers!

First and foremost, it sure does feel good reconnecting on here and writing a newsletter. It has been too long. Sometimes, though, we need to step away from something before we get back to it or make changes! [Food for thought 😉]. 

We now know that we will continue every other month with the newsletter in 2022. (Yay!) But what follows for now are month-to-month updates of our individual and collective EndorphinFam activities. We have kept busy and after reflection, realized we were busier than we thought during this past year. While we have supported others with some of the tools and skills we have gained, we hope to be of more service in 2022. So stay tuned for more updates on what is to come! Our plans continue to unfold as we type. 

In any case, here goes the recap first. It was another challenging year across the board, across the globe. But there are always, always, silver linings to be grateful for. In the words that follow, we share specifically what 2021 held for us, including the highs and the lows, and how we plan to keep our EndorphinGirl® attitude of gratitude while staying present and easing forward.

Unlike December 2019, when the EndorphinFam rang in the new year, the new decade together, December 31, 2020 was a bit different. Barbara managed to be with Erik in Tucson, AZ but we were missing Mia who is still living in Finnish Lapland. Everyone was sad not to be together, but opportunities for that would arise again soon! While the start of every new year is exciting for some and perhaps hard for others - we are putting it out into the universe that 2022 will be filled with endorphins, love, health, and joy with an abundance of each of these and more!

January started with Barbara in Tucson, AZ. She had gone to spend Christmas with Erik who could not make it back to the East Coast; Barbara was loving it in Tucson and wound up extending her stay indefinitely. Online yoga-teaching continued and she got re-introduced to her love of crystals after a visit to a crystal warehouse in Tucson where Erik was working. And what a crystal journey the next months evolved into. Similarly, Erik ramped up his hobby of crystal jewelry-making. Mia was busy teaching yoga under Aurora Borealis skies! Barbara was also ramping up the idea of teaching live yoga classes on Facebook, but February brought some in-person opportunities so she suspended that idea. Before February arrived, Barbara and Erik got to visit Sedona, AZ and all the mystery there, including hiking on a few of the vortexes! And with Barbara’s Friday’s off she began her ‘seize the day’ #lovemyfridaysoff adventures sharing on social media which has been fun!

February Barbara had an opportunity to join a Women’s Empowerment Center start-up in Tucson, where she met some really amazing women. The power in the sessions was palpable on so many levels. It was beautiful to be a part a group of women helping and supporting one another. Erik continued working at the crystal warehouse, learning and sharing knowledge with Barbara and taking his crystal jewelry-making from a hobby to sharing with friends and others. He also continued his online teaching with OutSchool. Mia was still enjoying the beautiful Aurora Borealis and teaching yoga in Lapland.

March Barbara’s work at the Women’s Empowerment Center continued and she was so lucky to have a few lifelong friends join one of the weeklong programs. The combination of the beautiful facility and doing numerous exercises in the mountains in Tucson was healing and magical for all. Erik and Mia were busy with their respective endorphin-filled work projects.

April Barbara continued with the Women’s Empowerment Center and was again lucky to have another friend join for an abbreviated session where more time in the mountains and exploring Tucson continued. Erik got an opportunity to work at the Tucson Annual International Gem Show. His employer, a really lovely Austrian couple who have a gem/crystal warehouse in Tucson, needed some vendor support at the event and hired Barbara as well. She spent 10 days immersed in the world of wholesale and retail crystals, and an immersion course learning about so many rocks and crystals. Erik had a similar crystal immersion course which was perhaps even a bit more advanced! 😉 Coincidentally within this spring period, Mia also got further immersed in the world of geology and started in an operations role with a Canadian Gold Mining company in Lapland. Cool!

May After a splendid few months in Tucson, including a number of road trips with Erik across Arizona (Tombstone, Bisbee, Scottsdale, to name a few) Barbara headed back East, although leaving EndorphinSon™ was hard. Yoga-teaching continued online a little bit, though having done so much online teaching during the height of covid, it was time for a bit of a reduced schedule. Erik and Mia kept busy with their respective endorphin-filled adventures and opportunities.

June/July/August The EndorphinFam were all on their respective Coasts until Barbara returned to Finland in July to visit Mia. It was a summer filled with sadness, with loss of several cousins and dear family friends. It felt endless as it continued throughout the rest of the year, and still brings about tears. But in the ever-endorphin way, like our readers, we keep moving forward. Mostly work slowed down, partially for self-care, rest and relaxation, except for Mia who started her year-long nature guide training course in the Finnish Lapland in August. Something she has wanted to participate in for a number of years now. So after next August, if you are looking for an amazing nature experience in Finnish Lapland, give EndorphinGirl® Mia a shout!

September Barbara found herself back East and landed in a sleepy beach town where she has settled. She is loving being by the ocean so much. She debated the idea of taking an 8-week crystal certification course, thinking maybe she had learned enough for the time being during the Gem show, but you can always keep learning so she opted in. She was very interested in learning more about the science of crystal work, as well as all the amazing healing properties from both the science and metaphysical perspectives. She participated in the Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy. She was also invited to be one of two online coaches for Andrea Fraiser’s 2-month ‘The Healer Within Academy’ (THWA). A course she has participated in a few times during the past few years and highly recommends it. 

October/November The EndorphinFam was busy with their respective work, workshops, and trainings. But here is the highlight of the month - well two highlights! First, a short trip to Tucson for Erik’s official college graduation ceremony at the University of Arizona - Yayyy Class of 2020, the most resilient class ever! And second, Erik decided to relocate back East. Super. Duper. Super. Duper! 

December Barbara’s coaching with THWA concluded. She loved the experience of participating in the growth journeys of over 100 women as one of the coaches. Barbara connected with the Yoga Community in her new beach town and was given the chance to do her ‘crystal’ certification course for  several of the yoga students. She graduated the Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy and is now a Hibiscus Moon Certified Crystal Practitioner. Erik is back acclimating to the East Coast life, Mia is moving from the ski resort town of Levi to Muonio where her nature guide classes are, and where she’ll have more opportunities to use her training and skills. Barbara is loving beach life, especially sleepy beach town living in the winter!

Moving into the new year, Barbara is enhancing her business coaching to be more integrative weaving in access to meditation and breath work among some other easily accessible tools. If you are interested in an in-person or remote session, check out services here! 

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For the first time in 2 years the EndorphinFam™ are all together, and together for Christmas. So happy!

We are grateful to have this opportunity to share our EndorphinGirl® brand, health and wellness experiences and knowledge with all of our readers. Thanks for following us. 

Sending you all best wishes, joy, health and abundance in all you desire in 2022. Thanks for following us. Stay tuned for our 2022 schedule!

Keep those endorphins flowing, and stay bendy inside and out. Namaste!

With gratitude. 

EndorphinGirl®🧘‍🙏️🤸‍️🌻