Category: oakland athletics

Weak waves, running for miles and Labor Day weekend

This past week has been incredibly flat! But when you are trying to train, you have to go out anyway. Seriously, the only thing that improves surfing is more surfing.

All in all it was a good surfing week, little crowds, 2-3ft zippy waves and 2.5 hours per session 😁

Then, I decided to go for a run on Saturday. See, my husband has officially lost 75 pounds and to keep us motivated we do these little challenges. Whether its miles running, intensity minutes or number of workouts, these challenges are all in good fun.

Well, since I have been surfing so much my running has taken a back seat, so Saturday I decided to run. And I kept running for 5 miles.

Now, I havent run 5 miles in about a year, so afterwards I was sore, tight, and sleepy. The only thing that is making me feel better is yoga 😁

I’m not sure if running and surfing are a good combination. Followers, what other exercises to you do to accompany surfing?

I decided to become a competitor

I would say I’m a fairly competitive person. I always enjoyed winning or placing in events, but when it comes to surfing it was nothing I wanted to compete in.

I guess that changed when I heard Women on Waves (WOW) was coming

back to Santa Cruz. It’s a fun contest, not to competitive. It’s like a color run.

So like any competition, one has to start to train. I have started to introduce my yoga training with Beachbody workouts again and of course a lot of surfing.

I’m excited to document my progress here as well.

Last Meridian Lip Balm and Surf Balm

* I was not paid to endorse these products. All thoughts and comments are my own.

You all know that I am now an avid surfer and yogi. Well, surfing and practicing yoga in colder weather just does so much damage to your lips and skin. Lately, I have been dealing with dry, cracking and even bleeding lips with no relief. I have also been dealing with dry skin, and even with all the moisturizers and sunscreen, still dry and cracking.

Finally, I found natural and organic products from Last Meridian that has been healing my lips and skin. It’s made locally (to me) in Santa Cruz. I tried their Northern Kiss Lip Balm and Surf Balm.

What I love about the Northern Kiss lip balm is it’s made from Beeswax, Cocoa butter Cocoa powder, Sweet almond oil, Local Raw Honey, Spruce essential oil, and Peppermint essential oil. All of these products mixed together smells great but also feels great on my achy lips. It’s been healing all of my issues, and I couldn’t be happier.

I also started using Last Meridian Surf Balm for actually everyday use. It’s an SPF 30, and I find the balm is more soothing to my skin and also has a hydrating quality. I have to wear SPF everyday, and even under makeup. It’s great for under any foundations or powders, and it’s not oily.

I’m absolutely in love! For more information on Last Meridian products click here

Petroglyphs

Visiting the Big Island brought a lot of Hawaiian history to my attention. First piece of history we saw were the Kailoka Petroglyph Fields. Actually, we were staying in a condo right on the fields, so it was easy to walk to. These fields were all over the place, and there was even a 32 mile horse trail filled with petroglyphs.

I enjoyed figuring out what the pictures represented and walking in the volcanic ash. It was totally like walking on another planet!

Happy Saturday readers!

Crafty Surf Contest Prizes

If you read my last blog post, you would know that I have been traveling a lot for work. Well, when I arrived back home this past Wednesday, I had a surprise waiting for me! About a week ago, I won a contest for surf swag on craftysurf.com, and I was elated that my package arrived 🙂

I won a bunch of Atoll stickers, Core Surf t-shirt and decals, and a beautiful anchor bracelet made by the crafty surfer herself. See pic below

If you haven’t already, check out craftysurf.com! She is also on Instagram @ surfswithscissors.

~Namaste

~Scrappy (Surfing) Yogi

Yoga Classes, Surfing, and the O’Neill Memorial Paddle Out

Well, it’s been a while readers! The reason I have been so silent, is that the husband and I moved into a new house which we are super excited about. Now that we are finally settled into our new place, I finally can share with you the  past couple of weeks.

First fun thing that happened over the last couple of weeks is that I participated in a community yoga class. I haven’t been to a teacher lead class in a long time, as my computer has been my yoga instructor, so it was nice to not watch YouTube. Between the move and surfing, my pesky shoulder blade was acting up, and a new fun South Swell was going to hit Santa Cruz, so I wanted to be in tip top shape. Luckily, the yoga instructor did a lot of shoulder openers and back strengthening, so I was good as new.

The surf the past couple of weeks has been really fun and we actually have waves! The waves are small, but with some South Swell activity, at least there is some power. I also have been taking the summer to work on certain surfing skills, paddling in particular, and have made a couple of minor pop up changes.

The biggest event that happened over the last couple of weeks is the O’Neill Memorial Paddle Out. Being a surfer in Santa Cruz and surfing regularly at “Jack’s”, I felt drawn to being part of the memorial.

The paddle out didn’t start until 11:00 am, but I decided to get together with some other surfers around 8:30 am to have brunch. To our surprise, there were already surfers in the water. We were warned that the memorial was expecting thousands, but we didn’t think surfers would be waiting that early.

By the time, we were done with brunch, the ocean was packed. I decided to not paddle out, but rather show my respect via the beach. Crowds tend to make me uneasy on land, so crowds in the water isn’t exactly a great combo for me.

