Ascent (magazine)
Encyclopedia
ascent is an independent, not-for-profit magazine
published quarterly that explores the intersection of spiritual values with social and political issues, art, culture and contemporary thought. ascent also publishes a website
, a blog
, books, and holds an annual retreat at Yasodhara Ashram. The tag line for the magazine is “Yoga for an inspired life”. Its offices are based in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
.
who started teaching yoga
in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
in 1956 when she returned from India
where she was initiated into Sanyas by Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. In 1959 she moved to the West coast of Canada and established an ashram
in Burnaby, British Columbia
. She instructed people in Indian dance
, hatha yoga
, mantra
, and meditation
. Within a few years Swami Sivananda Radha
began looking for land outside of the city. In 1963 she established Yasodhara Ashram, a spiritual retreat centre, on Kootenay Lake
near Nelson
, British Columbia
.
In July 1963 she began sending out a monthly newsletter to her associates and friends. They functioned as a way to keep people engaged with the work and activities being carried out at the ashram. In the mid-sixties the newsletter began to include more commentaries on spiritual practices such as meditation
, mantra
, hatha yoga
, and the Divine Light Invocation.
In 1969 the newsletter became a bi-monthly publication and changed its name to ascent . It was printed in a booklet format and cost 50 cents. It included an article by Swami Radha, news and photos of the ashram, and concluded with an article by a guest author. Guest authors include Swami Sivananda Saraswati and Swami Chidananda Saraswati
of the Divine Life Society
, Rishikesh, India
.
Throughout the 80s and 90s the direction of ascent was primarily focused on acting as a vehicle for the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha
, as a promotion for the ashram courses, and to share experiences of people who had participated in ashram courses.
In 1992 the Temple of Divine Light at Yasodhara Ashram was completed. This is a dome structure designed with 8 doors and 8 major arches to symbolize the unity in the 8 major religions. This integral
and inquisitive approach to spirituality would come to influence the direction of ascent it was launched as a nationally-distributed magazine in 1999. The ascent editorial offices moved to Montreal
and there was no longer a focus on the day to day activities of Yasodhara Ashram. The magazine continued to focus on the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha
but also showcased the spiritual experiences of many authors and artists from various traditions and fields of thought.
Each Issue features the following regular columns:
, Noah Levine
, Daphne Marlatt
, Susan Musgrave
, Amy Goodman
, Zacharias Kunuk
, Karen Armstrong
, John Wood of Room to Read
, TKV Desikachar, Edgar Mitchell, Dr. David Suzuki, Lance Blomgren
, Alice Coltrane
, Deepa Mehta
, Jean-Marc Vallée
, Velcrow Ripper
, Sharon Salzberg
, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
, Bell Hooks
, Linda Montano
, David Sylvian
, Thubten Chodron
, Wayne Teasdale
, Georg Feuerstein
, Wade Davis
, Krishna Das
, Pico Iyer
, Jane Siberry, Joan Halifax Roshi, Bo Lozoff
, Arundhati Roy
, Tenzin Palmo
, Satish Kumar
, Natalie Goldberg
, Gabrielle Roth
, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
, Albert Low
, Jeremy Narby
, Ontario
.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published quarterly that explores the intersection of spiritual values with social and political issues, art, culture and contemporary thought. ascent also publishes a website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
, a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, books, and holds an annual retreat at Yasodhara Ashram. The tag line for the magazine is “Yoga for an inspired life”. Its offices are based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
ascent started as an in-house journal for Yasodhara Ashram in 1963. It was founded by Swami Sivananda RadhaSwami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
who started teaching yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1956 when she returned from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where she was initiated into Sanyas by Swami Sivananda Saraswati of Rishikesh. In 1959 she moved to the West coast of Canada and established an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in Burnaby, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. She instructed people in Indian dance
Indian dance
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.Three best-known Hindu deities, Shiva, Kali and Krishna, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances such as Bhangra, Bihu,...
, hatha yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
, mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
. Within a few years Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
began looking for land outside of the city. In 1963 she established Yasodhara Ashram, a spiritual retreat centre, on Kootenay Lake
Kootenay Lake
Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada and is part of theKootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s-70s, has changed the ecosystem in and around the water...
near Nelson
Nelson, British Columbia
Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
In July 1963 she began sending out a monthly newsletter to her associates and friends. They functioned as a way to keep people engaged with the work and activities being carried out at the ashram. In the mid-sixties the newsletter began to include more commentaries on spiritual practices such as meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
, mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, hatha yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
, and the Divine Light Invocation.
