IS YOUR DIGITAL USE DRIVEN BY EMOTIONAL AVOIDANCE?

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Feelings of emptiness, exhaustion, lack of focus, social media addiction, a sense of inadequacy… All of these can be signs that you may need to finally press the “pause” button, take time for yourself, and reflect on whether you are living your own life or someone else’s.

 

Our restorative retreat offers you a safe haven where you can come when you need a break from everyday demands – a space to reset and assess what in your life needs to change, or simply to rest for a moment.

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RESTORATIVE ELEMENTS OF THE RETREAT

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The retreat is based on autonomy and freedom of choice; you can come simply to rest or actively work on a topic important to you, guided by the therapeutic retreat manual.

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Silence and digital fasting are the only fixed elements shared by all participants.

When we remove stimuli such as smart devices, speech, and social interaction, nature’s sensory experiences are emphasized. You naturally reconnect with bodily sensations; you taste the flavours of delicious food more vividly, hear birdsong, and more sensitively feel the gentle heat of the sauna and the cool caress of the lake water on your skin.

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You open again to life’s simple, natural pleasures. Sensory awareness and body consciousness are also essential gateways to connecting with yourself, your needs, and your emotions.

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COMMUNITY AND/OR INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT

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You can join the Utula Nature community even if you haven’t attended a retreat yet!

The community webinars are a natural and ideal way to get to know us and ask any questions before booking your retreat. After the retreat, we support you in maintaining motivation, sharing inspiration, and integrating insights and routines from the retreat into your everyday life. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a link to the next webinar!

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We also offer individual therapeutic conversation support before and after the retreat remotely. Read more about the service here.

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A PRESSURE-FREE, UNSCHEDULED SPACE

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Our clients seek Utula Nature’s retreat primarily because they long for a pressure-free space: where no one demands anything, no one pursues, no one needs, no one interrupts. A space to simply exist, unaware of time passing, for oneself, with oneself, in peace, within one’s own thoughts, feelings, and inner world; to act according to your inner clock – or not act at all.

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For this reason, we have created an environment that is as open and free as possible – a place for you to simply be, free from everyday obligations, to try therapeutic self-guided practices if it feels right, to hike or move when your body asks for it, or simply sleep, eat, and rest in a hammock or on the shore.

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This openness and autonomy make the retreat experience unique and impactful – within this space we begin to soften and let go, allowing emotions to surface and fresh, creative thinking to flow. Yet few want to be completely alone – you are on this journey in the accepting presence of others like you.

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DIGITAL FASTING

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Digital fasting brings many people a great sense of relief – a long-awaited break from constant interruptions, external needs, and expectations – but it can also feel nerve-racking, as a new experience. Many wonder how they will manage without their smart device.

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Digital fasting makes deeper self-awareness possible when we are not exposed to externally produced thoughts and content. What we think about ourselves, our actions, and our life becomes central.

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Emotions also begin to rise naturally into awareness when we are no longer interrupting our presence with ourselves. We begin to “descend” deeper into ourselves – down to the seabed, where our deeper emotions lie. Facing emotions consciously works best when we stay mindful of bodily sensations, as emotions are physically experienced through sensations.

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By choosing to stay with these sensations and feel them fully, we allow their energy to move and release from the body. Feeling emotions creates new space in the nervous system and calms the mind as emotional pressure finally eases.

Reading books is allowed during the retreat, but even with books it’s good to remain aware that they too are external content and may interfere with deepening the encounter with oneself.

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STIMULUS FASTING

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Stimulus fasting is made possible by a natural, speech-free environment. For our nervous system it is soothing “to listen to silence” and take a relieving break from the constant flow of information, stimuli, and interruptions of everyday life. We are not in total wilderness, so normal living sounds may occur from neighbours or the lake. During stimulus fasting, our attention naturally turns inward – instead of the world’s news, we finally have time and space to hear our inner news: how we are actually doing, feeling, hoping, and thinking.

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In the speech fast, we refrain from speaking to one another, allowing our inner speech, thoughts, and emotions to rise naturally to awareness. The shared silence also frees us from social expectations, removing the pressure for “small talk” and social niceties.

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For some, talking can be a way to avoid oneself and keep distance from difficult underlying feelings and thoughts. By committing to collective silence at the retreat, we prevent ourselves and others from using this escape route from self-encounter.

