sunbeams at lighthouse field, santa cruz. not today, last week, but another nice view from the stoney shore. practise today was almost crowded, or it wouldn’t have seemed so packed if people weren’t afraid of the front row. usually people are fighting for front row space, today, no one wanted anything to do with it. i almost went front row, just to set an example, but i’m still taking it slow.

went for the forward bend in standing head to knee today. not sure that i should have. i got there and felt stuck or din’t want to make any sudden movements because it did not feel comfortable. din’t even try it on the other side or second set, i’m fine with going slow.

i gave some advice to one of my tweeps who is dealing with some work stuff. whenever i’m in a situation, i really don’t want to be in, i try to imagine myself in standing bow. i think of myself in the hot room, confident and strong, right as i’m about to begin the bow. be your bow. go forward. see you tomorrow ~m

cold mountain west. this is the other side of the property i live on. my studio doesn’t get this view, route 1 farms is across the street, if you can see it through the bamboo and bare trees. what was breakfast today? if you guessed freshly picked orange, you’re pretty observant!

this wasn’t how i started my morning, but it’s close. i actually started my morning even nicer than this. i was reading a 60 day challenge bikram blog and was surprised to see my name in print, well, the 21st century version of print. i gotta admit, on the surface, my life seems pretty enviable, well, no, not on the surface. i actually do have a pretty great life. i live in paradise, eat organic foods, practise bikram daily, ride my bike everywhere even to see and meet lee perry, i mean, how can i complain? look at where i got my breakfast this morning! i get bummed out that sweat isn’t where i’d like it to be, but, all in all, i have a pretty great life.

that was the attitude i had as i walked to bikram today, taking pictures all along the way. as i was about to turn the corner to the bikram studio, this crazy-eyed homeless guy asks me, “is that a digital camera? will you take my picture and e-mail it to me?” are you fucking kidding me, i thought, “i wanna send it to my dad, he hasn’t seen me in 5 years.” usually i’m asking to take a picture, not the other way around, but i think when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, good things happen to you.

oh yeah, bikram was awesome today. the room wasn’t a scorcher so it was easy to practise without water again. i’m feeling almost recovered from my back injury, but i’m still holding back a little in standing head to knee, which is where i hurt myself. i don’t know if the twinge i’m feeling as i start to bend forward is mental or physical. am i scared to go forward or am i playing it safe? only i know for sure and i’m not in a rush to find out. no one’s judging right? alright, heartbreakers, that’s enough of my glam life and i din’t even get to talk about all the stuff that happened *after* bikram! see you tomorrow ~m

interior, golden buddha, soquel, california. the interior is a nice mix of natural wood and stereotypical chinese restaurant decor.

one of my tweeps din’t feel like going to yoga today. she was stressing about mom stuff, wife stuff and life stuff. i told her she needed to go to yoga so she could forget about that stuff for 90 minutes. no matter how bad the world is pressing down on me, it never seems that hard after bikram.

gotta be honest, heartbreakers, i don’t always feel like going to yoga, but i’m never disappointed that i went. today, i felt like going, but my lower back wasn’t on board with the program. during this morning’s pranayama, i was really feeling sore in my lower right back. with bikram yoga, you learn how to fine-tune your body. i told myself to breathe, concentrate my breath on my lower back and strengthen up in my abs. you protect your lower spine by pulling in your abs. it worked, by the time we got to the floor series, i wanted to do the sit-ups! it’s nice to be able to figure out what was wrong with my body and what i needed to do to fix it. hooray for bikram! see you tomorrow ~m

exterior, golden buddha, soquel, california. i think differently when shooting in black and white, do you? as much as i like digital, one way i like to kick it “old school” is limit myself to only shooting black and white for the day. kinda like when you loaded up your camera and you had that for the next 24 shots.

