Marianne Kiukkonen found her connection to Mother Earth Survivors in Pohjola.
When former police officer, exercise instructor Marianne Kiukkonen, 54, left her desk early in the morning two years ago on the set of the Survivors Pohjola series in Meri-Lap, walked to the shore and stared at the horizon, she felt strongly present with nature.
– I looked outside but turned inward. It was mystical. I strongly felt how Mother Earth came to me.
– It was probably largely due to the fact that I was away from my mobile phone. There were no distractions. When I took my eyes off the screen, I saw and heard nature in a completely different way than before, Kiukkonen recalls.
Kiukko was not asked to go to Malaysia for the latest Konkarit vs Tulokkaat season of the survivors. Joalin Loukamaa and Karoliina Tuominen, known from Kiukkonen’s Pohjola season, will be there.
– But yes, one season of Survivors is enough for me, it was such a tough experience, Kiukkonen laughs.
Marianne Kiukkonen in the viking center Rosala’s garden, asking the sun for strength to grow. Image of a Viking-themed set of power cards. Tiina Purosalmi
Stopping
And yes, Kiukkonen in his own season on the border of Finland and Sweden in harsh archipelago conditions proved that he is a real survivor. In the final race, he broke the lateral cruciate ligament of his knee in two places, but without giving up, partly with Loukamaa’s support, he kept going until the finish line.
– No women my age have been seen in the final of the survivors, Kiukkonen reminds.
In the end, the knee was not operated, but it took months to rehabilitate.
– A little rest is good in life. I too have worked like crazy and worked three shifts in my life. Maybe the injury was a sign that you have to stop and stop performing, Kiukkonen thinks now.
– I started to treat myself more harshly. I realized that I had abandoned myself, he continues.
A spiritual awakening
Kiukkonen says directly that Survivors in Pohjola had a special opening for him.
– I experienced some kind of spiritual awakening. This may be hard to believe, since it was after all the filming of an entertainment show. But it just happened.
– I am so grateful that I joined the program. In this time, there should never be 33 days apart from technical devices and media. Thanks to participating in the program, I experienced a big mental change, says Kiukkonen.
She has taken part in television programs before, in the 1990s the woman squealed and tried to be Amazon in Gladiators. However, spiritualization was far from it.
After the Survivors trip, Kiukkonen became even more interested in mental training alongside physical training. He still directs group exercise, but also does trauma decompression treatments
Marianne Kiukkonen in the vulva-shaped cave of Kirkkonummi asking for holy femininity, strength and light. Image of a Viking-themed set of power cards. Tiina Purosalmi
Food from nature
Kiukkonen is happy that his season of Survivors was filmed in the cold conditions of the north and not in a tropical jungle.
– I’m in the cold. I sleep in wool socks in summer and winter, Kiukkonen says.
– I trained for survivors by going to the open air. But I still didn’t quite understand where I was going. We went to the shoot in July and I took the cap with me. The nights were really cold and I should definitely have worn a beanie. I sacrificed my second wool sock as a headdress, Kiukkonen recalls.
However, he became so hardened during the trip that he still shivered in a sleeveless shirt in October.
In the north, Kiukkonen also specialized in pastes made from natural ingredients. He often sat in his own “pesto bar” in the camp, crushing berries, yarrow, spruce cake, clover and raspberry leaves to garnish the porridge.
– It was a great place to listen to other people’s scheming! Kiukkonen reveals.
But he got excited about his pastes anyway. The plants are still in use in Kiukkonen’s home kitchen
In the survivors, everything edible was collected from nature anyway.
– Worms often ended up in the pan along with the mushrooms, but I got protein from them. When hunger goes beyond a certain limit, a person becomes a beast. At the end of the day, we were already looking at the frolicking reindeer with an eye to get it on a skewer, Kiukkonen says.
Before leaving for the Survivors, the woman even learned how to lay ants’ eggs in case she was completely without food on, for example, Banished Island.
Will not give up
While surviving in Meri-Lap, Kiukkonen fell in love with the north so much that he started dreaming of moving there. However, he still lives in the capital region.
– But I’ve looked at rural places even closer than here. It would be wonderful to be able to treat people in an old folk school, Kiukkonen dreams.
He would also like to take a down-to-earth partner with him.
– After the survivors, some men from the north sent a message to come here! After all, they didn’t even dare to meet face to face, Kiukkonen laughs.
– But I believe that when dreams are spoken out loud, they come true, he continues.
Kiukkonen is currently working on his biography. As a basis for it, he has already described viking-themed power cards in which he poses himself.
– With pictures, I tell the story of the woman who didn’t give up.
– Even if you come across anything in life, you don’t give up. Let’s go with one leg. You can get up from anywhere, Kiukkonen sums up.
The Finnish pine forest symbolizes roots and values, which Marianne Kiukkonen is ready to defend. Image of a Viking-themed set of power cards. Tiina Purosalmi