Land Artist Surprises Beach Goers By Leaving Striking Stone Arrangements Along the Coast
The Inspiration for Lassie
In the summer of 1923, Frank and Elizabeth Fraser and their two-year-old dog set out from Oregon, Indiana, to visit family. When they stopped for gas at a service station in Indiana, the dog was attacked by other three dogs and fled.They searched everywhere for him, but in the end could not find him. They returned to Oregon heartbroken, believing they would never see their beloved dog again. After losing all hope, one day their daughter saw a skinny and exhausted dog on the street that looked like Bobby. After his joyful reaction, it turned out to be the missing dog Thanks to the people who sheltered him during the journey, they were able to reconstruct the complete route he crossed.
To see his family again, he crossed almost 2500 miles (4,000 kilometers) in six months. He hiked across the Rocky Mountains in the middle of winter and ended up being nicknamed "Bobby the Wonder Dog." He was the inspiration for the movie "Lassie Returns
Awakening Magazine Shines A Light on YGB Mission of Empowerment and Unity in Action!
"Do
your work. If everyone follows their calling and dedicates themselves to it,
the world will be a better place.”
This insightful interview explores
what began as Kayoko Mitsumatsu’s exploration of yoga philosophy and social
entrepreneurship, which has grown into a global movement. As the founder of Yoga
Gives Back, Kayoko transformed a simple idea—redirecting the cost of one
yoga class—into a powerful nonprofit initiative that funds microloans,
education, and empowerment programs for underserved women and children in
India.
Each year, after visiting all of
the Yoga Gives Back organization’s programs throughout India, Kayoko makes a
meaningful visit to Mother Teresa’s Home in Kolkata. From a young age, she
hoped to volunteer at the Home for the Dying. On one occasion, she spoke with a
sister who had worked closely with Mother Teresa. When she expressed her desire
to serve there, the sister responded, reflecting Mother Teresa’s own wisdom:
“Don’t come here! You’ve already found your mission.“ Kayoko strives to stay
focused on the mission itself rather than the outcomes.
With time, Kayoko came to see YGB’s
work as truly divine. Yoga Gives Back continues to attract extraordinary
individuals who arrive when needed most, helping move YGB mission forward. Our
global family of supporters, Ambassadors, partners,
and donors make our mission possible—embodying this year’s Global Gathering for India's mantra, Unity in
Action. Every step we take together helps transform gratitude into action
every day.
A Circle of Impact—Thanks to You
Since 2007, Yoga Gives Back has
supported underserved women and children in India—the birthplace of yoga—by
providing:
- Microloans
for 550 mothers through our Sister Aid program
- Primary
education for 600+ young girls to prevent
child marriage and labor
- Five-year
college scholarships (SHE Program) for over 400 disadvantaged
youths
- Digital literacy
training and internet access for rural women
and girls
- Safe
housing and education for children with no families to
care for them
GET INVOLVED!
- One-Time
Donation
- Monthly
Donation (Gratitude Circle)
- Host an
Event
- Hold an
Online Fundraiser
- Volunteer
- Check out YGB Impact
and Ways to Support
Venice: A City Floating on a Submerged Forest
Since 421 AD, Venice has stood on millions of tree trunks stuck into the clay bottom of the lagoon. Not steel or concrete, but mostly alder, with a few oaks, support the entire city.
In the salt water, these wooden pillars have petrified over time, becoming as hard as stone. St. Mark's Campanile alone stands on 100,000 piles, while the majestic Basilica della Salute required over a million trunks. The ancient builders beat these trees into the seabed, creating a veritable submerged forest.
This unique structure extends up to three meters deep, with piles spaced just half a meter apart. At 1.6 meters below the waterline, this extraordinary feat of medieval engineering continues, after 1,500 years, to support one of the most fascinating cities in the world.
A Woman's Rejected Invention Saved Millions of Lives
In the year 1903, during a snowy trip to New York City, a woman named Mary Anderson watched as drivers struggled with a life-threatening problem. Every few minutes, they'd stop their cars, step into the storm, and wipe their windshields clean. Right then, she envisioned a solution that would revolutionize transportation forever - but automakers laughed in her face.
