I am the ocean.

How cheerful are you when your on your surfboard? Waiting for a set to roll in are you thinking about your next maneuver, whether your going to catch the wave, or look good when you pop up and find yourself worrying about what you need to do back on dry land? It is so easy to use your surfing as another opportunity to be burdened with over thinking, which will inevitably effect your performance. Through studying Pantajali's Yoga Sutras, The Bagavad Gita, Jivamukti Yoga and works by beloved Buddhists such as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Thich nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama I'm starting to understand that the road to happiness is not found by avoiding unhappiness, but rather is a continuous and sustained effort. 

We are all in process and by accepting that happiness is something we don't possess (i.e. like water if we grab at it we'll never hold it, but rather let it flow through our hands we'll hold it for longer), we have to make the effort to think positively and work against negative emotions. 
Part of my yoga teacher training is sitting down and really studying ancient Hindu and Buddhist philosophy which has been both mind boggling and eye opening. Its amazing how much correlation there is between the two religions and how apt they are for modern day life. A consistent theme present in both is something called 'Ahimsa' which means 'to not cause pain.' It is most commonly interpreted as non violence, but goes beyond killing as sometimes you can cause more pain by words and thoughts rather than action. 

Just as I wish to be free from suffering and experience only happiness, so do all other beings. In this respect, I am no different from any other being; we are all equal.  
- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

As a surfer I feel it is a deep respect to the ocean to not eat fish. I hope in this statement I'm not sounding too self righteous or judgmental because I pride myself on being tolerant and not using my veganism as an excuse to heckle carnivores. That being said I honestly feel that as an ocean dweller with the capacity to avoid eating fish this is the greatest gift you can give back to the saltwater. The ocean is the biggest misunderstood ecosystem on the planet, it is voraciously pillaged for its resources, abused by contaminates derived from humans and at best is feared. We have so much as a race to apologize for. 

Thankfully there are people out there who realize our misdemeanors and are actively trying to rectify them. You know I love a strong female lead and that is exactly what you get in the oceanographer Sylvia Earle. I recently watched her documentary Mission Blue on Netflix and absolutely fell in love with her. She's this charismatic scientist who paved the way not only for female empowerment but ocean awareness during the seventies. She also has many books she's written The world is Blue, Sea Change: A Message from the Oceans, Blue Hope to name but a few on my Amazon wish list! 

I'm starting to think we can lead purposeful lives when we consider the welfare of others before our own, compassion acts as a mirror, the good we put out is reflected back in ourselves. I'm not sure how yet, but I wish to show my gratitude to the ocean and endeavor to try and be part of the change, surfboard in hand. 

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well

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

Autumn is pretty rad in my books not only because it happens to be the season of my birth but also because of the waves it brings to the UK coastline. To me it signifies swell that makes me jig in fright when I watch them on the beach, Northern pursuits with the LLSC (Scarborough surf festival and my beloved Saltburn to name a few) squeezing into cold wet suits, jumpers and warm tea post surf- what's not to love?! 

The fashion world tends to get a bit excitable this time of year frothing about AW14 trends and what not. Largely this passes me by fairly unnoticed but as my fashion conscious sister also happens to be a blogger, I was inspired by her latest blog post an Autumn look book which you can see here. 

With this as motivation I've collated my own 'Look book' albeit a surf themed/bohemian one (for readers who feel duped into reading about fashion when this is primarily a surf blog I can only apologize)! 

  

 

 

My inspiration comes from Mother Ocean, Free People Clothing and Spell Byron Bay...Ahhh lusting in a Bohemian dreamworld!! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well

Love

Top Tips for Surf Trips!

As much as surfing is about catching that perfect wave its also about exploration. Being the co creator of the Land Locked Surfers club means I've become a bit of a dab hand at organizing and packing having stayed in everything from tents, to caravans, to posh apartments!

Having made pretty much every mistake going when trying to pack for a surf trip (not enough jumpers, no waterproofs, forgetting my WETSUIT...yeah I've been that stupid before) I have a few fail safe tips for your next (or first) surf trip! 

1. FIND RADIATORS.

Go with 'radiator people' the kind who make you feel awesome about yourself, who you'll have a good laugh with and help progress your surfing. You don't have to find pro's to surf with, beginners with heaps of enthusiasm are just as essential to you when your first start. Having surfed both solo and with groups I'll always pick surfing with friends because it brings a totally different energy to your session and in terms of safety its always good to have more eyes in the water to look out for those rip currents. Make sure your with open minded and adaptable people, the kind who don't moan too much because anything from wild camping to flat spells can all be potential problems! 

2. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO.

