THIS FALL, MY HUSBAND AND I bought
our first home. Nothing big or fancy by any
stretch, but enough room for our little fam-
ily, dog, and cat, and to roll out my yoga mat
for some home practice (which, yes, often
looks a lot like those funny videos floating
around on Facebook of pets and toddlers
interrupting yoga practice). As we’re prepar-
ing to host family for the holidays, and as
the temperature drops and the mountains
around us become blanketed with snow,
I’m feeling extremely grateful for all that
I have—and increasingly mindful of the
families who aren’t as fortunate.
Numbers on homelessness in America
are constantly shifting, but on any given day,
there are more than 600,000 people with
no place to live, and one in 45 children expe-
rience homelessness each year—that’s 1.
million kids! Those are devastating numbers.
When I learned about our Good Karma yogi,
Kate Holcombe, who’s teaching yoga to
homeless families in San Francisco, I was
moved and impressed by how much it’s
helping the parents find the calm and relief
from stress and physical pain they need to
care for their little ones and bring about
vital life changes (page 90).
In honor of families who are struggling
without shelter and food, and of good peo-
ple like Kate who are trying to help them, I’m
dedicating this issue of Yoga Journal to end-
ing homelessness, and am organizing a drive
in our offices to collect needed goods such
as blankets, towels, and warm winter cloth-home
thoughts of
Carin Gorrell
Editor in Chiefing for the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless
this December. If you’re doing something
similar in your own community this season,
tell us about it on Instagram @yogajournal
with #yjendhomelessness and help us to fuel
the movement.
Besides Kate’s work, there are plenty of
other things to inspire you and your practice
in this issue’s pages. For instance, Deepak
Chopra, MD, offers a thoughtful exercise on
connecting with your core self in “Enrich Your
Life” (page 26). On page 80, six yogis share
how their practice changed and even saved
their lives (“Get Inspired”). And cover model
Leah Cullis teaches a celebratory home prac-
tice sequence to help you “Open up to Joy”
on page 47.
From our Yoga Journal family to yours,
we wish you the gifts of warmth, nourish-
ment, love, and peace this holiday season
and beyond.PHOTO: DAVID MARTINEZ; HAIR/MAKEUP: GREGG HUBBARD/BA REPSExpand your horizons.
Welcome to the
Sivananda Ashram
on Paradise Island.
Practice asanas on
oceanside platforms.
Enjoy healthy vegetarian
meals. Experience daily
meditation and chanting.
Meet people from all over
the world. The best-kept
secret in the yoga world,
Sivananda Ashram Bahamas
has been a destination for
people seeking a spiritual
environment to learn,
practice, and study yoga
for more than 47 years.đŏ51.2! ŏ
đŏ( //% (ŏ+# ŏ
đŏ(! */!/ŏ
đŏ! (%*#ŏ.0/ŏ
đŏ %.0 *ŏ
đŏ
! %0 0%+*ŏ
đŏ %!* !ŏĒŏ,%.%01 (%05ŏ
đŏ! $!.ŏ. %*%*#/ŏ
đŏ$!. ,!10% ŏ+# ŏ
đŏ+# ŏ 0%+*/Yoga Teacher Training
28-day immersions begin
Dec 4, Jan 4, Feb 3,
March 10, April 9, May 9sivanandabahamas.org
10
december2014yogajournal.comeditor’s letter