“It’s hard to put into words all the beautiful life lessons I’ve learned here; no eloquence will do justice to the magic of Metta Earth. I’ve been awakened, my eyes are wide open to this glorious, thriving world we must protect…and I will never lose sight of that.”
Nicole Veloso Fontenelle Bezerril
2011 participant from Brazil
$1500:
for either two week course
$800:
for the one week course
*Includes tuition, meals, and accommodations
*3 thirty minute life/leadership coaching sessions after the training to help participants sustain change (no extra charge)
*Financial assistance may be available to those in need
*Credit with your university or college is usually available as independent study.
We will offer assistance, as needed, for this process.
Click here to download an application
Or for more information, please
call 802.453.8111
or write
gillian@mettaearth.org
Priority given to
earliest applicants
Metta Earth Institute is a non-profit educational retreat center in Lincoln, Vermont. Metta Earth is based on a small scale diversified farm operating an acre-sized CSA and retreat garden and raising Milking Shorthorn cows, Icelandic sheep, and heritage breed chickens. Metta Earth is a magnificent place that offers the quietude of the surrounding mountains, the stunning headwaters of the New Haven River with abundant waterfalls and pools for swimming, wilderness trails to walk or bike, and 158 acres of land to explore. Metta Earth teaching spaces include a light filled yoga room, yurts, a heritage barn, a greenhouse, and gardens. Truly a one of a kind location, the land will serve as a beautiful sanctuary for these programs.
6am
Wake up bell
6:30-7:30am
Yoga (self guided practice)…optional
7:30-8am
Sitting Meditation…optional
8:15am
Breakfast
8:30-9am
Community Meeting
9:30-12:30pm
Experiential Learning Activities/ see Class Topics
12:30pm Lunch & Open Time
2:30-4:30pm
Experiential Learning Activities/ see Class Topics
5-6:30pm Metta Earth Yoga Class
7pm Dinner
8-9:30pm Evening Program
Enjoy being at a retreat center with the magnificence and quietude of the mountains surrounding us, the stunning headwaters of the New Haven river with abundant waterfalls and pools for swimming, wilderness trails to walk or bike, and 158 acres of Metta Earth land to explore.
Delight in delicious, completely organic, and mostly local foods for all meals. Much of the food we eat comes from our gardens and farm animals. Participants assist and have the opportunity to learn about harvesting, cooking, putting food by, and other aspects of organic, local food.
Rest in white, organic canvas 10x10 wall tents on wooden platforms…with up to 2 people in each tent. Pillows and oak pallets, beeswax candles, and simple storage containers provided. Participants provide sleeping bags, extra bedding, and sleeping pads. A complete list of equipment including wilderness quest necessities will be provided.
If you prefer to camp in your own tent, we have many inspiring sites in the surrounding forest glades, meadows, and fields.
The Metta Earth main house provides bathrooms, laundry, phones, wireless internet, library, kitchen and dining facilities, and teaching, study, and practice space. Our 20’ East Yurt will also be used as a teaching, study, and practice space.
DATES:
June 15-30
July 6-21
July 29 - August 4
In a world of massive global upheaval, accelerating climate change, and the end of cheap oil, the time is ripe for awakening, transformation, and change. From this chaotic turbulence, great initiatives are coalescing, and with immense passion and energy an emerging generation of leaders is responding to the trumpeting call.
During a leadership training you will deepen personal inner transformation while building the skills and knowledge to lead, empower, and teach others. This all happens within the daily rhythms of a working organic farm and is supported by specific lessons on sustainable farming, social change organizing, primitive skills, wilderness education, and homesteading life-ways.
“The Metta Earth Leadership training has been a beautiful whirlwind of learning and laughter. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life that has taught me far more than I can comprehend. My month here has been beyond amazing with Gillian and Russell’s immense warmth and groundedness.”