woke up this morning feeling like the yoga truck hit me, but i din’t do any yoga yesterday! i was also seriously craving protein, like you wouldn’t believe. i think my body was asking for a break so, instead of forcing myself to bikram, i gave my back some r & r. it’s nice to take a couple of days off, but i’m anxious for the day when i’m feeling healthy and no longer nursing a sore back. i’ll be back on the mat tomorrow, see you then ~m

lighthouse point, santa cruz. i love that you can see the rain in the horizon, it’s about 30 minutes away from the time i took this picture. another beautiful day on the cliffs, not today though—i spent the afternoon helping my sister load up a truck. i’m kinda bummed that she’s leaving town. we never saw each other, but it’s been nice knowing she’s there.

oh my gosh, you are not gonna believe this, i thought i was gonna get sick after bikram today. ugh, during class, i felt strong, but in the shower, i got hit by the yoga truck. i was so nauseated, i went to the bathroom twice, thinking i was gonna vomit. my teacher suggested to stand outside in the cold air and it helped incredibly. i hadn’t gotten that wiped out after class in a long time. i don’t think the post-class water and kombucha i drank helped matters. too much liquid, too soon!

despite the drama afterward, class was incredible today. like i said, it was so hot in class, my back felt super nice, not 100%, but nice. i was also getting an incredible opening in my lower abs, kinda where my back pain was. plus, i could feel some major shifts there too, things rearranging themselves. it’s kinda crazy to think about the stuff inside your body moving around like that, but that’s what it feels like. it might wear you out, but it’s good for you in the long run. see you tomorrow ~m

love it when the valley gets socked in like this. i’m so lucky to live here. everyday is a breathtaking view on the way to my bike. even better, i came home from bikram today and my landlady hugs me hello. she doesn’t do that to any of the other renters on the property. in case you forgot, this is what it looks like when the sun is shining.

as i was getting ready for the noon, i asked a teacher about the 10am he’d just taken, “it was like hell in there.” oooooh, those are the kind of classes i like! we definitely got baked today, but our teacher was generous with the open door, so it wasn’t that bad. she actually joked before class, “we’re having a little problem with the a.c.” ha ha, it might get hot in here! well, joking aside, it did get hot and i definitely needed to concentrate on my breathing to get through class. still trying to maintain the balance of not going too far for my back. the standing separate leg stretching is frustrating! i wanna touch my forehead to the ground so bad, but that’s where i start to feel that twinge in my lower back, “stop!” the forward bend in standing head to knee is another one i’m not sure about. that was the pose i strained my back in, so i’m taking it easy. did the forward bend for the first time today, is that a good pain or a bad pain? we’ll see if i do it again tomorrow, might just hang out with my knee in the air and my other knee locked. it’s a good example of what the first stage of the pose is anyway.

okay heartbreakers, thanks for being my support and cheering section. you know, sometimes i get so down, but you pick me up and get me through another day. i can relate to irs problems and that feeling of total helplessness, back against the wall, look what you made me do. ugh, my heart goes out to all in austin right now. i’m so grateful for bikram yoga, it silences voices in my head that i’ve lived with forever. when they do speak up, i’m grateful for the yoga community to bring me back to my right state of mind. namaste ~m

i like this picture, but one of these animals is dying and it’s not the bird. i posted a picture of him in december, when he was much bigger. nevertheless, it was still a nice view and this is where i was photographing. i got some great surfing photos, but why not enjoy the scenery, first? definitely click and enjoy the larger version.

got a great lesson during bikram today. our teacher encouraged us to look at our practise and see what we could lose from it. i just did this while on the road to recovery over my back injury. since i’ve returned to bikram, i haven’t taken water during class. i actually haven’t even had water until after my shower. mary jarvis said that your breath gives you everything you need and that’s totally true, but there’s more to it than that. you need to eat healthy foods everyday and drink plenty of water throughout the day.

lots of teachers like to push zico on people as being “nectar of the gods.” i gotta admit, after class, it does taste pretty good. but! you can get all those same nutrients in a meal of beans, tomato, avocado and your choice of greens. that’s why i’m not reaching for my water bottle during “party time” or when the standing series is over or before fixed firm or even after class. i’ve got all the nutrients i need in me already and my breath is helping that process. friends, believe me, i know everyday is different. i’m not swearing off my beautiful water bottle (thanks @MeiNg), i’m just not relying on it like i used to. see you tomorrow, heartbreakers ~m