Something had been weighing on my mind all summer long, a problem that never strayed far.  Because it was always present, I was often distracted by it.  I would worry at it, think hard about it, look at it from every angle, get frustrated, and finally give up in disgust.  For all my mental efforts, it hadn’t changed at all.  That’s because it couldn’t change, ever.  I don’t say that in a tone of surrender, but realism.  We all have occasional problems like that, whether it’s a medical diagnosis, a change in job responsibility, or the move of a loved one.  No matter how much we wish it weren’t so, it is.  And it’s the wishing that gets us in trouble.  And I’d been wishing all summer that things could be different, even though I knew they couldn't be. 

Then I had my first yoga class of the season.  My yoga teacher is almost prescient for me when it comes to what she emphasizes in each class, and that night was no different.  She suggested that we each think about something that was truly bothering us, remove it from our minds, and lay it down on the floor next to us.  We could leave it there as long as we wanted, whether it was for a minute, for the duration of the class, or for longer.  So I put my problem on the floor next to me.  It sat there during the down dogs and the moon salutes, and I forgot about it so completely that I walked out without it.  It’s been two weeks since the class and every time my mind wanders to the problem, I remind myself that it’s safely situated on the floor of my yoga class, and I don’t worry about it any more.  I have moved on to thinking about the ramifications of the problem, without wishing the problem itself would disappear.  But you don’t need to take a yoga class to take my teacher’s advice:  that big nasty burden stopping you from going forward?  Lay it down.