Mindfulness in tough times

As you're all obviously aware were in super tough times, beaches on lock down, car parks barricaded, sat at home fantasising about catching that perfect wave down by the coast on the sunniest of days. But the reality for most is of being cooped up indoors with little exercise, kids going wild and cracks maybe appearing in relationships, loneliness, boredom or all manner of other things.

I've prepared a list of things you could give a go! So here goes!

Viewing
Go find a nice spot, cosy up, sit in the yard, build a isolation den with kids and watch surf videos on you tube... My personal favourites are Dylan Graves - Weird Waves in conjunction with Vans and remember the joy surfing has brought over the years, these videos are excellent, i'd recommend The Time Travel Edition which is an excellent example of the joys brought by surfing and not taking things for granted! and the Eisbach Edition in Munich is Solid Videogold! to be honest watch them all they're everything that's great about surfing minus any ego, then pass this on to someone who will appreciate it! Sharin' is carin' y'all!!

Yoga
Next up as a surfer (or not) your body could do with a bit of a reset, and I know the man to help you with this. I met Liam in my café back in the winter who recommended i come to his yoga sesh, a lot of people had recommended yoga to help me with surfers upper spine compression, so i went to the session and it was very good! get yourself a space and  place your phone, laptop or whatever in front of you and do the session. it's great for achy bodies, tired mind and drained souls. If your enjoy it maybe donate whatever you can, or send him a message and say thanks, he's a very cool guy!
Yogaheim

Music
A while ago I was going through some supershit times, generally overthinking stuff, and my friend and DJ of the highest order Richio Suzuki recommended I find therapy in music, I'd DJ'ed myself for over twenty years and started to see music sadly as a working tool, after taking heed of his advice I started to search for a new sound that excited me, and found a post on Magic Seaweed about Neil Halstead which became my surf soundtrack, but also helped me enjoy other genres. Think of the mood you're in and find a mix to suit whether it's 90 house bangers, coastal chill, folk or some golden era hip hop and spend the time enjoying the music. (I'd love to hear what your recommendations (old or new) are in the comments section below!

Pull out the decks or record player, stick on some vinyl and kick back (or let loose, you decide!), have a mix or a bang on a cd and dedicate some time to getting immersed in music, dance like no-ones watching and even if they are keep dancing, get them involved.

Remember what you love about music, dig up some memories, share you finds with mates, do a top ten and post it so others get involved!

Food & Drink
While you have some time on your hands learn something new in the kitchen, this week we'd took it upon us in our house to learn to make bread (if you're lucky enough to have yeast and flour) but there's a wealth of resources, tuition, online cook sites etc to learn new stuff, and the best way to kick anxieties ass is by putting some good hearty soul food in tha' belly.

Eat round the table if your lucky enough, at meal times sit together, savour the flavour, have a laugh and enjoy the company.

Take the opportunity to top up on water, drink loads of the stuff, it's free straight out of the tap. Take it easy on caffeine as this last week it's been super easy to consume silly amounts of coffee and tea (which is rammed with caffeine) as you may or may not be aware caffeine is like rocket fuel for anxieties, just sayin!

Get Creative
Whether you have are a St Martin's star student or a occasional dabbler... Arts, craft and creativity provides the greatest therapy whether it's Shabba Chic'ing up an old piece of furniture or getting into some illustration, a spot of mindful colouring or doing some continuous line portraits with the kids it's mega good for the soul. hop on Pinterest and find some inspiration - Check out my pinterest board HERE for some ideas and wallow in other people creativity, fuel up on ideas!

Non-Social Media/Reading
This week, I'm sick of social media, constant noisy video pop ups, negative vibes from all angles. So I've took the time to find you some online magazines from all over the globe from Russia to Helsinki, California to London Town, full of diverse, rich content, fantastic music and mixes, visual treats from photography to art, design to architecture.

