centered

tonight, i had the best yoga practice i've ever had.  this is what people must mean when they talk about being "centered."  i felt amazingly strong throughout tonight's practice and, when we finished, i felt like my life was in balance again.  and (this is going to sound incredibly hippie, i realize this, but...) i feel this aura of positivity around me tonight.  i really feel happy to be alive.  :) it is such an amazing feeling... almost like a runner's high... but with yoga.  does that make any sense?  

i may not ever be able to do this: 

in fact, i'm pretty sure that i will never do that... but that's OK.  as long as i keep feeling like i feel tonight, that's all that matters.  

kudos to whomever it was that created yoga!!  i definitely put you up there with the guy that first fermented beer.  :)  (gee, i sound like a real oregonian now, don't i?)

coasties

chad, fife and i went out to cannon beach today for a change of scenery.  i always feel so refreshed when i get back from the coast.  the fresh air, ocean, sand, and sun... well, the sun was there for about 20 minutes... but still, it was so, so nice.  

 i have such a hot hubby!

35mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/4.2

i think this dog wanted to say hello...

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5

chad was playing fetch with fife with a football.  it was too cute.  the football was actually a christmas gift for chad, but as soon as he left for nz, she claimed it as her own.    

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5 

18mm ISO 100 1/1600 sec at f/3.5

fife was playing in the tide pool, but the tide was coming in!

18mm ISO 100 1/400 sec at f/5.6 

18mm ISO 100 1/250 sec at f/5.6

fife was scoping out some playmates...

98mm ISO 100 1/250 sec at f/5.6 

the tide was coming in around haystack rock

105mm ISO 100 1/1250 sec at f/5.6

a little yoga on the beach?  don't mind if i do... 

105mm ISO 100 1/400 sec at f/5.6

here's fifey girl with her football... my little kiwi likes american sports after all!  

105mm ISO 100 1/1000 sec at f/5.6

chad wanted to join in the photo-taking fun.  i think he did a pretty decent job!  and i have to say, i adore my new crumpler camera bag!

i ♥ ray

i'm sitting at my desk at work right now listening to ray lamontagne and thinking about how relaxing it would be listening to him while getting a massage, taking a bubble bath, or something else equally indulgent. damien rice used to be my go-to guy for this genre of music, but ray has really stepped up this year. there's something about his music that just lets all the day's stresses lift out of your body and leaves you in a relaxed state of bliss. if only he would come to portland so i could see him live, my year would be complete!

speaking of relaxation, it's power yoga time again tonight. yippee!!

stretching and strengthening in a dimly lit room

i am at peace with the fact that i will never be able to do this move (above), but i still love power yoga all the same.

in all my inflexible glory, i get to do the half series in a dimly lit room with wonderful soothing tunes in the background. while we all balance on one foot and reach our arms forward and our foot backward, and we shake while we try to hold ourselves in place, i find incredible peace. i can stand in warrior pose feeling the strength in my arms, rooting myself into the mat, and finding power in my soul. it is one hour of my week where i can take my time breathing in and breathing out, slowly stretching, feeling my muscles unwind... and working some muscles that would (i am ashamed to admit) not get worked otherwise (boat pose with arms open wide to one side, obliques burning, is one example).

in short, he who invented power yoga is a genius.