Being part of the memorial is by far one of my most favorite memories. The sheer size of the paddle out, the beauty of all the surfers and boats, and the good nature of the crowd will always stand out in my mind. I am so grateful I could be a part of it.  Below you can see my pics of the day!

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

P.S. Thank you to Crafty Surf for the kind shout out! And congrats on your Liebster Award nomination 🙂

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Scrappy Yogi in Seattle

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This past weekend, the husband and I took a quick trip to Seattle. It had been months since we had a weekend away.  The only plans we had were to attend the Sounders FC game, but otherwise, the weekend was all free. The best part of it was our hotel was on the waterfront, near Pike’s Market.

While we did have a fantastic weekend, I want to talk about one experience in particular. Recently, I have been reading a lot of blogs about traveling alone and experiencing a place without a traveling partner. I read these entries with fascination since I don’t think I could ever travel alone. These people are so brave and I envy how they push themselves to experiences new things.

So, on Saturday morning, I decided to walk the city of Seattle by myself to grab my early morning coffee. I figured I would push myself out of my comfort zone, just like the people who travel alone. I know what you are thinking readers. I wouldn’t have to go far for coffee in Seattle, which is true, but I decided to walk down to the waterfront for my coffee; about 1 mile down the road.

As I started walking alone to the waterfront, I have to admit there was a little bit of anxiety. I have never been good traveling in big cities, and I am not a great navigator. I would be an awful participant on “The Amazing Race”. Luckily, I had my GPS, and the worst thing that would happen I would take a Lyft back to the hotel.

Walking to the waterfront was a beautiful experience. I took in all the sounds and people of the city. I saw multiple yogis riding bikes or walking to class, and a bunch of runners. I had a fleeting thought that I should join a yoga class, but quickly remembered I didn’t bring any of my yoga accessories on this trip.

As I walked to the waterfront, and saw the sun rise over the Puget Sound, all I was reminded about was that special moment when you surf the sunrise. That feeling of complete gratitude and appreciation for life.

After my moment, I walked back to the hotel, coffee in hand. I only got lost a couple of times, and managed to make it back.

Readers, I would love to know how you push yourself out of your comfort zone

Remember, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ ScrappyYoga

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

Random Writings: Water

I have been thinking a lot lately about water. Whether that be drinking water, ocean water or the rainy forecast; the topic has been swirling. I guess what started this random thinking about water was this work week.

This week has been particularly stressful. Long days, lots of emails and lots of project deadlines. Tuesday was the longest day this week and all throughout the day my co workers kept offering me water. I kept refusing since I had my own bottle (see pic above), but then it got me thinking: maybe I don’t drink enough water?

Honestly, it is a struggle to try to remember to drink enough water and I knew once refilled my bottle. Between my love of coffee and carbonated water (not the same as water), getting in the allocated 8-10 glasses is a project for me. Especially when my day is all work and no yoga or workout. This got me thinking on the car ride home. 

Since I knew my body didnt need the water for a workout or yoga, I didn’t bother to take care of it. I just focused on my busy day. When I got home, my head was pounding and I was exhausted. I’m guessing drinking water throughout the day would have helped.

Readers, do you struggle with your water intake?

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

Not being able to reach Samadhi (quieting of the mind)

Yoga has been a struggle lately. I have bounced back and forth from studio to studio, trying home practice and YouTube channels, but nothing seems to work. It’s frustrating when your yoga practice was perfect for so long and then to be thrown into an off track practice. It wasn’t until a recent yoga class that I realized what had changed.

While I was standing in Tree Pose, the instructor reminded us to evoke “Samadhi” or focus of the mind. Usually, my focus is spot on in yoga classes and I use yoga in order to not think about my daily schedule. But, this day, my mind was everywhere. I was thinking of surfing, running, work, marriage etc. I had no control of my mind, and therefore, I fell out of the pose.

In reflection, I remembered tips and tricks on how to quiet the mind during yoga. I have listed them below:

  • Repeat a mantra
  • Pay attention to the breath
  • Embrace you will not be perfect

Readers, what tips and tricks do you use to focus and quiet the mind?

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

 

 

 

 

Practicing Yoga with an Injury

Practicing yoga with an injury can be an art form in itself. I didn’t sustain a serious injury from surfing, but rather an injury that was more annoying and painful. See picture above for the photographic evidence.

I decided to keep practicing yoga anyway, not letting this huge bruise stop my progress. I did make some yoga practicing rules for myself though, ensuring that I didn’t hurt my ankle even more. Some of my rules were no brainers, but I felt it was good to remind myself that my ankle had a huge bruise on it. Here were my rules:

  • If at any time any pose hurt, you must stop the pose
    • This should be everyone’s mantra, but sometimes I do push myself into poses, so I felt that I should reiterate this mantra.
  • Do not put ankles together in Sun Salutations, rather keep ankles shoulder width apart
    • This was a hard adjustment to me, since I like to keep my feet together in Sun Salutations. I welcomed the new experience into my practice.
  • No bow pose or any pose where the ankle is held
    • This was my no brainer rule to myself.
  • Tell the instructor
    • I always tell the instructors when I am injured so they don’t assist me in a way that will hurt me more.

Readers, how do you workout with an injury, I would love to know!

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi