Wellness on Jura
The Isle of Jura might be Scotland’s quietest corner, but it’s not short on ways to slow down properly.
Bothan Jura Wild Sauna
New for 2026 is Jura’s new mobile wood-fired sauna touring the island’s coast.
Based at Bothan Jura Retreat Pi & Lynton bought the converted horsebox and with the help of a small group of sauna loving locals will be looking to have it going Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
However if you’re coming to Jura at a different time, get in touch, they are happy to get it going ad hoc too!
Locations currently run at Big Corran, in the village of Craighouse (by Konrad’s Whisky Island Gallery), and at Bothan Jura Retreat in Knockrome.
Get properly hot in the wood-fired sauna, then plunge into the Atlantic. Sessions are small (5 people max) so it doesn’t feel like a production line. Locals can join as members for regular sessions, visitors can book singles. Check www.bothanjurawildsauna.co.uk for availability and booking.
Bothan Jura Retreat
Stay at Bothan Jura Retreat and relax in wood-fired hot tubs. The mobile horsebox sauna is based on site when not on location, and the cottage has its own sauna.
There is a 3 degree filted ice barrel for those brave enough.
Fire pits. Telescope. Walks. Wild swimming. Bird tables instead of TVs and books books books.
www.bothanjuraretreat.co.uk
Walk. Swim. Read. Soak.
Your space. Your pace.
Yoga with Philippa
Philippa McCallum is a Jura-based wellness practitioner and founder of Therapy on the go. She offers weekly yoga classes for people of all abilities, usually held at the Jura Care Centre or as pop-up outdoor beach sessions.
She also provides regular chair-based yoga classes, which are a great way to support injury recovery and improve mobility. One-to-one and private classes are available upon request, and she facilitates a variety of yoga retreats on the island.
Philippa livestreams all her classes to support participation from some of the more remote parts of the island – a useful option if you’re stuck on Islay wondering whether the ferry travels in both directions (it does).
Her teaching approach combines a sensitivity to the ancient philosophies of Yoga with a practical understanding of human anatomy and physiology. If you’re searching for crystal healing and chakra alignment, this probably isn’t for you. If you want to move freely, without pain, and come away with a yoga glow, you’re in the right place.
Massage & Acupuncture
Philippa is a registered Occupational Therapist, Massage Therapist, and Acupuncturist. She offers clinically informed health and wellness appointments to support injury recovery, improve mobility and movement, and promote self-care, stress relief, and deep relaxation.
Treatment sessions include bodywork assessment and a range of therapeutic modalities, including acupuncture, dry needling, massage, clinical cupping, and ear candling. Philippa is also a specialist in Sensory Integration and nervous system support, offering one-to-one sessions for both children and adults, as well as online programmes for women over 40 experiencing burnout or chronic stress.
Her sessions on Jura are primarily held in her treatment space in Craighouse, although bespoke services can be arranged in other locations depending on availability and need. Get in touch to take advantage of the opportunity to experience highly professional and truly special Hebridean healing.
+44 (0) 7817 456 347
Forest Bathing
Faye runs Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) sessions on Jura – guided walks through the island’s temperate rainforest at a pace slow enough to actually notice things. She’s a trained practitioner but also an artist and dancer, so her approach weaves in movement and creativity rather than sticking to rigid scripts.
Sessions involve sitting on blankets, gentle meditation prompts, foraging, and seasonal “invitations” – small practices that tune you into what’s happening in the woodland that day. Faye uses a singing bowl for gentle timekeeping and brings natural objects she’s found on Jura (like short-eared owl feathers) to ground the sessions in the island’s specific landscape.
Faye prepares for weeks beforehand – walking the route, connecting with the trees and soil, feeling into what the season’s asking for – but leaves space for things to shift on the day.
She’s been on Jura for two years and has only recently started offering sessions publicly; she wanted time to build a proper relationship with the land before guiding anyone else through it. The goal is slowing down, paying attention, and engaging with Jura’s ancient woodlands without performance or achievement.
Get in touch with Faye or follow her here:
www.instagram.com/wildsenses_forestbathing/
wildsensesforestbathing@gmail.com
Reiki with Jura Natural Healing
Yvonne and Denise are setting up Jura Natural Healing – trained Reiki practitioners offering sessions to locals and visitors.
Reiki’s a hands-on (or hands-hovering) energy healing technique that works on stress, pain, and general nervous system recalibration. It’s gentle, non-invasive, and you stay fully clothed – you just lie down while they work through a series of hand positions. Some people feel warmth or tingling, some just fall asleep, some feel nothing but report sleeping better for a week afterwards. It’s one of those things you either respond to or you don’t, but if conventional treatments aren’t touching whatever’s going on with you, it’s worth trying.
Yvonne Mobile – 07711 613471 and Email – yvonnemacdonald4@icloud.com
Denise: Mobile 07917 800715 and Email – deniserozgajura@gmail.com