Name: Zaria James
Pronouns: she/her
Location: Iowa City, IA
What gets you excited about Midwest YOGA + Life magazine?
Yoga and life in the Midwest — it really says it all! I am fascinated by our world and existence every day. Having lived in Iowa my whole life, I often reflect on my sacred connection with the land that nourished me throughout and how integral the land I live on has been throughout my yoga journey. Ultimately, I would say I am excited for the beauty and wisdom coming from the amazing beings featured here!
What is your vision as a cover model for Midwest YOGA + Life?
Especially for this issue, my vision is radical embrace and a truly liberated community. As a Vedic Counselor and yoga teacher, I am always thinking about harmony and cohesion. I strongly believe in yoga’s potential to help us transform and transmute the intense energies we move through as a collective. Yoga is a fierce practice and philosophy and I hope to inspire others to take that journey toward their Ātman, Innermost Self.
How do you integrate yoga into your life/work balance?
Yoga, as a unitive state of consciousness, is an integral facet of the tapestry of my daily life. It is often said that each moment is an opportunity to practice… and this is true! The joy of my life comes from applying theory in the real world, and there is no better partner than yoga for this exploration.
What does “inclusion” (theme of the issue) mean to you?
I see inclusion as a call to reality and a call to integration. I yearn for us, as a species, to move beyond binary thinking and toward a radical celebration of diversity within unity. This requires us to tend to our karma and the disparate energies existing within ourselves. We are all embraced by our divine source and inclusion is a deep alignment with this truth.
What is your favorite color?
Any kind of blue!
Coffee or tea?
Both, often at the same time!
Anything else you want to share?
I sense a wonderful opportunity to remember we are all one human family on a living planet. This remembrance, however, is going to require some work! I pray we find the fortification and inspiration necessary to be a different kind of species on this Earth, aligned with love, collaboration, community, and consciousness rather than domination, exploitation, and violence.
Bio:
Zaria is a queer, mystic, lifelong student of the mystery and lover of the Vedic Healing Arts & Sciences. In her work and sharing she weaves together visions of a liberated world through teachings and practices integrating perspectives from yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotish (Vedic Astrology), and The Akashic Records. With a passion for humanitarian ideals and practical mysticism, Zaria seeks to help transform the world in ways that help awaken humanity to its true nature and its role in the biosphere, inviting in a new paradigm for humanity and its relationship to Earth.
Website: zariajames.com
Social media: instagram.com/zaria.akasha
Photography: Amy Zellmer
