Get a grip...or loosen the grip?

So I adopted a HUGE German shepherd, in case you haven't heard. What was I thinking? As my friend Sarah reminded me, this was a heart decision, not a mind decision. How true. Maybe it was school being cancelled all week, the kids constantly underfoot, all the snow (yes it's gorgeous, but I know that I can never live in Wisconsin again), tax season, Matt being gone, getting a dog that requires 4 miles a day of leashed walks...on top of everything else? Again I ask What the HELL was I thinking? I guess it may be safe to say I wasn't thinking, I was feeling. I am impulsive, I am touch feely. I can wear my heart on my sleeve, and I am okay with that, most of the time. With Matt being home, everything seems more manageable, and we share the load. How nice. My low back and hip have been screaming at me, telling me to get on my mat, and I have, and I usually end up getting humped by Kaiser while in down dog of all poses. Or Maggie lets some gas go cause she's so anxious about this beast of a dog invading her home, humping her master. Life is all so crazy sometimes. As I was taking my dogs on their second walk today, I looked at the sky and behind a blanket of gray shone a bright orange light, the sun, burning, while earth began to turn away as she approached the cool dusk. Exhale. I instantly felt better. my mood shifted, from darkness to light, even though night was fast approaching. I love how life changes, day to day, hour to hour. If we can remember that, maybe we wouldn't put so much weight into the urgency of our feelings. As I shut out the dogs, sat down with my breath, my mat, and my heart beating to the rhythm that is my life, I breathed into my back. As I experienced Janu Sirsasana (head to knee pose) it took almost 2 minutes for my breath to reach into the low back muscles and then "snap, crackle, pop!" went my back. In a good way. I stretched, I smiled, I let my forehead rest on the ground. I exhaled, inhaled, and constantly asked my jaw to loosen it's grip. It did. Thank God for yoga in my life. It is my backbone, where I can be stripped of my drive, relax and notice the beauty around me, notice how my body is dealing with my stress. Today I did lots of stretching, especially my hips and hamstrings...sounds like an upcoming class...Good night.