When she patented her invention in 1903, car companies rejected it as ""a distraction."" They argued:
Prevents millions of accidents annually
Is used on every modern vehicle (even spacecraft!)
Saves more lives than seatbelts or airbags combined
The bitter irony? Mary Anderson never made a penny from her genius. The patent expired before wipers became standard. Yet her legacy lives on every time you drive safely through rain, snow, or storms.
Fun Fact: The first automatic wipers (1923) used vacuum power from the engine - so they slowed down when you accelerated!
via Weird & Wonderful Facts
When she patented her invention in 1903, car companies rejected it as ""a distraction."" They argued:
- Drivers should just pay better attention
- Real drivers don't mind the weather
- This is just a silly woman's gadget
Prevents millions of accidents annually Is used on every modern vehicle (even spacecraft!) Saves more lives than seatbelts or airbags combinedThe bitter irony? Mary Anderson never made a penny from her genius. The patent expired before wipers became standard. Yet her legacy lives on every time you drive safely through rain, snow, or storms.
Fun Fact: The first automatic wipers (1923) used vacuum power from the engine - so they slowed down when you accelerated!
via Weird & Wonderful Facts
Frank Morris and The Seeing Eye Dog
Frank Morris was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1908. At the age of six he lost his right eye after hitting a tree branch while horseback riding, and at the age of 16 he lost his left eye during a boxing match. Morris was very frustrated with depending on others to help him get around.
In November 1927, Morris's father read him an article by Dorothy Eustis, an American philanthropist living in Switzerland who operated a school that supplied dogs to the police and Red Cross. The article described schools in Germany that trained guide dogs for WWI veterans who had gone blind from mustard gas.
Morris was inspired to write Eustis for help. "Is what you say really true? If so, I want one of those dogs! And I am not alone. Thousands of blind like me abhor being dependent on others. Help me and I will help them. Train me and I will bring back my dog and show people here how a blind man can be absolutely on his own. We can then set up an instruction center in this country to give all those here who want it a chance at a new life." Eustis agreed to help.
Morris went to Switzerland and trained with a female German shepherd named Kiss, which he quickly renamed Buddy. The training was hard, but after a few weeks Morris was able to get around the Swiss village safely with Buddy's assistance.
In June 1928, Frank returned to the US with Buddy in New York City. He notified the media and demonstrated Buddy's abilities by crossing a busy New York street. According to Morris "She [Buddy] moved forward into the ear-splitting clangor, stopped, backed up, and started again. I lost all sense of direction and surrendered myself entirely to the dog. I shall never forget the next three minutes: 10-ton trucks rocketing past, cabs blowing their horns in our ears, drivers shouting at us. When we finally got to the other side and I realized what a really magnificent job she had done, I leaned over and gave Buddy a great big hug and told her what a good, good girl she was."
Morris sent a one-word telegram to Eustis: "SUCCESS!"
In January 1929, Morris and Eustis cofounded the first guide dog school in the US called The Seeing Eye. It operated in Nashville for two years and then relocated to New Jersey because the weather was more suitable for training dogs. Between 1929 and 1956, Morris traveled throughout the US spreading the word about the organization and the need for equal access laws for people with guide dogs. By 1956, every state in the US had passed laws allowing blind people with guide dogs access to public spaces.
Buddy died on May 23, 1938. Morris named his next dog Buddy, as he would all his subsequent seeing eye dogs. On April 29, 2005, a sculpture of Frank Morris and Buddy titled The Way to Independence was unveiled in Morristown, New Jersey.
Happy Easter!
The Egg Dance: A forgotten tradition
The egg dance was a traditional Easter game involving the laying down of eggs on the ground and dancing among them whilst trying to break as few as possible. Another variation (depicted in many of the images featured here) involved tipping an egg from a bowl, and then trying to flip the bowl over on top of it, all with only using one’s feet and staying within a chalk circle drawn on the ground.
Read more about it to add to your Easter family game night on the Public Domain Review.
Marsha Wietecha Interviews YGB Kayoko Mitsumatsu
Marsha Wietecha, host of the Born To Talk Radio Show Interviews Yoga Gives Back founder Kayoko Mitsumatsu. Kayoko shares YGB 18-year journey and our two-fold mission: to mobilize the yoga community with gratitude and to empower women and children in India to build sustainable livelihoods.
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