Cover...

This evening by the time I arrived home, a number of circumstances - ranging from mildly annoying to true family crises - had co-mingled to leave me in an anxious froth. It was hard to find space to breathe. For just a short while, I buried myself under the cover of my down comforter and wallowed in a bit of lament.

I have been doing really well at managing the ups and downs of life, but since returning from India, it has required a little effort to keep my head above water. Just yesterday I resigned myself to being at that point in the fiscal year, the academic year, the church year where things just aren't going to get done. Meals will not be well-planned. Dust will gather in corners. The car will be messy. My hair won't get cut. My toes will not get painted. Meetings will not always run smoothly. Reports will be late.

I know the busy-ness will ebb again eventually, and so I can muddle through another busy season.

But I have to remember to breathe. So I crawled out from under that warm blanket, threw on some yoga pants, docked the iPod with Krishna Das and unrolled my yoga mat. For the first time in months, I offered sun salutations, opened my chest, breathed in and out in rhythm, honored my center, balanced and reached.

The cover I found was not hiding, it was opening myself...making space for breath and light and spirit...the best cover and anxiety med ever.

Namaste.