T H E P O W E R O F W O M E N
YOGItimes magazine for the modern yogi
THE POWER OF WOMEN
In a culture that sends so many mixed messages about what and whom we should hold up and celebrate, whom we should trust and whom we should look up to, it is often easy to lose sight of those who are doing remarkable things in the world community to make life better for all of us. This month, Yogi Times would like to celebrate the lives and work of four women who are making the world a better place through their art, their activism, and their passion.
Julia Butterfly Hill
By Keri Goldenhar-Lassalle
In December of 1997, When activist, poet and writer Julia Butterfly Hill climbed 180 feet up into the branches of a 1,000 year-old redwood tree and refused to come down for two long years, she brought international awareness to the plight of some of the world's last remaining ancient forests. She has authored a national best seller, “The Legacy of Luna,” which chronicles her tree-sitting experience, and offers readers many insights into her environmental views and commitments. She is also the co-author of “One Makes the Difference.”

In 1999, Julia founded the non-profit organization Circle of Life to educate, inspire and activate people to make environmentally and socially conscious choices. Her latest project, We The Planet, is a tour and festival which produces environmentally sustainable, creative and dynamic community events in the Bay Area, California and all over the United States. Recently, she was kind enough to take the time from her busy schedule to give us the following interview:

What is your spiritual practice, outlet or grounding?

Life is my spiritual practice. I am a deeply spiritual person, but I do not follow a specific religion. Religions are the way in which we practice our connection and understanding to the sacred in whatever way we relate to it. For me spirituality is not just a way of life, but is an expression of life itself. My practice leans more towards Buddhism combined with Deep Ecology. I also do work with deep breathing and prayer as part of my practice.

What is it that inspires you to continue what you are doing everyday?

People and the Planet inspire me everyday. Truly every breath is a miracle, and everything else then is boundless opportunity. Even in the midst of devastation and sadness, therein lies my opportunity to be a part of healing, restoration, and transformation in the world. Each moment of sadness carves a deeper well in my heart for love. Each moment of fear creates the space for courage and growth. Each moment of devastation is an opportunity for restoration and healing.

What brought you to take on this cause/challenge(s)?

I grew up really sensitive and responding to injustices I saw in the world around me. I also always went to the trees for my safety and renewal. Trees always took care of me, even when everyone and everything around me was letting me down or hurting me. When I found out that the ancient redwoods were being cut down, it was a natural extension of who I have always been to get involved and try to help the trees that were being hurt. They had always been there to help me, and now it was my turn to help them. My activism naturally has grown to include working on the connections between issues and the solutions to the problems facing our world. This is why I named my organization Circle of Life. My work is based on supporting and healing our Circle.

If you could see into the future and see your dream realized, what would it look like?

A healthy, loving, just, and beautiful planet and world for all.

What woman role model inspires you? Why?

Bonnie Raitt and Joan Baez because they are so incredibly talented, powerful, committed, and beautiful, inside and out. Wangari Matthai because she launched the Greenbelt Movement in Kenya Africa and now serves in Parliament there, and just won the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous work. circleoflife.org
Layne Redmond
By Keri Goldenhar-Lassalle
Layne Redmond is the author of “Chakra Meditation” and “When The Drummers Were Women,” the culmination of twenty years of research during which she unearthed the lost history of a time (circa 3000BCE- 500CE) when women were the primary percussionists in the ancient Mediterranean. Her recordings include the best selling “Chanting The Chakras,” “Chakra Breathing Meditation,” “Invoking the Muse” and “Trance Union.” She has practiced yoga since 1970, and is recognized as one of the world's leading frame drummers. In 2002, Drum! Magazine readers voted her ‘Percussionist of the Year,’ her music video “Rhythmic Wisdom” as percussion video of the year, and her CD with Tommy Brunjes, “Trance Union,” percussion recording of the year. She has created a synthesis of healing drumming and rhythmic practices with pranayama, yoga and chi kung which she teaches at universities, retreat centers and conferences in the US, Canada, Europe and South America.

What is your spiritual practice, outlet or grounding?

I've studied hatha yoga, pranayama, the shat karmas (ed. kriya yoga) and ayurvedic cooking primarily with South Indian yogi Swami Bua. I love to start the day with the shat karmas, the nasal cleansings, pranayama, bandha and mudra practices. I prefer to do hatha yoga later in the day when my body feels more open and flexible and then drum in the evenings. I'm also very involved with chanting mantra practices while concentrating on yantras. My life is so filled with travel and teaching that much of my practice takes place in my workshops as I teach! I spend a lot of time on planes and I find that it is very easy, rewarding and refreshing to practice quiet pranayama on these trips.

What it is that inspires you to continue what you are doing everyday?

The fact that there is such interest in the ancient wisdom traditions now, and so many places where these practices can be taught. These practices are my contribution towards stabilizing the chaotic times we are living in. As we come into balance and experience peace within ourselves as individuals and groups practicing together we begin to transform and stabilize our culture.

What brought you to take on this cause/challenge(s)?

I’ve always pursued the things that interested me, yoga, meditation, drumming, chi kung and the visual meditative arts. I never got a “real job.” Eventually teaching, writing and recording evolved into a viable career. It unfolded out of following the various teachers and traditions I was interested in.

What woman role model inspires you? Why?

The women who inspire me are the ancient priestesses who were drummers, yoginis and spiritual leaders for their communities. For thousands of years the oldest liturgies and religious rituals were chanted to the rhythms of the frame drums played by priestesses in the ancient temples of Sumer, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. The oldest named drummer in history is the priestess Lipushau who was the financial, administrative and spiritual leader of the temple of the moon god in Sumer in 2300 BCE.

If you could see into the future and see your dream realized, what would it look like?

That we would see that we are all descended from the first great mother of all the people on this planet, that the same blood pulses through all of our veins and that we all want the same things - enough food, a good home, health, love, peace and well being for our families. That we would recognize that we are all emanations of the one field of all consciousness and truly understand that there is only one of us here. layneredmond.com
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