Regenerative Women

Tonight is the Autumn Equinox, when day and night are exactly equal, and honestly I can’t think of a better moment to pause, look back at the year that’s gone by and start preparing, slowly and without pressure, for the one to come. I wrote about this in my last letter too, why I believe autumn and not January 1st is the real time to set our new year intentions, because this shift from summer into the colder, darker, slower months is nature’s invitation to trust exactly the things we are taught to resist.

So we gathered, women from different parts of the world, for our Autumn Equinox Gathering Substack Live circle, and here’s the audio experience of what we did together.

I sat down live with Kati Mayfield , founder of Flower Rescue ry in Helsinki, for another one of our Unfiltered Founder Chats and thought I have known Kati for a few years, I learned new things about her - which is why I absolutely love inviting guests to this series who I truly admire!

Kati moved to Finland from the US for a two-year master’s at Aalto University, and ten years later, like me, she’s still here. Flower Rescue is her nonprofit that takes waste flowers from wholesalers and florists — flowers that would otherwise get chucked into a dumpster because one moldy bloom in a bulk package of twenty ruins the whole batch — and turns them into bouquets and communal flower-making workshops for senior citizens, memory care units, and other vulnerable communities. Every month, hundreds of people who don’t often have easy access to joy get a burst of it, hands in flowers, scent and colour and someone paying attention to them.

Thank you tass, Christine, Vibha Ranjan, Adrita_Sparkling Thoughts and many others for tuning into this live unfiltered chat with Eva Estlander!

Please note the text is an auto-summary created using Claude AI.

Every month I sit down with a woman I trust to have the kind of conversation we’d normally only have over lunch.. the unfiltered, no-script, “let’s actually go there” kind. This month I got to sit down with Eva Estlander , a fellow Helsinki entrepreneur I’ve known for years, whose path has taken her from surf-and-yoga retreats on Mexico’s Pacific coast to a Sound Healing Academy, teacher trainings, and collaborations with brands like Chanel, Four Seasons, and Vogue Scandinavia.

We didn’t plan an agenda. We never do. But an hour later, we’d covered motherhood, burnout, manifestation, money, luxury, sisterhood, and what a genuinely “productive” day actually looks like. If you were there live, thank you.. If you weren’t, the replay is now available for anyone who wants to watch the full conversation..

In the meantime, here are the themes that stayed with me.

1. Nothing about this path is linear.. and that’s the point

Eva’s entrepreneurial story didn’t start with a plan. It started with following her heart to a small beach town in Mexico, building a business with a partner, watching that relationship and that business both end, and rebuilding from there. Then a move back to Finland. Then a stint in a genuinely toxic corporate job — the kind that leaves your nervous system waving a red flag in your face — before she left to become an entrepreneur again, just in time for a global pandemic.

Her framing for all of it: life and feminine energy don’t move in a straight line. They move in spirals, seasons, and cycles. We’re taught that success looks like an upward diagonal line — bigger title, bigger revenue, bigger everything, every single year. But almost nobody’s real story looks like that, and pretending it does is exhausting for everyone.

2. Motherhood didn’t get easier to “balance” — it got easier to build systems around

We started the conversation talking about what it means to run a business as a mother, and Eva was honest that it’s still an active practice, not a solved problem. As a self-described hard-working Capricorn, her instinct after her daughter goes to bed is to squeeze in “just one more thing.” The work isn’t finding perfect balance — it’s building small systems and boundaries so work doesn’t quietly eat the hours meant for rest.

Practically, that means things like batching content creation and admin on Mondays, protecting free time during the week, and being honest that weekends often do get taken up by retreats and trainings — because that’s simply when her clients, many of whom have their own 9-to-5s, are free.

3. You’re allowed to outgrow your own niche

Eva’s path went from yoga teaching to sound healing to mentorship — and she described her own approach to leadership using a beautiful metaphor: the mother tree. In old-growth forests, certain ancient trees anchor the whole ecosystem, offering nutrients to the surrounding trees and drawing on them when needed in return.

That’s a very different model of leadership than the one most of us were handed — one obsessed with personal status, income, and optics. A mother-tree model asks a different question: what am I nourishing, and who am I training to do the same? It’s also, quietly, permission. So many women feel locked into the first niche they ever picked. You’re allowed to evolve. New tools, new modalities, new chapters — they don’t erase what came before. They add a layer to it.

