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

Life of a land locked surfer.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

- Bruce Lee

The life of a land locked surfer girl consists of missing waves, wanting waves, yearning waves and getting frustrated about not having waves. As a Buddhist apprentice (this is my unique way of saying I'm an uninformed wannabe Buddhist) I return to Buddhist philosophy remembering that attachment to contaminated karma i.e. lust, greed, anger, fear and desire are root causes of suffering. Rather than trying to eradicate these from our lives by ignoring them, it is through acknowledging there existence that we are able to find mental peace. 

In other words, stressing about not getting waves and focusing on the fact that I don't live by the ocean, won't help me feel better about being a land locked surfer. 

So when I'm not near the ocean I live my life trying my best to be present and enjoy the beautiful ordinary moments. With this in mind I've been instagramming incessantly my week in pictures so I could create a photo diary on this here blog. 

So without much further ado: 

THE LIFE OF A LAND LOCKED SURFER GIRL (in pictures). 

Its so easy to miss things in life, these are roses from my garden I happened to take note of thanks to my yoga practice, which I've taken to doing out there. How beautiful are they?! 

  

The selfies above and below are taken in one of my favorite places, this is sat up in my parents garden on the rocking chair (supervising Bruh the bunny having free time)! I go up there all the time hence my different outfits, its a small everyday pleasure that brings me much mirth and happiness!  

Meet Holly the cat, she belongs to my neighbors but is often found hanging about our garden. She's another sentient being who happens to make my life a tiny bit more awesome. 
I'm really embracing the veganism these days and have been trying some new recipes. Above is orange & apricot cous cous with dessicated coconut and nectarine. Below is walnut salad with spinach & seed pesto with a couple of veggie sausages. Don't let me fool you though, I've also enjoyed bourbon biscuits and vegan ready made pizza! Life is all about balance so a little of what you like isn't going to hurt you! 

 

A large part of my life is spent with the delectable Mr Sunny the boyfriend, as we're both explorers we love nothing more than jumping in the car and having a mini road trip somewhere rad. Being that he's not from here originally we have a lot of fun investigating the local area. Amazingly this beautiful castle and gardens was a mere 40 minutes away from Birmingham city center! We had a lot of fun on our date day out, climbing the ruins and finding interesting spots to take photos. 

 
 

This is one of my favorite photos of Mr Sunny and I, because it was taken on a really beautiful day in the sunshine (rare in September in England)! 

 

I know, I know not another food picture! Sorry but this has a nice little story to it- its vegan Thai curry that Mr Sunny and I made together, its always something to talk about when a vegan meal goes down well with a carnivore!! 

*Prepare for unprecedented amounts of soppiness* 

I love Mr Sunny with all my heart, these photos were him just being him really! Obviously the gold camera bag (below) was posed but the photo above was him just sitting down watching the world go by...yup he's that cool (makes me look like an escaped hippie vagabond all the time)! He's a massive consolation of being land locked and makes every day amazing- ok, gush fest over!!! 

 
 

The photo above and two below are from around Birmingham city center, I'm still amazed after years of moaning about this place that I discover beautiful areas like this and actually learn that I quite like the place! Wearing my favorite hat again! 
 
 


I couldn't talk about a regular week without mentioning my beloved Bruh Bunny. Me and him are latch key kids ferrying between my home and Mr Sunny's house, he is however the most unflappable rabbit I've ever encountered. Today I was cleaning and happened to put Mr Sunny's skateboard down, which Bruh then promptly climbed upon - he most definitely takes after his owner! 

Whatever your circumstances, whether a sea dweller or a land locked surfer like me I hope you find great moments of extraordinary ordinary in your life. Live it well saltwater yogis! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well

Love

Mind matters.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything.
What we think we become ~ Buddha 

 I'm starting to think this 40 day yoga challenge is going to become a 365 day, all year, every year way of life. With each mm I am able to stretch I feel stronger and happier, whilst the daily meditations are helping me be mindful.

 I think teachers come in many guises and I'm lucky that you can be so inspired literally by switching on your phone or firing up your laptop. My instagram feed is full to the brim of yoga teachers connecting me to others and to my own practice also. One of my favorites I'm following is Ali Kamenova the creator of inspiring interval yoga. She also has a gorgeous American bulldog called Sofie who often features in her news feed or in her youtube videos, which never fails to bring a smile to my face! 

Today I've spent more time with animals than I have with people outside in my parents garden. Bruh has been going wild skipping about my folk's rather large garden, while Jack the dog and Hollie my neighbor's cat have mooched around having the odd scratch behind the ears when required! I've always felt a deep connection to animals which probably explains why I also really love oceans and wild spaces. Readjusting to not living by the sea has been hard but I'm opening my eyes to the beautiful wilderness bursting from the urban seams. Its crazy beautiful if you look with a different perspective. 

Lately I've been driving both myself and my long suffering boyfriend crazy with trying to move out of my childhood home. Despite the fact Mr Sunny lets me crash at his whenever I want (and my rabbit for that matter) I still crave my own little nest. I blame this on almost moving to Saltburn this year. I began getting my mindset ready for living independently and now that no longer is possible I'm finding it hard to settle back into living in my parents house. I feel a guest everywhere and home nowhere. Home isn't a place, its a feeling and I know with continued meditaton and yoga practice (along with chewing my friend's ears off) I'll be able to move on from feeling like this...or just get my own place (finance willing)! 

Here's someone making anywhere his home....Bruh decided that his litter box is the height of comfort. Weird animal. 

Until next time
Stay strong, surf well
Love