The Sound of Silence
A Winter Retreat for Deep Listening
Journey through Silence, Vision, and Sacred Action
Shamanic Yoga and Silent Retreat in Finland
With Sófía Stefánsdóttir & Helena Karhu
Dates: Wednesday - Sunday 11-14 March 2026
Location: Remote Finnish wilderness — a sanctuary where nature’s voice can be clearly heard. Metsäkartano Nature Retreat Center and Tiilikkajärvi National Park, Finland.
Meet your own inner wise elder. In this day and age, there is a deep hunger for something almost forgotten: the sacred presence of the elder.
Not just the elders of our own family and close community, but the elders we encounter throughout our lives within the wider family of humankind and within the web of life—and perhaps most crucially, the elder within ourselves.
We are the elders of the future generations. The future needs our lived wisdom, rooted discernment, and “the long view” of life.
This is an invitation to remember what “elder” truly means—not merely a number of years lived, but a quality of being.
Integrity. Steadiness. Humility. Perspective. An inner compass that has weathered many seasons and can now guide others—not with dominance, but with presence.
Retreat with us to the deep forests and serene lakes of Finland, to remember these sacred parts of your eternal self: To be still. To envision. To find the power to walk your personal sacred path.
We will guide you to take your next steps on your life’s journey through shamanic practices such as deep listening in nature, drum journey, intention setting, shared ceremony, and creative visualizations, as well as through explorative and healing bodily movement sessions based on yoga, chi gong and ancient breathwork techniques.
The Sound of Silence: A Winter Retreat for Deep Listening
In the quiet hush of Finnish winter, we gather to listen:
To nature.
To spirit.
To the subtle song of our own inner wisdom.
Through the practices of yoga, guided silence, nature immersion, and shamanic listening, we deepen our capacity to hear what is essential—what is true.
Core Elements
Extended silent periods — including one full day of complete silence
Gentle yoga & breathwork — cultivating inner stillness and embodied awareness
Shamanic listening practices — journeys by drum, voice, and nature connection
Solo immersion in nature — Medicine walk and time with the elements
Sacred sauna ritual — purification and renewal
Community and reflection — guided sharing on the final day
Daily Retreat Program
(Program may be subject to changes)
Wednesday – Arrival
17.00 - Evening arrival and rest at Metsäkartano.
18.00 Dinner
Gentle settling into the snowy silence of the North.
Thursday – Opening the Field of Silence
07.00 Grounding yoga
Optional walk to the lake or forest paths
08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Opening Circle and intention setting with shamanic mandala
12.00 Lunch
13:00-15.00 Break, get to know the area – free time to roam, ski, walking, contemplate, personal practice
15.00 Introduction to The Art of Listening: Soft drum journey and invocation of silence
18.00 Dinner
19.00 Deep healing relaxation with Yoga Nidra
Friday – Listening Within
07.00/08.00 Gentle yoga & breath awareness
08.00/09.00 Breakfast
09.00 Guided meditation: “Entering the Inner Forest”
Silent nature immersion – snow walk or sit-spot practice
12.00 Lunch
Break – time for skiing, walking, nature contemplation, personal practice
Sauna ritual: releasing words, entering presence.
Optional: ice bathing in the frozen lake
18.00 Dinner
Silent rest beneath northern stars
Saturday – The Sound of Silence (Full Day of Silence)
A full day dedicated to stillness, prayer, and presence.
07.00 Silent yoga & meditation
08:00 Silent breakfast
09:00 Solo Medicine Walk in the forest
12.00 Silent lunch
13:00-16:00 Break – time for walking, nature contemplation, personal practice, rest, journaling, creative reflection
16:00 Optional guided sound meditation (gong / voice / drum)
17:00 Silent candlelit dinner
18:00 Closing the silent day with sacred sound
Sunday – Return & Integration
07.00 Morning yoga for awakening and re-emergence
08.00 Breakfast
10:00 Guided sharing circle: “What I Heard in the Silence”
Closing ceremony
12:00 Lunch and departures
Retreat guides
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 second 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.
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
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. North Savo is a unique travel destination, definitely off the beaten path. It is the land of hundreds of thousands of lakes!
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 finishing my PhD dissertation research on Finnish shamanism at the University of Eastern Finland. I hope it is all done by the time of this retreat! I warmly welcome you to Finland!
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
Access is via Kuopio or Joensuu airports (50-60 min flight from Helsinki) or railway stations (4-5 hrs from Helsinki). From there, Metsäkartano can only be reached by private cars and we will help coordinate rides and carpooling. This place is worth the journey!
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 Wednesday 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 retreat suitable for you?
The retreat is suitable for everyone interested in the topic and feeling grounded for working with silence and in nature 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:
Super-early bird is 350 EUR incl. VAT 25.5%, retreat program and guidance Wednesday-Friday as EARLY-BIRD, when you register by 29th of November 2025.
The price of the retreat is 390 EUR incl. VAT 25.5%, retreat program and guidance Wednesday-Friday as EARLY-BIRD, when you register by 31st of December 2025.
After new year 2026, the retreat fee will be 430 EUR.
In addition to this, accommodation in shared 2-person room with full board (starting with the dinner on Wednesday evening and ending with Sunday lunch) during the entire retreat is 326 EUR/person, which is paid to Metsäkartano during the retreat.
Additional fee for your own private single room is +120 EUR/person/the whole retreat time.
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
