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Elsa Varja

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e_l_s_i_s

Time. What would you do, if you got +21 hours mor

Time.

What would you do, if you got +21 hours more time to spend in every week?
It’s so fascinating idea to get some extra time... 💓

Due to my daily 🔺-medication, I need on average 11 hours of sleep every single night.
When normal adult needs on average 7–8 hours of sleep / 24h, it means that they have 21 hours more, than me, to use awake weekly.
No wonder, I have had a feeling, that if I am working or studying, I have no time to do anything else in my life – except necessary homework.
No wonder I have had feeling that it’s quite exhausting and lonely to live in this way.
And no wonder that I have burned out so often in my adult life.
Yet, my rare and invisible nerve illness is not acknowledged as an illness which decreases the capacity or ability to work.
Even though it demands either the strong medication or medical treatment in a hospital.
That’s why I have had to live like a normal people but I have on average 3 hours less on my stock per day.

That’s why I have became so exhausted while trying to be competent in my life.
And that’s why I am curious to know what ”normal people” would like to do with those extra hours if you got them?
The fact is that I am ashamed about my condition. I try to hide my disability from other people. It’s not easy to write about it.
I just hope that telling about these issues would spread the understanding.
Perhaps someone – with or without the similar condition – finds my post as worthwhile. ▫️▫️▫️ #invisibleillness #trigeminalneuralgia #trigeminalneuralgiawarrior #burnout #exhaustion #uupumus
#athomeoutdoors #outdoorwomen #finnishnature #ourfinland #outdoorlife #socialisolation #koronakevät #ulkonaperillä #naturelovers #bordercollie #dogmom
#spoonie #spoonielife #spooniecommunity #themightysite

Smile, if you are able, like in 3rd pic. 🥰 Smil

Smile, if you are able, like in 3rd pic. 🥰
Smiling this seldom has happened last maybe in Autumn 2012... I have to say this has been an extra difficult spring considering my neurological condition.
Yet I have needed those moments to take a breath – even a short moment – in healing nature.
Thanks to my sister for this moment in Porkkalanniemi peninsula. Not a big adventure but a needed one.

We just walked 2 minutes away from my car and put up the tent onto the rock. Only so that I could sleep in the night outdoors. In a safe troupe. (Better safe than sorry.) Thank you sister @emmustelma and Mother Earth. •
•

#smile #athomeoutdoors #outdoorwomen #finnishnature #ourfinland #outdoorlife #socialisolation #koronakevät #nukuyöulkona #ulkonaperillä #girlswhohike #porkkalanniemi #naturelovers #adventurelife #camping #campingwithdogs #invisibleillness #trigeminalneuralgia #facetodaytogether

Things that will always have a special place in my

Things that will always have a special place in my heart:
Lake Garda in 🇮🇹
Scuderia Castello (My 2nd home) 🐎
Parco Alto Garda ⛰
and
ALAIN the horse of my life. ❤️ Unfortunately the life gave me lemons and sent me back to Finland ahead of time. I am trying to make lemonade out of this all... 🍋
But damn it’s freezing here 🇫🇮. Maybe I should try popsicles instead. 🥶 These pics are taken in mid winter (January 2020).
.
📷 @jokkekcom
.
#tb #trailriding #horseriding #travelbyhorse #outdoorlife #adventureriding #horsetrekking #arabianhorse #outdoorwomen #mountaingirls #naturelovers #ratsastusvaellus #lakegardaitaly #lagodigarda #horsesofinstagram #gardaoutdoors #fjallravenfi #ulkonaperillä
@scuderiacastello
@gardaoutdoors
@visit.garda
Note:
@fjallravensuomi varusteet erinomaisia myös vaellusratsastukseen! Testattu on putoamisten kera. 😅(Ei yhteistyö)

Cherish the good times. ☀️ We have had good ti

Cherish the good times. ☀️ We have had good times at Lake Garda, but it’s time to go home. 🇫🇮 A month ago I got bad news: Halli has a mammary gland tumour. And it’s a fast growing one.
My trail buddy must be surgically operated. Because the surgical wounds will be big and maybe painful, it’s better to do it in our home country. Otherwise Halli would need to travel through out the Europe with the wounds.
So we come back home earlier than we had planned.
I just keep my fingers crossed that the quality of the tumour is good instead of dangerous. She is my family. ❤️
•• #outdoorwomen #hikingwithdogs
#womenwhohike #outdoorlife #adventurelife #adventurepuppy #naturelovers #wilderness #ulkonaperillä #gardaoutdoors #visitgarda #parcoaltogarda
#bordercollie #bordercolliesofinstagram #somethinglikebordercollies
#dogmom #bestfriend

