SHAMANIC RETREAT
Welcome to join a shamanic retreat in North Karelia in Finland guided by a local native shamanic guide and retreat teacher. Shamanism is the ancient spiritual-cultural practice of the Finnish people, which still exists as the roots of the land, in its mythologies, and in ways of connecting with nature. By experiencing the beauty of this land in its cultural depth and sensual connection in its natural elements, you will have an enriching perspective to life that will benefit you also at your home land.
The silence and simplicity of being bring deeply relazing way
of nurturing your body, mind, and soul. Connect with the essence of North Karelia.
All the retreat days include guided walk in the local environment and in the power places of North Karelian nature. Welcome to this sacred land, to continue the journey, and to increase the wholeness of well-being. The safe and professional guidance by Helena Karhu is offered as part of your travel and retreat experience.
This retreat package includes a cultural touch of the ancestral practices and wisdom of North Karelia. The folk beliefs and mythologies of the spirits of nature, the sacred power places of nature, and the seers and sages of this land are with us during this retreat day. The shaman drum will be playing, as we connect to the heart essence of the ancestral wisdom, and we remember our old roots as human tribe.
This retreat is like a mystical journey to embrace the beauty and balance of our inner and outer nature. The deep essence of North Karelia can unfold in its vast beauty and authenticity, as we rest and journey as we are. Welcome to get the real sense of what this sacred land is truly about!
Retreat place - Mantan Majatalo -
Services truly in the east - Ilomantsin Möhkö - Accommodation, meals and catering services as well as nature tours and activities Mantan Majatalo offers comfortable apartment accommodation in a quiet and scenic location by the Koitajoki in the village of Möhkö, on the eastern border in Ilomantsi. Our accommodation is located right next to the Möhkönkoski recreation area and Möhkön Ruukki.
PROGRAM
DAY 1:
Arrivals. Transfer from Joensuu railway station or airport. Getting to know the surroundings and participants.
Dinner
DAY 2:
08.00 Breakfast
10.00 First sharing Circle. Introduction and guidance to natural meditation.
12.00 Lunch break
13.00 Guided tour in local nature: Finding the natural power places and connecting with nature.
- We will go together in the forest close to our retreat location, and find our own natural power place. It can be for example a distinctive big stone to sit on, an old beautiful tree, an interesting rock formation, or a hidden water spring. Helena will guide the retreat participants to connect with these natural elements with depth and silence, listening to the spirits of nature as we understand in Finnish and Northern folklore. This practice will help the retreat participants to connect similar ways in their home environment as well, and find simple and practical methods for natural well-being.
15.00 Coffee / tea break
16.00 Preparing for the sauna by connecting to the local trees and preparing our herbs for the sauna: Learn about the Finnish herbs and trees for the sauna.
18.00 Dinner break
20.00 Sauna
DAY 3:
08.00 Breakfast
10.00 Nature meditations outdoors. Deepening our connection with the natural elements and with the power of this land.
12.00 Lunch break
Resting / freetime
15.00 Shamanic journey for ancestral wisdom with a traditional drum by Helena
18.00 Dinner
DAY 4:
08.00 Breakfast
10.00 Morning meditation
10.30 Lecture on Finnish shamanism and North Karelian traditions by Helena Karhu.
12.00 Lunch break
13.00 Break
15.00 Tour in Finnish nature (possibly by kayaks, canoes or rowing boats by the waters)
- In this tour, we will together explore the beautiful nature in close vicinity of the retreat location, as there is plenty to see in each retreat location. We don't need to travel further away, to find interesting trees, landscape forms, bays of lake, rock formations. The exploration of the water element is optional, but as a possibility brings closer to the element of water in the Finnish nature. Allowing the silence of the water to carry us. Also the program depends on the weather and wind condition. The Additional charge for the rent of the kayak / canoe / rowing boat might be added.
18.00 Dinner
DAY 5:
08.00 Breakfast
10.00 Morning meditation.
10.30 Lecture on Finnish shamanism and North Karelian traditions by Helena Karhu.
12.00 Lunch break
13.00 Guided tour in local nature: Finding the natural power places and connecting with nature.
15.00 Coffee / tea break
16.00 Evening circle and meditation
18.00 Dinner
20.00 Sauna
DAY 6:
08.00 Breakfast
10.00 Shamanic practices outdoors guided by Helena
12.00 Lunch break
13.00 Guided tour in local nature: Finding the natural power places and connecting with nature.
18.00 Dinner
Closing ceremony for our retreat time together
DAY 7:
08.00 Breakfast. Departures
The price: 1500€/person.
All incl. Retreat: price inc. all retreat program, meals and transfer transfers from the airport or train station.
Not included in the price: Flights or train tickets.
- We advice you to take a travel insurance.
- We reserve all the rights to change the order of the activities or the content of the program if necessary due to the weather or other conditions.
- The tour is not suitable for persons with reduced mobility.
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You guide in culture and nature: Helena Karhu
As the retreat guide serves Helena Karhu, M.Soc.Sc., a North-Karelian shamanic teacher and practitioner, culture producer and artist, and meditation teacher. Helena’s life project is Karhun Talo (House of the Bear), which aims to advance cultural and holistic awareness through folklore cultures and wisdom traditions. She is born in Joensuu, North Karelia, Finland, and both of her parental lineages have deep roots in North Karelian soil. For the travelers, she wishes to show the beauty and wisdom of her ancestral land and culture, and to invite to rest in nature.
Helena is currently writing a Ph.D. research on Cultural Anthropology on Finnish shamanism at the University of Eastern Finland. She is a chairwoman of a local association called Pielisen Tietäjäkeskus ry., which aims to promote, strengthen, and live the ancestral wisdom traditions of North Karelia. Helena has about 15 years of experience of meditation and mindfulness practices, and she has guided meditation for groups about 10 years. She has guided groups in Finland and abroad for over 20 years.
Helena has vast international experience, as her international career took her to live over 13 years in Denmark. Besides her long-time residence in Copenhagen, her world journeys have taken her across the Northern and Arctic regions in her quest for life. She has lived in Greenland and in Fairbanks, Alaska. Helena’s passion is to bring forth the light-increasing, co-operative, and empowering aspects of the ancestral practice, where everyone can rest as they are, yet have freedom to become who they are. Helena is known for her inspiring and positive guidance, where simplicity and naturalness of life are the key focus.
“I hope that our retreat time together will bring you closer to the essence of this land, the beauty and balancing strength of North Karelia. The purpose of the retreat is that the effects and practices can be integrated to your home environment and everyday life.
Getting to know the natural power places of this land, you might recognize more of them at your home environment as well. The natural well-being is available to us, where ever we are.”
- Helena -
