Hey, its been a while...

For regular readers of 'Real Women have curves and surfboards,' it may have appeared that things had gone awry. In the last couple of weeks there have been visits to hospital by ambulance (It's ok, I'm right as rain now), yoga exams and a trip to Morocco, (in that order), all of which have massively distracted me from blogging. 

I decided to use all that disarray as an excuse to shake up my little place in cyber space. As much as I love the title 'Real women have curves and surfboards,' with it being a quote about my beloved Marge Calhoun, I realized it was causing some confusion. I took it into account that our lovely lithe ladies were seeing it as a criticism of a slender frame. As a feminist who believes in gender equality for all I realized something needed to change. I also believe I've entered a new phase in my life and wish to continue promoting an inclusive, accessible blog site, which feels true to me. 

Thus THE SURF YOGINI was born. 

After some trippy experiences during meditation, the elephant came forward as a massive symbol for me in that it represents Ganesh, the mover of obstacles and cultivator of inner strength. I am both a surfer and a yoga girl these days so I thought THE SURF YOGINI was a nice little summary of those two aspects of my life. 

Thankfully I didn't take 'hospital selfies' during my stay (nobody needs to see that), so I'll share with you some holiday snaps instead. My trip to Morocco wasn't a surfing holiday but I fell in love with the country ayway and now that I know Marakkech is only 2 hours away from the incredible surfing beach of Essaouira I think I'll be booking return flights post haste! The trip was a bit of a milestone as its the first holiday away with the beloved Mr Sunny (the boyfriend), which I think was a resounding success! After illness, the stress of exams and a very hectic work life the trip couldn't have come at a better time. 

 

 Morocco really is a must see country, the culture and art of the place could keep you interested for a life time. The above photo was taken in a feminism exhibition we literally stumbled upon (it was a random door in the wall). 

Anyway that's enough smug holiday photos for one post!  

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well

Love 

Apparently between the ages of 8 and 12 is the time when you are your most authentic self. So I ask you think back to when you were this age and recall what you liked to do because this is close or as close a version to what you should probably be doing now. 

When I was eight I used to play a game called 'Girls' with my sisters which ironically was a role play about what we were doing when we were women. For me I was stoically single (boys were icky back then), owned dogs and was running a rescue center/veterinary surgery. 

Nothing that eight year old Sophia has imagined has come true. 

Firstly I am in a happy relationship so I'm not overly fussed that the being single thing hasn't stuck (turns out kissing boys is quite good actually)?!! I don't have a dog I have a rabbit and although I worked my ass off to try to be a vet I didn't quite make the grades. Instead I traveled, studied to be a wildlife conservationist, did more stop gap jobs than I care to mention, traveled a bit more, felt lost, got a care job, became a land locked surfer and am now training to be a yoga instructor.
Not exactly what I had predicted for myself all those years ago! 

The yoga teacher training (a.k.a. the hardest journey I've ever embarked upon) has revealed that I adore learning and I'm perhaps not quite finished with exploring the academic side of myself just yet. The various animal spirit guides who visited me during mediation (I realize this makes me sound absolutely bonkers but bear with...), reminded me that I have a deep connection to animals and want to work with them. 

Regular readers will probably be rolling their eyes at this point, not to long ago I wanted to be an occupational therapist and before that probably something random like a manatee herder- I guess you could call me flippant! Well, its not exactly flippancy its more an abundance of creativity that grows into ideas, which then get left to rot when I become interested in the next thing. 

I believe this is called being a hapless twenty something! 

Something that has stuck through all these wandering years is the surfing, its the only thing that continually inspires and motivates me. Its also is one of the biggest conflicts of my life. I live in land locked Birmingham and I also happen to be in love with a land lubber who has to have some proximity to London (he likes surfing and I've even witnessed the stoke, but he isn't obsessed like the rest of us). Trying to pick somewhere to live together was always going to be tough but its made a million times more difficult by the fact that I NEED to be by a surfing beach. Surfing has the capacity to make you incredibly selfish as the call for the waves over rides most things whether that be work, relationships or your location!  

The trick is to be mindful and cultivate patience, beating yourself up about not going to catch that lush set rolling into your favorite break isn't going to help you in your current situation. Its far better to plan trips, compromise where you need to and make the most of your time when you are in the ocean. That and be interesting when your not at the beach, have something that brings you happiness i.e. 

 

Until next time
Stay strong, surf well
Love

Hiatus.

It's been so long since my last blog post I actually feel like its almost a confessional. I'm rusty with routines I am normally so familiar with when creating a post - what has happened?! 

Hiatus. Hiatus is what has happened. Not through choice I might add but I've had to prioritize some day job things i.e. work and my yoga teacher training course. Both are enormous entities that are pulling me in various different directions. Free time feels like a distant memory and weekends seem to have evaporated into being some mythical creature I'll never know. 

I'm down but I'm definitely not out! This blog is too interwoven with my consciousness to be left completely, I love it too much. For now I'm waving from the distance, I know I'm far but I'm still here really. 

As ever surfing has managed to intercept my life, here are two videos I've managed to peruse in between running to work and writing essays. 

AWAY 

Awesome little documentary set in New York following the lives of female surfers there. You'll LOVE it. 


AWAY (short film) from Elisa Bates on Vimeo.

#VANLIFE

Does its best to put you off living in a van with hilarious consequences but still manages to make living off grid look rad. Very, VERY funny! 

 

Until next time folks, 

Stay strong and surf well
Love