Early Wednesday morning. Near the rotunda of Palanga Botanical Park. A few dozen women sitting on mats listen to the soothing voice of the breathing instructor.
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All unexpressed emotions, stress accumulate in the body and manifest as various pains. These are signals to stop and listen to yourself. Kristina speaks straight to the heart. After all, we women often carry everything on our own shoulders, and our mothers and grandmothers constantly repeated that “there is still this and that to do, how can you just sit on the couch.” In other words, they didn’t know how to do nothing, they constantly felt inside as if they didn’t deserve rest.
Kristina proves how important it is to take time just for yourself, to be here and now, because our thoughts like to revolve either in the past or in the future.
We start breathing with the belly. Later, we perform breathing exercises with the diaphragm, and finally – with the chest.
As it starts to drizzle, we sit in a circle under the rotunda roof. We perform energizing arm pulls, short inhales through the nose, and strong exhales through the mouth. The mind calms down.
This year Palanga is aiming for the European Sports City label, so the resort organizes various free outdoor workouts almost every day, such as yoga on the bridge or Pilates on the beach. Kristina, radiating vital energy, is happy to share her knowledge with Palanga residents and guests.
She has her studio above a shopping center and since February, when she moved from Vilnius to live in Palanga, she has already gathered a group of loyal clients.
After the session by the rotunda, we sit down with her in a small café. Sipping matcha with pea milk, a conversation full of sensitivity and openness is born.
Escaped from the rush
32-year-old Kristina was born and raised in Vilnius, lived in Kaunas for 10 years, and this year decided to move to the seaside. Many were surprised that she made such changes in winter, not summer.
“I ended up in Palanga by my own choice,” the interlocutor laughed. “I am very happy to have escaped from that faster life. I find a lot of quality here. I was quite exhausted. I needed nothing to happen, no familiar faces. I wanted to surround myself with silence and peace, as if to rebuild myself anew, to understand what I want. February in Palanga was a great choice for that.”
According to Kristina, when you feel that you need some change, that you cannot change anything, the only option is to remove yourself from circumstances that no longer serve you.
“Although they say you can’t run away from problems, I ran away. I found a completely different self here. I felt peace differently, quality appeared in my everyday life,” the breathing instructor confirmed.
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