ADVANCED SAUNA HEALING COURSE: THE ROOTS

Authorised course program

Tuesday- Sunday 20.-25. July 2027

Metsäkartano, Rautavaara, Finland

Learn healing traditions in sauna with Justina Maslauskaite (Lithuania). Experience the traditional sauna of an old lumberjacks’ lodge by Tiilikkajärvi National Park. Connect with the roots during the 6 days together in the woods.

 This is a six-day Sauna Journey for You to personally connect with the rooted wisdom that runs in Your veins – how our ancient ones bathed and survived within their physical, emotional and spiritual realities, how they connected to Nature and the well-being from within. You hold the answers to all these topics – so we will learn how to unfold Your personal gifts.

Now we live in times, when we lose so many – true inner health and inner peace, natural powers that are given to us as the biggest gift of life – we lose forests and fresh waters, we loose trust in our inside, we lose the knowledge how to trust the natural powers and integrate them in our everyday life. Sauna becomes tremendously important phenomena which is inherited from thousands and thousands of years of tradition. In this course we learn how to restore our lost powers and create the bridges between ourselves and our old ones, who passed on the tradition to our modern world.

The Advanced Sauna healing course is created in a way to experience each step of the process of bathing – soothing our bodies while soothing our burdens, soothing our skin while soothing our nervous system, soothing our bones while soothing our memories and stories.

Integrating the wisdom of Mother Nature – stones, fires, plants and all the greenery, winds and peaceful silence – together with the group we journey deep into Sauna wisdom while learning many specific techniques.

When we build or enter Sauna with the spirit of healing, we align with the great unity between the human being and the living Earth. Our Mother Nature, which is so fragile and so powerful at the same time offers us the endless treasury — inviting us to listen, to touch, to remember. Through the living powers of plants, the rhythm of spells and songs, the wisdom of the senses and of our loving hands, Nature teaches us to rediscover the harmony of body and soul. The steam room becomes a sacred womb, where we soften, surrender, and return to wholeness.

Several years of experience within this authentically created course showed to me that we all gather from different Lands and continents bringing our unique qualities of how we understand the healing and the powers of Löyly. Finnish Land with her beauty and deepness invites us to connect first with our own body-mind-spirit wisdom and then carry that to our homes and communities.

I warmly invite you to the six-day journey of healing and exploring of what Sauna can be. Expand approach to each element that may serve as a healing force within the sauna.

Together we will explore how to create a sauna ceremony and understand the purpose each element. How might we move and breathe with Nature, shaping rituals that awaken vitality and peace within.

Sauna is a temple of renewal, a place where the flame of Life itself is honoured and celebrated through Löyly.

NB: This particular course is the following learning journey after the Sauna ceremony course, which is going to take place in the same Land a weekend before, on 2027 July 16-18. This means that those who would like to get even deeper into the learning and combine both courses' experience are more than welcome to take that long adventure for the next summer in a profound Nature of North Savo! Yet, if You are coming into Advanced Sauna healing course only, You are free to do that without participating in the Sauna Ceremony course.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION

Price for the whole Advanced Sauna healing course: 590 EUR + accommodation.

Group of 12 participants, minimum 5 participants for the course to happen

Booking confirmation pre-payment is 70 EUR (non-refundable)

Final payment until 2027 May 1st. Additional information about the payment will follow to registered participants.

Please be aware of making Your choice, as the teacher is planning the travel and the program particularly to the group which gathers. It is every time a unique creation.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM:

This is the sketch of the program, which will be shared more explicitly to the group of participants.

2026 July 20 th – Opening

16:00 Joint welcome meal

17:00 Gathering in an Opening circle

Introduction of the circle

Lecture (~1-2 hours)

Dinner

Evening Sauna for relaxing, getting to know each other. Sleep.

July 21 th – Cleansing

Morning meal

9:30 Guided meditation (~30 min.)

Spiritual practice by walk in Nature (1 hour)

Lecture (~2 hours)

Lunch

Preparation for afternoon sauna: preparing approaches and elements for sauna treatments and healing, using aspects, that were shared in the morning’s session (~1 hour)

Sauna healing ceremony where we all will be practicing cleansing aspect.

Dinner

Discussion, experiences and round off the day. Sleep.

July 22 th – Vasta/Vihta

Morning meal

9:30 Guided meditation (~30 min.)

Spiritual practice by walk in Nature (1-2 hours)

Lecture (1-2 hours)

Lunch

‘Cold’ practicing techniques

Preparation for Sauna using aspects, that were shared during the day.

Sauna healing ceremony where we all will be practicing plants and approaches of the day

Dinner

Discussion, experiences and round off the day. Sleep.

July 23 th – Resting

Morning meal

The whole day will be dedicated for resting and spiritual practices connecting with Nature even deeper. The approach of our Roots will be introduced.

Lunch

Sauna healing experience while resting and soothing our body and soul. More will be shared in the course.

July 24 th – Nurturing

Morning meal

9:30 Guided meditation (~1 hour)

Connecting to all what surrounds us by walk in Nature (1 hour)

Lecture.

Lunch

How we combine all the aspects of healing sequence of Sauna. Preparation for Sauna using what has been learnt in the morning session.

Sauna healing ceremony for the nurturing potential of Sauna elements.

