About Reiki Healing Retreat Mairela and Healer Sara Gardner in Finland with Sauna & Lake

Hello, my name is Sara Gardner and I'm a healer, an experienced Reiki master, a writer, a mother and a cancer survivor amongst other things! I live at Mairela Retreat with my youngest daughter and our 3 dogs. The picture on the right is me on the pier very many years ago as I spent most of my childhood summers here at Mairela Retreat.

Mairela Retreat is named after my Finnish grandmother Maire. The ending 'la' means 'the dwelling place of' in Finnish.This piece of land was her inheritance and the place that she had her summer cottage. When she and my grandfather Anton retired they built the house around the old log cabin, then eventually built another summer cottage next door. The house had been left empty for many years, at the mercy of the weather, until I moved here and set about restoring it.

If you would like to see whereabouts Mairela Retreat is within Finland then follow this map link and then pan out.

This is a picture of Mairela as it originally was built as a summer place c.1947.

This is a picture of Mairela taken in the 1960's which gives you an idea of the area. The fields next to Mairela have now been left to nature and are covered with birch trees and moss. You can only see the house and sauna in the picture as Mairela cottage wasn't built until the 1970's. The picture was taken from a forest watch tower which was made of wood and has since decayed and fallen down.

Why did I move to Finland? Everyone, including the Finns ask me that question! I don't speak the language (yet) and I was born and raised in London. Well, in January 2000 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer with less than a 20% five year survival prospect and that drastically alters your outlook on all aspects of life. To cut a long story short, I became a Reiki teacher and moved to a place where I could live close to nature, be at home when my daughter comes home from school and set up a reiki healing retreat to help others to heal. I have also been a student with the UK School of Energy Healing which gave me more skills for helping others and was also a great personal healing journey in itself.

I have set up Mairela Healing Retreat as a place that people can come to for holistic healing holidays using my Reiki and energy healing skills and where they can experience peace and tranquillity in beautiful, natural surroundings. The peace and relaxation that comes naturally here may be all that is required to help anyone detoxify or cleanse their body, their mind and their spirit, but if you need a little more I offer Energy Healing, Reiki treatments or teachings and lifestyle advice. There are many different ways to relax, destress and find inner peace. Walking, resting, reading, painting, Reiki, meditation or maybe.....

Just sit down on the pier, close your eyes and experience life all around,
The sound of the breeze whispering with the pine trees,
The warm smell of pine surrounds you,
The gentle lapping of the lake's water at your feet,
Woodpeckers tap tapping away in the trees,
Flocks of finches and bluetits chasing and playing,
The occasional plop of a fish as it jumps from the water,
The ravens playing high up in the sky overhead,
Never straying far from their partner.

********
If you open your eyes,
See how blue the sky can be,
Is it possible that clouds could be so white?
Watch the sunlight playing on the water's movements,
To produce a thousand diamonds, just for you.

One visitor to the cottage commented that she never knew how relaxed she could become until she spent some time here.

Mairela is situated on the shore of Linnajärvi, south facing and surrounded by forest.The village of Kuhmoinen, 9km away, is situated on Lake Päijänne, one of the largest lakes in Finland, stretching 170km from Lahti to Jyväskylä. The larger town of Jämsä is 30km away and offers a range of restaurants, shops and activities. The ski resort Himos is just outside Jämsä (30 minutes drive from Mairela).The cities Lahti, Jyväskylä and Tampere are situated south, north and west respectively, equidistance away (approx. 85km)

The weather, of course, is unpredictable but there are certain trends to the seasons. Finland does have quite distinct seasons, something which seems to have disappeared from the UK these days! If you would like to know more about the historic trends and the local 5 day forecasts then I would recommend a look at the website of the Finnish Meteorlogical Institute . The local weather stations that would give the best results for Mairela are Lahti or Tampere, although there will still be variations. The village of Kuhmoinen is situated on the shores of a large lake and that affects the weather quite markedly. There is even a slight difference between the weather in the village and the weather at Mairela even though they are only 9kms apart.

Mairela is situated in the southern half of Finland therefore it's not guaranteed to see the Northern Lights during the Aurora Borealis season running from October to March. However, if you do happen to be lucky enough to see them then you are in for a show of a lifetime!! The night I spent sat outside looking up at the sweeping lights flowing across the sky was beyond words. When I walked outside my house at 10pm the whole sky was lit up in a white arc, I felt as if my house had been picked up and placed into the middle of heaven. I regularly check the Aurorol Activity reports to see if we are in for a treat during the winter months.

Walking- The scenery is stunning and there are many forest trails. You can walk for miles without ever meeting another person, just breathing in the aroma of the pine trees that surround you and listening to the sounds of nature.

Skating - Only if the lake is frozen! During the wintertime there is an outside skating area at the local school which is available for the public to use for free out of school hours. It is floodlit.

Cycling - I have a few bikes if you are feeling energetic! The forest roads are perfect for cycling along as there is no traffic to worry about and you can cycle for miles without ever meeting another soul, it's just you and nature.

WRC - The world rally championship is held every August and the local stages include the famous Ouninpohja jumps (20km away). For more information visit World Rally Championships

Birdwatching - Capercaillie, Black Grouse, Black Throated Diver, Red Throated Diver, Goldeneye, Honey Buzzard, Cranes, Crested Tit, Ural Owl, White-backed Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker & Black Woodpecker are among some of the more unusual species seen around here

Painting - This area is well known in Finland for attracting artists to its beautiful scenery. Artists that have stayed here have found the scenery and the atmosphere very inspirational. The inspiration continues with them even after they return home.

Holistic therapies - Including Reiki, Inner Child Healing, Sound Healing, Colour Healing, Chakra Balancing, Emotional Freedom, Neural Reprogramming, Psychic Surgery, Massage, Shiatsu massage and many others.

Meditation - group class is held every Monday evening and technique teachings are always available. Techniques include, chakra meditation, ohm meditation, toning meditation, colour meditation, candle gazing, walking meditation, sacred heart space and guidance meditation.

Ski Do - There are many trails on and around Mairela. Ski Dos can be hired locally

This takes you to the end of the driveway, we are 400m down the forest road. There are no other houses down there and the road finishes at Mairela. On the map you can see 4 red dots, these are the sauna, house, cottage and woodshed.

	On the other side of the lake is an ancient hillfort site, Known locally as Linnavuori (Castle Mountain).This was the site of the biggest Iron Age findings in Finland. It's a wonderful place to sit. You can imagine that you are in the real Middle Earth The ravens stand guard and alert the forest as you make your way up. The views over Saaresjärvi are very beautiful And you can imagine yourself lighting signal fires, Warning of the coming of the Novgorodians!
Linnavuori as viewed from a frozen Saaresjärvi		The view from Linnavuori looking out over Saaresjärvi