In 1969 the newsletter became a bi-monthly publication and changed its name to ascent . It was printed in a booklet format and cost 50 cents. It included an article by Swami Radha, news and photos of the ashram, and concluded with an article by a guest author. Guest authors include Swami Sivananda Saraswati and Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Swami Chidananda Saraswati was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. He is well-known in India as a yogi, jnani and spiritual leader. He succeeded as President of the Divine Life Society in 1963, after the death of his predecessor, Swami Sivananda, who founded the Society.Swami...
of the Divine Life Society
Divine Life Society
The Divine Life Society is a religious organization and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India...
, Rishikesh, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Throughout the 80s and 90s the direction of ascent was primarily focused on acting as a vehicle for the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
, as a promotion for the ashram courses, and to share experiences of people who had participated in ashram courses.
In 1992 the Temple of Divine Light at Yasodhara Ashram was completed. This is a dome structure designed with 8 doors and 8 major arches to symbolize the unity in the 8 major religions. This integral
Integral
Integration is an important concept in mathematics and, together with its inverse, differentiation, is one of the two main operations in calculus...
and inquisitive approach to spirituality would come to influence the direction of ascent it was launched as a nationally-distributed magazine in 1999. The ascent editorial offices moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and there was no longer a focus on the day to day activities of Yasodhara Ashram. The magazine continued to focus on the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha
Swami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
but also showcased the spiritual experiences of many authors and artists from various traditions and fields of thought.
Editorial Focus
Each issue of ascent centers around a specific theme. There is an emphasis on personal narrative and translating the philosophy of yoga and other spiritual traditions into practical reflections. ascent regularly publishes articles and art-work submitted by its readers. Past themes include gender and sexuality, family, healing and food.Each Issue features the following regular columns:
- editorial
- from the desk of Swami Radhananda - an article from the president and spiritual director of Yasodhara Ashram
- hidden language hatha yoga - Swami Lalitananda blends real-life reflections with Hatha Yoga instruction and penetrating questions that point to the spiritual roots of the practice.
- from the archives - A previously unpublished article by Swami Sivananda RadhaSwami Sivananda RadhaSwami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
. - tales from the vase (graphic column by Billy Mavreas)
- Kuanyin’s kitchen
- reviews
- epilogue
Featured Authors and Interviews
Matthieu RicardMatthieu Ricard
Matthieu Ricard is a French Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal.Born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France, he is the son of the late Jean-François Revel , a renowned French philosopher, and grew up among the personalities and ideas of French intellectual circles...
, Noah Levine
Noah Levine
Noah Levine is an American Buddhist teacher and the author of the books Dharma Punx: A Memoir and Against the Stream. As a counselor known for his philosophical alignment with Buddhism and punk ideology, he identifies his Buddhist beliefs and practices with both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions...
, Daphne Marlatt
Daphne Marlatt
Daphne Marlatt, née Buckle, CM , is a Canadian poet who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia....
, Susan Musgrave
Susan Musgrave
Susan Musgrave is a Canadian poet and children's writer. She was born in Santa Cruz, California to Canadian parents, and currently lives in British Columbia, dividing her time between Sidney and the Queen Charlotte Islands....
, Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
, Zacharias Kunuk
Zacharias Kunuk
Zacharias Kunuk, is a Canadian Inuk producer and director most notable for his film Atanarjuat, the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced completely in Inuktitut...
, Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...
, John Wood of Room to Read
Room to Read
Room to Read is an international non-profit organization with its global headquarters in San Francisco, California. Founded on the belief that World Change Starts With Educated Children, the organization focuses on literacy and gender equality in education...
, TKV Desikachar, Edgar Mitchell, Dr. David Suzuki, Lance Blomgren
Lance Blomgren
Lance Blomgren is a Canadian writer who is known for his published fiction and essays.He grew up in Courtenay, British Columbia and spent various years living and writing in Victoria, British Columbia, Montreal, Quebec, Las Cruces, New Mexico and Vancouver, British Columbia.He completed degrees...
, Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane, née McLeod was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, and composer.-Biography:...
, Deepa Mehta
Deepa Mehta
Deepa Mehta, LLD is a Genie Award-winning Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire , Earth , and Water , among which Earth was submitted by Indian government for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...
, Jean-Marc Vallée
Jean-Marc Vallée
Jean-Marc Vallée is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Quebec. He is best known for the film C.R.A.Z.Y. which is one of the most successful films in Quebec history, both financially and critically...
, Velcrow Ripper
Velcrow Ripper
Velcrow Ripper is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, writer, and public speaker, best known for his Genie Award-winning 2006 film Scared Sacred and his newest feature documentary, Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action...
, Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is a New York Times Best selling author and influential teacher of Buddhist meditation practices in West. She co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein, in 1974...
, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco is an Italian-Canadian poet. In 2005 he became the second Poet Laureate of Toronto.Born in Arezzo, Italy, his family immigrated to Canada in 1952. Di Cicco was brought up in several North American cities, among them Baltimore, Maryland, Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario....
, Bell Hooks
Bell hooks
Gloria Jean Watkins , better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an American author, feminist, and social activist....
