It Started in Hollywood… and Northern B.C.

photo by Jaime Kowal

You could have called her “yoga teacher to the stars.” Back in 1947, Indra Devi—actress-cum-serious-yogini—opened the first yoga studio in North America—in Hollywood! Oh yes, yoga masters had been travelling to the West since the late 1800s, but it took a Russian woman to start an ongoing endeavour that lured the likes of Gloria Swanson, Jennifer Jones, and Olivia de Havilland to the mat (for those unfamiliar, these celebrities are the equivalent of, say, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, and Scarlett Johansson). While mostly health nuts and those in the vegetarian movement embraced yoga at the time, this is also when its teachings and philosophies took off in the West.

Meanwhile, for Canadians, an unlikely figure emerged to become this country’s first lady of yoga. Kareen Zebroff was a depressed and overweight housewife and mother of three living in a remote northern B.C. town before being swept into media fame with her wildly successful national television show on yoga. Some 40 years later, that young woman—our cover girl—discusses her exotic transformational journey with writer Pamela Post (click here to read).

Our Yoga Theme Issue

Kareen’s story is part of our ode to the yogic life this month as we partner with the sixth annual Camp Moomba Yogathon & Blissfest, an extraordinary event taking place July 12 at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium. In this issue you’ll find the Yogathon’s program with its lineup of activities plus many of the businesses that will be exhibiting at the event.

Yoga practice is bigger than ever and has moved from counterculture oddity to mainstream phenomenon. Yoga students toting their mats are as common on Vancouver streets as caffeine fanatics clutching their coffee mugs. Actually, drinking coffee and doing yoga are both a means to an end. While a cup of java jolts you into temporary alertness, the practice of yoga cultivates long-term presence and attention to the moment. So whichever “practice” you prefer at any given time, we invite you to this year’s Yogathon as a participant or observer. Both yoga and coffee will be served.

Yoga Visionaries

We’re simply amazed at the outpouring of response to our invitation to nominate and vote for Yoga Visionaries. Among the many Lower Mainland yoga instructors, mentors, and role models who were nominated, four yoginis emerged as the most frequently named. We are delighted to be able to introduce you to their insights and wisdom while showcasing their incredible portraits by our gifted lead photographer, Jaime Kowal (click here to read).

Healing the Heart

Besides the Yogathon, another “don’t miss” event this month is brought to us by the Chopra Center and its co-founder David Simon, M.D. David, who founded the Center with none other than Deepak Chopra, will be leading a three-day interactive workshop exploring what holds many of us back from having happy, fulfilling relationships, and how to break through those barriers.

Gregor Robertson Closer to Mayor

We are delighted that Vancouver mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson landed the Vision Vancouver nomination last month in order to run in the November civic election. SharedVISION encourages you to vote for Gregor in November; his committed passion to issues of social justice, environmental sustainability, and housing affordability will serve us well as the eyes of the world focus squarely on Vancouver during 2010 and beyond.

It’s all good. It’s all a SharedVISION.

In gratitude,