if the friday six is the lonely hearts class, the friday four is the fun class. it seemed like everyone was in a good mood before class. except for the woman who complained that the room was too hot 30 minutes before class started. i walked in right after she said that and it felt normal to me. do you *ever* get comfortable in the heat? or is it really as “easy” as forgetting about the heat?

i like the friday afternoon classes, the energy in the room really helps make the class. as rough as you have it, there’s always someone next to you struggling worse than you but giving it their all and someone else making it look easy. it’s the kind of class you don’t want to skip a set in because, well, everybody else is doing it. positive peer pressure? i was struggling so hard, towards the end, all i could think about was going to the market next door and getting kombucha. after class, i did just that and when i was done, i found a note under my break cable–”i like your bike.” wasn’t that nice? i like it too—thanks andy and kris, i’m always grateful!

pedaling home with my kombucha, i was riding through the park when i spotted my friends. as always, i was riding with no hands and when i turned my head to wave, i hit a bump. oh lordy, you’ve read this before, i went over the handlebars. ooof! whenever this happens my first thought is to try and land with as little impact on my camera as possible. bike spills always happen so fast, i can’t believe i’m able to think and react that way, but again i got lucky, thank god! nothing broken, only bruised, my leg and ass got the worst of it. alright, thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder, friends.

i wish i could have shot this differently, but at the farmers market there’s so many people, it can be hard to get the right angle on something without being in the way. well, that and i don’t wanna get too serious about these photographs, i try and show them to you as i see them. that being said, this is the view one beautiful july day. see you tomorrow ~m

high energy class with pk. it was so roasty, we lost one for part of the standing series. poor girl, she was actually practising in one of the hotter spots in the room, so i can’t say i blame her.

do you ever feel like leaving the room because it’s too hot? have you ever left? i know i’ve left the room at least once to throw up. i might have done that twice, now that i think about it. there was another time i had to leave the room for bathroom duties, or should i say doodies? ha ha, you should never be too old for bathroom humour. oh, there was the time i had a ton of green snot that was about to shoot out my nose. that was super gross, just thinking about it now makes my stomach turn. i ran to the shower room that time. oh wait, there was one painful class—this is the one i’m ashamed to admit—i left the room, walked to the refrigerator, pulled out a smart water, popped it open and started drinking before the door had time to close.

today i din’t need to leave the room, but it sure was a hot one. i definitely followed my advice from yesterday and concentrated on the dialogue. it really is a great way to stay with the class. in fact, i felt pretty strong all the way until i got to the market after practise. that’s when i realized i wasn’t all there. just between you and me, i felt a little loopy! it’s alright, i got a short bike ride back to work.

okay heartbreakers, here’s another 100% organic photograph from last week’s farmers market! i super love this one, hope you do too. no cropping, no photoshop, just all natural eye candy—click and enjoy! see you tomorrow ~m

i was at the day job talking instead of drinking water this morning. paid for it in the hot room with a humbling class. my water bottle nursed this little baby all the way home. why is it so hot in here? because you’re thinking about it.

it was a good day for pictures at the farmers market, i think. i still haven’t seen the shots because i wanted to show you the shots i took while i was on a routine photo assignment. i set out to photograph my favorite plum tree this evening.

on the hike up the hill i call the backyard, i got sidetracked by a dying lizard. then a hummingbird stopped by to say hi. i tried photographing both of them but neither came out. after that i got sidetracked by bambi. this is the deer fence at work. the property goes way past this fence, but that part of the land is deer friendly.

these plums are so goodl! i’ve never had plums like these before. this would be a perfect candy for me, it’s a little sweet with a real tart afterkick, om nom nom big time. there are two trees on the property here and both totally rule, they have a nice view of santa cruz. amazingly, a farmer down the road has the same plum and his are even better!

i love the speed of the internet—i took these pictures today and they’re already on the web. have a good class friends and don’t think about the heat, just listen to the dialogue. see you tomorrow ~m

yesterday’s post was another interesting day in the comments section—thanks for sharing, heartbreakers! i say it all the time, don’t i? good nutrition and plenty of sleep are two of the best friends you can have in the hot room. also love to hear that the moms are coming back soon!

during the summer, it seems like we lose a few familiar faces. you can count on some of the same people to be there everyday. like my one everydayer friend who has been on cloud nine the past 2 days—her daughter and daughter’s boyfriend have been practising with her. it’s cool to see her excitement as she shares our yoga with her family.

in a post about recently passed yasmin ahmad, @MeiNg shared some of her amazing commercials. take a few minutes and watch these two, they’re really good.

how about i share something from last week’s farmers market? here’s another 100% organic photograph, no cropping, no photoshop, just pure, natural, eye candy! click and enjoy. thanks for all the support friends, see you tomorrow ~m

thanks for sharing about your sunday classes, ways and l! isn’t it cool, knowing that we have so much of our day in common? for almost 2 hours of the day, we’re all doing the same thing—sweating, trying to lock the knee, savasana-ing. no matter how different all of us are, we all lead parallel lives, kind of, if you think about it. alright, that’s my abstract thought for the day.

monday noon and it was nice to have jules in the house. was our teacher generous with the open door today? i was right by the door and i could feel the cold air trying to creep in, but there was a big block of humidity with a chip on it’s shoulder that was saying “no way, air-say.”

during dandayamana-janushirasana, i totally got called out “and if you’re ready to go forward, like ~m, you round forward” ack, that was me, and now it’s time to get my elbows below my knees! oh my gosh, i did go forward and i fell out immediately, but i laughed it off and tried to get back into the pose. that’s all you can do when you fall out, smile, laugh, don’t ever get down. sometimes i see people fall out of a pose and they stare at the ground with their shoulders hunched over. they look so defeated. smile, it’s only yoga. alright that’s my yoga thought for the day.

here’s another one of my favorite pictures from a farmers market past. just like in the yoga studio, some days at the farmers market are better than others. this was a good day. click and enjoy ~m

the thing about the “cool” side of the room is that it isn’t cool if everyone is on the same side! talk about lopsided, we had 3 crowded rows compared to 2 spacey rows. the air was so dense, it was definitely hard to breathe. i got dizzy enough that i had to take a knee and skip the other side of padangustasana. it was a challenging class for me, but we need those right? i was feeling knotty this morning, so i was grateful for class today. how was your sunday friends?

i was so “done” after class, the bike ride home seemed longer than usual. nice to have some homegrown plums on the way. napping was mandatory but not for too long. when i woke up, i made the best ham sandwich with slices of homegrown avocado! om nom nom. grateful for food grown here and i din’t even mention the homegrown strawberries i had on the way in! i feel blessed and i’m so grateful, thanks friends. see you tomorrow ~m

the other day our new friend lori commented something that’s super important to remember—”we all have days that are better than others.” don’t beat yourself up about having a rough class. you need them to help build your practise. i think rough classes help you lose your “self,” so you should be almost be grateful for having one.

if you’re having a rough class, try to remember your form. one of the most inspiring dandayamana-dhanurasanas i ever saw out of the corner of my eye was someone who din’t even go forward but an inch or so. he was working on getting his arm straight up and his knees touching. mastering the pose one step at a time and doing the best with what you can for today.

during class today our teacher told us that the waves were gonna be pretty wild today. i was hoping to get some surfing photos to share with you, but nothing came out. in fact, of all the photos i took today, this is the only one that came out. i was kinda bummed about today’s photo safari, but if this is the only memory i have of today, then i guess i really can’t complain. see you tomorrow ~m