Tag: balance

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?

Kumihimo Japanese Braiding

Since my last post, I have still been working on my carved surfboards. I even added tiny fins to my creations, however my carved surfboards still needed a cord.

Luckily and gratefully, craftysurf.com provided me a solution: Kumihimo Japanese Braiding.

This braiding is a form of loom jewelry, and can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be.

I have been doing a simple 8 strand cord, but have also been experimenting with 4 strands.

I’m keeping my post short and sweet this holiday weekend!

Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Shaping Surfboard Necklaces

The recent weather has been cold, rainy and very little surf. In order to keep my passion for surfing going, my husband and I started woodworking. We started making surfboard necklaces inspired by my Koa necklace I bought in Hawaii. We also have experimented with rings, fish hooks and anchors.

Here is a pic of a surfboard necklace I hand shaped.

I then added a wood stain on the surfboard. I chose a more natural stain to just bring out the wood grain.

I’m excited to show you what type of cord I have been working on, once it’s done. I have been taught by the very talented blogger craftysurf.com.

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!

Valentine’s Day

So surfing can be a very selfish sport. I mean, I check the surf report multiple times a day, adjust my schedule to tides and pretty much obsess about my next surf session.

So I found this meme today I wanted to share with everyone from hotswell.com

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Going back to a studio yoga class

I have documented my struggles in finding a yoga studio that fits my needs. Either the yoga isn’t my style (Vinyasa), the class times aren’t consistent, or frankly, the yoga studio is too expensive for my frequency.

Well, I pushed myself to yoga class last night by a teacher who gives free classes out of her converted garage. It was a perfect night to practice yoga as well. It was super rainy and cold, and since we were in a converted garage, the rain sounded awesome.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. My muscles have been hurting lately and a guided practice is exactly what I needed.

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Surfing on a Sunday with Elephant Seals

It’s very rare that I surf the weekends anymore, mainly because the beaches are so crowded. This particular weekend I had to surf because the huge XXL swell was easing, and we have rain forecasted most of the week.

My group of surfer buddies went out a little earlier than low tide, just to get into position. After paddling and catching some mushy waves (or trying to), I was just frustrated in the area of the ocean my group was sitting in. I decided to paddle more towards the cliff, hanging out with another surfer.

We took turns on the shoulder of the wave, then all of a sudden this huge elephant seal came out of nowhere! If you aren’t sure what elephant seals look like, see the pic below. Picture courtesy of National Geographic

He/she was huge, and seemed to be following us. My new surfer friend and I decided to immediately exit the water to let the Elephant Seal pass. Strangely enough, he/she never really left. The Elephant Seal moved from the shore, to a rock, then back to shore. These are always good reminders as I am a guest in the sea.

Finally, when the waves started to break did the Elephant Seal go back out to sea. Readers, I would love to know what is your weirdest animal encounter?

Saturday Yoga

I’m getting ready for a pretty big surf session tomorrow, so I felt that today yoga would be a great way to relax and stretch out my aching muscles

Since I have been setting up more home practice than anything, I decided to dedicate a place in my living room for my mat. I thought this would be a nice place, especially with the sunlight.

Btw, I know my yoga mat is completely worn out, but I love it so much I really can’t part with it.

Today, I focused on more of a “warm vinyaas flow” to keep the heart rate up and stretch out my leg muscles. Today consisted of a lot of chaturangas, planks, and half moon poses. I also did some pop ups just to keep it fresh.

Happy Saturday!

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

To Surf With or Without Booties 

So, as most of you know, I’m a Santa Cruz surfer, which means the water is about 50 -58 degrees. A wetsuit is a must because of things like hypothermia. What are not always used are booties and gloves, your feet and hands might get cold but nothing extreme will happen. 

So the other day, while I was doing some yoga stretches and dry pop ups it dawned on me; I can feel every part of my foot. I haven’t surfed without booties in Santa Cruz in a long time, and my booties tend to be extra thick and padded. Great for ankle support, but not great for feeling your feet.

So, today was a surfing day. The swell was fantastic! 5-6 feet and most beaches, long period swell ans chunky powerful waves. We’re gonna get hit with an XXL swell by end of the weekend (maybe even Mavericks will happen next week). With the weather 65 degrees, I decided to go without booties. I wanted to see if it hurts or helps my surfing ability. 

Guess what? Totally did better without the booties. Of course the water was freezing, but I could really turn into the wave. And not to mention after surfing my feet were freezing! Guess that’s why Uggs were invented 😁

~Namaste 

Scrappy Surfing Yogi