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''ascent'' was an independent,
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published
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that explores the intersection of spiritual values with social and political issues, art, culture and contemporary thought. ''ascent'' also published a
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, a
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, books, and held an annual retreat at Yasodhara Ashram. The tag line for the magazine was "Yoga for an inspired life". Its offices were based in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.


History

''ascent'' started as an in-house journal for Yasodhara Ashram in 1963. It was founded by Swami Sivananda Radha who started teaching yoga in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1956 when she returned from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
where she was initiated into Sanyas by Swami Sivananda Saraswati of
Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
. In 1959, she moved to the West coast of Canada and established an
ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. She instructed people in Indian dance,
hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...
,
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
, and
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
. Within a few years Swami Sivananda Radha began looking for land outside of the city. In 1963 she established Yasodhara Ashram, a spiritual retreat center, on Kootenay Lake near Nelson,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. 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 is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
,
mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...
,
hatha yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...
, 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 Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
, 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 In mathematics, an integral is the continuous analog of a Summation, sum, which is used to calculate area, areas, volume, volumes, and their generalizations. Integration, the process of computing an integral, is one of the two fundamental oper ...
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.


Editorial focus

Each issue of ''ascent'' centered around a specific theme. There was an emphasis on personal narrative and translating the philosophy of yoga and other spiritual traditions into practical reflections. ''ascent'' regularly published 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 Radha. *tales from the vase (graphic column by Billy Mavreas) * Kuanyin's kitchen *reviews *epilogue


Featured authors and interviews

Matthieu Ricard, Noah Levine, Daphne Marlatt, Susan Musgrave, Amy Goodman, Zacharias Kunuk,
Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...
, John Wood of Room to Read, TKV Desikachar,
Edgar Mitchell Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and United States Naval Aviator, aviator, test pilot, Aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer, Ufology, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. ...
, Dr. David Suzuki, Lance Blomgren, Alice Coltrane, Deepa Mehta, Jean-Marc Vallée, Velcrow Ripper, Sharon Salzberg, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco,
bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks (stylized in lowercase), was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Be ...
, Linda Montano,
David Sylvian David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt; 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan (band), Japan. During his time in Japan, Sylvia ...
, Thubten Chodron, Wayne Teasdale,
Georg Feuerstein Georg Feuerstein (27 May 1947 – 25 August 2012) was a Germans, German Indology, Indologist specializing in the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Feuerstein authored over 30 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism. He translated, among othe ...
, Wade Davis, Krishna Das, Pico Iyer,
Jane Siberry Jane Siberry ( ; ; born 12 October 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels (Jane Siberry song), Calling All Angels". She performed the theme so ...
, Joan Halifax Roshi, Bo Lozoff,
Arundhati Roy Suzanna Arundhati Roy (; born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. ...
, Tenzin Palmo,
Satish Kumar Satish Kumar (born 9 August 1936) is an Indian British activist and speaker. He has been a Jainism, Jain monk, nuclear disarmament advocate and pacifist.'' ''Now living in England, Kumar is founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher ...
, Natalie Goldberg, Gabrielle Roth, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Albert Low, Jeremy Narby


Books

ascent published through its sister company Timeless Books in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. *''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 Utne Independent Press Award *2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination for Swami Lalitananda's column on Hidden Language
Hatha Yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...
*2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination *2005 Winner of the Utne Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual CoverageMagazines Canada
/ref> *2003 Winner of the Utne Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual Coverage *2002 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination


Notes


External links


''ascent'' 's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascent (Magazine) Lifestyle magazines published in Canada Bi-monthly magazines published in Canada Quarterly magazines published in Canada Defunct magazines published in Montreal Magazines about spirituality Magazines established in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Religious magazines published in Canada Yoga mass media South Asian mass media in Canada