Mindfulness and Surfing casts a fresh perspective on this popular sport, and explores how riding the waves can be the ultimate meditation. Engaging author Sam Bleakley takes us on a soulful journey across the tideline of his personal and philosophical travels. Through lunar cycles and river surfing to the Taoism of nature, he reveals an acute awareness of what the oceans can tell us about our place in the natural world. Meditating on one of natureâ??s greatest elements â?? its salty swells, flow and peaks â?? he shares life lessons in mindfulness that will be relished by surfer and non-surfer alike.
If only life could be like surfing! Having "funny" hair and being embarrassed in school is hard, but when little surfer Mop studies the lessons of the waves—breathing, letting the bad waves go by, and riding the good ones—he learns how to bring the mindfulness and joy of surfing into his whole life. Celebrated San Francisco surfer-journalist-dad Jaimal Yogis teaches 4-8 year olds timeless beach wisdom with the story of Mop, a sensitive and fun-loving kid who just wants to be in the ocean. Going to school and navigating classmates can be hard—but all that goes away when little surfer Mop paddles out in the waves. With a few tips from his clever mom, Mop studies the wisdom of the water and learns to bring it into his life on land: taking deep breaths, letting the tough waves pass, and riding the good ones all the way. With newfound awareness and courage, Mop heads back to land—and school—to surf the waves of life. With stylish full-color beachy illustrations from cover to cover.
Mindful Thoughts for Surfers explores how meditative a life on the surfboard can be. These 25 insightful musings will inspire beginners and experts alike. The immediacy of the surfer's surroundings and the interaction with the vast ocean and all of its wonderful wildlife creates the perfect opportunity to practise mindfulness. Sam Bleakley is an international longboard surfing champion and advocate for all forms of waveriding. With an interest in Buddhism and Taoism, he discusses such subjects as: Decluttering thoughts and identification Embracing imperfection The metaphors and parallels of the water with our lives The spiritual connection to nature Recovering from injury Heightened senses and the connection between body and mind Blue mindfulness, flow and resilience Through these subjects he explores how riding the waves is the ultimate meditation and offers an astute awareness of what the oceans tell us about our place in the natural world—if we would just listen. His illuminating meditations, each beautifully illustrated, make this book perfect for dipping into and offer a gentle gateway into life-affirming awareness for everyone. If you like this you might also be interested in Mindfulness and Surfing . . .
Sometimes life’s waves knock you down; other times, life might seem to sweep you along powerless. But the choice is always yours to swim back up to the light. Legendary world champion surfer Shaun Tomson and international bestselling poet-philosopher Noah benShea join forces to offer you insight on a path of purpose, hope, and faith. This timely guidebook alternates between Tomson’s inspiring experiential essays and benShea’s spiritual commentary that lift the soul, all accented with stunning full-color surfing photographs. After losing his son, Tomson walked the bitter road of loss and crossed from darkness into the light. The Surfer and the Sage addresses the eighteen relentless, breaking waves of life, from loss and aging to relationships and depression, and guides you to transformation. It is not a list of rules to follow that guarantee success, health, or wealth, but rather a collection of advice from two guides who have traveled far and wide and suffered deeply, but still look forward to tomorrow with faith and hope.
Dr. Goldstein takes the mindfulness approach of helping people to connect to the present moment one step further by offering practical techniques to make deep, permanent life changes and alleviate stress, ease pain, and cultivate emotional freedom.
Filled with cool surf lingo, this sweet rhyming picture book is perfect for summer at the beach and for celebrating the love between a father and a daughter. Kirkus writes, ''A most expressive chicken makes a splash in this winning title about learning to surf.'' - STARRED REVIEW
Surf by Day, Jam by Night is seasoned bluesman and surfer Ash Grunwald's deep dive into the extraordinary. Ash takes to the road, interviewing 15 of the world's top surfer–musicians. From Kelly Slater to Stephanie Gilmore, Jack Johnson to Dave Rastovich, Pete Murray to G. Love and many more, like Ash, these are people doing life their own way. Soulful and candid, these conversations offer insights into the lives and minds of some masters of both surfing and music. Spanning stories of heavy wipe-outs and heaving crowds and riffs on style, the flow state, career longevity and jamming vs shredding, this book is an often light-hearted, wide-ranging meditation on what it really takes to live your dreams. If you've ever found yourself in any kind of rut and wondered if there's something more out there, here's a call to wake up, take your life into your hands and dare to follow your passions.
Powerful feminist nature writing by the pioneer of women's big-wave surfing in Ireland. Easkey Britton provides a rare female perspective on surfing, exploring the mental skills it fosters, and the need to recognize the value of the ocean and of nature's cycles in our lives. This is an incredibly inspiring exploration of the sea's role in the wellness of people and the planet, beautifully written by Easkey Britton – surfer, scientist and social activist. She offers a powerful female perspective on the sea and surfing, explaining what it’s like to be a woman in a man's world and how she promoted the sport to women in Iran, surfing while wearing a hijab. She speaks of the undiscussed taboo around entering the water while menstruating – and of how she has come to celebrate her own bodily cycles. She has developed her own approach to surfing, which instead of seeking to dominate the waves, works in tune with the natural cycles of her body, the moon and the seasons. In a society that rewards busyness, she believes that understanding the influence of cycles becomes even more important – and we all have them, men and women. For Easkey, the sea is a source of mental and physical wellbeing. She explores the mental toughness needed in big-wave surfing, and presents surfing as an embodied mindfulness practice in which we can find flow and connect with the movement of the waves. She stresses the need to recognize the ocean as our most powerful ally when addressing our greatest global challenge: the climate crisis. Above all, Easkey’s relationship to the sea has taught her about the need to meet life and evolve with it, rather than seeking to control it. By such wisdom our planet might just survive and thrive.
Fed up with teenage life in the suburbs, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue.
Zen monk and coach Paul Loomans is the creator of Time Surfing, a 7-step approach to help anyone create more time in their life. “This book is for anyone who feels trapped by over-full, over-scheduled days. It explains how to escape the raging storms of busyness and find your way back to a more enjoyable and natural relationship with the clock. Time Surfing is a beautiful idea, expressed brilliantly in this beautiful book.” Tony Crabbe, author of international bestseller Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much Who has time these days? Any moments that haven’t already been accounted for are swallowed up by smartphones, social media and working into the evening hours. Stress can often seem to be caused solely by the outside world, but in fact it also comes from within. This book will inspire and guide you to choose peace as a basis for carrying out all your daily activities, whether at work or in the home. The approach is based on a step-by-step method called Time Surfing, which consists of seven simple and easy-to-learn instructions backed with targeted tips and techniques. Rooted in Zen Buddhism, the emphasis is very much on making the most of the time you have rather than trying to control time itself. The instructions – which include making time for “breathers” throughout the day and finishing a task before starting another – will feel instinctive, and will make it possible for you to surf over the waves of time. You will learn that you can trust your intuition when it comes to choosing what to do, and, as a result, your actions will be not only inspired but also very effective. The focus you experience will be relaxed and unforced. But, more than anything else, an inner sense of calm will arise.
