Every day it seems the yoga community develops a greater connection to activism and social change. From Seane Corn's important work with women in India to the local Power to the Peaceful event that takes place annually in San Francisco, there are an increasing amount of opportunities with which you can get your yoga on—and do a bit of world good at the same time. Now, there's the Global Mala Project.

The purpose of Global Mala is to bring together the global yoga community in the name of peace and seva (selfless service). It is a benefit and was held last weekend, on UN International Peace Day, which doubled as Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement) and also fell in the middle of the month of Ramadan. More than 300 events in 35 countries took place, and I went to the one that happened here in the Castro at Yoga Flow.

So, what happens when a bunch of yogis get together to do 54 sun salutations in a close-windowed room in the middle of a bumping nightlife spot? Well, for one, the room gets pretty hot and stinky! But it was also a lot of fun. And though I am not a huge fan of doing excessive repetitions of sun salutations, it always feels good to practice for a cause.

The evening also included a meditation sit, a session of chanting the Tantric version of the Gayatri Mantra, talks from representatives of the benefit's three receiving charities (Trees for Life, Glide Church, and AIDS Project East Bay), beautiful music by David Lurey and friends, and a great talk by meditation teacher Christopher Tompkins about connecting with ourselves in order to better connect with others.

But a surprise teleconference with Ram Das, who appeared live to both LA and San Francisco via modern technology, was the highlight of the evening. While his image was clearly projected onto the studio wall, we only caught about every third word that he said due to sound issues. When he realized this, he just looked into the camera, smiled, and started saying: "One, one, one, one, one."

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GET TICKETS TO SEE DEVA ON SEP. 29! Mantra superstars Deva Premal and Miten are making a rare appearance at the Sonoma County Day School to benefit the Sonoma Ashram. I'm going! For tix, visit www.YogaMates.com.