The Mindful Surfer

Ep.35 | Becoming Incredible

Becoming Incredible.
We are talking tricky crowds, in water triggers, calling out bad behaviour, on shore howlers and crisp clean days.
Are locals more ‘deserving’ of waves? who has a ‘run-in’ with a SUP rider and what happened next?
There is the Mindful Surfer mediation segment, celebrating sharing waves with good folks, getting into flow and rhythm in positive line ups, which all turns up the stoke machine to 11. We even bump into very mindful surfer Adz from @the_grumpy_surfer_podcast at the local for banging waves and good vibes.
Big shout out to Adam Amin for his recent bombs at Jaws.  Absolutely inspiring.  As well as Peter Mel who at 52 is proof that the best wave of your life is yet to come.
We chat high energy, dick heads, short-cuts, interrupted flow states and more all in Episode 35 of The Mindful Surfer podcast. Links in the bio and all platforms and smart speakers now.
 
 

Ep. 34 | Eating Elephants

Will and Liam, chat ‘Millionaire surfing’, overtraining, getting comfortable with boredom and eating elephants.
What can you do when you can’t surf?  Is there such a thing as overtraining and can Mindfulness help us through harder more lockdowned times?.
Will and Liam talk taking the small steps every day to get the improvements that will lead you to be ready. For life and for surf.
The Mindful Surfer segment focuses on breathwork and meditation and the boys mull the continual search for surfboard testing videos from manufacturers, where real surfers at different levels ride the boards you might buy!  With plaudits to @sbsboards for putting out more authentic and relatable footage. Don’t just buy a board based on how Rob Machado or Felipe Toledo surf it!
All this and more in episode 34 of the Mindful Surfer Podcast.
Mentioned in the show
@torrenmarrtyn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGdoJpCoItg
@mikeywright69
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwyOxZcSe7E
@sbsboards
https://sbsboards.com/
@lostsurfboards
@mayhemsurfboards_mattbiolos
@lysurfboards
 

Ep.33 | Judgement Days.

Back with a new season for 2021
Liam and Will are mulling surf, life and love as a new lockdown kicks in. Talking masks, risk,  the complex world and why being taught how to think rather than what to think is the road to an open mind.  How judgement on all sides and not seeing the nuance in situations leads to anger, labels and frustration rather than understanding and harmony.
Will talks Kaizen theory, making small improvements every day and surf triggers. The boys cover Wim Hof, New Years day swimming and getting comfortable with uncomfortable. After reading his Christmas gift, Aubrey Marcus’ book, Own the Day, Own your life, Liam is trying to dial daily gains from cold water therapy, trialling Bulletproof coffee and intermittent fasting.  Stay tuned for how this goes over the course of this season.
Can Will get through an episode without swearing, is carbon wrap on a board worth the money and does anyone have all the answers to life’s big questions?  All this and more in this weeks episode of The Mindful Surfer.
Mentioned in the show.
The Shred Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmpYrhuzg6Y
Dave Asbury https://daveasprey.com/
Aubrey Marcus - https://www.onnit.com/own-the-day/
Wim Hoff  - https://www.wimhofmethod.com/
Joe Disepenza- https://drjoedispenza.com/

Ep.32 | Archive: Mindless Surfing

The boys talk mindless surfing, strength training, boards, diets and lifestyle.
Liam finally discovers the joy of a new suit and Will isn’t surfing.
Find out why and more in this oldie but goldie.

Ep 31 | Your greatest wave is yet to come...

Episode 31 wraps up the first season of The Mindful Surfer Podcast.
Thanks to all those who have joined us on this amazing ride over this unbelievable and bonkers year.  Stay stoked gang and we will see you all fresh for season 2 in 2021.
As we wrap things up for 2020 we cover Progression, the rhythm of surf, whether or not barrel riding is ‘surfing’ and how to keep the gains flowing through micro improvements every day.
We chat Random acts of kindness, being stoked for other people and passing on a yew or two.  Tell the people you love why they are so wonderful and why you appreciate them while they are alive. Don’t wait until it is too late.
In previous episodes have spoken about surfing as Art,  you can’t do it wrong  but is it also dancing?
We look at the importance of Getting a surf coach if progression is your aim. Someone who can articulate the concepts of how you progress.  There are online tools for this now,  as well as wave parks that open up more avenues for progression.  As they have mentioned throughout the whole series don’t forget the power of on land movement, practice and functional fitness work.
Surfing is unique in that there is no feedback on how you are doing, you can buy all the same kit as the pros but no one tells you how and when to use it. Why don’t we do this as surfers as widely as other sporting communities?
Liam talks about prolonged sitting at work and how office legs and desk bum can be a blocker to surf progression.  The training starts way before the surf progression and how age does not have to mean inevitable decline.
Will breaks down how Barrel riding is different to surfing and how he hasn’t had the experience of barrels to ride them. The boys discuss what a broad church surfing is.
The show has explored many themes of the search for waves/happiness but ultimately Whatever you are looking for is looking for you and is always much closer than you think. As Priscila Guedes taught us. You don’t have to go chasing butterflies, if you look after and care for your garden the butterflies will come to you.
Dedicated to a truly wonderful, wise and mindful human. Mabel Morgan. 1925-2020.
Links from the show. 
Joe Rogan and Laird Hamilton. How to Stay Fit at any Age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMqSmj-X4ls
Jamie O’Brien and Carissa Moore at Pipeline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4BQJN7azsI

