Silence.

Sometimes I am utterly convinced I'm an old soul and that I've lived a few lives before the one I have now. When I was young I used to go through the motions of attending parties all the while feeling like I didn't belong there. I wasn't a wall flower, in fact I was/am usually the first on the dance floor, but I guess my heart wasn't in it. My long term friends joke that I'm Grandma on account of my insatiable tea habit and quiet. Now that I am hopelessly in love (still going steady wohooo) and a bunny momma my nesting instinct is even stronger.

Happiness to me is curled up with my boys. 

Bruh bunny and Mr Sunshine sharing popcorn here. 

Real men are kind to animals 

Too cute to breath! 

My Mr Sunny being a stealth photographer here! 

By nature I'm a worrier, I am somebody that both needs and hates busyness, heck I even called my rabbit 'Hectic Bruh' after a South African saying for crazy waves! 

Both surfing and yoga found me almost simultaneously and I believe are there to help me enjoy the silence. Both yoga and surfing turn you inwards and make you concentrate on your breath and being present. 
Neither are a sport or a hobby to me they are a way of life and I'm so grateful I have both these endeavours to remind me to stand still and enjoy the silence!   

 It was after some silence and contemplation I finally came up with the name for my yoga and animal assisted therapy business (taking animals to care homes as therapy). I ran it past the family and landed on:

 Love the sound of 'Wild at heart Yoga & Animal Assisted Therapy,' it both excites me and scares me shit less!! I'm finally living my dream, taking a leap of faith and fashioning and life all of my very own. 

Oh and there shall be surfing in this life. Oh the surfing! 


Until next time,
Stay strong and surf well
Love

The beautiful ones.

Surf, art and fashion are a union which has spawned a lifestyle and being a bit of a magpie for these three things means I am constantly inspired by the world around me. Surf was a vector for change in the West, its popularity grew out of young people rejecting the norm and living a life of freedom. These credentials matched perfectly to the wild abandon of art and fashion thus creating a wonderful paradigm for modern surfers like myself to find creativity in all arenas. 

I am constantly overwhelmed and awed by the breadth of talent circulating on instagram from pro surfers, to Joe blogs surfers and businesses surrounding the industry. Such mooching led to my discovery of Mara Hoffman a New York designer who has captured my imagination with her beautiful bikini and surf suit designs. She makes me think of travelling, artists living in Costa Rican communes and surf trips to places like Morocco. 
Her designs are definitely on the lust list!  

   
























Until next time stay strong and surf well, 
Love 

How to be a surf blogger.

First pose with a foamie making sure you gaze out at the sea channeling your inner Kelly Slater even though your giant foam board is the equivalent of children's swimming arm bands. Look pensive. 

Step two
When you progress start doing action shots where you provide evidence that you can walk AND carry your foamie. You look so cool. 

Later form a surf group then organize trips randomly without checking surf reports. Flat spells or giant surf are just opportunities for you beginners to enjoy the great outdoors. 

  

Step Three

Be a land locked surfer vastly reducing your ability to write about surfing and trips. This is fine, you can instead create irrelevant posts with 'arty' photos in black and white as a nod towards surf style. 

  

Step Four
Get into skateboarding at the grand old age of 24 as this is a good substitute for surf when you can't get out to the coast. Pose with skateboards and take action shots even though you skate like Bambi on ice. 

Step Five Last but not least remind everyone of how much you love the ocean by simply just standing by it.  

 

The moral of the story? Don't take yourself too seriously when it comes to surfing or blogging! As you can see in the two years I've been blogging I've had some rather funny attempts to be taken seriously as a 'surf blogger' but actually its been just a lot of fun and mishaps! I don't have a go pro or a fancy camera, I don't even have a phone that works properly but you can still write a blog and put a little window into your life.

Whether your a seasoned blogger or just starting out, write your truth and enjoy the process! 

Until next time 
Stay strong, Surf well
Love

The dry spell.

My aversion to the sea of late is largely due  to self preservation. Such is my love for surfing that constantly longing for it during an absence actually hurts. So like a facebook purge I began trying to delete it out of my life in the hope that making it disappear out of my sight, would somehow heal the constant impulse to jump in a car and get to the coast.

Except this doesnt work. 
Because I am the ocean and the ocean is me. 

 






















I can't neglect my blog or try to close my ears to murmurs of surf because I'm both a writer and a surfer. Trying to shut either of these two versions of myself out is like lopping off a finger or a toe - there is absolutely no good reason to do it. 

When I heard of friends going for surf sesh I had a curl of jealousy such is my obsession. It was starting to become quite an ugly mindset until I took a step back and examined my thoughts. 

I have been demotivated and largely apathetic to all things marine at the moment because I am tired, city dwelling and overworked. But after some reflection I've come to ascertain that this dry spell is actually quite necessary. I'm trying to construct things in my present tense to actually enable a life of surf, wildlife, travel and more time with my loved ones. In order to accomplish this I need to work hard now and make a few sacrifices today to reap the fruits of my labour later on.

The sea might seem a distant memory but there are plans in motion, there is Morocco and there is Costa Rica to look forward to. These will happen this year and I shall work my butt off now to truly understand and appreciate these experiences of warm water surfing later on. 

So to conclude this meandering ramble, if you are frustrated and forlorn don't luxuriate too much in these sensations, exhale and remember your in process. 

Until next time,
stay strong, surf well 
Love

 

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