Nurturing My Spirit: How to ride a wave

I’ve lost count of how many times I had fallen off the board, been whiplashed by incoming waves or left by it (Yes, the waves can just quit on you midway!).

Sometimes I thought, “I’m too old for this”.

And then, all of a sudden after an hour or so of failing, I would ride the wave all the way to the shore and that one success is enough to keep me surfing again the next day.

I was really really (twice for emphasis) bad at it during my first 2 days. I finally got it come day three. Well, the third one’s a charm, right?

Aside from the coordination, strength and endurance needed, it really is a mind game.

Here are the 3 things surfing taught me:

1. FOCUS

"Focus Ma'am, focus.” I heard this line from my surfing coach ~70% of the time.

“Maam, tingin lang po sa shore.”, (Just look at the shore) he would instruct.

Of course, I didn’t take heed initially. My eyes would catch the good-looking surfing dude by the beach (I’m still bent on being a monk (or a lay monk for now) but my eyes still deceive me at times). When I get distracted like that, I would wobble, tilt and make a big splash.

“Sayang.” (What a pity.), my coach would say.

After getting tired of flipping over my board again and again, I finally disciplined my eyes to zone in on one point on the shore and that made all the difference.

2. RELAX

“Ganyan lang pala magsurf. Tatayo ka lang sa board.”, (Surfing looks easy, you simply have to stand up on a board.), commented my 62 year old friend who saw my photos.

But, surfers don’t start standing up!

First, I had to lie down on my belly with both hands clipped

by my shoulders and my left leg bent. Then when my instructor shouts “Go!”, I would push myself up with both hands, do a three- legged downward-facing dog (making sure that I don't bend my knee on the board), step my other foot perpendicular to the board, put my 2 hands up, bend my knees and balance on the board - all in 2 seconds!

It was very cortical at the start. It was a lot of coordination work and I had to balance on a board moving with the waves. Given all these, my instructor would tell me, “Relax lang Ma'am ha. Relax.”

I once asked him, “Paano ba magrelax? ” (How do I relax?) (when my elbows had to be at this position and my knees shouldn’t be like this and my feet should be like that).

“Maam, sundan nyo lang po yang galaw ng katawan nyo.”, (Just flow.), he answered.

What worked for me was to think of my vinyasa practice (cause the movements are somehow similar to getting up on the board).

Then, I would cue myself “Breathe” and somehow my body remembered what to do without overthinking.

I learned that relaxing is simply flowing and breathing through all the complexities.

3. ENJOY

“Maam, enjoy nyo lang po kasi” (Maam, just enjoy it.), my instructor would remind me.

***I was finally standing on the board after many failed attempts. I could ride this to the shore, I thought. Then, all of a sudden, my board stopped moving.

“Naiwanan po kayo ng wave, Maam. Sige po, try po ulit tayo.” (The wave left you, Maam. Ok, let's try again.)

***I was waiting for a wave and my instructor would shout, “Maam, kapit po sa board!” (Maam, hold on to the board!) and a gigantic wave would spank me so hard I thought my head flew off.

***I just fell down on the board and before I could regain my balance a big wave came rushing in and I tumbled inside it like a damp piece of clothing inside a washing machine.

In all these circumstances, my instructor only had one advice, “Enjoy nyo lang po, Ma’am.”

So, when it was time to head back to the city, I said goodbye to my instructor and told him,

“Thank you for teaching me to

focus, relax and enjoy.”

P.S. I would like to thank my surfing coach, Jay Quematon of Charlie Does Surf School for being very patient with me.