The Midnight Sun Ashtanga Yoga Ecological Retreat in Finland is all about achieving an equilibrium - a balance of mind and body while sustaining an ecological way of life, writes Aoife O'Reilly
Travelling from Helsinki to the retreat on the tiny island of Kadermo off the south coast, it's easy to gradually cast off the constraints of urban life, swapping congested motorways and carbon dioxide-saturated air for rough paths and pine-scented air. The last leg of the journey is a 15-minute boat trip from a jetty near the harbour town of Hanko. Huddled with a gang of visiting yogis in an open motor boat, there is an immense feeling of relief as the sea breeze blasts away the city grime and tensions.
The 2.5 kilometres by 1.5 kilometres island is one of thousands along the southern coastline. The preservation of its unspoilt, clean environment is due to the ecosystem maintained by the few inhabitants who mainly live there during the summer.
Kadermo has no shops, cars or street lights, and torches are necessary after dark. The only noise pollution is the occasional sound of passing boats. Beaten tracks link the dozen or so holiday homes scattered along the shoreline, protected by the pine forest and rocky granite plateaus.
The most prominent member of the community is yoga expert Stefan Engström, who runs the retreat for five months of the year. Yoga students stay in a two-storey house built on a rock overlooking the sea. It is built in the traditional villa style common in the 1920s and reflects the simple lifestyle of that time.
There is no running water. Rich mineral water for drinking and cooking is carried to the house from a bore well. To wash, students have to walk eight minutes to the sauna hut. The washing facilities are Indian-style. This means bowls, buckets and a scoop. There is a barrel of cold fresh water and a metal vat of piping-hot water heated by a wood fire each morning to wash and for saunas in the evenings.
Saunas are very popular among Finns, who can spend hours sweltering in the wooden hut, only taking breaks to stroll down to the shore and dive off the pier into the bracing cold Baltic sea.
The sauna and washing arrangements are unisex which frequently unnerves the average Irish or British student. The Finns - who are very comfortable with nudity, particularly in the sauna - are often amused by the prudish modesty of their foreign visitors.
The loos are another aspect of retreat that takes some getting used to. They are ecological sawdust toilets, as opposed to flush toilets, and are in separate buildings. This is a characteristic of Finnish summer homes, as is the recycling of all waste.
In Finland, environmental awareness is high by international standards and people take pride in their closeness to nature. According to a survey carried out by the World Economic Forum in 2002, Finland was ranked top when it came to taking care of the environment.
However, Engström says the island's ecological system is down to practical as well as environmental necessity.
"It has almost always been like this since I was a child - a natural way of living and being close to nature. Also, it is not possible to have flush toilets in the winter as the plumbing is on the rocks: everything would freeze. And you should not flush wastes into the sea. The stool is composted and goes back into the forest and the urine is filtered into the ground." Alongside the sauna hut is the yoga chalet and a small cafe. Overlooking these is the Engströms' old family home where Stefan lives when he is on the island.
Stefan, a former engineer, has practised ashtanga yoga since 1990. Each winter he flees the freezing temperatures on Kadermo to spend time in India where he is a student of K. Pattabhi Jois - founder of the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore - and other prominent ashtanga teachers.
Ashtanga is a dynamic yoga system which balances movement, strength and flexibility with breath, control and relaxation. Believed to be 5,000 years old, this ancient form of yoga promotes physical and spiritual equality and well-being. In recent years, ashtanga has been embraced in the western world - in part due to celebrity practitioners such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Willem Dafoe and Sting.
On the island Stefan caters for the individual needs of his students, from absolute beginners to those with an advanced practice. Complementing the morning asana practice, is the afternoon Pranayama and technical class which concentrates on breathing exercises and meditation followed by a talk on the philosophical side of yoga.
The combination of Stefan's thoughtful teaching and the island's tranquillity, brings people from all over the world back to the retreat year after year. Maria, a German-Swiss woman in her mid-40s, spends most of the year juggling her role as a mother of three and career as a high-ranking banking manager. Kadermo, she says, offers her a place to completely let go. After three weeks, she leaves invigorated and can feel the benefit of the retreat for the rest of the year. Most regulars talk of this sense of resurgence, enabling them to return to the "real" world full of vitality.
However, some newcomers find it hard to adjust to a world without modern conveniences and luxuries. Surprisingly it is not the lack of hot water or flushing loos that they find most trying. Some go crazy without a regular supply of caffeine (coffee is only on sale in the café) while others suffer nicotine cravings after a rash decision to chuck the cigs. Many people find the purely vegetarian/vegan food hard to digest and there are always those who complain of withdrawal symptoms due to an absence of chocolate or alcohol. It usually takes people three to four days to unwind. Initially many feel fatigue and can suffer from constipation or nausea. This is due to the detox regime combined with the vigorous yoga. Stefan recommends that people stay for two weeks to get the full benefit from the retreat.
The communal way of life is enhanced by the practice of Karma yoga where everyone shares jobs such as washing up after meals, collecting water from the well and some food preparation. Lights out is 11 p.m. and by that hour most students are exhausted, happy to snuggle up in bed with only the odd hoot of an owl to shatter the deep, dark silence outside.
The Midnight Sun Retreat runs from the end of June until mid-September. During the rest of the year there are weekend workshops which run from Friday night to Sunday evening. The classes are taught through English, however Stefan also speaks Swedish, Finnish, Spanish and German.
A typical day begins with yoga asana, followed by brunch, Pranayama (meditation and technical class) and dinner. Organised activities in the evenings include sauna, film nights, theatre classes and tango/salsa dance lessons. A quaint café - open each day after brunch and dinner - sells a selection of coffees, healthy cakes and vegan ice cream.
The fee for one week (five days from Sunday to Friday) is €330; two weeks, €660, three weeks, €930 and four weeks, €1,170. This includes meals, yoga tuition and accommodation.
There is a train connection from Helsinki to Hanko at 4 p.m. on Sunday which takes two hours and costs about €20. Stefan collects students from Hanko station at 6 p.m. on Sunday. If you miss the connection it is possible to take a taxi to Engström Harbour (€21) and a boat taxi to Kadermo (€50).
People are advised to bring sleeping bags or sheets, washing powder for hand-washing, torches, mosquito repellent and good waterproof clothing and shoes. Those with a sweet tooth should take a supply of chocolate or biscuits. People are asked not to take alcohol onto the island.
Contact Stefan on tel: 00358-40 5029811 or by e-mailing stefan.engstrom@avenet.fi. Alternatively visit www.avenet.fi/yoga