LET THE NATURE NURTURE & RECONNECT TO YOURSELF
Utula Nature is a place to slow the pace and calm down the nervous system when you need a rest from the hustle and bustle of the world. We are a welcoming and home-like space where you can let go of pressures of life and take a break from outer stimuli, hear your own inner voice and restore from life's stressors!
This restoration is supported by:
-
abundant time spent in nature and the numerous wellness benefits of nature,
-
sensory detox,
-
regular eating and sleeping routines,
-
restorative activities,
-
individual bodywork and talk therapy,
-
peer support provided by the community and
-
shifting from a state of "human doing" into "human being" and
-
stunning Finnish nature, silence, pure lake water and fresh summer climate.
We offer a beautiful and cocoon-like environment that allows you to take in the nurture of nature and give yourself time to reconnect to your own rhythm and inner compass going forward in your life. You are warmly welcome as you are!
Restore and discover your inner paradise in nature
The minimum duration for our restorative retreat is 7 nights, but you can stay with us for up to 2 or 4 weeks! Longer retreats are also possible by agreement.
The main elements of a restorative nature retreat are (included in price):
-
Restorative needs assessment -session on your first day
-
Healthy, delicious and regular meals
-
Regular bedtimes
-
Abundant time in nature
-
Quiet, reflective periods in the day (21-12 daily and until dinner on Sundays)
-
Daily morning meditation in nature
-
Independent activities
-
Possibility of sharing in a group
-
Guided restorative activities (min. 2 / week)
-
The possibility to find a connection with like-minded people
We offer therapeutic services (body treatments, talk therapy, individualized wellness programs; digital wellness, body awareness, mindfulness) as additional service.
Both arrival and departure take place on Mondays (Mon-Mon). We offer shared transfer from and to Imatra Matka-asema to venue. Our summer 2025 restorative retreat is open from 26 May to 15 September 2025, so you are welcome to join us on Mondays throughout the season!
After experiencing the transformative effects of a digital detox you will not want to return to your old ways!
All our restorative retreats (1-4 weeks) start with a 6 day digital detox, as our customer's experience has shown that anything shorter doesn't serve the purpose or let you reap the numerous benefits and leaves you yearning for more!
By taking a break from the flood of stimuli caused by smart devices, you will notice how:
-
Sleep improves when you follow a regular daily rhythm without smart devices in the bosom of nature.
-
Your inner resources start to refill when you give your body and mind time to rest.
-
The connection to yourself is strengthened when you consciously distance yourself from external stimuli and influx of information.
-
Your emotional landscape becomes clearer when you hear your inner voice better and your body awareness improves.
-
Your mind calms down and your ability to concentrate recovers when you get a break from the endless flood of information and your nervous system can calm down.
-
The direction of your life and solutions to your challenges become clearer when you get in touch with yourself and find what is really important to you.
-
You senses start to open up in a whole new way - you experience the simple pleasure of existence and the paradise the nature offers us.
After the digital detox -retreat, you will be at a crossroads - in a renewed state of mind and consciousness to choose a fresh attitude and behaviors concerning your digital use. Read below about our Digital wellness -program to create a tangible and customized strategy to ensure the necessary lifestyle changes post-retreat in your everyday life to stay on track!
"My expectations were far exceeded. My mind is much quieter and I am no longer scared of silence. I'm able to concentrate more easily. I am appreciating the little things. I laugh more easily. Wouldn't change a thing from the experience."
- Our guest
"Addictive smartphones have already become such a seamless part of our lives that it is high time and alarmingly urgent for us to learn to regulate own and our children's use of smart devices."
Dr. Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation
Bring the effects of digital detox into your everyday life with a tangible plan
The effects of digital fasting, improved sleep, a more focused mind, a deepened connection with yourself and a generally more relaxed feeling, will become apparent to most after 3-4 days into your digital fasting. At this point it is normal to get worried about relapsing after the retreat..
Unfortunately, it is quite common that we will slip into old patterns of behavior if we do not make a conscious plan and effort to learn new habits in everyday life! During the digital fast, when you are motivated by this newly found calmer state of being, it is the right time to make sure that you will succeed in changing your digital behavior also in your post-retreat life. By doing a digital well-being program (only available on min. 2 week retreats) you will have a clear plan how to implement the needed lifestyle changes. This is a self-paced program that includes individual support.
READ OUR LATEST BLOGS
AMBIENCE FROM THE RETREAT
"Silence soothes our nervous system and helps us return to ourselves."