4. A “productive” day looks nothing like what we’ve been sold

We talked about the myth that productivity means being booked solid from 9am to 8pm and collapsing into bed. Eva’s actual Friday, the day we recorded this: one mentorship session, and the rest of the day off. The next day, a weekend at the summer cabin doing essentially nothing.

Her structure comes from knowing her own energetic design — she needs real “hermit” time alone to refill before she has anything to give. The masculine energy of structure and containers still matters (Mondays for admin, a real rhythm to the week) — it’s just in service of protecting space for rest, not filling every hour with output.

5. Wellness, minus the performance of it

One of the most refreshing parts of the conversation was Eva naming, without apology, the wellness trends she simply doesn’t follow: no cold plunges, no 5am wake-ups, not even a daily yoga or meditation practice in the conventional sense. Her point wasn’t that these practices are wrong — it’s that so much of wellness culture has become about visibly performing discipline rather than genuinely supporting yourself. Reserving the right to change her mind, choosing practices that actually work for her body and her season of life, mattered more than following the trend.

6. Manifestation, decoded

We spent real time on manifestation — a word that gets dismissed as “woo” more often than it gets examined. Eva’s take: manifestation isn’t magic, it’s connecting dots that already exist in your field, once you clear the internal noise enough to notice them.

Her practice is simple and consistent — a visualization before sleep, in that drowsy, receptive brainwave state, where she doesn’t just picture what she wants but feels it as already true. She shared two proof points: manifesting a six-figure business, and manifesting a hotel partner for her retreats — right down to a DM that arrived weeks later from someone who turned out to recruit teachers for luxury spa hotels. The mechanism, as she described it, is less about magical thinking and more about identity: you act like the person who already has what you’re calling in, and life starts handing you the connections to match.

7. Money, luxury, and moving resources into women’s hands

This is where the conversation went deepest. Eva was direct: more money needs to move into women’s hands, and having resources isn’t in tension with doing meaningful work — it’s what lets meaningful work scale faster and reach further. She pushed back on the idea, common in wellness spaces, that wanting wealth is somehow spiritually suspect.

On luxury specifically: she reframed it away from status and toward nervous-system regulation — beautiful, well-designed spaces are genuinely soothing, and that’s worth naming instead of feeling guilty about. Her sharper point: if someone else’s version of luxury (or ambition, or pricing) triggers an immediate judgment in you, that reaction is worth examining. Often it’s pointing at something you want but haven’t yet given yourself permission to receive.

We also touched on the idea — common in entrepreneurial circles — that you need a certification before you’re allowed to build something. Eva’s view: certifications aren’t nothing, but plenty of certified people don’t practice what they teach, and plenty of the most impactful paths are intuitive and self-built rather than credentialed.

8. Service (seva) as the actual doorway to abundance

We kept circling back to the concept of seva — selfless service — and what it means for pricing, scale, and intent. Eva’s framing: when you’re genuinely oriented around the experience you’re creating for everyone involved — client, partner, guest — abundance tends to follow, because you’re not forcing it. It flows. The women chasing a number (a “10K month”) without asking what is this actually in service of tend to hit smaller, shorter-lived wins than the women building something rooted in genuine care.

9. Sisterhood over competition

Underneath almost everything we discussed was a shared belief: the old model — scarcity, competition, gatekeeping — is being dismantled, and what’s replacing it is community. Women supporting women, sharing what works, acting as each other’s “expanders” instead of competitors. Eva named it plainly: find your sisters. You don’t have to figure this out alone, and you’re not meant to.

10. Her closing message: attune, then act

Eva ended with two things she wouldn’t let herself narrow down to one. First: even five minutes a day of genuinely tuning in to your own frequency — away from notifications, news, and everyone else’s opinions — is enough to start hearing your own answers instead of constantly outsourcing them. Second: stop waiting for the extra certification, the extra course, the extra permission slip. Take the action available to you right now, in whatever form lights you up.

As always, thank you for being part of this community and for showing up to these unfiltered, unscripted conversations with me. If something in here landed for you, hit reply and tell me .. I read every single one.

Until next month,

Pukhraj

Join me for my next live video in the app.

