we haven’t had any surfing photos in a while. this was early january, steamer lane, santa cruz. click on the picture to see the larger version and really enjoy the details of the wave.

packed class today but prolly the coolest the room was all week. which was weird because the studio was closed for heater repairs yesterday! oh well, guess they’ve got some kinks to work out in the new system. i had to make sure to not push myself today. in some poses i’m feeling pretty good. like standing bow, i just wanna go a little bit further, a little bit further. as frustrating as it is to hold back in my bikram practise, i can feel it helping my muscle heal.

that was an exciting super bowl, but not as exciting as last year’s! at least the right team won this year, ha ha. i was glad to see an nfc team win, good for the saints. and i must admit, it was actually kind of inspiring to see an underdog win, kinda gave me hope. okay, see you tomorrow ~m

at the end of class yesterday, our teacher reminded us that the studio would be closed today for heater repairs. she also reminded us that a day off gives the body time to repair and recover, so, no bikram yoga for me today. tomorrow i’m looking forward to bikram yoga, a high scoring super bowl and lots of food. i made red beans and rice this afternoon in my crockpot, so i could have a little taste of the south during the game. see you tomorrow ~m

more photo experimenting. i think it’s so strange that you can’t see the tires. well, like i’ve said, this is me having some fun. definitely click and enjoy the larger version.

happy friday heartbreakers! we had a super hot bikram room today! oh man, did it feel good to get totally baked! this was exactly what my back wanted. very hard to not get caught up in the heat and push myself, but i think i’m finding a good balance.

camel is a pose i’m still holding a lot back in. i want to grab my ankles, but i’m still not sure i can bend that far back. i know my back is supposed to hurt like hell, but it feels like it’s hurting too much. balancing stick with my left leg up doesn’t feel too good, but with my right leg? wow! is that natural human traction? whatever, it sure does feel good to the part of my back that hurts the most. alright, that’s enough from me, thanks for the luv, see you tomorrow ~m

i never shoot in black and white, but when i saw this woman, i switched my camera mode and, when she got close, asked if i could take her picture. after i took this shot, i thanked her and explained i was trying to get better at photography, so i appreciated her help. it broke my heart when she told me that was the most useful she’d felt in a long time! oh my gosh, i’d already switched my camera back to colour, but i needed to capture her smile immediately, so this next shot was only to remember that.

walked into the shower room to change and my buddy was throwing up in the trash can. the heat got to him and i said to myself, it’s gonna be a good one today! i was bummed he wasn’t dealing with it well, but i was looking forward to a hot and humid class!

the first forward bend, i could tell i was still sore in my lower back. standing head to knee and standing bow, i really can’t go beyond the first part of the set-up. by the time i’m ready to go back to doing those poses, i won’t even have knees anymore, i’m just gonna have two lamp posts sticking out of my shorts.

standing separate leg stretching is a no go right now too. i’ve also really gotta bend my knees to touch my forehead during the head to knee poses on both the floor and ground. surprisingly, i’m almost okay in padangustasana. i’m not feeling any pain, but is that my pride talking? do i like doing that pose too much or is my body warm enough at that point?

i also miss the energizing sit-ups! it feels weird to rollover. i forgot about that yesterday during the final stretching when we do the sit-up before we grab our toes. i got stuck on the ground and, well, you know. it’s all part of having a new practise that respects my limitations right now.

since i’m working on a new practise, i’m not taking water during class. that used to be part of my practise, in my bikram honeymoon, no water! i’ve wavered back and forth on the issue and now i think you just gotta listen to your body. i’m not giving up my water bottle, i just wanna let my breathing take care of me in class for right now. okay friends, see you tomorrow ~m

the day experiments are more exciting to me for some reason. i guess because it’s harder than shooting at night, which makes it more fun for someone like me. maybe that’s why i’m drawn to bikram yoga? hmmm, that’s something to think about.

well, no job yet, so i’ve still got the weight of gibraltar on my shoulders. i don’t know why, when i get so down like this, i get my most creative. i’ve been working on a new project that is really keeping me entertained and hopefully, when it’s ready to share with you, it’ll entertain you for a little bit as well.

great sally class today and finally next to h.s. again, nice to have her back from brasil. it was so hard to not push myself in class today. i was in such a good mood, having my friend back and i always go deeper in my practise when sally is leading class. her pace and dialogue are amazing. today she shared a really good one today: you deepen your practise through stillness in the poses and in between them, or something like that. heartbreakers, when you resist the urge to wipe sweat or fix your hair, you build discipline, sharpen your focus, seriously, just try it and see how much your practise will grow. see you tomorrow ~m

today is one of those days when i’m so depressed, i don’t even feel like writing. i super hate my life right now. i need a job. i need to move some place cheaper. argh, why did i leave such a stable life behind? for a long time, i really wanted to be a bikram teacher, that’s why i started offering tank tops for sale 2 years ago, but it’s still as much of a pipe dream now as it was then. poor, pitiful me, huh?

bikram yoga isn’t even fun right now. forward bending? heartbreakers, you nailed it in the comments section yesterday—no more forward bend for me, bikram is a new exercise in patience! so, that’s the latest from the battlefront, i’ll be better tomorrow, see you then ~m

this photo is so weird! where is the car? i see the lights, but no trace of car. more photo experimenting at downtown santa cruz’s controversial river street sign. i love the randomness in these recent photo experiments. you don’t know what you’re gonna get when you hit “click” or whatever the shutter button is. some photographer, huh? that thing when you hit the other thing.

well, time to get back on my bike and on with my life. my back is still not 100%, but staying away from the studio won’t be doing me any good. respecting my limitations with a slow and deliberate bikram yoga practise will become my new rehabilation. i was talking to a friend who’s chiropractor suggested giving up bikram yoga. that was the last time she went to him until just a few days ago. after looking her over, he said to keep doing what she’s been doing. which was not seeing him and practising bikram and vinyasa yoga instead. quackopractor.

frustrating things: the first forward bend, padahastasana, hands to feet pose, i couldn’t get the grip behind my feet, could only crouch down. standing head to knee, all i could muster was locking one knee and raising the other, stayed straight and concentrated on holding in my abs. standing bow, i could get into the set-up, but the forward bend, not so much. there might be a pattern going on. balancing stick wasn’t so bad because as you go forward, you raise your leg at the same time, which seemed to work okay on my back. standing seperate leg stretching was not gonna happen. i need to ask what i should do in that pose. i used to touch my forehead to the ground, now i can barely bend forward.

i’m not gonna go into every pose but you can see how it’s radically changed my practise. respecting my new limitations is gonna build so much i really believe that with bikram yoga in my life, i’m going to heal into better posture and have an even better practise than before. okay friends, check in with me tomorrow as i continue healing my back.