Movin
on up
>>
Ascent
magazine spreads the real meaning of yoga
by GENEVIEVE
PAIEMENT
Ascent
might just be the best yoga magazine youve never heard of. In
fact, given that most magazine-store shelf space is infested with colourful,
cleavage-splattered monthlies, how can a Montreal-based quarterly with
a subhead like Expanding the mind of yoga compete?
Were trying to open a new way of talking about yoga,
soft-spoken editor Clea McDougall explains. There are a lot of
misconceptions about yogaeither its seen as an Eastern thing
where strange men contort themselves or a more Americanized fitness
craze. We want to bring back the depth and spirituality to yoga and
make it more contemporary and accessible.
Though its only been a national quarterly magazine for three years,
Ascent has been around in one form or another for about 30 years, starting
out as the Yasodhara Ashram newsletter in rural Kootenay Bay, B.C. Its
still the ashrams project, though theyve given us a lot
of room to work. They have editors and visionaries we are in constant
contact with, says McDougall. She and a small team of editors
worked from the ashram for about two years before the magazine started
really picking up and they realized that it was too hard to do
it in, essentially, the middle of nowhere. So McDougall, a native
Montrealer with a degree in creative writing, spearheaded the move across
the country to our fair city.
With an environmental bent and an activist edge, Ascent has already
built up healthy Canadian, American and U.K. readerships and managed
to garner an Utne Reader Alternative Press Award nomination in the category
of Best Spiritual Coverage. And in keeping with their mandate to remain
accessible and inspirational to urban hipsters and seasoned yogis alike,
recent issues of Ascent have included a photo essay on the yoga craze
in New York City, the urban ecology of yoga, and scientific reflections
from David Suzuki. So yoga, as defined by Ascent, is a pretty broad
term, covering philosophy, physical discipline, ecology and more.
It manifests in our daily lives in every way, says McDougall,
in how we live our lives, in asking How do I live my life?
That to me is yoga. It doesnt have to be about a specific daily
yoga practice or philosophy or teacher. It can be about our attitudes.
As for their plans for the new year, Ascent have just bought a building,
with offices on the second floor and plans to turn the first floor into
a yoga studio, gallery and community spacea space that reflects
the spirit of Ascent, says McDougall. Watch for it on Gilford
at the corner of St-André or visit www.ascentmagazine.com for
more details. :
|