, Linda Montano
Linda Montano
Linda Mary Montano is a central figure in contemporary performance art. She was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic household, partly Irish and partly Italian, that was surrounded by artistic activity...
, David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
, Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron
Thubten Chodron is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun and a central figure in reinstating the Bhikshuni ordination of women. She is a student of H. H...
, Wayne Teasdale
Wayne Teasdale
Wayne Robert Teasdale was a Catholic monk, author and teacher from Connecticut, best known as an energetic proponent of mutual understanding between the world's religions, for an interfaith dialogue which he termed Interspirituality...
, Georg Feuerstein
Georg Feuerstein
Dr. Georg Feuerstein is a German-Canadian Indologist specializing on Yoga. Feuerstein has authored over 30 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism...
, Wade Davis
Wade Davis
Edmund Wade Davis is a Canadian anthropologist, ethnobotanist, author and photographer whose work has focused on worldwide indigenous cultures, especially in North and South America and particularly involving the traditional uses and beliefs associated with psychoactive plants...
, Krishna Das
Krishna Das
Krishna Das is a U.S. vocalist known for his performances of Indian devotional music called kirtan . With eight albums released since 1996, Das is perhaps the best known U.S...
, Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist. He is the author of numerous books on travel including Video Night in Kathmandu. His shorter pieces regularly appear in Time, Harper's, NYRB and many other publications.-Life and career:...
, Jane Siberry, Joan Halifax Roshi, Bo Lozoff
Bo Lozoff
Bo Lozoff is an American writer, musician, and interfaith humanitarian.-Human Kindness Foundation:Lozoff, with his wife Sita Lozoff, founded the Human Kindness Foundation. He started the Prison-Ashram Project with Ram Dass in 1973...
, Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
, Tenzin Palmo
Tenzin Palmo
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo is a Tibetan Buddhist nun in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school. She is an author, teacher and founder of the in Himachal Pradesh, India...
, Satish Kumar
Satish Kumar
Satish Kumar is an Indian, currently living in England, who has been a Jain monk and a nuclear disarmament advocate, and is the current editor of Resurgence, founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher College international centre for ecological studies and of The Small School...
, Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg is an American author. She is best known for a series of books which explore writing as Zen practice. Goldberg lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.-Books:*Chicken and in Love , ISBN 978-0930100049...
, Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth is a musician, author, music director, dancer, philosopher and recording artist in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. Known as the "urban shaman", she is music director of the theatre company The Mirrors and has been a member of the...
, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee is a Sufi mystic and lineage successor in the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya Sufi Order. He is an extensive lecturer and author of several books about Sufism, mysticism, dreamwork and spirituality.- History:...
, Albert Low
Albert Low
Albert William Low is an authorized Zen master, an internationally published author, and a former human resources executive. He has lived in England, South Africa, Canada, and the United States and has resided in Montreal since 1979. He holds a BA degree in Philosophy and Psychology, and is a...
, Jeremy Narby
Jeremy Narby
Jeremy Narby is an anthropologist and writer. Narby grew up in Canada and Switzerland, studied history at the University of Canterbury, and received a doctorate in anthropology from Stanford University....
Books
ascent publishes through its sister company Timeless Books in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
- Inspired Lives: The Best of Real Life Yoga From ascent Magazine Edited by Clea McDougall (Timeless Books, 2005)
- The Inner Life of Asanas By Swami Lalitananda (Timeless Books, 2007)
- The Glass Seed By Eileen Delehanty Pearkes (Timeless Books, 2007)
- Inside Outside Overlap: A Boy Priest and Lifeform the "Cat" Adventure By Billy Mavreas (Timeless Books, 2008)
Awards
- 2006 nominated for 6th consecutive UtneUtneUtne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Hardanger, Norway. It is home to the Utne Hotel, Norway's oldest hotel in continuous operation, founded in 1722....
Independent Press Award - 2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination for Swami Lalitananda's column on Hidden Language Hatha YogaHatha yogaHatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
- 2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination
- 2005 Winner of the UtneUtneUtne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Hardanger, Norway. It is home to the Utne Hotel, Norway's oldest hotel in continuous operation, founded in 1722....
Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual Coverage - 2003 Winner of the UtneUtneUtne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in Hardanger, Norway. It is home to the Utne Hotel, Norway's oldest hotel in continuous operation, founded in 1722....
Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual Coverage - 2002 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination
See also
- Swami Sivananda RadhaSwami Sivananda RadhaSwami Sivananda Radha was a German Yogini who emigrated to Canada and founded Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia. She established a Western based lineage in the tradition of the Saraswati Order and published books on several branches of Yoga, including Kundalini Yoga for the West and Mantras;...
- Swami Sivananda Saraswati
- YogaYogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
- MeditationMeditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- SpiritualitySpiritualitySpirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...