Ep.30 | All I Want for Christmas is Yew!

Christmas week is here and Liam and Will welcome in the festivity with song, laughter but thankfully no dancing.  High on the Christmas wish list is a Wave Pool but have the boys been naughty or nice? 
If you had 'perfect' waves in your backyard would it lead to complacency? Can you create that 'god particle' of epic wave energy in a man made pool? 
The boys talk about the convergence of science and spiritualty and recommend the recent chat between Dr Joe Dispenza and Aubrey Marcus https://open.spotify.com/show/0n7j2qseg6fu0Fj2dvzXVi
If surf is your escapism what do you do when it is taken away?  Is the power of scarcity part of the attraction and joy of surfing? 
Will and Liam chat surf strength gains, mind fitness, mobility and not getting complacent when you are well in mind body and stoke.
The Mindful Surfer meditation segment is back as well as Surf Media insights. 
Thanks for your continued support Mindful Surfers please follow us on instagram or leave a review to help us grow our community and show. @themindfulsurfer
Books and people that feature in this show.. 
https://www.mbphoto.com/artists/2-leroy-grannis/biography/
https://davidji.com/secrets-meditation/
https://www.instagram.com/aubreymarcus/
https://www.instagram.com/drjoedispenza/
 

Ep.29 | Surf Like No-One's Watching.

Liam and Will discuss their recent trip to @thewave England's artificial Wave park.  They have to eat their own words about surfing like no one is watching, as the usual photo service misses the very day that boys visit. Leaving them to only experience how it felt, rather than how it all looked. 
There is talk of expectation, ego, having spectators and other surfers watching every wave you miss, make or wipe out.  They discuss how the controlled environment helped Liam deal with the steeper take offs on the Expert setting and look at how much progress can be made by surfers at these 'surf-gyms' that provide the same canvas to practice on over and over again. 
The boys discuss the importance of choosing the right board, especially for fresh water and also how looking like a surfer does not a surfer make! 
Liam is stoked with his new (second hand) Luke Short twinny and how a connection with a board can improve your surfing and your experience of it. 
Try things, make mistakes, stay curious and move on. 
Will is blown away by a recent Lakey Peterson @lakeypeterson clip where despite all her success she is still as stoked as ever living the attitude of gratitude. 

Episode 28 | Chasing Mana featuring Priscila Guedes

Waterwoman, Innovator, Film Director and friend of the show Priscila Guedes drops in to talk big wave surfing, mentorship and her Chasing Mana film project. 
https://www.instagram.com/priscila_guedes_official/
The boys talk about their upcoming trip to the Wave, Bruce Springsteen, persevering through hard times, insisting on joy and of course peeing in wetsuits.
This and more all in Episode 28 of the Mindful Surfer podcast. 

