Waves of Wellness Surf program
5.5.23
In life, we all struggle. We have good times and bad. The good times keep us happy, enhance our quality of life and keep us motivated, but the bad times are what help to shape us and allow us to grow and be better.
For some people (including me), the bad times can be very painful - I've had my fair share of them. There have been extended periods of time that I have found myself quite depressed and nothing could really change this state. As I've grown older, I have implemented strategies to deal with these mental states and maintain homeostasis. Throughout my undergraduate, I dealt with the bad mental states by running.
Since moving to Wollongong in 2020, my day-to-day mental health has significantly improved because I've completely changed my lifestyle. Being at the beach and in the surf everyday has a positive impact on my attitude and wellbeing. Being able to immerse myself in nature allows me to feel more peaceful, and quieten my mind. Being apart of the North Gong community has improved my feeling of connectedness - of being apart of something greater than myself. These are major contributors to the quality of my life.
Research can support my claims here.1 While, it is well-established that regular physical activity can enhance our moods, being in the ocean has added benefits. Maybe it has something to do with the crashing waves, the need to constantly be aware of the conditions or the feeling of greatness from using the natural energy of the earth to propel forward? Whatever the reason is, the idea behind a "surf therapy" is that learning something new can effectively boost the mood. By mastering a skill and sharing this experience with others, you are fostering a positive mind-set. Yet, for me, it is more than learning. Being out on the surf - watching the waves and staying focused to catch a good wave is a kind of meditation.
Now you know. I've discovered the importance of the surf on my mental health. But it's not just me, there are others too: The surf community. There are people who have even started up a community program based on this idea - entirely free, called waves of wellness.
Waves of Wellness (WOW) is a non-profit organisation funded by Movember to improve mental health of males and introduce the idea of surf therapy. This is an Australian wide program that tries to offer 80/20 surf lessons (80% male, 20% female), in an attempt to improve the mental health of males. It is a free program offered to the community.
I heard about them through North Gong Daily and I often watched them at North Wollongong beach, while I #paddled the racing mal. Since I've always wanted to learn to surf but was never motivated, I joined their waiting list.
A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Donna (the organiser), who offered me a spot in the WOW program. This time around, it was based out of Sandon Point -- no suprise because North Gong is a terrible place to learn as the waves are very dumping.
On Thursday, 4 May 2023, I showed up to the trailer located at Sandon Point at 6.30 am. There was a group of 10 people (80% males) and we talked for 40 minutes about mental health and then hopped in the water to get comfortable in the water. Carmen (with help from Finn) is the surf instructor who is very patient and is filled with good tips and tricks.
All in all, it was a great session and while I am already comfortable in the surf, this program is motivating me to learn to surf - something that I've always wanted to do but always put off.
Img caption. Week 1 of the WOW program.
The Organisers are amazing people, very kind and only in it to improve the lives of others. I highly recommend this program - join the waitlist and you will not regret it.
11.5.23
This morning, I showed up to the yellow trailer at Sandon Point beach at 6.20 am. I put my wetsuit on and ugg boots/oodie (it was a fresh morning), and then the group headed down to the sand. We sat in a circle and talked about life stresses. Some of the people in the group shared really deep information: about suicides, trying to get pregnant, redundencies, PTSD. I felt kind of bad talking about the stresses of my PhD with all this stuff happening in everyone else's life. It really puts my grief into perspective; that it's really not that bad. It's also another example of people looking great on the outside but being in a lot of pain on the inside. You never really know what people are going through.
Around 7.15am, we did a breathing exercise and then practiced onland popping. The trick is to put your hands in line with your chest/ribs, do a small pushup, then bring the backfoot forward slightly and your front foot shoulder width to the back foot. Both feet should be pointing to the edges and not in a "warrior two" position (as I thought it was previously).
Since the surf was really big today, we only surfed the white water. I managed to stand up for a few waves. It felt really great to stand up and feel that I am improving.
Img caption. Week 2 of the WOW program.
18.5.23 Week 3 of the WOW surf program. I showed up at the van around 6.15 am, put my wetsuit and rashie on and when everyone was ready, headed down to the sand for a session about "Relationships." It was an in depth talk to recognise the people in our lives who support us. I spoke of Nick and how he makes me better everyday: he makes me grow, keeps me calm and pulls me back to Earth when my head is in the clouds.
After this discussion, we headed straight out in the surf. I think today I did very well, I caught lots of waves and even stood up on a few!
Img caption. Week 3, Half way. Getting ready to go out in the surf, and practicing the pops.
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25.5.23
Today was a lovely morning for learn-to-surf. I arrived at Sandon Point beach at 6.15 am to see the beautiful orange tints of the morning sky. After completing my morning wordle, I headed over to the Yellow Happy Days surf trailer and put on a wetsuit/rashie.
Img caption. Week 4 of the WOW program: Early risers reward.
Once everyone was ready, we all headed down to the beach and spoke about mindfulness, with some meditation afterwards. Then, we did some basic stretches and headed out in the surf for a group activity: walking across the boards. In this exercise, we lined up facing each other with the surf-board in the middle (long ways). Then all the surfboards were stacked side by side, so we were holding them together, like a raft. Next, someone got up and walked to the end and jumped off. We went through one-by-one. It was pretty fun activity but it was so cold initially.
Once the exercise was complete, I swam back to shore to grab another board and practice surfing. I was so keen, but this time I grabbed a shorter 7 foot board, which was more like the board that I have at home. At first, it was very frustrating catching waves. The balance was a lot different on this board. But in the end, I got the hang of it and even caught a few waves. The key piece of advice that I received today is to glide, just a little bit longer.
Img caption. Heading out into the surf.
28.5.23. So far, this program has made me love learning to surf. I feel this newly found motivation to learn and improve my skills, which I also had when I was learning to #paddle. From this program, I have set a goal that I will practice surfing on Thursday mornings (with WOW) and then try to cement skills one day on the weekend (usually Saturday morning after the gym).
1.6.23
Unfortunately, yesterday I fell off my paddle board and hit the right side of my body on the ground (the waves were very dumping at NW beach). As a result, I can barely move my arm or shoulder and therefore had to cancel the WOW program for today. This is very disappointing because I hate quiting and I felt that this program was something positive to look forward to every week. There is still one week left, but next Tuesday I am heading to the USA for a conference. Thus, the program comes to an end for me.
I feel happy that a program like this exists. I was excited every week to go and see how everyone is doing and practice my surf skills. All the people in the program were so kind. Special thanks go to Donna and Carmen and the crew with WOW for their kindness and patience over the last few weeks. It's because of this program that I feel more excited to practice my surf skills.
For now though, that will have to wait until my shoulder recovers and I return from the USA, see USA trip