All trailrunners and hikers! It’s worth of noti

All trailrunners and hikers!
It’s worth of noticing that here we have an endless amount of beautiful trails to explore the year around.
Only the Parco dell Alto Garda is so huge that one season is not long enough to go all the great mountain trails and peaks or stunning valleys.
And if you get enough of the west side of the Lake, there’s the great Monte Baldo area waiting for you (and also for me so far) to conquer it. Yes, the snow-capped mountain in the pics.
Not forgetting the trails and Via Ferratas close to Village Arco in North... And you can enjoy all these in the peaceful nature when it’s a low-season in tourism!

Just choose your activity...🧘🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🧗🏻‍♀️🚵🏻‍♀️🏊🏻‍♀️🪂🎣🏇🏕🛶🗺 ••
📷 1,3,6-8 @jokkekcom ••
#trailrunning #mountainrunning #trailfi #polkujuoksu #hiking #hölkkämäyrät #backpacking #hikingwithdogs #womenwhohike #outdoorwomen #trailsisters #mountaineering #mountaingirls #outdoorlife #adventurelife #adventurerun #naturelovers #wilderness #alpinismo #correre #bordercollie #ulkonaperillä #sziolsfinland #thebestgripontheplanet #gardaoutdoors #visitgarda #parcoaltogarda @gardaoutdoors

Greetings from the outdoor paradise – Lake Garda

Greetings from the outdoor paradise – Lake Garda! ☀️
I know that there’s a lot of bad news from Italy now. Yet I have had an awesome winter season in Italy since December.
The lake has been lukewarm 6–8C for swimming. And so pure and beautiful itself. The beach is not crowded by other tourists and you can swim only with your dog and the familiar swan couple. It’s luxurious I would say. 🦢🦢
••
#outdoors #gardaoutdoors #lakegarda #lagodigarda #visitgarda #winterseason #outdoorlife #ulkonaperillä #openwaterswimming #iceswimming #beachlife #outdoorwomen #bordercollie
#somethinglikebordercollies
@gardaoutdoors

We are sisters. We explore together and apart. We

We are sisters. We explore together and apart. We are not hobbits despite the soundtrack. We just get involved in the adventures like the hobbits and we are funny like they are. 😉
I (@e_l_s_i_s) work the most of the year remotely as the Comms Manager for @nutsfi trail running events. I’m is also in charge of Marketing and Content for #BuffTrailTourFinland – remotely. And am a core team member of @bodomtrail and @nuuksioclassic events’ comms and content.
I love to be and to work with animals and my border collie is almost always around. We are spending this winter with the horses in Italy, in the Alps and the Dolomiten. My passions are trail running and riding in the wild. 🐕🏃🏻‍♀️🏇🏕.
My beloved sister (@emmustelma) is a multitalent in travel biz and a pro in sport management and health promotion. She has worked as an outdoor guide in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Guatemala and Nicaragua. She has lived and studied in Spain, Brazil, Chile and Tanzania. On top of that she’s a certified yoga teacher. 🧘🏻‍♀️No matter the location – she is comfortable with guiding a tour of 🚴🏻‍♀️🎿🥾🎒🏕🛶. ...
Here we go, on the road again
Like a band of hobbits we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turnin' our way.
We three are ready for the incredible journey! ••
Thanks for some of the pics @onevisionfi @jokkekcom @lovisatuomela & the others. And @rami.valonen for the tips! 🎵
••
#outdoorlife #traillife #roadtrip #outdoorwomen #naturelovers #mountaingirls #trailrunning #backcountry #ulkonaperillä #trailriding #campingwithdogs #nomad #traveltheworld #sustainabletravel #trailsisters

If I was a cowgirl... Last weekend I spent horse t

If I was a cowgirl... Last weekend I spent horse trekking in Maremma, Italy. First time in my life I met wild horses! There were several flocks of wild horses on our way. These were magnificent encounters. 😍🙏🏼
••
#trailriding #outdoorlife #traillife #outdoorwomen #naturelovers #trailridinghorse #mountaingirls #backcountry #ulkonaperillä #horsebackriding #horsesofinstagram #travelbyhorse #vaellusratsastus #westernriding #wildhorses #horsetrekking #horsebackadventure #tolfetano #tolfetanohorse #visititaly

I found my safe haven at Lake Garda, Italy. And it

I found my safe haven at Lake Garda, Italy. And it was a true paradise for trail riders, trail runners, hikers, climbers, kayakers, fishers!