Dinner

Discussion, experiences and round off the day. Sleep.

July 25 th Final day

Morning meal

10:00 Additional aspects and knowledge on Sauna healing and ceremonial work.

Reflections of the experiences, questions and sharing.

Lunch and packing for journey home

14:00 Gathering in a Closing circle

Reference by Jenni Örn after the 2026 course:

I was participating in Justinas advanced sauna healing course with my almost 1-year old daughter. As a Finnish person, sauna has always been a part of my landscape, both inner and outer, so understanding sauna as a ceremonial space has rooted into my being since early childhood. But I have never before Justina’s sauna ceremonies experienced anything quite like that, it’s been like a missing piece from our Finnish sauna traditions and culture especially in healing wise, using the plants and the whole sauna space more into this purpose. I look forward to bringing some of these old ways into modern day sauna culture in Finland. I find it so important to understand our roots and traditions, to remember who we are and where we come from, to know where we are going.

The aspects that touched me very deeply in Justina’s teaching and way of being were her presence and her rootedness into the land. Her gentle, yet strong approach to healing practices, and her way to use plants as healers in sauna space. Also having the ability to access as a mother of a baby is something unusual, but just a perfect example of Justina’s values and nature. I think we both, me and my daughter, had a very beautiful, initiative experience together.

Feeling, seeing and experiencing with all my other senses the warmth, earthy richness of these sauna ceremonies is something I carry with me forever and hopefully can share with others as well. I learned a lot from Justina about the Art of healing in sauna space, with plants, with other ingredients of mother nature, and how to interact and create safety in this space.

I would recommend Justina’s teaching and sauna ceremonies to anyone who is interested in down to earth approaches in healing arts. Her knowledge on sauna work is really land-based and special, probably also among the circle of sauna practitioners. Her approach is more natural and gentler, than rigid or performative, that is the very reason I respect her as a teacher.

ABOUT THE TEACHER

Justina Maslauskaite

The sauna tradition — a profound, worldwide phenomenon especially rooted in Finland and the Baltic countries — is what inspires and attracts me most. I see this ancient wisdom as one of the most beautiful ways to nurture and restore the well-being of both body and soul. After many years of practicing ceremonial sauna healing with trees and other plants, I earned my professional diploma in sauna treatments. Teaching experiences in Finland, in cooperation with Karhun Talo, have broadened my approaches and deepened the understanding of how we can weave the garment of Sauna beauty all over the world.

In my work, I primarily embrace the traditional elements of the Baltic sauna, weaving them with a ceremonial approach that celebrates life and supports the healing of the body, mind, and spirit. Exploring the connection to Nature, I spend much of my free time in the wild and learn from the wisdom of the land. I created this course to offer a deeper understanding of the sauna tradition and folk healing.

My background for the work is being a psychologist and bodyworker specializing in sacred touch. I am also a practitioner of the Polynesian MA-URI® Healing Arts. For many years indigenous cultures and healing practices are what interests me most, specifically sharing and transmitting the ancient wisdom and heritage of the Baltic tradition of Sauna.

May we continue to explore the mysteries of this healing magic. I warmly invite you to a longer weekend dedicated to a deeper, expanded approach to each element that may serve as a healing force within the sauna. Together, we will explore how to create a sauna ceremony and understand the purpose each element holds for different occasions in life. How might we move and breathe with the elements of Nature, shaping rituals that awaken vitality and peace within— that unlock the stories of our grandmothers and grandfathers, and that bring forth healing?

Sauna is not merely a room— it is a living spirit, a temple of renewal, a place where the flame of Life itself is honored and celebrated through Löyly.

Reference:

Each of Justina’s sauna courses has been deeply transformative, giving me a richer understanding of how the sauna is truly a place of healing on so many levels. The Advanced Sauna Healing course, in particular, opened my eyes to the sauna as a sacred space: one for presence, restoration, and genuine connection with myself and others.

The teachings, the surrounding nature, the atmosphere, and the shared experiences all felt profoundly inspiring. I also found myself more deeply connected to our Finnish cultural heritage and to the natural world. The sauna helps me feel grounded, and this course revealed a new layer of wisdom within me. It strengthened my relationship with the healing elements and with the people around me.

Justina carries such deep wisdom and care, and her way of guiding each session felt nourishing, cleansing, and empowering. She inspires me to explore my own path and creative expression within sauna healing. I’m deeply grateful for her support, compassion, and wisdom and I can’t wait to attend another one of her beautiful courses or rituals in the future.

Hannah Weisenberg

Course location:

We will meet by Tiilikkajärvi National Park in Rautavaara, Finland.

The address of the place is Metsäkartanontie 700, Rautavaara.

The closest airports are Kuopio and Joensuu. The nearest train station is in Nurmes. You can only get there by private cars, but we help each other coordinate rides.

Metsäkämppa is an authentic lumberjacks’ cottage, located 1.5 kilometers from the main building of Metsäkartano (www.metsakartano.com). Built in 1955, the lodge has been modernised with electricity, heating, and running water. It is a very beautiful and safe place in the middle of the woods and by the lake. The traditional and big sauna building is perfect for our sauna healing course. Please notice, that there are no single rooms available; only shared rooms and bunk beds in traditional lumberjack style.