Amanda Chin,
2011 participant
NOTE: Amanda has taken wonderful photos of Metta Earth, which are used with her permission in many places throughout the web site. You can contact her about her work at amandacchin@gmail.com
Metta Earth Yoga: Contemplative Ecological Practices for a Sustainable Future
by Russell Comstock
Kripalu Yoga: A Guide to Practice on and Off the Mat
by Richard Faulds
Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People
by Hildur Jackson
Gardening at the Dragon's Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated World
by Wendy Johnson
Radical Simplicity
by Jim Merkel
The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology
by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Soul of Nature: Visions of a Living Earth
by Michael Tobias
The Way of Council
by Jack Zimmerman
Gillian Kapteyn Comstock, Co-Director of Metta Earth Institute, Inc., is dedicated to creating sanctuaries for others to experience vibrant presence. With a passion for discovering the wild in mind, body, and earth, she has led yoga retreats, wilderness quests, and trainings in nature sanctuaries around the world. A yoga practitioner for more than 30 years and long time yoga guide, she is certified in Kripalu, Jivamukti, and Advanced Interdisciplinary Yoga. She is a founding member of the Green Yoga Association and serves on the Green Yoga Council. As a holistic psychotherapist in private practice for nearly 20 years, Gillian also offers mentoring, quest guiding, and leadership trainings. She holds an MA in Counseling Psychology and a BA in Human Ecology, and is certified as a Wilderness First Responder. Inspired by wholesome service, her teaching is infused with ways to find balance and a deepening quietude. For nearly two decades she has been a participant in the Assisi Institute community, which engages in a highly dynamic interdisciplinary investigation of Jungian psychology, creative process, mythology, and the new sciences. She is a mother of three grown sons, weaving family and community sustainability with the contemplative path.
To send an e-mail to Gillian click here
Russell Comstock, Co-Director of Metta Earth Institute, Inc., has given his life to living, learning, and loving. As stepfather of twenty five years to three grown sons, Russell is dedicated to fathering, family, and community life. Always moved by the soul of earth, he holds an MA in Contemplative and Ecological Leadership and a BA in Human Ecology. A practitioner of yoga for more than twenty years, he is certified in both Interdisciplinary and Jivamukti Yoga, and brings to all his teaching a spirit of embodied devotion. Russell is a founding member of the Green Yoga Association and serves on the Green Yoga Council. With extensive experience directing programs in wilderness, adventure, and experiential education, Russell integrates a steady intention to help humans connect more compassionately with earth and with each other. He has trained as a quest and wilderness guide with Earth Rise Foundation, School of Lost Borders, and Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars. He has been a nationally certified Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) for many years, and now maintains a Wilderness First Responder certification. He has recently completed a handbook called: Metta Earth Yoga - Contemplative Ecological Practices for a Sustainable Future.
To send an e-mail to Russell click here
Brian Tobin is a Hatha yoga teacher based in Burlington, Vermont. He lived at The Metta Earth Institute from 2011 until 2013 as a team member and the animal manager. Brian has spent time traveling in India, Europe, the Middle East and the United States exploring community living, ecological initiatives and spiritual practice. Brian is focused on helping empower young adults to make life choices that integrate individual exploration of meaning with a sense of community and an appreciation of nature. Brian holds a BS degree in Humanities and Business/ Technology Management. Brian continues his yoga study with his teacher, Will Duprey, through a 500 hour teacher training program.
Kristen Greenwald, Youth Social Change Organizer, Hatha yoga teacher, and Generation Now Guest Faculty, has dedicated her life to bringing forth a more sustainable, just, and contemplative world. She fosters a deep passion for inspiring positive social change through organizing, empowering youth, and reconnecting people with nature. This passion spurred Kristen to take on pivotal leadership roles while earning her B.S.in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont. In 2009 Kristen was a leading organizer for the largest student group in the country to attend Powershift - the largest youth conference on climate change in history. In 2010 she assisted Generation Waking Up, a youth social change organization, in building the Wake Up Campaign and developing the Wake Up Experience. Also in 2010, Kristen helped the UVM GreenHouse Residential Learning Community strengthen their environmental program, build community, and empower residents to take leadership roles. Using education as a means to inspire social change, she assistant taught the Introduction to Environmental Studies course at UVM in 2009 and 2010, educated her peers about sustainability as an Eco-Rep in 2008, and led youth backpacking trips for the Colorado Outward Bound School in 2012. Kristen is also a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher. Inspired by the hope and generative change possible with youth activism, Kristen is excited to continue discovering ways in which she can play a role in bringing about a more sustainable, just, contemplative world.
802-453-8111 info@mettaearth.org 334 Geary Road South Lincoln, VT 05443
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