About Merja

My recipe for glowing balance includes dancing, music, green juices, smoothies, art, laughing, living in the present, appreciation, yoga, meditation, reading, having fun, spending time with loved ones and staying true to myself – What is yours?

Hello and welcome! I’m Merja (pronounced MARE-yah), the voice and face behind Glowing Balance. My passion is for combining the deeply healing power and beauty of music and art, creative inspiration and sensitivity with simple and clean lifestyle and nutrition. I am a certified holistic health coach, have degree in textile design (Bachelor of Design) and my studies also include digital image manipulation and fine arts. I have also played the piano since I was six years old.

I’m currently searching my soul and creative spark in Toronto, but my roots lie deeply in Finland, land of the light and airy summer nights, fresh air, stylish and simple design, forests, lakes, winter swimming, Sibelius and healing nature.

Check out this project which has documented the scenery of Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, for a year:
Helsinki 365 – A Year In Photos

Creating beauty around me makes me feel excited, alive and present by allowing me to find new solutions, gathering my experiences, filtering them through my senses and turning those moments into unique expression. As a deeply feeling, highly sensitive individual combining creativity and everyday inspiration helps me to deal with my emotions and share my interpretation.

Because I am a multi-passionate person, I’m constantly finding new ways to combine things. Be it through my newsletters, photographs and interviews on the blog, visual designing services, health coaching, art cards or writings, my goal is to guide people towards the path of self-acceptance, toxin free living, and empower them to share their authentic gifts and recognize how eating and lifestyle habits affect mood and creativity and to access their point of clarity. By doing that I constantly keep learning and growing too while making new connections with incredible, caring and authentic individuals.

I love empty spaces, the evening sun, street art, reading, city lights, music, playing the piano, blueberry banana pancakes, sneakers, taking photographs, woolen socks, writing and journaling, vibrant colors and the small details of the world around me, movies, notebooks and spending time alone while nourishing my inner introvert.

More Facts About my Personal Wellness Journey

// I started to question all the toxins in conventional cosmetics, slowly started to clear my shelves, and switched to healthier options resulting in better skin and hair

// I have suffered from a cocktail of anxiety, mood-swings, loss of interest, stomach cramps, asthma, allergies, eczema, endometriosis, hair loss and adrenal fatigue (and this is not even the whole list) following many tests and prescriptions. Hypochondriac, poor diet, or not really being understood?

// Hair analysis and live blood analysis with lots of learning and experimenting finally gave me better answers, and switching to plant based organic foods as well as giving up gluten, dairy and sugar started my healing process.

// I realized that no-one other than me would be able to help me, and started to read everything that I got my hands on about nutrition and mind-body connection. That lead me to study health and nutrition at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition® from which I graduated as a certified holistic health coach.

// Optimized digestion and natural, organic foods and movement that you enjoy are great starting points to begin the healing journey, but most importantly you have to be able to love yourself, get rid of negative energy that blocks your circulating energy and finding things that you are passionate about and love to do. For me it has been learning that I’m a highly sensitive and introverted individual, finding ways to simplify my life by creating rituals that don’t leave me exhausted and overwhelmed.

// I love hula hooping, dancing, and yoga which calm my nerves better than any prescription medicine. Green juices and lots of raw foods bring me energy and meditation helps me to let go of worries, relax and listen to my intuition. I could spend all of my days by reading, listening to inspiring interviews, finding out how to get rid of blocked energy by practicing EFT and constantly learning new things.