About Me

I believe in allowing the natural expression of one's authentic self to guide life into a desired direction. To tap into one's true potential, it is necessary to have the basic physiology in order. As the saying goes: I had 99 problems but healing my nervous system solved like 90 of them. Combining the newest technology and the latest research with the understanding of psychology and deep layers of human existence, Mindgrit offers tools to curiously explore breath, body and mind for healing and building resiliency.

My name is Sanni Parkkinen and I work as the main coach, keynote speaker and yoga teacher at Mindgrit.

Prior to being completely caught up by the well-being scene, I studied business spiced up with Russian culture and literature (M.Econ., B.A.), completed a bunch of studies at Law School and worked in the hectic consulting world at KPMG. And yes - burnt out, couldn't sleep and was an emotional nerve wreck.

Since then, year 2013, I have educated myself in the field of yoga (E-RYT 500h) and health coaching specializing in stress regulation, recovery, productivity-enhancing techniques - and the breath. I work closely with Firstbeat Technologies as a service provider of their Lifestyle Assessment.

In yoga, I was always the most fascinated about the breath. My eagerness went so far that eventually I spent hours a day practicing yoga and pranayama, yoga's breathing techniques. My practice brought an enormous sense of clarity to my life not to mention purpose, joy and meaningfulness. But it was also in many ways too much. I for example lost the ability to hold my breath.

As I dug deeper into human physiology, biology, psychology and spirituality, all the threads I had explored started slowly come together. My journey to heal the nervous system began. I noticed the effects of this gentle, holistic approach in all areas of life. My work productivity rose, I slept better, I was able to regulate my emotions in challenging situations and I was, simply put, happier. As I learnt to understand my breath, I gained deeper connection to myself. After a while, also strong practices started to feel good again; the base was built properly.

This is why I continue coaching with the idea of physiology first - meaning that nervous system health is the key to solve many of the issues we tend to call mental or emotional. This is why holistic approach to health is desperately needed. This is why your breath can show you the way.