Dear Friends, Yogis and Yoginis,

Watching Ants: A Reflection of My Own Diligent Work Life
After breakfast and a writing period, I ventured back out for another walk. This was hours later and the differences were obvious. The smells were the first thing I noticed. Earlier I’d been aware of the odor of early morning dampness, combined smells of pollution and cleaning bleach, probably used for the street gutters, and the smell of sleep. These were now entirely overwhelmed by the smell of cooking foods, mid-day humidity and at least triple the pedestrians. Street vendors fed the air with smells of oil, curry, fried foods, and musty smoke, and pedestrians going hurriedly by smelled of sweat and urgency.

I walked down Mahatma Gandhi Avenue with no destination. No purpose other than to be a part of the exotic milieu. It occurred to me as I was keeping paces with the locals that, viewed from a particular distance above us, we might look like a colony of ants working diligently together. And I’m sure there is some sense of order underneath what simply looks like madness to me, much the same way I recall studying the ants in my homemade ant laboratory as a child! Where could all of these people be going, in such a hurry, in such a seemingly aimless way, all at the same time?!

Pedestrians were one thing; the vendors another. Street vendors filled every inch of the wide sidewalks, each responsible for selling something different. While some were selling books in many languages, others were simply responsible for selling packages of rubber bands or new socks. The most unusual site to me were the cane juice vendors. I’d seen them earlier in the morning and assumed that the countless “rods” they were carrying on their heads were walking sticks that they would sell later. Little did I realize these 3 foot long “sticks” became a very popular street beverage!

As I mused at the scene with its intrinsic madness and order, I reflected on a major shift in my own work life back home. For the first several years of directing the studio, I worked tirelessly and without any previous business or organizational development training. Initially, I was teaching 14 classes and 15 private lessons a week, offering 4 retreats a year and traveling at least once a month out of town to teach. I was also volunteering twice a week at the women’s prison and administering both the business and Living Yoga myself. Friends marveled at how much I could do! (Did I mention that Ones can tend toward being workaholics, often at the expense of their feelings? Indeed, this was the case. Though perhaps the feelings of elation about all that I was contributing to help others fed my Two in a significant enough way that my Four aspect didn’t feel too tragically depleted.)

While I cut back on the private lessons, I added weekend events. There was a time when I taught four classes on Sundays! And sometimes between those four classes I also led the restorative yoga practice. The escalation into such a heavy schedule seemed mindful and necessary at the time; the business needed the out of town events to help meet the bottom line and students were clamoring for classes with me more than the other teachers.

If you could have cloned me I would have been my own ant colony!

When I return home from this trip I am celebrating a whole new phase in my life as Living Yoga’s founder and amrita’s owner and director. In January, Living Yoga successfully mentored an additional volunteer teacher trainer such that I’m no longer required to lead the volunteer training weekends! (Thank you Liz and Emily!) And I have developed, with the support of a terrific staff and great teachers, three new programs at the studio that will supplement our offerings and support our balancing the budget as I significantly reduce my travel schedule this year. Just before leaving for this trip, I cancelled two of my three scheduled weekend events (and having only three was a major cut back from sixteen! Starting in April, I will have three to four weekends a month home in Portland (the Breitenbush and Yachats retreats remain!) and at least three of those each month unscheduled! My long rumored days off, Friday and Saturday, will be a reality.

I look forward to the spaciousness I anticipate this will bring to my life. The Yamas and Niyamas that I’ve written about over the past several years reflect a too busy schedule that, while feeding my desire to serve, create community, and live the values of karma yoga, required me to ruthlessly examine my tendencies as a Four, a Two and a One! This schedule change is the result of those examinations. And what a relief!

There is a red sun setting in the sky on the horizon to my right. I’m on an airplane awaiting departure for the South of India, a place I imagine will reveal quite a different pace and culture. As my thoughts wander back to the streets of Mumbai, I realize I’m straddling several transitions in my trip. I’m leaving the noise and chaos of the city; the spices in the food will change from North to South; I’ll be joining a group of travelers rather than being on my own; and the focus will be shift from city to nature and to one of India’s great saints, Ammachi.

Namaste,
Sarahjoy