Dear Friends, Yogis and Yoginis,

Today, I drove to the yoga studio for the first time since my surgery, 11 weeks and 2 days ago. Everything went smoothly on the familiar early morning pathway, the same route I use when bike commuting (which I will not be permitted to do until at least February).

Last week, however, when driving to the auction site for the Living Yoga Gala, I observed a quirk of the recovery process that parallels an often funny, and sometimes debilitating, aspect of the spiritual path. It was my first expedition driving myself. I had never been to the Melody Ballroom, but had communicated the address to other people countless times: 615 SE Alder St.

I got in the car (1980-ish Honda borrowed from my neighbor) enthusiastic, confident and, apparently, somewhat disconnected from reality. I drove, carefully and "defensively," north on I-5 to 6th avenue and proceeded to get caught up in the stop-and-go traffic associated with blocks and blocks of construction on Portland's bus mall. No worries, though, I had plenty of time, it was a beautiful day, and I was driving myself!

For some reason, there were no cross street signs up along 6th Avenue; so while I knew I was on 6th, I did not know any of the cross streets. And as long as I've lived in Portland, I have not memorized which President comes when and how the other streets are sprinkled into the mix.

I called our Event Planner and told her I was nearby but stuck in traffic. She assured me on the time frame and said to look for Alder after Morrison and then take a right. Taking a right seemed like a strange suggestion since I was on 6th and had calculated a left to go to 615 SE Alder. Given the potential stress of the day, I took the suggestion to turn right as a mistake on her part.

As I crept along the bus mall construction, I came upon what I knew to be Morrison and alerted myself to take the next left onto Alder. Since Alder was one way in the wrong direction, I drove one block past and circled around to 7th and Alder where I planned another left turn. The traffic was quite congested with the construction, and given that there were not obvious street signs up, I started to worry about how our auction attendees would ever find this place. Then when I drove down Alder from 7th to 6th, I saw no sign of 615, nor anything looking like a ballroom or event venue.

I phoned the Event Planner again and asked for her help. After a few moments of getting oriented to the problem as I saw it, she realized that I was across the river at Southwest 6th and Alder, not Southeast!

"Oh, great!", I thought, "Now I know where I'm going." I drove, carefully and "defensively," across the river to 6th. Again, she had said take a right onto Alder, but I had somehow programmed my brain to take another left.

Argh! No sign of an event venue. I made a U-turn on the street (carefully and "defensively!") only to find her flailing her arms to get my attention.

But, of course! A right onto Alder made perfect sense when looking for 615 SE Alder from 6th Ave!

Now, how does all of this parallel anything about the spiritual journey?!

• How many times are we so sure we're going in the right direction that we stop looking for proper signs or taking in the signals from others (family, friends, teachers, doctors)?
  
  
• Once we've re-grouped to head in the "right" direction, how much of our previous programming remains to keep us circling the goal?

I know that I have many times arrived at a point along the yoga journey only to realize that I had circled it previously. Perhaps I wasn't ready for the responsibility of really integrating at that particular destination. Or perhaps I needed only a glimpse, at that time, such that the joy of arriving on the second (or third!) go around would be heightened, and my capacity to laugh with myself about it would be increased.

But today, I contemplate this with more seriousness. Given the brevity of life and the beauty of the journey, if I can prevent myself from having to double back on the switch backs up the mountain, or the go-arounds in the city blocks, I will preserve energy (both mine and the planet's). And if I consult with others more, which means relying less often on bold-headedness, I will broaden my perspective, open my heart and rest in the companionship and inspiration of community.P.S. If you're in the market for a 2009 engagement calendar, the Living Yoga calendar is ready! It features photos of and quotes from our students, essays written by me and weekly scheduling pages. For $25 you can schedule your days, read the essays and support Living Yoga!

Contact the Living Yoga office for purchase options at 503-546-1269, or visit their website at www.living-yoga.org

Much love,

Sarahjoy