When I organize a surf trip I do the following I ask myself the following questions:

- Where am I drawn to?
- Does it have consistent waves? 
- Is there stuff to do if it's flat?
- Is it accessible by public transport if needs be? 
- Can all levels get something from the break? 

Asking myself these questions helps me tailor a trip to accommodate everyone's needs. I often use magicseaweed.com as a source of inspiration or simply running a Google search to find reviews about potential surf spots helps. The real beauty of surf exploration is rocking up to breaks which feel far away from the maddening crowd. As several Land Locked members don't drive however I always like to make sure there's public transport near so they can at least get to the main tourist beach (after that we usually car share and ferry people across to new found breaks). 

3. LOCAL KNOWLEDGE PREVAILS 

Locals know best, respect the locals and you'll have an awesome trip. In all the surf trips we've done around the UK we've never encountered 'Localism' and that's having surfed everywhere from Scotland to Cornwall. There are good people everywhere and if you are friendly, polite and don't drop in you can make some friends along the way. Recently in Pease Bay we met local surfers who not only told us where to wild camp but let us use their boards overnight! Yes people are that cool!

4. TOWELS, TOWELS, TOWELS. 

Always pack more towels than you think you need, a wet wet suit is one thing but using a cold damp towel to get dry for three days is downright awful. 

5.  SOYA ALL THE WAY 

I always pack two cartons of soya milk if camping, not only because I'm vegan but because soya milk can be left outside a fridge and still be ok. 

6. PLAN FOR FLAT DAYS.

The burden of being land locked and a full time worker is that you have to plan trips months in advance with no knowledge of whether the waves are going to be good. You can always use historical data about a surf spot and seasons can help to a degree but there is always an element of chance when rocking up to a surf spot. In the past we've had a Halloween themed party in a caravan, hours of fun in a local leisure pool and visited an Aquarium when the surf has been flat. No waves is annoying but it doesn't have to mean a ruined surf trip! 

7. GET YOUR 'OM ON! 

I try my best to do a bit of yoga when I'm away not only because I get a kick out of it but because being flexible and training your core strength can make a massive difference to your surfing. Stretch before you go in and you'll protect your muscles in the long run! 

8. CAR SHARE. 

Surfing has the potential to not be so great for the environment if you travel miles and miles to reach a destination. If you have the ability to do so split petrol costs and travel in shared cars. That and it makes miles of motorway less boring!! 

9. BE OPEN MINDED. 

Heaping expectation onto something is never a good thing, try to be open minded remembering that every trip is an experience and every surf sesh is an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes I wouldn't surf too well and I'd spend the rest of the session getting frustrated. It was only when I stopped worrying about how I looked that I surfed well and more importantly had a good time! 

10. HAVE A PLAYLIST AND TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS! 

I think the title says it all, (I've made you a playlist which will stay up on the blog for a few days, this is the kind of stuff I make Mr Sunny listen to when we're driving off into the distance)!!

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well
Love

Let's be honest sometimes you don't always feel like a happy shiny person. Sometimes I find myself looking in the mirror and sighing, only to then scroll through my Instagram feed to see beautiful bendy people doing advanced yoga postures or gorgeous surfer girls wading into the sunset.  

The surfing world is rife with pictures of  lithe surfers/models which makes a pale English girl like myself want to curl up under a duvet. These beautiful people exist, of course they do and self confidence isn't about denying their existence its about cultivating a sense of worth. 

Isn't it hard to feel wonderful about yourself all of the time? Isn't it an everyday battle of ignoring someone else's ideals in magazines and just finding comfort in yourself? Confidence is a barometer which goes up and down depending on internal and external factors, we control that scale.  

Recently Surfgirl magazine raised the question about wearing make up in the water which was met with a deluge of abuse. I noticed that the women who criticized make up whilst surfing seemed to be the the ones who didn't wear make up at all, mostly because they appeared to have even, beautiful complexions. I understood their criticism, the ocean isn't a fashion show its a place for natural beauty and self acceptance. What I feel was massively overlooked however, was that some women (myself included), have skin problems which make us feel horribly self conscious. A tiny bit of make up is the difference between going out and feeling awful or helping yourself stop thinking about your skin by blurring the imperfections. In the same way we chose to wear clothes which make us feel good, make up is an accessory to life, not essential but great all the same. 

The collage at the start of this post is me doing yoga in a Newcastle Premier Inn on the way back from Scotland, I'm not looking particularly glamorous neither am I doing advanced postures, just a few foundation moves to get my mind and body back in balance. 
Make up and coiffing your outward appearance are surface things which can bring you temporary confidence, but real, enduring confidence comes from appreciating yourself through mindfulness. It sounds cringe but you have to consciously chose to think positively about yourself. 

Beautiful surf yogis go and do your beautiful thing! 

Stay strong, surf well 
Love