Standing still.

" The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.  "

- Chris McCandless

Perfecting the art of the wipe out. 

I can understand how to a non surfer, the prospect of having a slab of saltwater dumped on your head, in conditions which can only be described as 'Baltic,' may not seem all that appealing. Even now, I still shudder at the kook enthusiasm me and my best friend Jemima exhibited when we took the train to Saltburn and surfed for the first time ever in SNOW and ICE- such was our enthusiasm. 

For most of last year I switched off my 'surfer brain', or at least buried the compulsion in some dark alcove of my mind. This is partly because of the contentment I was/am feeling in my relationship (still going strong with Mr Sunshine my Nigerian Prince)! But largely it was because the pain and frustration of missing the sea was distracting and not very productive to starting a new business. 

What I've learnt is that surfing has become a very big part of my life and denying my desire to pursue this is as futile as putting costumes on dogs. You can't hide your true nature. Surfing is not just waves and adrenaline it is friendship, community, joy, bliss and as Chris McCandless so eloquently put it- an opportunity to feel strong. 

2016 has already started differently. I have come to terms with the fact I am not going to ride off into the sunset on a whim to go live by the sea. I am land locked, I have a job, commitments and I am not in a position to abandon it all to become a beach bum. 

As Surfabella a fellow land locked surfer (who happens to be like, amazing) writes in her article 'Why being a land locked surfer isn't so bad' - sometimes there's merit in the longing, rather than whinging about it you can look at your land locked status not as an affliction but an opportunity to travel, savor every moment and be the only mermaid in the village!! 

So. 2016. Here's to the surf weekends yet to happen. 

Mahalo love bugs. 

Love Sophia x 

For you I give it all.

It's been a while...
I guess I just can't help myself.  
In between the living, the jobs, the puppy and the surf trips I've missed something. 
This blog was a massive part of my life, not because it gave me an identity, somewhere to implore the world or drift into retrospectives. 
This blog was somewhere to just be. 

I've missed this blog, I've missed the incentive it gave me to go out seeking. 
I miss the weekly records of my habits, the clipped cheerfulness, the examination of my mental bandwidth. 

Mostly I miss the opportunities to discuss surfing. 

For a while I had to store surfing in the back of a cupboard, stowing it away like a saved Easter Egg for moments when I want to indulge. It became a distraction, pouring myself into a wet-suit was my chrysalis, riding a wave I emerged. The trouble with this particular method of metamorphism is that it requires you to be by the coast. 
I am land locked. 

Who needs California tans when you can look this cold and ill?? 

So in the interlude I told myself I was a serious business woman building her 'yoga brand' and that grieving waves missed was a perfunctory way to spend my (very little) downtime. I got weary, watched the numbers in my bank account jump along the timeline always plummeting to that line below 0. I cried myself to sleep worrying about finances, about how I was going to fulfill my dream as well as pay the bills.  

Between the lack of resources, I fell more and more in love with Mr Sunshine, my man, my beau, my friend. We got a puppy too! After all those years of describing my 'perfect' dog in an instant Ozzie the french bulldog appeared, the antithesis of what I thought I wanted. As the saying goes I got the dog I needed not the dog I wanted! 

I became a self employed yoga teacher then realized I like stability, I like structure and a monthly pay check. So I restructured, I got a job working with SEN kids realized I love working in the care sector. Now I'm about to become a technical rehabilitation instructor (i.e. working with people with acquired injury to regain their independence- so using yoga in a medical context)! I decided my heart is in building relationships so now I run yoga & surf retreats part time. My very first abroad trip is in Norway in 3 weeks time! 

I'll finish this tangent with Dolly (Parton of course). 

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain" 

We've been here before. The land locked surfer girl moaning about being land locked, except this time I see my frustrations as a necessary catalyst. I can see rainbows in the rain, staying here in the middle of England is not a failure, it does not diminish my capacity to surf, it just makes me appreciate my wave riding all the more when I'm there (and takes a little more effort). 

I'll keep you posted.

Mahalo love bugs x 

Wild at heart yoga and surf: a new beginning.

My lovely man is putting the kettle on so I'll keep this brief for fear of the tea going cold. It is with some sadness that I profess the end of an era. The surf yogini a.k.a. former 'Real women have curves and surfboards' blog will be no more. When I started it three years ago I was a land locked surfer girl not surfing enough and at the time very, very unemployed. I still don't surf as much as I'd like to and I still live in the city....so...wait.
Err not much has changed then...

Only kidding!!! In those three years I've set up the land locked surfers club and found a best friend out of it, lived in Ethiopia, worked in Cape Town on a surf project and had the pleasure of surfing in Morocco and Costa Rica, I adopted my beloved Bruh bunny and best of all found the absolute love of my life, Mr Sunshine, who for privacy issues (he's private and not a massive exhibitionist like me) has asked not to be featured formally on this here blog. 

As if that wasn't enough luck for this brummie wench (that's a formal method of addressing a woman from the West Midlands, UK), I have survived a yoga teacher trainer course and am now becoming self employed, teaching yoga, doing animal assisted therapy in care homes (Bruh bunny in tow) and organizing surf retreats soon(ish). 

Next year I have a dogue de bordeaux puppy to look forward to, getting a car oh and surfing!!! 

