Today, yoga is a rapidly evolving and varied discipline practiced by more than 20 million Americans and coming this fall, the yoga community will welcome a deeper examination of this ancient art during a groundbreaking exhibit.

The Smithsonian has recently announced that the world’s first exhibition devoted to the art of yoga will be set to go on display October 19^th through Jan 26^th 2014 at the museums’ Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.  “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” showcase’s a vast collection of temple sculptures, devotional icons, illustrated manuscripts, court paintings, photographs, books and films that aim to trace yoga’s journey from an ancient art and philosophy reaching back to 500 BCE to today’s modern physical practice and booming yoga community.

For dedicated practitioners and teachers like John Hayden, Board President of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Northern California, it’s a welcomed perspective. “The beauty of this exhibition is that it shows a broader audience there’s so much more to yoga than a yoga butt or stretchy pants,” Hayden said.  “It opens their eyes to the practiced art form Mr. Iyengar has long spoken of and that the Iyengar community understands and embraces.”

In a new twist, the exhibit also marks the Smithsonian’s foray into crowdfunding to support the extensive schedule that includes a family festival, free programs, videos, pamphlets and yoga classes during the exhibition. “Putting together an exhibit this large, showing more that 135 works from around the world, is a huge undertaking,” said Allison Peck, Head of Public Affairs & Marketing for the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries.  “We’d done some focus groups within the yoga community and it was their idea,” said Peck. “So far more than 100 ‘Yoga Messengers’ have committed to take the materials we’ve provided into their community to spread the word and raise funds. It’s a very supportive community and they turned out to be our best advocates.”

One of the campaigns enthusiastic yoga messengers is Heather Haxo Phillips, owner of Adeline Yoga, a yoga studio in Berkeley, CA. “It’s such a rich and deep cultural art form that it’s important to share its history and traditions,” Haxo Phillips said. “Our modern yoga practice is constantly evolving, but it’s critical for American yogi’s to understand the roots of their own practice.” John Hayden agrees, “We look at yoga as a ‘work out,’ but classically, yoga is a ‘work in’, it’s a process of involution, a journey inward.”

The show will travel to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2014. For more information and to learn how you can support the exhibit watch the video below.

All Images: Smithsonian

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From tree house villages in Costa Rica to yoga communes in Hawaii, these 10 intentional communities are havens of peace, creativity and sustainability.

Imagine waking up to the sound of bells from a temple to share in a morning yoga ritual overlooking the mountains of Peru, or the glittering Pacific Ocean in Hawaii. Picking fresh vegetables from your neighborhood garden to cook in a community-wide meal in a spacious, shared kitchen. Building your own non-toxic, mortgage-free cob house in a low-impact neighborhood of like-minded nature lovers. Stepping out of your very own treehouse to gaze at a network of aerial walkways that look like something out of a sci-fi movie. These 10 intentional communities, from utopian eco-villages to cute historic houses in urban Los Angeles, bring people together with common goals of harmonic living, artistic exploration and sustainability.

Polestar Yoga Community, Big Island, Hawaii

What could be more relaxing than a yoga community in Hawaii? Polestar offers “an energizing lifestyle of daily yoga and meditation, karmic yoga or service projects, and outdoor adventure opportunities.” Though it bills itself as a spiritual community, people of all faiths are welcome at this cooperative living retreat which is home to full-time residents and also open to visitors and apprentices. Awakened each morning by the sound of music from the temple, a shrine dedicated to the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, guests enjoy daily routines involving organic food grown on site, volunteer service, art and lots of community involvement.

Eco Truly Park, Peru

It looks like something out of a fairy tale: adorable little cone-shaped buildings topped with colorfully painted spires, dotting the hillside on the Pacific coast of Peru. This ecological and artistic community, an hour north of Lima, was founded on principles of non-violence, simple living and harmony with nature. Both the architecture and the values of the community are inspired by traditional Indian teachings and lifestyles. Eco Truly Park has a goal of being fully self-sustainable, and currently boasts a large organic garden. Open to volunteers, the community offers workshops in yoga, art and Vedic philosophy.

Synchronicity Artist Commune, Los Angeles, California

Embodying the laid-back lifestyle of sunny Southern California, Synchronicity is a relaxed and welcoming intentional living community in the historic West Adams District of  Los Angeles. Though it’s small – nowhere near the size of the rest of the communities on this list – Synchronicity is a great example of the thousands of similar shared households around the United States. Synchronicity has eleven residents and focuses mostly on artistic actions and holding monthly artistic salons that are open to the public.

Earthhaven Ecovillage, Asheville, North Carolina

Located in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Earthaven is just one of many similar intentional communities focusing on sustainable living. You’ll find virtually every type of natural building here, including earthships, cob houses and rustic cabins, with construction methods that eliminate toxic materials, logged timber and mortgages. Set on 320 lush acres 40 minutes southwest of Asheville, Earthaven frequently holds natural building workshops and welcomes the public to learn about permaculture, organic gardening and other sustainable topics. They offer camping and visitor accommodations as well as live-work arrangements.

Milagro Cohousing, Tucson, Arizona

Twelve minutes from downtown Tucson, Arizona, Milagro is a co-housing community with 28 passive-solar, energy-efficient adobe homes on 43 acres. Set against the Tucson mountains, Milagro is simply a community of people who want to live a green lifestyle, surrounded by like-minded neighbors. Each resident has access to 35 acres of undeveloped open space, as well as the 3,600-square-foot Common House, which has meeting and dining space, a library, a playroom and storage space. Gardens, workshops and a solar-heated swimming pool make it even more enticing.

Finca Bellavista Treehouse Community, Costa Rica

If you’ve ever watched Star Wars and wished that you could live with the Ewoks in their magical tree house community, take heed: such a thing actually exists. And it’s in Costa Rica. Finca Bellavista is a network of rustic, hand-built tree houses in the mountainous South Pacific coastal region of this Central American nation, surrounded by a jungle that is brimming with life. The off-grid, carbon-neutral tree houses are connected by aerial walkways and include a central community center with a dining area, barbecue and lounge. Gardens, ziplines and hiking trails make it even more of a tropical paradise. Prospective community members can design and build their own tree houses. Additionally, some of the tree house owners rent out their homes, and there are visitor accommodations available.

Tamera Peace Research Village, Portugal

Aiming to be a totally self-sufficient community, the Tamera Peace Research Village is in the Alentejo region of southwestern Portugal and is home to 250 coworkers and students who study how humans can live peacefully in sustainable communities, in harmony with nature. It includes a non-profit peace foundation, a “SolarVillage” test site, a permaculture project with an edible landscape, and a sanctuary for horses.

Dancing Rabbit Eco Village, Missouri

Another showcase of the beauty of natural building techniques, the Dancing Rabbit Eco Village is a sustainable community located near Rutledge, Missouri advocating low-impact living and dedication to social change. Everything from members’ diets to the way they use water is dictated by a commitment to living lightly on the earth. The village is on 280 acres including six ponds, a small creek and 40 acres of woodland, plus 30 acres where they have planted over 12,000 trees as part of a restoration program.

EcoVillage at Ithaca, New York

What would the ideal sustainable community look like? The EcoVillage at Ithaca is one example that is already thriving in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It includes three co-housing neighborhoods called Frog, Song and Tree as well as an organic CSA vegetable farm, community gardens and over 100 acres of protected green space. The houses are all energy-efficient and share facilities like a common house, wood shop, metal shop, bike shed, playgrounds and centralized compost bins.

Conceptual Community of Tiny Houses

It’s not yet a reality, but tiny house enthusiasts have a dream: idyllic neighborhoods where people who have committed to living in very small spaces can get together and share resources and camaraderie. Tiny house communities are hard to come by because of various city and county ordinances, which favor large houses and conventional utilities. At TinyHouseCommunity.com, people who live in tiny houses – or want to build their own some day – get together to talk about making these villages happen. There are two tiny house communities currently in planning phases, in Washington D.C. and Texas.

Top photo: Dancing Rabbit Eco Village

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