Namaste surfer.

Wouldn't be a very good surf yogini now would I if I didn't provide you with some yoga advice to improve your surfing?! 

Having being a keen runner, swimmer and gym bunny I can vouch with all the credibility of a certified yoga teacher that yoga seems (in my opinion) the best exercise to compliment your surfing. On an anatomical level yoga increases core strength which contributes to better balance (which you sure as hell need when trying to stand up on a moving board)! The balance postures such as eagle pose, warrior III etc challenge your brain increasing your concentration and all that stretching can help prevent injury. 

Perhaps the most important benefit of yoga is that it creates mindfulness and focus through meditation and pranayma (breathing) techniques. When the fear factor starts to take over in a big wave situation it is the breathing techniques I use in my yoga practice which drags my attention back to the present and helps me regain my composure. Here are a few yoga moves which I feel really help with improving your surfing (when your stuck on land like me and need something to do)! 

Upward facing dog.  

Up dog is a good surf move for various reasons. Firstly it is great for the lower back and for stretching out the abdominal muscles. I find this asana (posture) particularly good because it reminds you to keep your hands by the side of your chest when inhaling up, this is exactly the same placement of the hands for an effective pop up. Placing the hands anywhere but at the side of your chest causes the board to wobble and for you to wipe out. 

Chaturanga (yoga push ups).

They are brutal but my gosh they work! Chaturanga i.e. yoga push ups are all about upper body strength and core. If you repeatedly do these in a vinyasa flow sequence you will make your pop ups a hundred times easier. 

Kakasana (crow pose) 

Crow pose might not look like an obvious posture for surfing but it is a balance and any balance is great for mental focus and concentration. This also happens to target the upper arms again helping with those pop ups. Below is a step by step guide follow from left to right to accomplish this pose. 

 Salabhasana & Dhanurasana (Locust & bow pose) 

Both locust and bow pose mimic the position the lower back is in when your paddling out on a surf board. As the lower back is such a delicate area any asana which strengthens this is good in the long run. Remember your only as young as your spine! 

Mediation.

 

Don't wish for it, work for it. Make time in your schedule to meditate, make it a priority as routine as brushing your teeth. Help yourself be a better surfer by visualizing riding those waves creating mental clarity necessary to accomplish just that.  

There are a multitude of asanas (the yogic way of saying postures) that I could have included in this guide but these are the ones which stand out in my mind as being particularly beneficial. Get your butt to a yoga class near you and start seeing the positive ramifications in your life. 

Until next time,

Stay strong and surf well

Love

The Beach Life.

When your a land locked surfer its sometimes hard to get your wave 'fix' in the midst of deadlines, commitments and stuff generally getting in the way. Obviously our obsession for surfing often overrides those prior engagements but sometimes you have to hide the wet suit and stay home. So how do you live the surf life when you live in the city? Surround yourself with surf friends/things.

Here's my not entirely accurate list! 

Make your home look like its a beach house. 

As a yogini I'm going to reiterate acquiring 'things' doesn't make you happy but surrounding yourself with positive influences and inspiration is so fantastic for the soul! Here's some beauties I've seen on pinterest to get the creative juices flowing. 

     

 Eat like a surfer. 

I've never had it explained to me but surfers seem to have an unhealthy obsession with coconuts. They either rub it in their hair, slather it their bodies as cocoa butter, fry their food in it or drink the water. For some reason when I do any of those things I feel more like a surfer?! Go figure. 

Power dress. 

In the same way you wear a suit to get a job I think if you want to feel like a surfer dress like one, (ok maybe don't wear a wet suit on the morning commute, but you get where I'm going with this). Whilst the outside stuff isn't all that important it does give a 2 second blurb about who we are and acts as a reflection to others about our preferences. I find dressing in that casual, laid back boho vibe makes me feel like I'm living the surf life. It can't hurt can it. 

 

Do something for the sea! 

You don't have to join Greenpeace's sea shepard but doing something awesome for sea conservation is one way of truly declaring your love for all things marine!

Tell yourself your a surfer everyday. 

