Rejuvenate your body and mind

Yoga, sauna ceremony, guided meditation, drum journey and mindful nature walking

Inner Visions Forest Retreat

In the heart of Finland

With Helena Karhu & Sófía Stefánsdóttir

Thursday-Sunday 27-30 March 2025

North Savo, Finland

Just after the spring equinox, there is a special magic in the air in North Savo, Finland. 

Intense stillness, winter’s last moments hold their breath before the energetic explosion of spring. 

Snow rests like a weighted blanket on branches of endless pine woods. 

But there, in the growing light, there is a glimmer of hope, a space to stretch your being and touch infinity. 

JOIN us on a rejuvenating mind-body journey deep in the forest of central Finland. Ancient wisdom of Finnish and Nordic shamanic traditions meet the healing power of mindful body movement. 

Our retreat takes PLACE in the beautiful, vast wilderness of the North Savo region of Eastern Finland. We have chosen the incredible wilderness resort Metsäkartano, in Tiilikkajärvi National Park, where you can really feel the deep mystery of Finnish nature. 

YOU WILL BE GUIDED by Icelandic Sofia Stefansdottir and Finnish Helena Karhu, both long time practitioners of shamanism and yoga. 

Body and Field, Words and Seeds

“The word never comes back empty-handed” 

We activate the body and awaken the fertile soul within. Through guided practices, we will cultivate inner awareness, planting the seeds of transformation through sacred words and mindful movement. How does your Inner Vision feel, how do you embody your dream of your life and how can it be expressed with words, movement? 

You will be guided to release the last hold of winter on your body, to soften and open through gentle yoga and deep movement practices as well as soft muffled footsteps in the snow. 

Dive into Darkness and Warmth

We invite you to take a dip into the vast emptiness where infinite potential resides — enjoying the final dark skies of the winter time; stars, ice-covered lakes, and the expansive Finnish wilderness. 

Embrace the raw elements through ice swimming (optional!), a practice of courage and surrender, followed by the warmth of the sauna and a healing sauna ceremony. 

Allow these experiences to nourish you and cleanse your spirit while offering time for much-needed rest and quietness.

“A ceremony with Helena is such a treat and something I have longed to experience again after she moved back to Finland. I am so excited about this new collaboration. Her devotion to what she does, her extraordinary ability to surrender to spirit and her gift for sharing makes her one of the most inspiring colleagues I have ever met in the shamanic field. ” 

Sófía

Sacred Movement Practice

Daily yoga and movement sessions will plow your inner fields, preparing you for deeper connection. Through breath and movement, we cultivate stillness, allowing our body and mind to become the vessels of our transformation. 

No earlier yoga experience is necessary - Sófía is a seasoned yoga teacher who tailors sessions so that everyone will feel nurtured, released and appropriately challenged. 

During this retreat, we will enjoy two daily yoga classes with Sófía. An invigorating morning class to breathe, stretch and activate our muscles to feel alive and ready for the day. And an afternoon or evening class of gentle restorative yin yoga with more introspection and tension release.  

Rituals of Creation

Be the creator rather than a receiver of your life

Do you have goals, do you want to create new opportunities or do you have to overcome challenges? Or are you coming into a new life phase and wondering how you will define it? 

Together, we will unravel the challenges and uncover the opportunities. Here, the group becomes a mirror for your soul, helping you discover how to be a co creator of your life, not just a passive receiver.

Through ritual art and mandala offering ceremonies, we will co-create beauty and meaning. These practices, infused with intention, are designed to empower you to bring sacredness and wholeness into every aspect of your life.

Drum Journey & Medicine Walk

Lean into the soothing sound of the drum, letting it guide you on a journey deep into the layers of your subconscious. 

“One of the most powerful and meaningful shamanic drum journeys in my life was drummed by Sofia. It set a vision that is still living within me, 8 years later. There is something about Sofia which makes my heart soften and my spirit lift up in joy. I am very happy that everyone here in Finland now has the opportunity to experience her radiant presence and deep connection with the drum.” 

Helena

Connection with Nature

Experience also the ancient practice of medicine walk, a mindful walk where nature becomes your healer and your trusted advisor. 

The vast quietness of Tiilikkajärvi National Park is the perfect sanctuary for our retreat. The wilderness will be our holy place, and in its silence, we find connection. As you walk, breathe, and sit with nature, you will slow down and become present — and listen to the earth, to your body, and to the wisdom arising within. 

A Sacred Space for Transformation

Through shared practices, intentional rest, and heartfelt ritual, the Inner Vision Retreat will hold space for your inner and outer transformation. You will leave with a deeper understanding of what you are facing, and a renewed sense of how to embrace the unknown, knowing you are not alone in your journey.

