Yoga & Deep Rest Retreat in the Swedish Forest: Lakeside Saunas, Forest Walks & Slow Living

Shambala sits beside a lake in the Swedish forest, two hours from Stockholm. It's an intimate retreat centre that runs both its own programmes and hosted retreats led by visiting teachers. The site includes a sauna by the water, spaces for yoga and workshops, and shared dining where meals are cooked fresh.

During the summer season (15 May – 15 October 2026), you can book a "Just Be" stay of two nights or more without joining a structured retreat. That means daily sauna, optional daily yoga, hiking trails through the forest, and swimming in the lake. You set your own pace. It suits people who want the setting without a fixed programme.

The low-cost Deep Rest retreats run July to September 2026. These include gentle yoga, Yoga Nidra, and long stretches of unscheduled time. It's not a fitness camp — the movement is slow, floor-based and restorative, with the aim of helping people actually rest rather than train.

Hosted retreats bring in specific teachers. "Rest and Rewild Yourself with The Wild Times" runs 17–20 and 24–27 September 2026 (4,740 kr all-inclusive), with yoga, meditation, forest walks, workshops, saunas and lake swims. Jean-Manuel Nadeau leads three levels of Biodynamic Touch training (21–27 September, 28 September–4 October, 5–12 October 2026), focused on body awareness, boundaries, ethics and non-invasive touch. The Level 1 week is 5,700 kr; Levels 2 and 3 are 19,000 kr each. In October, Isabella Frost Bergman teaches "Trygg Inifrån" (9–11 October 2026), a Swedish-language weekend of trauma-aware yoga, sauna, nature and reflection.

There's also a volunteer season over winter (27 December 2026 – 9 February 2027), where volunteers help with saunas, cooking and welcoming guests in exchange for staying. The centre describes that period as snowy, cold and communal — swimming in the icy lake is mentioned on the page.

Meals are vegetarian and cooked on site, included in retreat prices. The food is one of the things guests mention most in reviews — "the food is incredible" appears in one testimonial from a guest in Berlin. Rooms are simple and shared or private depending on the retreat; this is a rural retreat centre rather than a hotel, and the rooms reflect that.

What's included

- Accommodation in simple shared or private rooms - Three vegetarian meals daily - All yoga and meditation sessions - Sauna access - Lake swimming - Forest walks and guided nature time - Workshops (varies by retreat) - Communal dining and living spaces

What's not included

- Travel to and from Shambala - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Optional one-to-one sessions where offered - Additional nights outside the retreat dates