So I guess I'd better start walking into the sunset for my happy ending..................

.............................................................................................................................Nah! 

Your not getting rid of me that easily. I now have a 'fancy' new website and blog here



Come see me in my new home! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well 
Love 

Pura Vida

I didn't go abroad until I was seventeen, I worked in a golf club for a year until I'd saved up enough to spend one month working on a conservation project in Croatia. To this day I still have a girlish mix of fear, wonderment and utter disbelief when I find myself in a different country. For many years Africa has been the siren call and I've answered every time. Getting surf in West and South Africa was life changing in many ways but Africa has always felt like home. 

I've had a fascination with Central & South America ever since childhood, watching jungle documentaries on BBC One. This May I had the luck and privilege to go to Costa Rica and surf in the warm waters of Jaco Beach, 2 hours away from San Jose. For once I wasn't a solo traveler and had the travel companion of my beloved Mr Sunshine (the boyfriend)! 

When you first get off the plan the humidity feels like your living in an armpit, there wasn't a day when my face wasn't shiny with sweat. Flying from a UK time zone makes jet lag a reality too so for the first few days both Mr Sunshine and I stumbled around in a tired daze. This did not distract us from the fact we were living in paradise. Sipping water on the balcony I could watch red macaw parrots fly from tree to tree and at nigh the chirp of insects made me wonder what I'd share my bed with later! 

But enough of that. Let's talk about the waves. 

I'm not going to get technical and discuss the height or geography of Jaco beach, I'm going to tell you how it made me feel. Ever since Morocco my love for longboards has been growing and so when I spotted a beauty in the hostel surf hire, I didn't hesitate to give her a spin. In Costa Rica surf culture is rife so the break is a crowded but not unpleasant one. The pura vida (pure life) ethos makes Costa Ricans (particularly the surfers) amazing, wonderful people. As a female surfer it was awesome seeing a line up littered with local girls and I found myself whooping encouragement when I saw a senorita catch a good wave. 

On the first day of surfing I took a lesson, mostly because I could support Mr Sunshine as he learns but partly because I like to get to know the locals and have some respect for local knowledge. A short boarder called John quickly realized I was a different level to Mr Sunshine so took me straight out back where I spent the next two hours getting ride after beautiful ride. 

Then it happened.

 Three years into surfing I got told by a Costa Rican local that I'm an 'advanced' surfer. I then proceeded to turn my board as though I've mastered this for years (not the case). His compliment was music to my ears, after years of surfing cold British waters, sporadic trips every four months or so, the land locked depression, despite it all I've learnt how to surf. 

Its funny, because although I appreciated the compliment I realize I didn't need the validation. Perhaps I'm eking into soul surfer territory here, but I've reached a stage in my surfing where  standing up isn't the priority, neither is catching a perfect wave. Its more than that, it's about reconnecting with myself when I'm sat astride my board, meeting and becoming friends with amazing like minded people and loving the sea for all that she is, an amazing ecosystem. 

Costa Rica was AMAZING but I've come to appreciate that surfing doesn't only have to be about exotic locations, warm water and tans. Surfing can be anything you want it to be, the same as happiness can be found being mashed up in the North Sea wearing a wet suit so thick you feel like the Michelin man. 

Each to their own I say! 

 *Unfortunately I got my camera stolen on the last day so these are the only photos I have from off my phone! Hence the shocking quality!

First stop Madrid! We had a two day lay over here which was awesome! 

We had the pleasure of watching pros at Hermosa beach at the weekly surf contest. 

As you can see sweat is an accessory in Costa Rica, wear it with a smile and it's ok!!! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong, surf well 
Love 

Hobos & Surf bums.

This is Rose Swarts, she's being traveling the world for the last 11 years and has done so with a very small amount of money, sometimes non at all. You can read her incredible philosophy on life here on The Happy Hobos Travel Blog.

I started traveling when I was 17, I booked a ticket to Croatia where I lived on a tiny Island called Cres working on a vulture project as a conservation volunteer. I was homesick, cried a lot and didn't speak any of the language. Gradually though I began to take long hikes by myself up into the mountains and found trees to meditate under. When I realized I had the strength to not only overcome homesickness but thrive off it I started a life long love affair with throwing myself out of my comfort zone and into new environments.

Since then I've worked in Slovakia, taught yoga on the beach in Senegal, been a humanitarian in Ethiopia and surfed in South Africa.  Nearly every single one of these trips has had some kind of disaster (being dropped off on the wrong side of the Island, losing my bank card, being robbed at gun point to name a few), but every single one of these experiences has taught me something about myself and cultivated an inner strength I never knew I had. 

This year my traveling takes on a new dimension, I'll be traveling for pleasure instead of pilgrimage, in search of waves that will make my surfer heart beat with joy. I'll be going with friends and for the first time ever with the man I love. Soon I'll be going to Morocco and in May Costa Rica, the thought of surfing warm water waves after years of my beloved ice cold north sea seems a luxury beyond belief. I'm broke as hell to afford these trips and sometimes I feel the pressure of being in my late twenties without having a mortgage or any real responsibility but then I see my suitcase by the door and suddenly I don't feel so bad...

I wonder what I'll learn on these trips? 

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

 

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