''ascent'' was an independent,

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

published

quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content (media), content. They are generally financed by advertising, newsagent's shop, ...

that explores the intersection of spiritual values with social and political issues, art, culture and contemporary thought. ''ascent'' also published a

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

, a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, 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 ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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 (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where she was initiated into

Sanyas ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

by Swami Sivananda Saraswati of

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditati ...

. In 1959 she moved to the West coast of Canada and established an

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

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 I ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. She instructed people in

Indian dance Dance in India comprises numerous styles of dances, generally classified as classical or folk. As with other aspects of Indian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of India, developed according to the local tradi ...

hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

, and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. 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 Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay 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 th ...

near

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. 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

, 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 Chidananda Saraswati (24 September 1916 – 28 August 2008) was President of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. He is well known in India as a yogi, dnyani and spiritual leader. He succeeded as President of the Divine Life Society in 1 ...

of the

Divine Life Society The Divine Life Society (DLS) is a Hindu spiritual organisation and an ashram, founded by Swami Sivananda Saraswati in 1936, at Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh, India. Today it has branches around the world, the headquarters being situated in Rishikes ...

, 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 Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

. This

integral In mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented i ...

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 An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

*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 Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

's kitchen *reviews *epilogue

Featured authors and interviews

Matthieu Ricard Matthieu Ricard (; ne, माथ्यु रिका, born 15 February 1946) is a French writer, photographer, translator and Buddhist monk who resides at Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery in Nepal. Matthieu Ricard grew up among the perso ...

Noah Levine Noah Levine (born 1971) is an American Buddhist teacher and author, son of American Buddhist teacher and poet Stephen Levine. As a counselor known for his philosophical alignment with Buddhism and punk ideology, he identifies his Buddhist belie ...

Daphne Marlatt Daphne Marlatt, born Buckle, CM (born July 11, 1942 in Melbourne, Australia), is a Canadian poet and novelist who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. At a young age her family moved to Malaysia and at age nine they moved to British Columbia, ...

Susan Musgrave Susan Musgrave (born March 12, 1951) 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 Haida Gwaii. She has been n ...

Amy Goodman Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...

Zacharias Kunuk Zacharias Kunuk ( iu, ᓴᖅᑲᓕᐊᓯ ᑯᓄᒃ, born November 27, 1957) is a Canadian Inuk producer and director most notable for his film '' Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner'', the first Canadian dramatic feature film produced entirely in Inukt ...

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and m ...

, John Wood of

Room to Read Room to Read is a global non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization focuses on working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to improve literacy and gender equalit ...

, TKV Desikachar,

Edgar Mitchell Edgar Dean Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hour ...

Dr. David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science Television presenter, broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genet ...

Lance Blomgren Lance Blomgren (born 1970) 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, N ...

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2005 ...

Jean-Marc Vallée Jean-Marc Vallée (March 9, 1963December 25, 2021) was a Canadian filmmaker, film editor, and screenwriter. After studying film at the Université de Montréal, Vallée went on to make a number of critically acclaimed short films, including '' ...

Velcrow Ripper Velcrow Ripper (born October 20, 1963, in Gibsons, British Columbia) 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 ...

Sharon Salzberg Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a ''New York Times'' bestselling author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practices in the West. In 1974, she co-founded the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts, with Jack Kornfield and Jos ...

Pier Giorgio Di Cicco Pier Giorgio Di Cicco (July 5, 1949 - December 22, 2019) was 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 ...

bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks, was an American author and social activist who was Distinguished Professor in Residence at Berea College. She is best known for her writings on ...

Linda Montano Linda Mary Montano (born January 18, 1942, Saugerties (town), New York, Saugerties, New York (state), New York) is an American performance artist. Early life Montano was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic household, partly Irish and partly Itali ...

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. The band's androgynous look and increasingly ...

Thubten Chodron Thubten Chodron ( — De Lin), born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States. Ch ...

Wayne Teasdale Wayne Robert Teasdale (16 January 1945 – 20 October 2004) 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 te ...

Georg Feuerstein Georg Feuerstein (27 May 1947 – 25 August 2012) was a German Indologist specializing in the philosophy and practice of Yoga. Feuerstein authored over 30 books on mysticism, Yoga, Tantra, and Hinduism. He translated, among other traditional texts ...

, Wade Davis, Krishna Das,

Pico Iyer Siddharth Pico Raghavan Iyer (born 11 February 1957), known as Pico Iyer, is a British-born essayist and novelist known chiefly for his travel writing. He is the author of numerous books on crossing cultures including ''Video Night in Kathmandu ...

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". She performed the theme song to the television series ''Maniac Ma ...

Joan Halifax Roshi Joan Jiko Halifax (born July 30, 1942) is an American Zen Buddhist teacher, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as Abbot (Buddhism ...

Bo Lozoff Bo Lozoff (January 10, 1947 – November 29, 2012) was an American writer and interfaith humanitarian. He co-founded several nonprofits, including the interfaith Human Kindness Foundation and its subsidiary Prison-Ashram Project, Carolina Bi ...

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. S ...

Tenzin Palmo Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (born 1943) is a bhikṣuṇī in the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. She is an author, teacher and founder of the Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery in Himachal Pradesh, India. She is best known for being o ...

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 Natalie Goldberg (born January 4, 1948) is an American popular author and speaker. She is best known for a series of books which explore writing as Zen practice. Life Goldberg has studied Zen Buddhism for more than thirty years and practiced wit ...

Gabrielle Roth Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; t ...

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (born 1953, London) 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. Life ...

, Albert Low,

Jeremy Narby Jeremy Narby (born 1959 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian anthropologist and author. In his books, Narby examines shamanism, molecular biology, and shamans' knowledge of botanics and biology through the use of entheogens across many cultures ...

Books

ascent published through its sister company Timeless Books in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. *''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 Billy Mavreas (born August 14, 1968) is a Canadian cartoonist and artist living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada whose mostly silent or wordless comics revolve around the themes of language, sexuality and spirituality. He is of Greek descent from the ...

(Timeless Books, 2008)

Awards

*2006 nominated for 6th consecutive

Utne Utne is a village in Ullensvang municipality in the Hardanger region of Vestland county, Norway. The village is located on the northern end of the Folgefonn Peninsula, at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and Hardangerfjorden. The village is t ...

Independent Press Award *2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination for Swami Lalitananda's column on Hidden Language

Hatha Yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

*2006 Canadian National Magazine Award Nomination *2005 Winner of the

Independent Press Award for Best Spiritual CoverageMagazines Canada
/ref> *2003 Winner of the

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 Canada Magazines about spirituality Magazines established in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 2009 Magazines published in Montreal Religious magazines published in Canada Yoga mass media