There are said to be 50 million surfers riding waves across the World.
It’s an aquatic activity that can mean different things to different people.
What surfing truly is (we believe) is a way for humans to connect with the Ocean.
Indigenous peoples have been riding waves as a spiritual and cultural practice across Polynesia, West Africa and Peru for hundreds of years - way before the first European coloniser’s first documented the Hawaiian tribes doing so. And whilst surfing has gone through radical changes throughout the last century, this is the essence of surfing that is undeniable.
Despite its spiritual roots, surfing is now a huge industry and the (so-called) sport is continuing to grow in more directions, but most promisingly, as a tool for environmental and social awareness and empowerment.
We’ve been teaching, coaching and facilitating surfing since 2009, in surf schools, camps and retreats, from the UK to Morocco to New Zealand. In 2020, we took part in Groundswell Community Project’s Surf Therapy for Trauma recovery training course and supported Reclaim the Sea to run their first surf therapy programme for female refugees in Plymouth.
How do you connect with the Ocean?
Want to explore surfing with Eco Yoga Surf? Join us on a yoga-surf retreat or reach out to us with any other equiries below.
Eco Yoga Surf are proud to have been part of Undercurrents - an indie documentary, released in 2019, bringing in ideas from the Blue Mind movement and the science of mindfulness and flow. It explores our relationship to the sea, to find out what happens when we pursue what we love. UNDERCURRENTS asks what the shared motivation is that makes us go back to the ocean, time and time again, despite cold waves, fears or knowledge of little reward.
About the film:
The film features Arlene Maltman, one of the first British & European female surfing champions and Natalie Fox, a Yogi, surf instructor and marine activist. Neuroscientist & Mindfulness innovator Dr Tamara Russell, as well as Blue Health Coach / Blue Mind Advocate, Lizzi Larbalestier both provide expertise on how our minds and bodies are connected to the ocean and how this can have a benefit on our health and well being. Throughout the film, they share their unique experiences and relationships with the sea and insights from the four characters are woven together to create an oceanic journey that aims to discover what happens when you follow your passions.
Undercurrents was filmed in Jersey (Part of the British Isles) and produced on a tiny budget by friends and creatives Bronwyn Harvey and Christina Baldwin. They set out in 2013 to create a ten minute piece about female surfers and their connection to the sea. Six years on, the film has evolved into a full length character led documentary. It became obvious to the two filmmakers that to document the beautiful lifelong relationship that one forms with the ocean, they would need to create for it the space it deserves.
Visit Undercurrents website for more info.