LaSpa Health & Wellbeing Academy

Welcome to a five-day program (Sunday – Friday) of learning about the most important areas of health, namely physical activity, diet, sleep and mental health. The LaSpa Health & Wellbeing Academy has been developed together with international, and some even world-leading, experts – our Faculty. They are Professors and specialists from Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University. More about our Faculty members here.

Our faculty members will also lead some of our Academy courses on site at LaSpa, especially during the start-up of the Academy, summer and autumn 2023.

So how does it work? The first day, the Sunday afternoon, you will check-in, have a chance to meet our nurses for a health and motivational talk if you want to, and then have dinner with the group. During the coming four days (Monday – Thursday), we will focus on one area of health per day.

For each health area, we will cover four aspects:

1. The basics
2. The key simple steps or “hacks” for you to take to improve your health
3. The latest relevant research and news
4. Recommendation on good literature, podcasts, and technical equipment if you want to deepen your knowledge.

The last day, Friday, we will focus on the art of changing habits.

During the Academy days, you will not only study and learn about physical and mental health. You will also live it. We believe it is very important for the learning process to practice and experience the true feeling of Health & Wellbeing. We want to inspire you to have happier and healthier days for the rest of your lifetime. During the programme, you will be immersed in beautiful nature, exercise, eat and drink well, enjoy amazing body treatments and have fun and learn from others in a small group of a maximum of 15 people.

After the Academy, you will receive a monthly letter on health and wellbeing, exclusively distributed to our LaSpa Academy students. We will also arrange online group reunions to see how you are proceeding with your small or large changes of habits.

Why & How

Did you know that only around 30% of our life expectancy depends on our genes? The rest is up to us and our environment. There is a lot we can do, and it does not need to be difficult at all. Usually, what is preventing us from making these small changes, is knowledge and motivation. With a good lifestyle, most cardiovascular diseases can actually be avoided. If we live a bit healthier, the likelihood of us being diagnosed with cancer is significantly reduced. Common diseases like type 2 diabetes can be avoided or improved. Furthermore, the risk of dementia decreases with a good lifestyle.

So much would be gained in terms of quality of life on an individual level, and financially on a macro level, if we, together with our health care professionals and politicians, would focus more on staying healthy, through PREVENTING ILLNESS, rather than getting ill. In Sweden alone, the cost of obesity is around €7 billion per year, and in Estonia €600 million per year.

So, the arguments are clear, but it still feels very complicated. Some of us think a lot about our health, but it is not easy to navigate all the various diets and health and training trends. We hear about superfoods, vitamin injections, freezing your body to very low temperatures, hot yoga, breathing classes and training in fancy boutique gyms. We get excited and start something new with great enthusiasm, but often the interest fades over time. It is too complicated, too expensive, or it did not make us feel any better in the long run…

Many of us, on the other hand, do not really have the time, interest or energy to think about health and wellbeing before we suddenly realize that we have no choice. If we were just to make some minor adjustments to our daily life, this could be avoided.

The LaSpa Health and Wellbeing Academy is probably as far as you can get from tough training camps or quick-fix health “hocus pocus” solutions. Instead, we aim to share with you the point of view and the knowledge of the leading medical experts. It is based on the results of millions of scientific studies and their own research and personal experience. The goal is to inspire you to make the small, simple changes to your daily life that you can hold on to.

The mission of the LaSpa Academy is to give you knowledge and tools for strengthening your physical & mental health long term.

• Increase your knowledge
• Practise your knowledge
• Discover, experience and be curious
• Soak up the calming environment and nature
• Enjoy healthy and excellent food
• Enjoy the benefits of movement and exercise
• Relax and take care of your body and mind with world-class treatments
• Experience the healing effect of culture
• Hang out & socialize

Academy week

• Each Acadamy week group will have maximum 15 participants.
• A typical Academy day will include two hours of lectures, several physical and mental training sessions indoors and outdoors, a 50 minutes body treatment of your choice, and of course, healthy and tasty meals served by our “Estonian Chef of the Year 2022” and Guide Michelin plated kitchen.
• We will also visit the beautiful Arvo Pärt Center. Our close neighbour Arvo Pärt is the world’s most-played now living classical composer and also the 2023 years Polar Music prize winner.
• You will be able to fit in 4 – 6 hours of work per day if you want to connect the program with a “work-away-from the office” week.

Where

At LaSpa in Laulasmaa – a famous spa resort only 45 minutes from Tallinn and its airport – nestled between the pine forest and a long sandy beach.

LaSpa is a place for enjoying, relaxing and feeling and being well – both in body and mind.

You will stay in our beautiful beach house that underwent a complete renovation in 2022. We hope you instantly feel that you are our guest in a warm, exclusive, Nordic beach house.

Price

25 – 28 May Three-day programme
Price: 1005€ (shared room), 1200€ (single room).
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20 – 25 August Five-day programme
Price: 1600€ (shared room), 2000 EUR (single room).
1900€ shared Junior suite, 2500 EUR single Junior Suite.
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3 – 8 September Five- day programme
Price: 1600€ (shared room), 2000 EUR (single room).
1900€ shared Junior suite, 2500 EUR single Junior Suite.
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When

25 – 28 May 
Faculty members and health care specialists attending are Professor Mai-Lis Hellenius and Professor Tommy Cederholm
Also attending are nurse & nutritionist Maarja Randväli & Academy founder Anna Elam
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20 – 25  August   
Faculty members attending are Professor Carl-Johan Sundberg, Professor Anna Martling, Associate Professor/Nurse Kay Sundberg
Also attending are Nurse & Nutritionist Maarja Randväli and Academy founder Anna Elam
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3 – 8 September   
The faculty member attending is Professor Anna Martling. More medical doctors will be confirmed.
Also attending are nurse & nutritionist Maarja Randväli and Academy founder Anna Elam
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