This is the literal Latin meaning of the word solstice (sol -sun, sistere – standing). Between December 20 and 23 the Winter Solstice is celebrated throughout the Northern Hemisphere (Southern Hemisphere celebrates June 20-23).  This time has commonly been known for  mid-winter celebrations such as Christmas, Hanukkah, and  Kwanzaa.

In ancient cultures the Winter Solstice was considered as a turning point in the year. Many communities centered their most holy and sacred buildings such as tombs and temples upon the direct alignment with the solstices.  Today, we simply define this day as “the shortest day, the longest night.” Or more scientifically “the earth leans slightly on its axis…it’s 23 degrees and 27 minutes off the perpendicular to the plane of orbit. ‘’ (more…)

Our oneness with our breath, our body and our environment plays an activating role in our yoga pratice. How we walk this earth, listen to our elders, or tend to our community can be a reflection of how we understand the teachings of yoga. (more…)

I am a vegetarian, coming from an indigenous ancestry of  Yaqui and Apache,  and Spanish; Latina. I am typically not at the Thanksgiving Day parades or stuffing a turkey at 6:00 in the morning, or won’t give in to the groans of my family who say “Why can’t you not be a vegetarian today and just have a little turkey. It won’t hurt.”  It still confounds them when I say “I am a vegetarian every day.” (more…)

With the change in the season, night falling sooner and new reflections of the year closely coming to an end, I found myself in “poetic motion” and I was looking for some inspiration.

Perhaps a familiar language that also engages in this journey of taking yoga one day at a time? (more…)

Just before dusk on a drive through Los Angeles a fierce amber sun hung in the skies that had become overcast with soot and ash. All around us was a dry and thick aroma of settled embers that lay across the cities north and south of us. We drove towards it as it moved into the sea and each of us let out a gasp of reverence. (more…)

While at the Global Mala Project in Los Angeles, our team had the great fortune to view the inspiring work of Jasper Johal.
Mr. Johal is a photographer of some of the most intimate, artful and beautifully nude views of yoga poses. In his series entitled The Body as Temple we are offered a spiritual and sensuous insight of the body as a sacred being. (more…)

Every time we go to the movies we are inundated with one blockbuster film trailer after another. And we nod our heads with approval “Oh that looks good” or with disbelieve at how a particular film could have any relevance to our lives.

Quietly in the mountain ranges of Idaho a film festival aspires to offer us stories whose intent is to express “a celebration of human spirituality through film.” (more…)

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do. – Rumi

Another month comes upon us and perhaps you are once again, creating a list of what you need to or want to accomplish in this mere 31 days. How long is that list? Is it practical? Is it fanciful? Does it include your health and exercise goals?

How often do we assume that our exercise regime will just take care of itself? For myself, that may just be one too many days. (more…)

In the future we will be bringing you profiles on individuals or organizations that bring the arts and yoga together in the form of poetry, dance, theatre or painting.

While doing this research we came across the work of Leza Lowitz.  In a lovely collection of poems entitled Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Leza is combining her passion for poetry with her devotion to yoga. (more…)

From sunrise to sunset we are beseeched with everyday images, sounds and the voice of our own intuition, each clamoring for our attention. The influence of these sometimes causes us to be endlessly caught drifting from one thought to another without a point in sight.

Sometimes our spirits need this wandering to recoup from our hectic lives. But how do we manage this when we are seeking to focus our awareness? (more…)