animals extremely close-up with a wide-angle lens attachment on my iphone. fun, huh? click on the picture to see the larger, uncropped version, it’s cool. this is buster, my teacher kim’s dog. he’s kicking it under the desk before class is about to start!

sunday, back to bikram after my day off. still feeling a new opening in my right shoulder and pelvis-y kind of area. a little tired today, felt it during class, but you know what they say about muscle memory. even if i am really tired, sometimes it feels like my body knows what to do, like, just a little more, or, really push into the ground with your fingers, digging up that last little bit of strength. that’s why you always push yourself as far as you can go, that way when you are tired, you still have a little something in the tank. if you give up every time you get weak, you’ll never know how strong you can get. see you tomorrow ~m

animals close-up with a wide-angle lens! the macro lens attachment for my iphone fits onto a bigger piece to make a wide-angle lens—cool, huh? click to see the larger version to see how cool it really is. i can’t remember this dog’s name, but her nickname is baby.

happy saturday, friends! did you practise or was it a day of rest for you? i spent the day remembering episodes of twilight zone, thanks to encouragement from newly published author @vegjolinda. all my early childhood memories revolve around tv, but twilight zone was cool. during the summer, my mom would be at work and my dad would take care of me. he’d make lunch and the two of us would eat, every day at noon, and watch back-to-back episodes of twilight zone. sometimes i wish we could still do things like that, someday i hope we have the time. see you tomorrow ~m

another ladybug “action” shot—this ladybug was totally trying to dodge my camera!

fun bikram this morning. while signing in students, this woman asked “has the vibe gotten better here?” what? “you remember, when everyone was talking about how bad it smelled here.” um, no. it wasn’t those words, but that’s kinda what it was like. my teacher said she felt a little pressure to lead a good class. she must have succeeded because the woman signed up for a monthly unlimited. i’ve decided that it’s not the hot yoga room that smells bad, it’s prolly the smelly clothes, mats and towels people often use. sometimes someone will roll out their mat and you can tell it hasn’t gotten air since the last time it was used—reek-ola!

got a good lesson in patience today, as i started watching the lakers game. my cable was out, oh no! i kept trying to watch it on the internet, but nba lawyers were shutting the servers down fast. bastards. frustration. breathe, relax. it’s gonna work out. the cable came back on, about halfway through the first quarter, but my patience prolly would not have lasted too much longer! ha ha. lakers win, 3 more to go! see you tomorrow ~m

i can honestly say bikram yoga has gotten me over my fear of bees. enjoying the sun, on my deck outside, with bees flying all around. that last part doesn’t make sense. it’s just like being uncomfortable in the hot room, all you need to do is breathe and they won’t bother you. i used to be scream out loud when i saw bees, now i’m calm, cool and collected. in fact, on the day i took this picture, i was pretty much stalking bees in the park. i’m ashamed to admit, it took hours to get this shot and i know i bothered a few bees, but not enough to ever get stung. more than one bee *did* fly around my head and look at me as if to say, stop trying to photograph me! you may not like bugs, lovi, but bees are good for the environment.

i don’t know what it is about about sally’s classes, but i always feel like i went someplace i’ve never gone before. either it’s a deeper stretch in a pose or, like today, my chest felt so open, it was awesome. during savasana between the standing and floor series, i could feel little pops in my chest where i was having all new stretches. not only that, but i did get a better hip opener on my right side, during triangle—where i need it the most. perfect way to start my day. see you tomorrow ~m

this bug is for you, lovi. it looks scarier than it was. i actually found it on my stomach—i was in the park, on the grass, getting a little sun, without a shirt on. i looked down and stayed as calm as possible. when i picked him up, from the bottom, he was all soft. click on the larger version to really enjoy the detail of this one.

i had another solid class today, but i’d rather talk about this oil spill for a minute. i really think this is going to affect us a lot more than we think. what happens if we don’t have any more fish? i’ve been doing a little “research” about prophesies. nostradamus mentions fish in some of his prophesies. “when the fish that is both terrestrial and aquatic will be put upon the beach by a strong wave, it’s shape strange, smooth and horrifying, they instantly reach the enemy from the sea to the walls.” (q 1:29) the funny thing about prophesies is you can make them fit whatever you want. is nostradamus talking about an oil spill? an oil plume attacking our fish and birds and whales and sharks? the hopi indians have nine signs that predict the beginning of the “fifth world.” the seventh sign predicts oil spills: “you will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it.” friends, the sooner we get back to nature, the better. ride a bike, take the bus, kill yr car! see you tomorrow ~m

bug on my jeans—more from the world of macro iphoneography! my mom got me this lens attachment for my iphone, it’s a whole new world of picture-taking. not just that, but instead of quickly wiping away this tiny monster, i’m finding the patience to take a picture. taking my yoga out of the hot room and into the park.

speaking of hot rooms, today was a good one. i was right next to the podium and i could not feel any of the open doors. i was so hungry before class, but i din’t focus on food at all. although my teacher din’t help matters, when she took party time to the max and mentioned that, before class, i had been lobbying for food during party time. raspberries would have tasted super good. i’m such a brat, i told her, “come on, let’s do something different for a change. it’s the same poses in the same order, everyday. you know what? i even think the teachers all say the same thing!” i was on a roll, “let’s just do food during party time to mix it up, just once.” oh, always joking around, that’s me. see you tomorrow ~m

lady bug on the run. lady bugs never sit still, they’re always on the move. my recent obsession is taking macro pictures of insects with my iphone. look forward to more throughout the week.

sunday practise. woke up for the 10 but din’t make it out the door on time. instead i took the silent six and enjoyed the strong but small group energy. alright friends, i hope you are enjoying a long weekend, see you tomorrow ~m