Sales of Inspired Lives have taken off following an interview in the Toronto Star last week with the book’s editor Clea Mcdougall. The interview by the Star’s Daphne Gordon, who writes a popular column called the Constant Shopper, featured the book as this week’s shopping choice for christmas giving. Apparently a number of readers agree. Andrew Wedman, the book’s publisher, says they’re working full time filling retail orders for the book, many calling back to re-order. For our web readers, here is the Toronto Star interview:

Nov. 26, 2005 - by DAPHNE GORDON

If yoga has become a mainstream pursuit, Ascent magazine has helped it happen. "A lot of people love it, even if they're not into yoga or meditation," explained the magazine's former editor, Clea McDougall, when we met for tea recently. "People outside the immediate community really connect with Ascent. I've always been really surprised at that."

The quarterly non-profit magazine grew out of a small newsletter published out of Yasodhara Ashram, a spiritual community located in the mountains of British Columbia. McDougall, 32, worked for free at the ashram at first and then moved the publication to Montreal in 2001. With funding from Yasodhara and government grants, she and a small staff built a strong following for Ascent by publishing stories that placed yoga in a practical, worldly context.

Editor Clea McDougall holds a copy of Inspired Lives, a collection of writings from Ascent, a Canadian-produced magazine. Photo by Charla Jones - Toronto Star

"We wanted to get beyond the easy journalism of how to do a certain pose," says McDougall, who spent childhood summers at Yasodhara and studied creative writing at the University of Victoria. "It's about arts and culture and politics and social activism, all of those things that are informed by a yoga practice."

It's an approach McDougall calls "engaged spirituality," which implies an intense involvement in the real world rather than isolated retreat to a mountaintop.

The Constant Shopper's sister Jo Foster is a fan of the magazine. After a friend gave Jo a subscription to Ascent as a Christmas gift a few years ago, she somehow managed to find time for it in the midst of her busy life as an entrepreneur, wife and mom. She loves the articles, but even more so, how the magazine looks and feels.

"I feel like I'm sitting down with a piece of art in my lap. The paper is heavier, and it feels really special. I love that there aren't ads on every page. I love the photographs. I think it's artistically laid out."

Earlier this year, McDougall left the magazine in the hands of Sarah E. Truman, second-in-command since the early days on the ashram.
She's clearly continuing in the same vein as her predecessor. Last week, Ascent was nominated for the fifth year in a row in Utne magazine's indie press awards in the category of best spiritual coverage. (The mag actually won the award in 2003, and Utne often reprints articles from Ascent.)
The current issue, with its theme of food, includes an interview with a chef and Zen master who runs a profitable bakery in New York, which in turn funds his global non-profit organization. There's an interview with an activist who aims to bring organic foods to the masses of India and a piece written by a performance artist whose work involves being fed by others in public settings.

The real-life approach has obviously touched a nerve, helping Ascent earn grassroots support in the important U.S. market. Today, the magazine is distributed on major newsstands here and in the U.S. and has nearly 9,000 subscribers, with about as many south of the border as in Canada — a rare feat for a small magazine.

When she was leaving the magazine last year, McDougall had a feeling there would be interest in a collection of the Ascent's best work. She packed a suitcase full of back issues and went to Barcelona for several months to read every word, and then compile a book.

"I was constantly surprised at how good the writing was," she remembers. "It really renewed my respect for the writers I had worked with."
Inspired Lives hit shelves this month and is a perfect gift for a beloved yoga teacher, student or friend. The Constant Shopper finds respite in its pages, which touch on topics relevant to the struggle inherent in living a spiritual life in a material world.

An interview with Noah Levine, author of the book Dharma Punx, explains the not-so-obvious link between punk music and Buddhist teachings.

There's divine ambition in a story about Tenzin Palmo, the Englishwoman turned Buddhist nun who lived in a Himalayan cave for 12 years, then took on the task of building and funding a school for young nuns in northern India, where a long tradition of Buddhism has considered women incapable of enlightenment and therefore unqualified for study.

Canadian author Yann Martel discusses how yoga helped him write his award-winning book Life Of Pi, and how writing the book forced a deep examination of his own faith.

It's all very inspiring, as Kasthub Desikachar, a teacher based in Chennai, India, points out in his fond foreword.
"For six years now, Ascent, with uncommon eloquence and creativity, has been exploring how the practice of yoga affects the way we see the world and live our lives, how it brings us closer to what we are seeking — to the unchanging source of inspiration."

See the timeless website to learn more about this new publication.