Athena Executive Club Member, raw food educator and alternative therapist, Pauliina Salmenhaara, is participating in the Mrs. Expat Singapore event and is reaching out to you as women of compassion, intelligence, confidence and talent to support her.

She joined the event for three reasons:

1. to stand alongside other women and engage in the process as a point of connection with women through words of encouragement and inspiration;
2. to overcome any residue doubt and relish herself, her “being”, with confidence and comfort; and
3. to celebrate womanhood.

Pauliina is currently finalising the details of a Cleanse Programme, encouraging women to attain a Lifestyle of Well-Being, through the 4 elements of well-being: Food and Drink, Body Care, Exercise and Soul Time. These are the 4 areas of our lives which Pauliina feels we need to focus on, in order to achieve a sense of harmony and joy in our body, mind and soul.

She sees the Mrs. Expat Singapore event as a great platform to pass on this message, not simply on the night of the event on November 21st, but more importantly, during the entire process.

She is using social media, private conversations and group events to share inspiring messages, some directly to women who have touched her in one way or another, and some more generally to all women resonating with this cause. Her wish is to stand in unity alongside other women with inspirational stories or messages, and encourage each other to be our best selves. To shine!

This event is meaningful to Pauliina because, as so many of us, she had an eating disorder, from the age of 12 to 25. She writes:

“For years I judged myself based on how much I weighed, how much cellulite I had and other outer criteria. It was a losing battle for someone stuck in a cycle of binging and denial. This was coupled with severe depression, and days when I could hardly get out of bed because of the heaviness of self-loathing pushing me deep into the mattress. But one morning, when I was about 23, I got up and “something just clicked”. I realised that there was more to life than self-pity, denial and depression. I literally did a one-eighty. I started to view food as something enjoyable, as something allowed. I focused on what I could do, what strengths I did have, on being a person of value and worth, on seeing all those wonderful qualities about myself that everyone who cared for me seemed to know about, but I had been blind to. Over the next two years, I feel that I stabilised, and since then, I have just grown stronger and lighter, more confident and aware, alive with a love for life.”

And Pauliina adds:

“Before anyone thinks I am calling myself enlightened, stop right there! I keep on discovering new things about myself and feeling spurts of growth every now and then, and these are normally preceded with challenging times; times, even, when I could sink into depression, but I no longer do. What I can say with confidence is that I have experienced enough, I am enough, to want to stand up and support those women who are ready for change. I am here to facilitate healing. The work is for you to do, and I have tools to assist and encourage you in your journey.”

And so Pauliina asks for you to join her in passing on messages of positivity and encouragement. Look at the women who surround you. What virtues do they possess? What qualities stand out in them? Acknowledge those virtues and spread joy. To start, Pauliina would appreciate it if you could do the 4 following steps, as these are necessary for the online vote for Mrs. Expat Singapore Favourite/Friendship to count:

1 and 2: Like and Share the Mrs. Expat Singapore FB page.

3 and 4: Like and Share Pauliina Salmenhaara on the Mrs. Expat Singapore FB page.

Taking it a step further, to make this process a meaningful one, when you share it, write down the name of 3 women you admire as well as what are those qualities in them that makes them shine.

And last but not least, look at yourself.

What makes you shine? What gives you a sense of well-being? Find it, focus on it, and rejoice in it. You are a woman of substance, and you deserve to be celebrated.

Let us, together, celebrate womanhood!