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For most, it is liberating to be silent and focus fully on oneself while not being alone. If you have never been on a silent retreat before, this new situation may understandably feel exciting. Yet in shared silence, you may unexpectedly experience a completely new sense of connection with others.

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NOTE! The speech fast is paused on Mondays from 11–18 during departures and arrivals. If at any time during your retreat you spontaneously long for connection, you can always approach our retreat host between 11–14 (Mon–Sat), or you may light an evening bonfire on the beach as an open invitation for others to gather, converse freely, or share feelings and insights from the retreat.

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24/7 FOREST BATHING

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Being in nature gently tunes us, without effort, to its frequency – often experienced as peace and presence. Nature has no hurry and no need to do anything. Nature accepts everything as it is and never tries to be anything else.

In nature we see the endless natural cycle: birth, growth, decay, and death. After spending enough time in nature, these qualities begin to settle within us as well, and we feel a new kind of comforting acceptance toward ourselves, others, and life.

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Nature offers endless pleasure through beauty, warmth, scents, and tactile sensations, anchoring us in the moment and giving us wonder and content when we take a break from smart devices.

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Nature’s wellbeing effects are widely scientifically proven in addition to common experience: reduced anxiety, lower blood pressure, increased creativity, a sense of connectedness, to name a few.

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Nature is the retreat’s most impactful restorative element, and benefiting from it requires nothing more than being in nature and breathing. We recommend spending as much time as possible outdoors – eating and writing at picnic tables, resting in hammocks, reading in deck chairs, and hiking, cycling, rowing, or paddleboarding in the surrounding nature.

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SELF-GUIDED ACTIVITIES

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Self-directed nature activities include rowing to nearby islands, cycling, walking the nature trail, and paddleboarding. On the water, you can explore nearby islands or Huuhanranta’s beautiful 2-km natural sandy beach.

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A walking path (about 2 km each way) leads from our yard to Huuhanranta and another (about 4 km each way) to a viewpoint. By bike, you can break a sweat or explore the surroundings along forest routes.

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Other self-guided activities include therapeutic writing, nature-connection exercises, mindfulness practices, dreamwork, emotional awareness exercises – all introduced and inspired by the therapeutic retreat manual. We encourage you to approach activities with a relaxed, exploratory, and open mindset.

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THERAPEUTIC RETREAT MANUAL

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The therapeutic retreat manual is your guide and support throughout the retreat. You’ll find all the guidance and help you need, and answers to questions that may arise during a restorative digital fasting retreat.

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The manual is based on solution-focused and value- and purpose-oriented therapeutic principles, combining multiple methods in a creative and inspiring way. It has been created and refined over the years to meet the needs of our retreat participants.

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The manual includes general information about practical matters at the retreat, clarifies the stages and expected effects of digital fasting, provides an orientation for structuring your days, and guides you in integrating the wellbeing effects of the retreat into your everyday life.

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It also offers inspiration and guidance for self-directed activities and therapeutic exercises introduced during the retreat, such as:

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• Mindfulness/awareness practices

• Emotional awareness practices

• Therapeutic writing exercises

• Therapeutic dreamwork

• Therapeutic art practices

• Reflective reading

• Active rest

• Movement and energy-release exercises

• Nature exploration in the surrounding area

• Other: heating the sauna, campfire circles, etc.

 

The manual also includes themed sets of five exercises that allow you to focus deeply on a question or topic that speaks to you. The themes are:

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• Strengthening emotional connection with oneself

• Clarifying life purpose and direction

• Bringing routines that support life goals into everyday life

• Sustainable digital wellbeing after the retreat

 

INDIVIDUAL WELLNESS TREATMENTS (additional services)

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During the retreat, you can enjoy a variety of individual treatments that support your retreat experience, such as traditional sauna rituals, meridian massage, drum and sound bowl relaxation, etc. Read more about the treatment options here.

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Our emotions ask to be

met, heard and released

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All elements of our retreat help you to face what has not been heard or seen amid the busyness of daily life. In performance mode, it’s easy to avoid emotions by staying busy, but eventually this leads to exhaustion.

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Avoiding or hiding emotions is not worth it – instead, meet the feeling and the surrounding reality, and explore what is causing it. Emotions always have a logical reason. Are you living your own life or someone else’s? What truly makes you happy? What do you actually long for?

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On our retreat you will slowly notice how the direction of your life and the necessary decisions become clearer as you connect with yourself and recognise what truly matters to you.

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