Our nature retreat has been created for those who need a place to rest and calm down in the pressures and fast pace of life. The starting point of the experience is digital and talk fasting - just a few days of stimulus fasting helps us hear our own thoughts in a completely new way, recognize our needs and feel our feelings. If you will, share your experience in our sharing circles or in the privacy of our 1-to-1 therapeutical talks. Reap the benefits on our silent retreats or organize an event to your private network.
A personalized needs assessment will ensure you get the most out of your stay with us
It is important to us that you feel free to choose the content and activities that truly support your needs! You are invited to regulate the need to be in your own space or participate in group activities or sharing.
On the very first day of your retreat, we hold an individual discussion with you, where we go over your needs for the visit and assess together how the retreat can serve you in the best way!
If you feel it is necessary and want to add additional therapeutic services to your retreat (such as body treatments, therapeutic discussions or a digital well-being or emotional awareness program), we can schedule them to suite to your stay with us in a balanced way!
"The distractions that fill your life make your life narrower. When you can't maintain your focus, you can't achieve the things you want either. If the situation continues for years, it erodes the ability to understand who you are and what you want. The ability for deep thinking and problem solving will weaken."
Johann Hari, Lost concentration
GUEST COMMENTS ABOUT UTULA
"This is a little piece of paradise, hidden among the trees! This retreat gave me a sense of peace. I felt more connected to myself, my future goals, nature, and all living beings. I am no longer as obsessed with my use of technology, and I sleep better."
"You've created absolutely amazing surroundings! In such an environment and energy, an individual's inner strength and wisdom can truly emerge."
"The most transformative experience of my life!
I was overwhelmed, addicted to my phone, scatterbrained at work, and used social media to numb my emotions.
For the first time in my adult life, I felt true peace of mind."
"Utula Naturen location by the shores of Lake Saimaa is absolutely stunning! Many aspects of the place’s design and operations are thoughtfully planned with the guests' well-being in mind. I would gladly return!"
"The digital fast I experienced helped me become aware of my subconscious and exhausting habit of constantly spreading my attention too thinly. It was also really liberating to have a break from my habit of seeking validation for my existence outside of myself from social media."
Dr. Gabor Maté, Insights At The Edge interview
The surrounding nature supports you in tuning into peaceful mind
At Utula Nature, nature connection meets man-made beauty in a relaxed and soulful way. The boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces is blurred. Nature and light flood in through the large windows, and the outdoor areas have plenty of different spaces for relaxation.
You will stay comfortably in our beautiful rooms and detached cabins, which offer breathtaking views of Saimaa. Let the lake breeze blow and take away the rush.
There are three eco-toilets for common use, a warm outdoor shower, a washing station and a beach sauna that is every other evening.
Here, surrounded by silence and nature, you will relax fully. Utula Nature is a haven you can come to when you need a safe place to rest in the storms of life.
OUR SOULFUL AND DELICIOUS VEGETARIAN CUISINE
Utula Nature's kitchen is best described as World food with a Mediterranean touch. This means that in our kitchen, we combine familiar Mediterranean cuisine ingredients, lemon, cheese, tomato and garlic with world flavors and Finnish ingredients with a relaxed, generous touch! One of our favorite sayings when it comes to food and many other simple pleasures in life is "more is more"; more taste, more sight, more pleasures and more good for the body and mind.
Create space for what is most important to you right now
Utula Nature is my idea of paradise on Earth, or as close as you can get to it in these times of history, which I want to share with you too! We offer a peaceful cocoon and an accepting atmosphere for you to let your guards and social masks down and truly surrender to the nurture and beauty of nature that is so generously offered to us at all times. You are warmly welcome!
MAIJU VOHLONEN
Founder
Yin yoga teacher (200H)
Logotherapy instructor
A resource-focused Mindfulness instructor
Nature therapy guide (ANFT)
Meridian massage therapist
A solution-focused brief therapist (SFBT)
Centering Prayer Instructor
"The brain "police" has to be able to fend off up to six distractions trying to get at the brain at once, and this "police" is incredibly loaded. Our brain has to filter information more feverishly than ever and, in addition, to cope with the constant transition from one task to another. Giving ourselves a break from distractions is essential."
Johann Hari, Lost concentration
Yinjoogaopettaja, Logoterapiaohjaaja, Luontoterapiaopas (ANFT), Shiatsuhieroja, Ratkaisukeskeinen lyhytterapeutti- koulutus (valm. 2024), KTM
Rebirthing-hengitysterapeutti, Chakrajooga-opettaja,
Vapaasukellus-opettaja,
Reiki-hoitaja,
Utulan pääkokki
NURTURE FROM NATURE