What is your Inner Vision? What personal myth or dream guides your life? Do you know it yet? Because to know it well it is to know yourself well and to have full access to your potential. Your Inner Vision is your compass needle. Your True North. 

Every moment of your life is full of choices and opportunities. Which ones do you choose? If you choose them all, you will go in every direction and end up going nowhere. But when you tap into your True North, you have a clear sense of which direction is the right one at all times. 

When you join us in this sacred co-creation you step into your own power as healer, creator, and sacred being. You will bring more clarity and directedness to your role in your own life and in the world. 

Our retreat place is a jewel of pure nature, where you can completely dive into the silence of yourself in the natural silence of the endless woods. This special retreat environment will help you to relax into that place in yourself where you can touch your next inner vision. 

Welcome to the Inner Visions Forest Retreat!

What is included?

Dip into the magic of the moment and rejuvenate your connection with body and spirit through:  

• Yoga, 2 classes daily, one invigorating and one more restorative/yin

• Sauna Ceremony

• Meditative walking in nature

• Mandala intention setting and vision offering

• Shamanic journeying

• Resting

• Swimming in icy lake (optional)

• In free-time possibility for snow-shoeing, nordic skiing, or sledging

• Peaceful accommodation to rest

• Nourishing meals made from local products

  
  

FACILITATORS:

The Inner Vision Retreat is guided by Sofia, a resident of Denmark with Icelandic heritage, and Helena, a native from this area of East Finland. 

We have been sisters in shamanic practice and friends for over 10 years. This will be Sofia's first visit to Eastern Finland. We look forward to an international retreat circle with participants from Finland and from abroad. We speak fluently: English, Finnish, Danish, Icelandic and Spanish. General guidance on the retreat will be in English, with the possibility to translate into the mentioned languages when needed.   

Sófía

I was born in Iceland and raised there until, when my school years started, my family moved to Denmark, so I have a dual cultural background. The two countries are more different in mentality and culture than you would think!

A practitioner of yoga since the tender age of 16, I am a seasoned yoga teacher specializing in rejuvenation, recovery and self healing through mindful movement and breathing. 

Shamanic practices are a longstanding and ever evolving love of my life. For the past 13 or so years, that passion has been channeled into formal studies and mentorship with my Danish teacher, Annette Høst. I carry out ceremonies for any occasion in life (eg. wedding ceremony, name giving ceremony), offer shamanic counseling and I have a special gift for creating drum journeys that heal and transform lives. 

My shamanic practice is also informed by my experiences from North and Central America, where I have lived, as well as cultural knowledge as an Anthropologist from the University of Copenhagen, having studied world traditions in depth and carried out extensive field work in Tibet. 

Helena Karhu I am a North Karelian practitioner of shamanism and knowledge keeper, mother of twins, ritual artist, cultural producer, and cultural researcher. My great passion is to be a companion for falling in love with nature and to learn about the ancestral heritage of this land.

The spirit of the Northern ancestors and nature invites me to share more about Northern nature, the animistic-shamanistic tradition, and to combine archaic methods and their possibilities in contemporary culture. I work at House of the Bear, which I founded, through whose services you can learn more about folklore and shamanism to help self-knowledge and community well-being. I am also chairwoman of a cultural foundation promoting shamanic and wisdom keeper traditions. I’m currently in the process of writing my PhD dissertation research on Finnish shamanism at the University of Eastern Finland. I warmly welcome you to Finland!

Helena knows the retreat resort Metsäkartano inside and out, as she once worked there for a couple of years, and organized courses and retreats there for several years. North Savo is a unique travel destination, definitely off the beaten path. It is the land of hundreds of thousands of lakes!

THE RESORT:

Metsäkartano Wilderness Resort is one of the most beautiful places in Finland. It is a unique and comfortable nature resort in the middle of the woods and lakes. It is part of Tiilikkajärvi National Park, which is famous for its beautiful fresh waters, nature paths and kayaking routes. In the winter time March and until sometime in April, the whole Metsäkartano area is surrounded with snow and icy lakes.  

The address is 

Metsäkartanontie 

700 Rautavaara 

Finland

This place can only be reached by private cars and we will help coordinate rides and carpooling. 

Access is via Kuopio or Joensuu airports (50-60 min flight from Helsinki) or railway stations (4-5 hrs from Helsinki).

Accommodation and meals

We stay in Metsäkartano's comfortable and cozy double rooms, all of which have their own bathroom. The common areas also have a fireplace, a small kitchen and our yoga & meditation hall. 

Full board is booked for course participants, starting with the dinner on Thursday and ending with lunch on Sunday (including breakfast, lunch and dinner). Meals during the retreat are vegetarian, and made from local ingredients. 1-person rooms are available for an additional fee.

Is the course suitable for you? 