This episode is a recap of this month’s live coaching call.

Regeneration isn’t just external

We talk a lot these days about regenerative agriculture, regenerative fashion, circular economies. I came to this world through the fashion brand I used to run .. and quickly realized fashion is inherently extractive, no matter how “sustainable” we try to make it. That external conversation eventually turned inward:

If we want regenerative systems out in the world, what does it mean to regenerate ourselves?

You can catch the full replay above. If you’d rather read first and watch later (or just want the highlights to come back to), here’s what we covered.

I hosted this week’s Regenerative Women’s Livecast from Canada, with Tassia Rebelo joining me from Finland — the founder behind The Secret Club, a Helsinki-based community she’s built that has connected hundreds of women. Tassia and I met a few months ago and had one of those unfiltered, real-life conversations that just stays with you. I knew immediately I wanted to bring it online, because so much of what founders like her carry as “just life” turns out to be exactly the wisdom the rest of us are looking for.

This month's Coaching Hour is LIVE now — grab a coffee and press play. What follows are the threads I kept pulling on throughout our conversation, in case you want to read alongside, or revisit after.

What does it look like to build a business rooted in nature, community, and cyclical wisdom rather than competition and burnout? In this conversation, business strategist and coach Sophie Jane Hardy — whose 25-year career has woven together feminist filmmaking, reforestation, women’s health, and regenerative marketing — shares the hard-won lessons behind her approach.Regenerative Women is a leadership ecosystem that helps impact-driven founders activate their networks, own their voice, and lead from their feminine intelligence — sustainably.

Follow Pukhraj on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pukhrajranjan/

And Regenerative Women on Substack - https://pukhrajranjan.substack.com/

Resources Sophie mentioned

* Book: Finding the Mother Tree — Suzanne Simard

* Book: The Dreaming Way — Toko-pa Turner

* Book: The Woman’s Quest — Alexandra Pope (early edition)

* Podcast/Organisation: The Menstruality Podcast — Red School (Alexandra Pope & Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer)

* Teacher: Chameli / Awakening Women Institute

* Organisation: Tree Sisters (reforestation charity)

* Practice: Falling — taught by Christy Animas

* Model: IFS (Internal Family Systems) / Voice Dialogue

* Substack: Drew Dellinger (poet/philosopher)

* Teacher: Charlotte Friedrich — the fertile dark

Sophie Jane Hardy works with founders to build sustainable businesses that honour both purpose and profit. Find her work at www.sophiejanehardy.com and on Substack.

Have you ever walked away from something… and told yourself a story about why?

You’ve made a decision that felt right at the time… but also noticed that parts of you still feel connected, curious, or unfinished.

If this has ever happened to you, write me a comment.. I want to hear your story :)

Back to this episode..

You want clarity, certainty, a clean narrative…

But instead, you find yourself revisiting the past, questioning your choices, or seeing things differently with time…

Because growth doesn’t just change your path — it changes how you understand it.

In this episode of the Regenerative Women Podcast, I share a more personal chapter of my journey - closing my fashion business and the evolving relationship I have with that identity.

From declaring “I am not a fashion girly” to slowly recognizing that the truth was more nuanced, this is a reflection on what was really underneath that decision.

We look at how this is shaped not just by external circumstances…

But by the internal patterns many of us carry — the need to prove, to do more, to move faster, and to escape discomfort when things feel slow or uncertain.

And what shifts when we begin to sit with that discomfort… instead of running from it.

Nature doesn’t rush resolution.

It allows things to unfold, to transform, to compost before something new takes shape.

Not everything needs to be abandoned — sometimes it simply needs to be understood more deeply.

What if the parts of you you’ve tried to disconnect from… are still holding something valuable?

What becomes possible when you stop needing a perfect narrative…

And instead allow your perspective to evolve?

This episode is an invitation to sit with your own story — and listen for what is actually true beneath it.

🎧 Episode 6: The Truth About Why I Walked Away is an invitation to look again at the decisions that shaped you… with more honesty, compassion, and depth.

Listen in… and notice where your perspective might be ready to soften or shift.

🌱 In this episode, we explore:

* Why we often create simplified stories to make sense of complex decisions

* The role of discomfort, overextension, and burnout in leadership choices

* How making space for reflection can reveal a deeper, more honest truth

If this is a space you are in — re-evaluating your path, your identity, or your work — this is the kind of inner leadership we explore inside Root to Rise™.

And as you listen, you might ask yourself:

Where in my life have I created a story… that might be ready to evolve?

Have you ever had everything “working” on paper… but still felt a quiet sense of disconnection?

You’ve built a life that looks stable, secure, even successful… but also noticed moments where something feels distant, muted, or not fully alive.

You want to feel content, grounded, at ease…

But instead, you find yourself craving something deeper — more connection, more meaning, more aliveness…

Because somewhere along the way, we learned to measure life… but forgot how to fully experience it.

In this episode of the Regenerative Women Podcast, I reflect on living in Finland, named the happiest country in the world for nine years in a row now.. and the deeper questions that arise when we look beyond the metrics.

I explore the contrast between external stability and internal experience… and what it reveals about how we define happiness in the modern world.

We look at how this is shaped not just by geography or culture…

But by a broader way of living that prioritizes logic over intuition, independence over connection, and efficiency over presence.

And what shifts when we begin to see life through a more regenerative lens… one that brings us back into relationship with ourselves, each other, and the natural world.

Nature is not just something outside of us.

It is something we move through — in cycles of rest, growth, expansion, and release.

You can walk through a forest and still feel disconnected…

But when you begin to reconnect with your inner landscape, something starts to soften.

What if the aliveness you are seeking is not out there… but within your own nature?

What becomes possible when you move from “me” to “we”…

From managing life to actually feeling it…

From functioning well to living deeply?

This episode is an invitation to question what happiness really means — and to reconnect with the parts of you that may have gone quiet.

🎧 Episode 5: The Gap Between Happiness and Aliveness is an invitation to look beyond what is working… and listen for what is missing.

Listen in… and notice where you might be craving deeper connection — within yourself, your relationships, and your life.

🌱 In this episode, we explore:

* Why happiness as a metric doesn’t always translate to feeling alive

* The subtle disconnection between logic and intuition in modern life

* How reconnecting with your inner nature can shift how you live, lead, and relate

If this is a conversation you are in .. where life looks “good” but something deeper is calling — this is the kind of inner and relational work we step into inside Root to Rise™.

And as you listen, you might ask yourself:

Where in my life am I functioning… but not fully feeling?

Have you ever felt the urge to move forward… but your body was quietly asking you to pause?

You’ve been building, creating, showing up… but also sensing that something in you needs rest, space, or a reset.

You want to keep the momentum going…

But instead, you find yourself slowing down, stepping back, or even questioning your pace…

Because deep down, you know that constant doing is not the same as aligned growth.

In this episode of the Regenerative Women Podcast, I reflect on what it means to truly make space for what we want to grow.

This isn’t from a random theory but from my life at the start of April - where I listened to my body when it asked for rest, embraced the Finnish concept of “Takatalvi” (the return of winter), and allowed myself to pause instead of push.

We explore how this is shaped not just by personal habits…

But by a culture that equates productivity with worth, and teaches us to keep going even when our system is asking us to slow down.

And what shifts when we begin to trust that pausing is not falling behind… but actually creating the conditions to receive.

Nature doesn’t constantly produce.

It rests. It replenishes. It creates space before it creates more life.

Even spring asks for clearing — removing what no longer belongs so that something new can emerge.

What if your leadership, your life, your work were allowed to move like that too?

What becomes possible when you stop filling every space…

And instead begin to clear, release, and make room for what truly wants to come in?

This episode is an invitation to embrace both the pause and the practice of letting go.

🎧 Episode 4: Making Space for What Wants to Grow is an invitation to step out of constant doing and into intentional clearing.

Listen in… and notice what in your life is ready to be released so something new can take root.

🌱 In this episode, we explore:

* The hidden power of pausing and how it opens space for unexpected opportunities

* The concept of “Takatalvi” and embracing the return of rest, even in seasons of growth

* Why spring energy is not just about planting… but also about clearing what no longer serves

If this is a season you are in where you’re being asked to slow down, release, and trust — this is the deeper work we step into inside Root to Rise™.

And as you listen… you might ask yourself:

What am I ready to let go of, so that something new can truly enter?