Surf Yogi.

The ASP world tour (that's surfing's equivalent to the world cup), has been in full swing, which you'd think I'd be voraciously following being that this here is a surf life style blog. While I was very interested to hear five time ASP women's world champion Stephanie Gilmore collected her fifth Roxy Pro Gold Coast crown, (topping Bianca Buitendag in the Final), it is from a distance that I admire the fanfare. 

Firstly I can't help but think Surfgirl magazine does a far better job of covering the developments throughout the circuit, which is precisely where I get updated. I also think I'm just a little bit too much of a hippie to get overtly excited by competitive surfing. This is coming from a girl who went to go see the Scarborough surf competition (which was flat...literally...all weekend) and whom certainly plans on going to many surf festivals in the future. 

Watching surf competitions live I imagine is an incredible experience and one I hope to add to the ever growing bucket list, but on an inherently personal level surfing competitively holds no grandeur for me. Obviously my current surf ability is Bambi on ice but I also think that I probably lean more towards being a soul surfer anyway.

As a kid I loved tucking into exploratory books written by the likes of Dame Freya Stark, Dervla Murphy, Charlotte Uhlenbroek and Jane Goodall. So exploratory surfing is a far more appetizing prospect than surf competitions. 

The Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis and Breath by Tim Winton are both books which explore personal development and travel, they are reads I heartily recommend for both surfers and non surfers alike. 

I draw a great many parallels between my spiritual practice and surfing. Much like the Yogic path, surfing is a process of continued growth and development, which requires dedication and presence. Surfing helps me focus on the here and now which merits my attempts at meditation.

But hey, that's enough philosophizing from one surf yogi to another! 

As aforementioned I have been trying to be more of a presence on my blog and not just a distant writer. The process has been really enjoyable and I'm loving honing my photography skills (which are pretty non existent) so without further ado here are today's snaps. 

 This outfit was decided in 15 minutes so not a great fashion moment but hey this is a true reflection of what kinds of things I wear and the kind of life I lead! Jeans and shoes from H&M t-shirt I haven't the foggiest and dog was rescue! 

Obviously I've instragrammed the shit out of this picture but I like it anyway because I think you can see how eating clean is starting to have a positive effect on my skin. I've always been plagued with bad skin (spotty) so its great seeing the results of clean eating and veganism.

My garden is unusual in that I share it with my neighbours (a lovely hippie couple who I adore), this Buddha is one of Jude's additions to the garden which never fails to make me smile. 

This is Jack who you may have seen a few times on Real Women have Curves and Surfboards. He's the family dog (so unfortunately I have to share him and can't take him to live with me...) He's cantankerous, bad tempered and I often wonder if actually a cat masquerading in a dogs body but my gosh I love this creature. 

Well until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well beautiful yogis! 

Love