The World Is My Yoga Mat

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The World Is My Yoga Mat

Yoga by Karen, photos by Ben. We both share a love for yoga, photography and travel and thought this was a fun way to share our passions.

01/06/2026

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01/29/2025

Newer images can be found on Instagram at the location below. Facebook forced this page to be a professional page and does not give me the option to revert it back. That's why images stopped being auto-posted here when I post them on Instagram or my personal FB page.

03/20/2020

Tree pose: Zihuatanejo, Mexico⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: This was one of the smaller town ports not frequented by cruise ships so we were quite the spectacle! Their local news actually came out to document our visit and everyone was beyond welcoming and charming. Because it's not a super touristy area (like Cabo), the art and food was also much more authentic. If you ever find yourself there, you MUST eat at Carmelitas. SO GOOD! This mural shows how proud they are of their little town and I love that. ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: Simple point and shoot setup for this one. I just wish the muralist would have moved the whole thing down about 10 inches.

03/14/2020

Extended hand to big toe variation: Panama City, Panama⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: We had made a yoga image in these same ruins in Panama City a few years ago, but when we returned this year, there were some new artsy additions, like these shiny tires. It's fun making return visits to places around the world to see how they've changed! ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: I chose an aperture that would render the background a bit soft to help separate the foreground elements. I then adjusted my height until I could include what I wanted in the scene without tilting the camera up or down so that verticals would remain vertical.

03/07/2020

Baby grasshopper variation: Antigua, Guatemala⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: When we were there, I didn't notice that this entryway looked like a giant postage stamp, but I totally see it when looking at the picture! This pose is a good introduction to the full grasshopper pose, but you don't need to be in a full-on, hip-opening arm balance. The open hand can be on the ground, or lifted like it is here for an extra challenge. ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: I shot this from low position to cause Karen to fill a good amount of the stairs area. I shot this quite a bit wider than the view you see here and then cropped into the bottom of the original framing in post. That way I could shoot from a low position without tilting the camera, which would have made vertical lines tilt in as you got toward the top of the image.

03/05/2020

Floor bow pose: Costa Maya, Mexico⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: This looks so pretty doesn't it? Well what it feels like and what it looks like are two very different things. There are a lot of screaming muscles here. It's not painful. It's just hard. But yoga makes it look beautiful. I think that's the way grace works. When you do it right, you can take something that's incredibly challenging and make it look effortless. When I see people whom I deem to be "graceful," I admire them very deeply because I understand the strength involved. ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: This was shot on Karen's camera since I was exploring camera-less on this day (a rare occurrence). I positioned myself on the stairs that lead up to this area, so I could shoot from a position low enough that you could see how little of Karen's body was in contact with the ground. I then tweaked the exposure to ensure that I would capture detail in the bright areas of the sky. Finally, I had to tweak the dark areas quite a bit ensure the detail in Karen's black outfit was visible.

02/27/2020

Baby grasshopper pose: Bora Bora, French Polynesia⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: This pose is a good precursor to the full grasshopper arm balance. It's a good place to start when you're starting to learn arm balances because you get to keep one foot on the ground! I basically spent all day wading around in that beautiful water, trying to remind myself that this scenery was real! Bora Bora is such a stunning place and I feel so grateful that we were able to stop there on this trip!⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: After picking the pose, I just popped into panorama mode, which meant: 1) find brightest area and expose to ensure highlights are not blown out, 2) focus 1/3 of the way between Karen and background, 3) press exposure lock and focus lock buttons, 4) ensure that you're not tilting up or down excessively, 5) capture Karen first so you make sure the pose looks good, 6) capture panorama starting on left side, 7) replace the one shot where Karen is positioned with earlier shot where she had the pose just right. @ Bora Bora, French Polynesia

02/25/2020

Down dog pose: Holbrook, Arizona, USA⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: Downward dog is one of those grounding poses that all of us yogis find ourselves in multiple times a day. By shortening the stance and rising to your teepee toes (see what I did there???), it forces you to engage the core even more. I feel like this variation is a great prep for pike-pressing into a handstand. ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: Here I chose a pose that mimicked the shape of the teepee. I then adjusted my shooting height to control how much of the door would appear above Karen's toosh. I had to coach her on how far apart her arms and legs should be in order to obtain the best shape.

02/23/2020

Dancer pose variation: Panama City, Panama⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: This is a pretty crazy variation of dancer pose. First, you need to get the overhear grip on the foot, and that takes a lot of shoulder mobility. Then, you need to be able to rotate that gripping arm over the head so that it meets the opposite shoulder. It's an intense mixture of back, leg and shoulder work, using both strength and flexibility. Fortunately, the hand grabbing the knee provides a little support! ⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: I liked this location because the background was in shade while the columns where in the bright sun. I positioned Karen in the sun and chose a pose that incorporated elements that mimicked the column and arch above. The red color was an important element to ensure your eye would be drawn to Karen's position.

02/21/2020

Goddess pose: Cartagena, Columbia⁠⠀
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The World Is My Yoga Mat = Yoga by Karen + Photography by Ben⁠⠀
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🌞 Karen: This pose is called Goddess, but it's a beast! Holding the pose for a few seconds is no problem... but when you start to hold it longer, things start to burn in a very uncomfortable way. This is also the indicator that good things are happening! I just try to think happy thoughts and embrace the fire. :-P⁠⠀
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📷 Ben: The colors in the distance being frame by the doors is what called me to this spot. I chose a pose that would position Karen near the boldest colors and kept her within the less busy-looking area of the image. I would have loved to get a bit lower, which would have pushed Karen further into the yellow/orange area, but that would have caused all the verticals to tilt toward the top of the frame.

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98121

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http://www.the-world-is-my-yoga-mat.com/

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