Philosophy
Our Mission
To provide the most empowering experience of the body, mind, and earth. Sound like a lot? We think so, too. And we think you and our planet deserve nothing less. We're not out to change the world. It's been changed enough already. We want to help bring the earth back into balance. And that starts at the human level. If our bodies and minds are out of balance, how can we ever hope to live in harmony with our home? At Into the Green, we devote ourselves to helping everyone achieve that balance.
Our Practice
To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one's self . . . and to venture in the highest is precisely to become conscious of one's self.
-Soren Kierkegaard
Don't worry. We're not a cult. At the same time, we're not about helping you get your leg behind your head. Yoga has given us something special—something we want to share with others. We've taken parts of this ancient discipline, thrown in years of work in the outdoors, a little (too much) study of philosophy, a heck of a lot of world travel, and hours upon hours of yoga teaching and come up with a practice that doesn't just benefit you—it benefits our planet. Our approach to yoga starts with the breath and ends with peace of mind. Into the Green stands on five pillars: balance, community, discovery, expression, and focus. We strive toward balance, learn and grow with a community, push ourselves to discover, allow ourselves creative expression, and focus on our practice. Will you get in better shape? You bet!
So, does it end there? No way! This practice is about taking what you learn in yoga and applying it to everyday, to your community, and to the world. We teach in some beautiful places. But we aren't there to gawk, buy lots of stuff, and go home more stressed than we arrived. We're there to learn about the land, whether that's how to cook a rustic Tuscan meal with homegrown, organic ingredients or how to explore a lush forest without leaving a trace. And that's just the beginning. The whole experience centers around the breath, the body, and the mind. When was the last time you were fully conscious of your breath? We'll teach you just that and how to take that consciousness back into your daily life.
Balance
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Balance is the first principle of Into the Green. Through many years of work in the outdoors, we know that to thrive in the wilderness involves balancing ourselves and our environment. You can't control a thunderstorm, but you can control where you are during that thunderstorm. We apply this same idea to our yoga practice. You can't control everything that the day throws at you, but you can control how you deal with it. Our yoga teaching begins simply: with the breath. From that powerful foundation, you'll learn how to cultivate what we call Strong Calm—a strong, healthy body and mind that are also supple, peaceful, and calm. Once your body learns this, your mind will follow. The body (and the mind) will begin to respond to difficult postures (or situations) rather than react.
Community
We can only be ethical in relation to something we can see, feel, love, understand, or otherwise have faith in.
-Aldo Leopold
In a society that has become increasingly dependent on technology that allows us to communicate with each other across vast distances, it is easy to forget the importance of community. Cubicles, cyber space, and high-stress lives can often separate us physically and emotionally from other people. Into the Green brings people together in beautiful places, with wholesome food, a connection to the land, and an intense yet rejuvenating yoga practice. You're not in this alone. We'll learn and grow together.
Discovery
The search is what everyone would undertake if he were not stuck in the everydayness of his own life. To be aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair.
-Walker Percy
There's one of those crazy statistics out there that says most people stop learning new activities after their late 20's. Yikes! It's never too late to learn more about your body and the world around you. Whether you just want to know where your core muscles are or you seek a deeper state of being, Into the Green will help you discover it.
Expression
Whoever you are go out into the evening leaving your room of which you know every bit. Your house is the last before the infinite, whoever you are.
-Rainer Marie Rilke
When a society begins to lose its sense of art, its beautiful architecture, music, and theater, then it won't be long until it loses its sense of itself. We don't force a "style" of yoga on our students. We want everyone to express themselves in a way that feels comfortable—whether that's by movement in yoga class or sharing ideas over a home-cooked meal at one of our Adventures.
Focus
We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.
-Henry David Thoreau
Once you learn to control the breath, the body and mind will follow. Without focus, our attention wanders, our hopes fade, and our dreams disappear. We've all been there. Yoga helps bring a focus of body and mind that gives you the strength to bring the same level of attention and care to cooking dinner as it does to climbing a mountain.
