IN S CE 3 lT N a i IE 202 ec p R S PE ND X E LA P N TO FI e:
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A restorative nature retreat deep in the Finnish wilderness Perched on the forested banks of Finland’s vast Lake Saimaa is a restorative retreat unlike any other. Hosted in remote lodgings couched in stunning Nordic wilderness, Utula Nature’s flexible programme of wellness activities for body and mind is a rare opportunity for a total reset. By Lena Hunter
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Photos: Utula Nature
“Our retreat experience is created to slow you down and give you space to reflect, by bringing you to the present moment and reconnecting you to your body,” says Utula Nature’s founder Maiju Vohlonen. A yin yoga teacher, Nature Therapy guide and Logotherapy Instructor, Vohlonen has considerable experience in therapeutic practices. At Utula Nature, she and her partner, yoga and breathwork instructor Paolo Zambeze, curate and deliver an all-inclusive weekly programme, suitable for all levels, of mindful movement, yin yoga, restful meditation, reflective writing and 40 |
Issue 150
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January 2023
sharing. The pair are warm hosts, while the comfortable lodgings and natural beauty of the forest and lakeside are irresistibly recuperative. Tailor your experience The woodland haven in Ruokolahti hosts a maximum of ten guests at once, to ensure it retains its sense of space. Silence is integrated into the concept of the retreat, with silent lodgings, breakfasts and ‘Mindful Mondays’, in which guests are invited to experience a whole day of silence. “Cutting down on stimuli is a powerful way to bring your focus into yourself,
hear your own thoughts, and to feel your feelings and body. Once you’re in silence, you realise how liberating the right not to engage is – to not have to ‘be’ for each other,” explains Vohlonen. Those yearning for a deeper experience can also take part in a digital detox and leave their devices in the care of the hosts for the duration of their stay. Every aspect of the retreat can be tailored. It can be made fully silent, for example, and the duration can be adapted from three days to three weeks, as preferred.