The place is @scuderiacastello . Located close to the lake and mountains. All the breathtaking hiking, trail running and trail riding courses are just outside the farmhouse.
There’s a cozy B&B, horse stable and restaurant in Scuderia Castello. The staff welcomed me like a family member. It felt like being in a paradise. All the outdoor activities easily available! 🏃🏻‍♀️🐎🎣🧗🏻‍♀️🛶🧘🏻‍♀️ In Italy the climate didn’t hurt my face and I was able to enjoy the countryside and nature together with animals. Horses and dogs have given me support and comfort all my life. They relieve the fears of pain and drive me to be present in the painless moment.
Without this lovely experience after all the weakness, my mind would have diven to somewhere deep I don’t want to even imagine.
Now I remember again that there’s a lot of good things that still can happen. I am not fully able-bodied, but still the happiness can touch me at times. ☀️ And I am so thankful to all those people around me, who help and support me in the different ways. Who understands and give me chances to try to be the best possible version of a person who suffers from trigeminal neuralgia. Thank you. You give me the meaning of life over and over again. ❤️ #trailriding #outdoorwomen #outdoorlife #naturelovers #trailridinghorse #trailrunning #mountaingirls #backcountry #ulkonaperillä #vaellusratsastus #horsebackriding #lagodigarda #lakegarda #gardaoutdoors #facetodaytogether #trigeminalneuralgia #facialpain #adventure #travelbyhorse #cavallo #horsesofinstagram

Behind all the beauty of these IG pics there’s i

Behind all the beauty of these IG pics there’s is a daily battle.
We like to share the good moments.
So do I too.

Yet I do want share also the awereness about not to be in fully able-bodied. To battle daily with trigeminal neuralgia and to need daily 💊💊 too. Both the disease and the medication causes symptoms, which makes the normal life less energetic than I would desire to be and how I would like to see myself.
When trige then attacks – unpredictably – despite the daily 💊💊, it makes me feel that I’d prefer to be ⚰️ instead of going through those terrible pains. It’s not a beautiful condition at all.
And all the time, I mean ALL the time I’m in alertness if there are causes, that can be triggering to my nerves, in the environment. And should I protect myself somehow from those.

When the nerve damage is in the area of face, all the senses can receive triggering stimulations like loud or irritating noise, flickering lights, icy touches, strong scents, shock motion, certain flavours – just to mention a few.
And of course things like menstruation or stress makes the body even more sensitive to all the stimulants mentioned above!
What I’m saying: I am afraid of the pains all the time. And I have to put effort to protect myself from them by making choices like what I can do, where I can go, how can I go, when can I go, what should I wear, what is the worst scenario and how I survive if it happens and so on. It’s difficult. It takes lots of energy.

And there’s so many dreams I have had to give up as a consequence of my condition combined to the society around me.
In the summer I (once again) went through a terrible vicious pain circle and I was so ready to stop my breathing while begging in my mind that the pains would relieve. And I was so done after the extra heavy medication finally worked. The whole my body had shaken through like several days of ultra running. And my mind had dwelled in a deepest waters.
That’s why I am grateful for all those moments when the 💊💊 works and I can be painless even though I am still in alertness. ❤️ ••• #trigeminalneuralgia #facetodaytogether #outdoorwomen #outdoorlife #naturelovers #ulkonaperillä

Grateful that I had a chance to substantiate the m

Grateful that I had a chance to substantiate the moment when one of my role models and top female runner from Finland 🇫🇮, @maijaoravamaki finished her UTMB (171 km)! ✨ She ranked to 13th together with an Italian female runner Giulia Vinco! ✨
Congrats Maija, you are such an inspiring athlete and trailrunner!
•••
#utmb #utmb2019 #ultrarunning #trailrunning #trailrunner #trailfi #polkujuoksu #timetoplay #instarunning #strongwomen #womenrunningcommunity #ultratrailworldtour #salomonwmn
@utmbmontblanc
@salomonrunning
@suuntosuomi
@salomonsuomi
@ultratrailworldtour

My day in the Alps with my sister @emmustelma . 🍀
•••
#outdoors #outdoorwomen #hiking #alpinist #naturelovers #frenchalps #trailrunning #glacierdesbossons #outdoorsiskot #mountaingirls #ulkonaperillä #montblanc #montaña #backcountry

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