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Several months ago, when I first began circulating letters in an attempt to solicit interest in a regional yoga newsletter, I was delighted to find that I had received an email from the esteemed Mary Lou Buck. To paraphrase the content of the note, she told me, "your idea sounds wonderful. Now who are you?"
That's a fair question, so let me introduce myself. My name is Mike Howard, and I have been practicing yoga for one wonderful year. In this brief period of time, the practice has touched my life in a truly profound manner. Life before yoga now seems like a foggy, listless dream, and now that I have awoken, I want to do my best to experience and contribute to the practice.
So I began to ask myself, what can I do to enrich the yoga experience for myself and others? At first, I proposed forming a regional club, and while I have not abandoned the idea completely, it soon became apparent that scheduling and time constraints would make it difficult to bring about widespread participation.
It was at this point that it was revealed to me that I might direct my energies toward establishing a newsletter. As a philosophy student at UNCC and Purdue, I had always enjoyed writing. Why not dust off some old talents and apply them to yoga, my new passion? And so I shifted course and began exploring the possibilities that publication had to offer.
Once again, reality bit back, and I soon realized that launching one's own periodical requires much, much more time and effort than I can currently afford to expend. As fate would have it, though, I happened to come in contact with Mary Beth, who has offered me this fabulous opportunity to become the resident yoga journalist at Higher Self. The position will permit me to establish credentials while learning more about yoga and the art of publishing.
My work here, however, isn't about me, it's about you, the yoga practitioners of the Charlotte region. In addition to offering news and stories about what is happening in Charlotte's yoga community, I hope to, in some way, strengthen the bonds which tie us together as yoga people. Such, an effort, I hope, will help us recognize our kinship with all people seeking a deeper and more meaningful spirituality, enabling us to better serve everyone in the world in which we find ourselves.
And so I want to hear any suggestions you might have regarding what I should include in the space that I'm given: news, feature stories, yoga topics, etc. I don't intend to be the only yoga writer here either, so please send us anything that you have written as well. Don't be shy!
In closing, I would like to thank all of the wonderful yoga people who have given me advice and encouragement along the way.
Namaste'