Yoga & Lakeside Wellness Retreat in Finland's Lake Saimaa Forest

The week is built around yoga sessions led by Eeva-Liisa Bonet, who teaches with a background in education and anatomy and holds E-RYT200 and RYT500 qualifications. She has been teaching for more than ten years and is known for a calm, relaxing voice — it is common to nearly fall asleep during her yin and sound bowl sessions. Classes are held in the main building with a view towards the lake, or outside in the forest by the beach when the weather allows.

The setting is Pistohiekka Resort in Puumala, East Finland, in the Finnish Lake District. You stay in the middle of a forest next to Lake Saimaa, Finland's largest lake. The yoga level is beginner and intermediate, so no advanced practice is required.

Days are largely open outside the yoga. Guests can swim in the lake, rent a kayak or a SUP board at the resort, try SUP yoga on the water, or take a taxi to Puumala village centre. There is a sound bowl treatment available too. The rest of the time is yours: read, sleep, write, walk in the forest, or simply sit by the water.

This is different from a big resort-style yoga holiday because the group is small and the surroundings are genuinely remote — forest on one side, Lake Saimaa on the other. The yoga is taught by a long-practising Finnish teacher rather than a rotating cast, and the schedule leaves most of the day free.

Puumala itself is a small lakeside town in the Saimaa region, known for the Saimaa ringed seal and for lake scenery. Getting there means travelling to East Finland, and the resort is on the shore of the lake rather than in a town, so the immediate surroundings are water and woodland.

What's included

- Accommodation at Pistohiekka Resort, Puumala - Yoga sessions with Eeva-Liisa Bonet (beginner and intermediate level) - Use of the main building teaching space and forest/beach practice area

What's not included

- Travel to and from Puumala, Finland - Meals unless confirmed with the operator - Kayak rental - SUP board rental - SUP yoga - Sound bowl treatment - Taxi to Puumala village centre - Travel insurance - Personal expenses