There is a rich tradition of storytelling and healing magic in Northern Central Finland, Sydänsuomi, rising from the dense forests and misty swamps. This deeply-routed foundation also shapes the region’s current culture of healing and well-being.
The tradition of spells and magic has always been strong and versatile in Sydänsuomi. The area has been home to healers, such as bloodstoppers, herbal healers, and seers. Perhaps the long distances in the wilderness areas have forced people to find natural ways to heal themselves and others? Or maybe the mysticism of the swamps has awakened the healer’s abilities, passing them down from generation to generation?
In any case, the tradition of healing remains strong in the region even today, although the new generation of healers has brought with them their own modern methods and approaches. Nowadays, Sydänsuomi is home to folk healers, alternative therapists, spiritual coaches, and even modern witches. There are many definitions and interpretations, but one thing unites them all: a deep connection with nature.
– Nature heals in itself. Just by coming here to stay with us, in the largest wilderness area of southern Finland, nature takes care of you. And in nature, you don’t have to perform or achieve anything. You can simply take time to be, and listen to your inner self, advises Anne Hakkarainen – whose soul name is Alma Peuranluoma – from Villipeura Oy.
– As healers, we can be companions and help people reconnect with their own feelings and nature, she adds.
Anne Hakkarainen is a nature connection guide as well as an astrologer, whose path to healing began through her own burnout and associated physical symptoms.
– Health is so much more than visiting a healthcare provider. People feel well when they are in balance, and when the creativity flows. We are all creative, but it tends to be forgotten in the middle of the pressures of daily life. I want people to find their way back to creativity and joy. Creativity isn’t just art, it’s the life force within us. Everything starts from holistic well-being, where the body, mind and heart are balanced, she reflects.
Marja Suominen, the daughter of Löytölä, who guides nature yoga and offers various relaxation therapies and ceremonial baths, in which she gathers herbs from the local nature, shares similar thoughts.
– I used to visit many therapies myself and noticed how beneficial they are, and how much we humans long for care. I wanted to offer that to others too. Especially herbs and nature as healing forces spoke to me, and I found my own path in them.
Courage to Be Yourself
Many of the healers in Sydänsuomi have grown up in Northern Central Finland, feeling the power of the swamps beneath their bare feet since they were toddlers. Others have discovered their healing gifts after moving to the area.
Jasmine Välikangas, a project specialist in Sydänsuomi nature tourism, began her path of self-discovery almost miraculously after moving to the area seven years ago. Välikangas didn’t want to live her life in a hurry, in conflict with her own nature, and so the peaceful pace of rural life led her first to yoga, then to relaxing and coaching others. Today, she offers angel hypnosis treatments, where clients relax deeply to hear their inner selves and dreams. New services such as body exercises and trauma neurostimulation, which restore balance and peace to the body and mind, are also in the works.
– I believe that living here, surrounded by nature every day, naturally brings you closer to yourself, she reflects.
– This can be further strengthened by the fact that we live in an area with a lot of swampland. The task of swamps is to purify water, and we humans are 70% water. I feel that we healers purify the inner waters of people, so that they can flow as freely as possible.
She adds that the calmness of rural life allows authentic and deep encounters with others in a way that is impossible in a noisy, urban environment. Each of us longs to be seen, heard, and understood. Creating this space for people is healing and necessary.
– Usually, the deepest wounds are caused in connection with others. And they can only be healed in connection with others. That’s why genuine encounters are so important.
The Witch of Nykälä, Piia Ikonen, found her way to Sydänsuomi from Lapland, passing through the Helsinki area and South Ostrobothnia before arriving in Kannonkoski, where she has been offering nature and experience services at Kipinäkota for about four years.
– Love brought me here, she says with a smile, noting that she now feels at home in the area.
– What fascinates me about this place, in addition to its wonderful nature and peace, are its unique stories and history. The Sámi people used to wander, hunt, and fish here. You don’t have to go to Inari in Lapland to hear those stories or to vacation in Northern Finland. I just go to my cottage here and experience the same thing, without the ski resort hassle.
Offering various forms of coaching and treatments, Nykälä’s witch reveals that there have been many types of seers and shamans in her family, but her own healing gifts only surfaced after moving to Northern Central Finland.
– I think there has been courage here to speak openly about these matters. Because of that, certain types of people find each other, and more and more are brave enough to open up about things that perhaps once were considered taboo.
A Spirit of Collaboration
Healers in Sydänsuomi often collaborate with each other and with other local entrepreneurs. For example, Satu Välipakka, founder of the Sun Tähden company and a practitioner of various massage, sound, and energy healing therapies, recently hosted a power animal day together with Anne Hakkarainen, and they have plans for more joint projects. She has also organized art and craft workshops in nature, often involving other entrepreneurs in the process.
– I like to do things where people can free themselves, their emotions, and their space for being. Warmth, gentleness, nature, and presence are the themes of my treatments.
She mentions that wellness entrepreneurs in the area don’t have to compete with each other, as they all approach things with a certain humility.
– I feel that we are all similar: nature-oriented and grounded. It’s a kind of good humility and rootedness.
Marja Suominen from Löytölä is also excited about the spirit of collaboration in the area. In Kinnula, near the Salamajärvi National Park, they have a network of tourism and wellness services under the brand name Syvänmaa.
– There are many small villages here, each with its own unique atmosphere, and the villages have small, unique businesses that work well together. These are surely wonderful experiences for tourists to enjoy.
The article is carried out as part of the Sydänsuomi Nature Tourism Growth Program, a project funded by the European Union and managed by the Regional Council of Central Finland. The project is administered by the Development Company Karstulanseutu Oy.
Read also the first part of the article series Mysterious Sydänsuomi.