The retreat is suitable for everyone interested in the topic and feeling grounded for working with their inner visions in group settings. 

Also disabled persons are welcome, as we can have accessible rooms. No previous experience of yoga or shamanism is necessary. 

The retreat is alcohol- and substance-free.

Price and registration

Register via this registration form:

The price of the retreat is 310 EUR incl. VAT 25.5%, retreat program and guidance Thursday-Friday as EARLY-BIRD, when you register by 31st of December 2024. 

After new year 2025, the retreat fee will be 349 EUR.  

In addition to this, accommodation in shared 2-person room with full board (starting with the dinner on Thursday evening and ending with Sunday lunch) during the entire course is 259 EUR/person, which is paid to Metsäkartano at the latest upon arrival. 

Additional fee for your own private single room is +30 EUR/person/day. 

You can bring your own bed sheets/sleeping bag, or rent them with +15 EUR/person. 

The booking and cancellation conditions are here: https://www.karhuntalo.com/booking-and-cancellation-conditions

Please notice, that for this retreat the registrations are binding, as we have an international guest teacher. 

Information

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sofia at sofiastefans@gmail.com or Helena at info@karhuntalo.com

RETREAT PROGRAM

This program provides a balanced combination of ceremony, self-inquiry, healing practices, and rest, all rooted in the natural world and ancient shamanic traditions. It emphasizes both individual reflection and group co-creation, allowing you to fully embody your role as co creator in your life. 

Please note that this program is indicative and may be subject to changes. 

THURSDAY, March 27

Day 1 ARRIVAL AND SETTLING IN

-17.00 Arrivals to Metsäkartano

17.00 Dinner 

18.00 Welcome Ceremony
Settle into the sacred space. Meet the facilitators and fellow participants. Set personal intentions for the retreat.

Opening & Intention Setting
Introduction to the retreat, sharing the themes of Body, Field, and Fertile Soul. A brief overview of the practices and concepts we'll explore together.

Ritual Art: Mandala Creation Ceremony
Together, we create a sacred mandala offering, infusing it with intentions for the collective and individual journeys. A meditative, co-creative process.

Guided Evening Meditation
Enter the inner space of stillness and allow your body and mind to rest after your journey.

FRIDAY, March 28

Day 2 EXPLORING AND PLOWING THE FIELD

08.00 Morning Yoga Practice
Gentle awakening of the body, focusing on grounding and breathwork to connect to the body and the fertile soil of the soul.

09.00 Breakfast

10:00 Words as Seeds: Writing Session
Creative expression through words, reflecting on what seeds you are planting for transformation in your life.

12.00 Lunch

Break for skiing, snowshoeing, nature walks. Time to rest or explore the surrounding nature in solitude. Use this time to connect with the land and integrate the morning’s experiences.

15.00 Plowing the Inner Field: Small Group Sharing Circles
Explore what you're currently facing in life. Group discussions and heart-centered sharing in small, intimate circles.

16:00 Afternoon yoga

17:00 Introduction to drum journey

18:00 Dinner

19:00 Drum Journey
Enter the rhythmic trance of the drum and journey inward, guided to connect with your inner vision and spirit guides. 

SATURDAY, March 29

Day 3 BECOMING CO CREATOR & HEALER

08.00 Morning Yoga Practice
A more vigorous yoga session focused on clearing stagnant energy and opening pathways for new possibilities. 

09.00 Breakfast

10:00 Medicine Walk
Partnered medicine walk

12.00 Lunch

Break for skiing, snowshoeing, nature walks. Time to rest or explore the surrounding nature in solitude. Use this time to connect with the land and integrate the morning’s experiences.

15.00 Ritual Art and Co-Creation
Engage in another collaborative art session, using natural materials gathered during the medicine walk. Together, we create a symbolic work of art representing our shared journey.

17:00 Mindful Movement session

18.00 Dinner

19.00 Sauna Ceremony & optional Ice Swim
A final purification, allowing any residual fear or blockages to melt away, making room for your empowered self to emerge.

Rest of the evening: Integration time. A quiet evening to rest, journal, and reflect. 

SUNDAY, March 30th

Day 4 INTEGRATION AND CLOSING

08:00 Morning Yoga Practice
A gentle awakening yoga session to ground the experiences of the retreat and connect with your body one last time.

09:00 Breakfast

10:00 Closing Circle & Sharing
Reflect on the journey, what has shifted, and how you will integrate these teachings into your life. Time to express gratitude and share final thoughts.

12:00 Farewell Lunch & Departures
A nourishing shared meal to close the retreat. Time to say our goodbyes and set off into the world with a renewed sense of self.

Additional Notes

• The daily structure allows space for rest, nature connection, and spontaneous sharing. While there is a planned flow, participants are encouraged to listen to their bodies and engage in practices at their own pace.