Episode 27 | Nice People and Knobheads

In philosophers corner, Will and Liam walk through Lookalikes, nuance, cancel culture in surfing and the world of woke, before getting deep into meditation and mindful living. They discuss whether we have lost the understanding of intention, context and nuance. Looking at how  we are so quick to take offence and leap into extremes of reaction.  Does the ferocity of reaction to everything undermine the power of words and reaction for when we all need to stand up and be counted? 
Can surfing connect friends who hold different points of view and that getting along, understanding each other and being able to walk around in someone else’s shoes for a while is a good thing for empathy and understanding. The only dividing line in this world of ours being ultimately that there are Knobheads and Nice people.
Will talks about his growing surf addiction the more abundant surf sessions become and the eventual and inevitable impact of over training on the body. With the social side of surfing now often driving this desire to jump in the water as much as the endorphin rush of riding waves.
The boys mull how the back doors into meditation like music and surfing compare to simply being still and working only with mind and body.
Will and Liam look at the small steps required to make big gains and how starting with as little as possible in either exercise or meditation can build long term healthy habits. Being kind to yourself and being present enough to not get overwhelmed by the enormity of any task or improver journey and letting each micro move lead to macro gains over time. Everyone has to be begin somewhere, even the pros, but doing the little bits of practice and getting to a place of good enough leads to all those incremental gains adding up to mega improvements.  Remembering too that every day takes care, attention and practice.
Will runs the Mindful Surfer Mindfulness segment with a 4/8 breathing technique.
Liam talks about treating the fractures in his spine through a combination of physical therapy and meditation through mind/body healing. And yes there is some of Will and Liam’s woo-woo stuff in here! How movement, energy healing and care has helped him back into surfing without pain. http://remedialtherapyclinic.co.uk/
Will talks about how mindfulness needs an aware student and can’t simply be pushed onto someone and Liam highlights it is about opening up to newer experiences ad how a younger version of himself would have taken the piss out of him. The guys, chat about how all of the deep stuff intertwines with surfing to bringing it back to how effecting meditation learned from this can help deal with perceived states of fear, anxiety and mind activity.          
Will  raises delves into his insights on sleep and how surf media, if you cruise it too much, can start to eat into sleep patterns or your evenings.  Ending up in a click bait scrolling vortex. Liam discussed how he didn’t really do Social until launching the show and how he gets dragged in by this vortex too but when you do pick up a book, or a longer more meditative form of entertainment like a podcast you notice the difference in brain activity.  It is all too easy it is to fall into bad habits even when we know, as adults and mindfulness enthusiasts what the pitfalls are. We are human after all.  There are not the same spiritual and mental gains surfing social or the internet than real surfing!
Will and Liam agree that The only certainty is uncertainty and how surfing hard but being nice to people is the way to go.
Coming on next weeks show were we have Priscila Guedes dropping in to talk big waves and surfing in Hawaii. https://www.instagram.com/priscila_guedes_official/
Surf hard and be nice to people, people x

Ep.26 | "Screw what they say!"

Liam and Will chat to listener, friend of the show, all round epic human and true Mindful Surfer- Jacob Pacheco. 
He drops in for a chat about his life so far and gives us a snapshot of the documentary he is making,  which sees him asking the question – “Is life Accessible?” - taking on the challenge of 30 waves in 90 days.  He highlights how he is using surfing as a bridge to connect people, having embraced the ocean for his own growth.  In the face of multiple challenges, Jacob shows how he is a true mindful surfer with a passion to make his own access in life. If the door isn’t there Jacob will make one!  His lesson and one for all Mindful Surfers is -  if there isn’t a path for your journey then dig one out.
Like the legend he Jacob wears all of his challenges and experiences of life with lightness and good humour. He also tells Liam and Will about the times he has used the tools from the podcast to push himself and his surfing further!
Outside of their conversation with Jacob, the boys are discussing men in black Memory Guns, Liam needing some singing lessons and how we as humans have a habit of blaming equipment for performances rather than taking honest looks at ourselves. Especially when it comes to boards!
Ego gets an airing, as Liam and Will ponder the labels, the image we attach to ourselves and how ego gets offended if we ‘fall short’ of our own expectations.  Will references Jon Kabat-Zin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Kabat-Zinn and borrowing from his teachings to talk about ‘Wherever you Surf there you are’.  New destinations, conditions, waves can’t fix our shit if we haven’t worked that out for ourselves first.
Will takes his meditation and mindfulness exercises into the sea to combat overthinking in line ups. While Liam chats about how like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow there is no grand-finale or arrival at perfection. Rather we are learning to find the good enough in life and appreciate the here and now.  Forever enjoying the path not the destination and how challenging conditions thrust you sharply into that place as survival instinct kicks in.
The guys chat about the fact that mindfulness doesn’t have to be all about ‘scented candles and tree hugging’ as one of our listeners pointed out. Even though Liam is partial to a tree hug, but rather like Jacob you can wear spirituality and awareness with a light touch and humour. 
Please go and follow Jacob’s adventures and his 30 waves in 90 day challenge. We look forward to chatting to him again very soon.
https://www.pronetoride.com/about
https://www.instagram.com/pronetoride/