Meditate on it if you have to but make sure you embrace and celebrate that you have found something that makes you goofy happy and remember you are a surfer because you are passionate about the ocean not because you ride for Roxy!

Until next time
Stay strong, surf well

Notorious S.U.R.F

The tenuous link to Notorious B.I.G. is because I'm going to be controversial by saying I believe surfing the (North) East coast of the UK is better than surfing (South) West. Obviously we're only talking opinions here, nothing really based on fact but I'd like to present a lighthearted argument for this case anyway!

1. The locals are friendlier. 

First and foremost due to the relatively small surf community locals are incredibly open and friendly. Everywhere will have localism to some extent and I really feel for the Southerns who get inundated with tourists, but I believe the Northern bunch have managed to maintain that family feel.  

2. The North East is less commercialized.

I tend to get a bit uneasy around global brands, not because they are all evil scheming companies but because I think they dominate the local economy and flatten diversity on the high street. As much as I like to have a mooch around a Billabong store I love the dude on the corner who sells T-shirts out of his workshop or the little surf hire shop that sells second hand boards. British surfing is such a grass roots culture and I hope to keep it true to it's heritage. 

3. Coast and city collide.  

As a land locked city girl I love the juxtaposition of the natural beauty thriving alongside the ugliness of industrial, urban sprawl. I love that the coast seems so much wilder because its pioneered against industry in the East. 

4. The History 

The surf heritage of the East coast is a fascinating one, local lads surfed in woolly jumpers in freezing winter conditions and some of them got so good they ended up doing the world tour in exotic locations like Puerto Rico and Bali. Its that community again which makes the East coast rad. 

5. Its great for all abilities 

Whether your trying to catch your first wave in Saltburn beach break or ripping it up in Pease Bay Scotland, the East coast is a diverse and beautiful stretch which provides a whole host of opportunities. 

Take my ramblings with a pinch of salt (no pun intended), I like opening up dialogues about surfing so if you have any favorite places please get in touch, its great to discuss spots!

And lastly I'll leave you with the words of Notorious B.I.G. 

We can't change the world unless we change ourselves. 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well
Love

Now is good.

For the last month I've had blogging on my mind but then kept telling myself the old adage of 'I'll do it later' except later never came, because when you live your life in the future you stop living in the present. 

In the early days when I read of successful bloggers 'taking a break' from writing I scoffed, how could they stop doing something they love? But now having taken a short sabbatical myself I realize how important it is to take your foot off the accelerator. 

As with most moments of realization in life they tend to just happen. My best friend who I rarely see due to him being a mountain guide all over the world, bought me a book recently called;

'The Power of Now,' by Eckhart Tolle. 

I sat for two hours straight devouring this book and then went through it again with a pencil underlining all the amazing quotes I knew I need to refer back to. 

'The reason people like to engage in dangerous activities (i.e. surfing), although they may not be aware of it, it forces them into the now- that intensely alive state that is free of time, free of problems, free of thinking, free of the burden of personality.' 

It made me think of surfing instantly of how surfers tend to have this otherworldly glow about them, because they practice that mindfulness every time they get on a board. Catching waves forces you to be completely present. 

When we dwell in the past or keep our eyes fixed on the future we lose our present and invite problems into our life. How can we possibly be happy if we are constantly fixating on time? Time is an illusion, as are our problems - in a real emergency did you have time to dwell or did you just act?There are numerous examples of people doing amazing things in genuine crisis and that is because they acted in the now. 

Look around you, is the sun shining, are you doing a task at work, having a cup of tea? Prioritize what your doing right this second. If you have a bill to pay, do it now! Don't delay gratification i.e. put things off, if you have a big dream you want to accomplish remember now is the first step so your already successful! 

I am massively glossing over the complexities of the book but this is how I'm applying it to my life. 

Right now I'm writing to you and I'm enjoying every minute of that dear blog reader! I'm sat with sunshine streaming in through the window and my rabbit is running around my feet. I'm still in my PJs and have hair that needs washing but I am 100% in the now not worrying about what happens next. 

Until next time 
stay strong and surf well 
Love