Revisiting Alamere falls after three years

Alamere falls near Point Reyes is an amazing waterfall that goes straight into the beach. Our first visit to this place was in 2021 in the middle of COVID. There was minimal socializing and we made the most of it.

In March we got a chance to go again. It is a long drive followed by a long hike. When you go with a group, both of those don’t seem long enough.

Given I have already described everything about this place, an updated set of photos and a video highlight reel!

Last time we went in November. This time we went in March.. the landscape on the hike was a lot greener, there were wildflowers that started coming out.. but it was windy and chilly both times.

It is now blog policy to open posts with a bench photo. Got a lot of yoga pose photos as well on this visit!

Had fun playing with the long exposure options in iPhone. Carrying the SLR up a 14 mile hike would have been an additional challenge.

went close to the falls and put the iPhone upside down on the sand to get this one.. had to crop it to a square shot. Water drops blurred part of the image.

When all surfaces are vibrant, had to stop and take pictures of small plants, lichens, buds… was slowing the group down a lot this time with the pictures..

The video highlights reel..

If all goes well, we will visit this place again in a few more years. The walk on the beach to the falls and the race against time is always interesting!

Combining two interests

Yoga and Photoshop..

call it what you want, but these two pictures were a good time pass.

Jr. volunteered to take the individual shots. She said it was more fun to keep clicking and watch me do yoga than have to do the Yoga herself.. also she got to yell "body down, stretch forward" a few times. (had taught her to repeat the right keywords at the right times to motivate me). 

One of my teachers Matt always tells me "Sundar, you have to take it one millimeter at a time. Trust the process. It is a process. Go for progress instead of perfection". Every word is etched in my head. 

Being a process engineer by background, this Process is asymptotic and can be imperceptible on a day to day basis.. but, a millimeter a day adds up to 36.5 centimeters a year.. that is more than a foot! That assumes you come every day. Sometimes a weeks break can reset you more than 7 millimeters.. but that is another story. 

If you keep going and practice routinely, you can see the millimeters add up.

Will leave you with these two pictures of the half moon pose backbend 

and standing bow pose

both of which were incredibly difficult for me to do as a beginner and as a regular student in every class.. Was probably going back or forward only to the first step you see in the pictures. Today can do slightly better than the lowest bends in these pictures given all the poses we do prior to doing this (in heat) compared to directly jumping into it without any warm up at home. 

Matt was right.. those millimeters all add up over the years. 

All that said summer is always a tough time to keep up the regularity of the practice. So the process takes an erratic path and some semblence of regularity is regained in fall.

Was originally going to spot the 10+ things wrong in every pose, but today has been a good day. So instead I took a different approach, admired my handiwork on photoshop and decided all those things can wait. 

They are going to take a lifetime to fix.. and I am surprisingly okay with it!

Hope all of you got to do or try some Yoga on International Yoga day on Thursday. If you tried it for the first time, hope you had a lifechanging experience and you keep coming. If you got your regular yoga done, go you! 

It takes an inner will to be absolutely selfish to go do Yoga on a regular basis. The only way you can take care of others if you take care of yourself first. 

A very special day

Last year, the kids made me choose between spending time with them for "Father's day" or going to the usual yoga class. 

This year, thanks to the UN and Narendra Modi and a billion other folks, today is International Yoga day. So the rest of the world called me to wish a happy father's day, my MIL called me to wish me a "happy Yoga day" and we knew that there was no skipping yoga.

After class the dads get roses! First kid to hug me (after I showered of course) was going to get the rose.. but they were both very quiet. Apparently they had just made the cards and the cards were still wet!

Loved the cards. They are both doing great in the arts department.

Then we had lunch and we saw a note from the yoga studio that said "post pictures of dads doing yoga with their kids". San lined up the camera and initially the kids were reluctant and conscious of their poses.. but then they opened up nicely and were all smiles!

We have many pictures of these two trying yoga poses from years ago.. 

They decided to try the Triangle pose 

 Yes.. we have a few pentagons there.. but they can be fixed in time. The little one has had a growth spurt of sorts. Even after explaining the difference between a triangle and a pentagon, the little one goes "I am doing exactly what you are doing! so stop correcting me!". 

If there is one thing I have to teach her in life, it is "how to learn".

Step 1: Listen to your teacher

Step 2: Don't say "I already know!"

Step 3: Follow instructions to the best of your ability and understanding

After many an aborted takeoff...

We finally flew together. San did a great job and kept clicking in hopes that there will be at least one photo of these poses that will have all three of us doing the same thing. The girls kept joking, laughing and giggling throughout 

Their smiles made my day!

Finally Jr. suggested we try to sit in lotus pose and lift our bodies off the ground. Have been trying to get them to sit in lotus pose, even if for a few seconds to a minute, few times a week. 

They did it with a smile! 

Wishing everyone out there a very happy Father's day and Yoga day!