HOW WILL A WEEK ON THE
RETREAT BE LIKE?

Tune into your inner compass and
flow in your own rhythm

What should you do with the empty space and time you have available during your retreat? For some, it may be a new experience to arrive at a retreat without a predetermined program. Others are completely comfortable with the situation, already familiar with self-direction.

You will find your own way of being — that is certain. You may initially feel the need to plan some structure for your days in advance, but gradually you can let go of that too and trust that your inner compass will start guiding you toward the activities and ways of being that are best for you. Dare to surrender to the process and trust the meaningfulness of the journey.

It is important to recognize that at the beginning of the retreat, slowing down and the lack of stimuli — and the sensations and emotions that start rising from the body into awareness — may not feel comfortable. We may feel the urge to avoid our experience by doing and performing. However, by feeling our emotions, we create space within our nervous system, and by facing our thoughts, we face ourselves. We therefore recommend being particularly aware of when you engage in activities (exercises, practices, etc.) because you want to escape discomfort, and when the desire “to do something” arises from a genuine need and inspiration.

I. Orientation to the retreat -webinar and needs assessment

Nature connection

Energy release/exercise

Dreamwork

Writing therapy

Active resting

Art therapy

Emotional awareness

Nature excursions

Mindfulness

Digital and speech fast
No pressures
Nurturing nature
Stillness

Sauna & campfire

Reflective reading

Themed processes

Wellness treatment

Therapeutical retreat manual

Meal and sleep rhythm

III. Community webinars – Support, motivation, and ongoing Inspiration

II. Self-oriented retreat at Utula Nature

Getting Familiar with the Retreat at Home

Makes Arriving On-Site Easier

The Orientation to Your Retreat -webinar provides all the essential information you need to begin orienting yourself to the retreat. Your journey and process therefore begin well in advance, already at home. Before the orientation webinar, you will receive a needs-assessment questionnaire to reflect on, helping you compare your own needs with the retreat’s possibilities and practices presented during the orientation, and to ask clarifying questions if you wish.

Arrival and departure take place between 13:00–15:00 on Mondays. You can travel to the retreat by car, bicycle, or with the complimentary shared transport from Imatra Travel Station included in the retreat price. A private taxi can also be booked from Imatra Travel Station if you cannot make it to the shared transport (100€ each way). Note: the shared transport schedule will be confirmed in spring when VR publishes its summer timetable.

Settling into Utula Nature: Upon arrival, the Utula Nature host will guide you to your room, where you will find the therapeutic retreat manual containing all the information you need to settle in and orient yourself to the place. Explore the surroundings at your own pace, make yourself at home, and head to the main house to enjoy the self-serve lunch prepared for you in the guest refrigerator. After lunch, the host will give a guided tour, showing you all available spaces and equipment and offering a chance to ask any remaining questions before the retreat begins. At this point, you turn off your smart device, place it in the designated communal storage area, and begin your retreat through the start of the digital fast.

Regular Mealtimes and Sleep Routines

Create the Basic Structure of Your Days

The daily rhythm of the retreat is guided by meals and regular sleep times. Most guests report sleeping more soundly at the retreat than at home, as a result of the environment’s restorative effects on the nervous system.

A possible model for structuring your days could be the following:

Keep mornings for reflection! Upon waking, you are naturally “closer to your authentic self,” to your subconscious. It is beneficial to wake up gently, stay with yourself, and perhaps write about your dreams or emotions first thing in the morning.
Late mornings are ideal for moving energy and engaging in physical activity.You may go for a longer walk, a rowing trip, release energy at the forest workout area, or choose a self-guided yin yoga session in the yoga tent.
Afternoons after lunch can be dedicated to active rest or to exploring self-inquiry practices and activities that call to you with a curious mind.
After dinner, we recommend gradually winding down for the night. A calm walk, rowing or paddleboarding, heating the sauna, lighting a beach bonfire, or gentle stretching in the yoga tent can all be wonderful, alongside watching the sunset.

You may also do everything in the opposite order if that better respects your needs and inner rhythm. Sometimes, and often, the wisest thing you can do is “to do nothing at all,” especially when your intention is to become more attuned to your inner world. We so easily slip into planning and doing simply out of habit, because stillness — and what may arise in it — can feel intimidating.

Treatment days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) create their own rhythm for the week. On these days you can choose individual treatments that best support your retreat and personal process. Guests often find it helpful to create a personal balance between movement/energy and rest/reflection — both naturally support the progression of the process.

The Therapeutic Retreat Manual

Is Your Guide and Inspiration Throughout the Retreat

The therapeutic retreat manual is your guide and support during the retreat. You will find all the guidance and support you need, as well as answers to questions that may arise during a restorative digital-fasting retreat. We recommend approaching the manual’s activities and exercises as possibilities, inspirations, and flavours for your retreat — not as a workbook or a to-do list that invites performance.

The manual includes general information about practicalities at the retreat, explains the stages of digital fasting and its expected effects, offers orientation for structuring your retreat days, and guides you on how to integrate the wellness impacts of the retreat into your everyday life.

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

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The manual also includes themed sets of five exercises through which you can explore a question or topic that resonates with you. The themes are: