Much has been said about who is to blame for the predicament of the existential threat of climate change which looms large for all of humanity right now. Some say each individual is responsible as a consumer to make more ecological choices. Others say the harm caused, and continuing to be caused, is the fault […]

It’s time to embrace the simple fact: There will be no climate justice if there is not also social justice. Until all people are educated, have access to health care, and are fed nutrient-rich food, we won’t have everyone on board for the mass mobilization needed to reverse the climate crisis we face as one […]

The average American produces a shocking 4.9 pounds of trash every day, destined to sit in a landfill. Much of this waste is food and food scraps, which not only take up space in the landfill (when they could be decomposing in a compost pile), but they create methane gas which is far more potent […]

If you’re like me, you love to travel but get concerned (understandably!) about the harm your trip can cause to the environment. Between fuel consumption, plastic cups and wrappers, harsh cleaning chemicals, and all the rest, traveling can be pretty taxing on the planet. After traveling for most of my adult life I’ve come up […]

I fell in love with yoga when I was 5 years old. It has helped show me how to live in a way that serves others. By the time I was 9 years old, I knew I wanted to share my passion for yoga and become a teacher. It took a few years to find […]

I realized early on in my teaching career what a privilege it is to hold space for people who want to empower themselves. Like most who teach yoga, I came to it because I experienced transformation through my own practice. I went from being someone who placed value in herself using outside sources, to someone […]

Can you imagine if every human facing a scary diagnosis felt unconditionally loved, unwaveringly supported, and steadfastly held? Would they be inspired to step forward with grace and the highest love, moved to offer the same for others? If they were empowered with tools to help themselves heal, to remain clear, to tune in to […]

Addiction is widely known as a family disease, yet the resources, information and support for the families of addicts are severely limited. In 2017, twenty-five million Americans over the age of twelve were reported to have an issue related to addiction, and that number is growing daily. Just shy of 10% of our population is […]

We recently experienced a new facet of yoga that has been even more rewarding than the Asana, Pranayama and Meditation that we have been practicing. We have partnered with a charity to create a jewelry line called, The Clarity Collection. Through this collaboration we have experienced the power of Seva Yoga, the act of selfless […]

Brian Aubin is a 24-year-old Long Island native, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in his late teens. Prior to and immediately following his diagnosis, Brian struggled with anxiety and depression, as well as alcohol and drug addiction and suicidal tendencies. Brian is now sober and healthy. Over the last few years, Brian discovered yoga […]

I have found that the word “yoga” evokes images that do not serve the populations I work with. At an AIDS clinic in New York City, few clients are interested in what they consider to be a practice for people with money and time on their hands. Yet I would argue that my clients need […]

“Life’s most urgent and persistent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Martin Luther King, Jr. Sometimes a question hits you square in the chest. The question irritates and inspires. My codependent says, “Maybe you’re doing too much for others.” My perfectionist says, “You’ll never do enough.” My heart knows I can do more […]

“Now you’re in.” James said to me with a playful smile. The heaviest steel door I’d ever seen, covered in two-inch rivets and decades of paint to hold back the rust, had just slammed behind me and the electric lock mechanism buzzed with a scream. Just moments ago I had been looking out over the […]

The reasons and stories for why people find themselves homeless are as varied as the trees you’d find in the forest. In the most recent homeless count for Portland, a point in time survey of those sleeping outside, in shelters, and in transitional housing, found 3,800 people in these situations and another 12,000 that were […]

Kathy sat in the classroom with 42 teenagers staring—transfixed by her words. Eyes closed, she breathed fully in a mini-meditation. Blinking back to that honest page, we heard the last line like rhyming knives: “But I still love him/ even though just once we were we/ after all he/ the father of me.” Exasperated by […]

I never set out to start a nonprofit. I didn’t manifest it with all those late nights of journal writing. However, two years ago I was working in Kenya and met 20 young girls, all victims of gender violence and orphaned, living in largest slums in East Africa. My aha-moment came when I invited them […]

The pursuit of life and the reverence of death are daily practices in my career as a fellow physician in pediatric critical care medicine at Columbia’s Children’s Hospital. My body is constantly electrified with the joy of saving a child’s life, and the grief of providing comfort as one passes away. This electricity builds; circulating […]

I’ve been teaching kids yoga for a little over a decade in schools, yoga studios, community centers, parks, synagogues and churches. I have had some of my hardest teaching hours logged in front of frisky three year olds and classrooms of jumpy adolescents. Teaching kids yoga and mindfulness is challenging. You cannot assume you have […]

It was always there within me– the want to heal, to help other people heal–calling me forth, making me look to the moon, asking it for answers to my yearning, my desire to be connected and my want to eradicate suffering in others, but I ignored it. Instead of embracing my healing nature, I ran […]

I grew up attending Burning Man and living in a culture where strangers are helpful to each other. I’ve spent 16 years participating in the event, and three years working internationally for the Burning Man organization, learning how tremendously adaptable and resilient humans are, and how we can create anything — particularly when we invite […]

Our children are the future. Our little ones will grow to be adult leaders, movers, shakers, doers, and shapers. It is both our honor and our duty to give them the best possible platform from which to grow. Let us cultivate and rest in our basic goodness together. As a conscious designer, I have the privilege of bringing all […]

Twice a month I drop my kids off at school and travel from New Jersey to Rikers Island. Anyone familiar with New York City traffic can imagine that the drive is sometimes terrible. Once I get to island there are still many steps before I reach the women I am there to see. There are […]

A few years ago, I found this quote, attributed to Muhammad Ali, from a 1978 Time Magazine article: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” This quote spent some time on the wall at the Project Yoga Richmond studio, where our weekly classes, donation-based and open to all, […]

I know what it means to give my power away. In high school, I struggled with an eating disorder that led me to disconnect from my body, which then led me to drug addiction and an exhausting inner void. Just a few years later, in my senior year of college, I was sexually assaulted and […]

These past few weeks have been tragic in Nepal, and whether or not you realize it, you are affected by the loss, suffering, and the rebuilding that is unfolding. When almost 8,000 people die in a natural disaster, we are all affected. Buddhists might call this notion of universal connection interbeing, or oneness, and others […]

— where years of condensation and stagnant air have absorbed into the walls, and painted a hue of green that makes everyone in the room look sort of green too. The floor collects wrappers, smashed and sticky juice cartons, and clumps of dust and hair along the edges of the wall. It gets too hot […]

When Sarah Gardner of Yoga Reaches Out emailed and asked for my help with her annual event, I was moved. She asked me to help her select two charities for children, and together we selected Ben Speaks and the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Brain Cancer Unit. Each yogi in attendance was asked to raise money, […]

If all you knew of Africa was what you saw on television, you’d think it was a continent littered with unhappiness, full of desperate people in need of food and shelter and water. You’d be forgiven for thinking that in such a poor and insecure environment, the time and space to practice yoga would be […]

Every night I have the luxury of going to sleep with one hand behind my son Jonah’s head, and one hand on his heart. He loves that little moment of energy healing, and has always loved it since I’d taken my first Reiki training with Pamela Miles in New York City. Sometimes he requests a […]

When Shiva Rea taught me my first proper vinyasa class at the Yoga Journal Conference in 1998 (!) I fell in love with her resonance, her freedom and her clarity. Her teachings, and the consistency of her offerings, are exemplary. Her Solar Aid project HAD to be included in our SEVA section. *​Be a light […]

Each year, millions of women and children are trafficked in India. A child goes missing somewhere in the country every eight minutes. Almost 35,000 children were reported missing in 2011, however it is thought that only a mere 30% of cases are reported. Almost 80% of all worldwide trafficking is for sexual exploitation, with an […]