A UNIQUE NATURE RETREAT FOR DIGITAL DETOX & NERVOUS SYSTEM RESET
Utula Nature is a restorative digital detox nature retreat on Lake Saimaa, Finland where you can arrive every Monday throughout the summer for minimum 1 week, maximum 4 weeks.
This intimate and homelike haven has been created as a pressure-free space to finally disconnect from the noise of the outside world and turn towards yourself in a beautiful healing natural environment. Silence, digital detox and freedom from social expectations will ensure your nervous system will get the reset it has been longing for!
This an individual journey, made together - we provide full-board, beautiful physical spaces, a stimulus-free environment, support and plenty of inspirational self-led activities to engage in and trust that you will enjoy it the way it serves you best.
Just approx. 2 hr train ride from Helsinki airport, transfer from Imatra train station is included in the price. Our calendar is open for bookings now from Mon 18 May – Mon 14 September 2026.
There is plenty of space “just to be”
but also just enough structure and things to do
The minimum duration of our restorative digital detox retreat is 7 nights (Mon-Mon), but you can stay with us for up to two to four weeks. The main elements of this self-guided restorative nature retreat, included in the price, are:
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Orientation to Utula Nature before the retreat (webinar on Zoom)
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Shared transportation from/to Imatra railway station (on Mondays)
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Cultivating shared silence and a speech fast (exceptions on Mondays and campfire circles)
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Digital detox (7 days, Mon–Mon – after this, optional)
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Healthy, delicious, and regular meals.
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Free use of a variety of shared spaces: beach, forest library, “forest gym,” yoga tent, sun terrace, lounge with panoramic windows, sauna, campfire area, etc.
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A wide range of independent activities and equipment: SUP boarding, cycling, rowing, walking, canoeing, trips to the island, yoga equipment, overnighting in a hammock, etc.
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Inspiration, independent exercises, and therapeutic processes offered by the Utula Nature therapeutic retreat manual.
You also have the opportunity to book individual wellness treatments and additional services for your retreat (e.g., meridian massage, traditional sauna rituals, drum relaxation, aromatic relaxing massage, etc.). Read more about the additional services here.
"Adults with ADD face the most difficult task of all: learning how to be loving toward themselves. To love is to give attention to another or to oneself. If we can actively love, there will be no attention deficit and no disorder."
From Utula Nature forest library: Gabor Maté, Scattered Minds
TAKE YOUR FIRST STEP TOWARDS PEACE
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Order our newsletter and ask us questions!
By subscribing to our newsletter you will stay inspired and posted about our activities! Please, ask us any questions that may arise about our retreats trough our contact form. We will answer in 24 hrs. Remember, there are no stupid questions!
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Book your retreat along with any treatments
Choose the length of your retreat (1–4 weeks) and any additional services for your stay, and secure your spot in PEACE by making a reservation. Please also note the possibility for
1-to-1 therapeutic support before and after the retreat.
Enjoy the retreat
on your own terms
The retreat is a pressure-free and naturally beautiful cocoon where you can spend time peacefully and self-directed, supported by the therapeutic retreat manual, individual treatments, a warm sense of community, and the hostess of Utula.
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After experiencing the impacts of your digital detox,
you won't want to return to the old ways
All our retreats begin with a 7-day digital detox, as our experience has shown that with a shorter detox, the experience remains incomplete and our guests would have preferred to continue even longer!
By taking a break from the constant stimulus of smart devices and instead giving time to yourself and the strengthening of your inner voice, you will notice day by day how:
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Your sleep improves as you follow a regular daily rhythm without smart devices in the midst of nature.
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Your inner resources return as you give your nervous system a chance to reset.
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Your connection to yourself strengthens as you consciously distance yourself from external stimuli.
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Your emotions become clearer as you hear your inner voice better and become sensitive to bodily sensations again.
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Your mind calms and your ability to concentrate recovers as you take a break from endless information flow and pressure of everyday resposibilities.
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The direction of your life and solutions to challenges rise up as you reconnect with yourself and find what truly matters to you.
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Your senses open and become more sensitive as you naturally slow down into the present moment and discover new ways to enjoy simple existence and being in nature.
After the digital detox, you stand at a crossroads — you are in a renewed state of mind and have a genuine sense of mental freedom and, above all, the necessary confidence and motivation to choose a new approach toward digital devices, as well as a plan for bringing the digital wellness routines of the retreat into your everyday life!
"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."
From Utula Nature forest library: Dr. Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation
How to carry the effects of the digital detox into your everyday life
The diverse benefits of the digital detox — improved sleep, a more focused mind, a deeper connection with yourself, and a generally calmer feeling — begin to gradually appear around 3–4 days into your detox. After this, it is very common to start to worry about how to maintain these well-being effects after the retreat, in their everyday lives.
Unfortunately, it is quite likely that we will slip back into old patterns if we do not make a conscious plan to secure new habits in daily life! During the digital detox, it is the right time to ensure that you will succeed in changing your digital behavior also after the retreat by creating a digital well-being plan to guide your lifestyle changes.
This is a self-paced guided process using the therapeutic retreat manual.
What does a restorative retreat actually mean?
Our warm, home-like, and fully self-directed retreat offers you a held space in which you can once again experience the timelessness and carefree feeling of childhood summers.
The ultimate purpose of the retreat is to create a space where you feel complete freedom from external pressures and, through letting go, in peace and at your own natural pace, find a connection to your inner world. In this space, your nervous system has finally a chance to reset, and at the same time you receive a holistic dopamine fast, which reduces restlessness and anxiety caused by dopamine cravings.
This nervous system reset is supported by:
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Permission to withdraw into your own space – to be just for yourself, listening to your own needs and desires, free from external distractions and demands.
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Permission to lose track of time, listen to inner impulses, and follow your own rhythm.
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Ample time spent in nature and the many wellness benefits of nature.
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Stimulus fasting (natural environment, silence and digital and speech detox).
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Transitioning from “doing into a state of being".
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Regular eating and sleeping rhythm.
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Support of like-minded people sharing the experience.
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Elaborate restorative self-guided activities and therapeutic exercises.
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Individual wellness services that support body connection and the release of tension.
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!"
READ OUR LATEST BLOGS
AMBIENCE FROM THE RETREAT
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.
"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."
From Utula Nature forest library: Johann Hari, Stolen Focus
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.
"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."
From Utula Nature forest library: Dr. Gabor Maté, Insights At The Edge interview
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. The retreat offers a peaceful cocoon and an accepting atmosphere for you to let your guards and social masks down, turn inwards towards yourself 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
Mother and founder of Utula Nature
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."
From Utula Nature forest library: Johann Hari, Stolen Focus
Yinjoogaopettaja, Logoterapiaohjaaja, Luontoterapiaopas (ANFT), Shiatsuhieroja, Ratkaisukeskeinen lyhytterapeutti- koulutus (valm. 2024), KTM
Rebirthing-hengitysterapeutti, Chakrajooga-opettaja,
Vapaasukellus-opettaja,
Reiki-hoitaja,
Utulan pääkokki
NURTURE FROM NATURE