The Calvert Journal: A New Guide to the East: https://www.calvertjournal.com/
It's Nice That: Championing Creativity: https://www.itsnicethat.com/
Friends of Friends: https://www.freundevonfreunden.com/
Melted Magic Club: https://meltedmagicclub.com/
The Grand Tour: https://www.grandtourmagazine.com/
Proper Mag: https://www.propermag.com/
Nature Makes Us Better: https://naturemakesusbetter.co.uk/

Enjoy! Any recommendations, bang them in the comments box, ta!

Call Your Mates!
This is the last one! Remember to phone up your mates, a real phone call not an half arsed message but a real old skool phone call, check up on your crew to see how they are doing, it's important... Have a laugh, you can add a little connectivity to your call but using facetime, skype, zoom or even the video conference in messenger where you can have a full gang get together.

IMPORTANT BIT!

Segregate your time!!!
Be mindful of what your doing, whether it's enjoying eggs on toast, doing some Joe Wicks PE with the kids, calling your friends, don't try and multitask (this isn't work!, goddammit!) enjoy each activity for what it is!

The Comfort Zone

As per usual I woke up on my day off and I'd usually go out early and catch some waves but the UK is in a gutter media hyped gammon-frenzy over that bloody Storm called 'Ciara' which isn't even a proper name, Hurricane Gary sounds much more threatening but after researching there is a weird non-storm sized pocket over the Tyne Coast. I'd popped to the cafe where I work and just hung about feeling incredibly bored and restless as hell.

The Met Office had advised not to go out but I thought they'd just got it wrong today... It was warm, with a bit of very normal rain. I got home and decided to throw caution literally to the wind and head East to Tynemouth, it could have been a mass of awful white froth or as I expected it was a vision of clean but windy as hell (think of getting pressure washed in the chops at close range).

As per usual I parked up and almost handbraked the car into the parking bay with childish excitement, rapidly slid into my wetsuit like that bit on Wallace & Gromit, applied a li'l extra sexy wax to the board and walked/legged it to the midsection of the beach, and boy it was good!

Now usually i'd be a bit apprehensive, I have two kids and I have to try to keep the recklessness in check but I approach the beach and it was well busy from end to end. I got in, got on and caught some crackers, some of those walls of water were super daunting for a newb! I got out, walked 100 metres down the beach and decided to get back in, used my remaining energy, then got out walked 100 metres up the beach and got back in again, each time it was sweet!

So let's look at comfort zones, If I hadn't stepped out of the C.Z. today and wallowed under the grey clouds, I wouldn't have experienced some lush waves under some moody skies and a full rainbow arch. I'd have sat at home being distant, wishing I was surfing being all moody and no fun whatsoever, I also wouldn't have experienced the immense happiness as I stood besides the van looking back at the sea watching a red moon rise over the North Sea.

One of the comfort zones I overcome was making myself a target to surf through winter (all the way through and... enjoy it!) not only do I enjoy it, I actually love every single minute of it... The cold, the pushing through angry waves, the falls, the fear and the occasional epic progression points like a sweet pop-up or that feeling when it just clicks!

A Sunrise Surf Session

Saturday was the day I started yoga, after a spontaneous invite we spent five hours learning techniques and creating personal routine relevant to my lifestyle concentrating on stretching hamstrings and alleviating neck compression amongst a lush small group of likeminded folk in cool little flat right in the centre of Newcastle. We practiced sun-salutations (which I will later develop in surf salutations with a few tweaks focused upon my surfing development) The workshop finished around 4 and I felt like I’ve never felt before, I said my farewells and I walked directly into the sunset besides the high level bridge, loose joints, clarity and a new sense of focus, pain free and generally feeling great about myself.

At the start of the workshop we discussed ‘our day’ and ‘general feelings/mood’ and the factors which affected these, from work to people and place. This made me consider where I spend my time and what I do with my day. One thing this made me think about was getting get in some real early pre-work mornings over the next week from the 22nd as the surf report looks mighty fine.

We’d organised Marc’s first surf at sunrise in Longsands, Tynemouth, an early rise and a drive down an empty coast road racing to reach the early sun as it’s climbs over the horizon the temperature sat uncomfortably at zero degrees on the frost covered vans thermometer, Marc was waiting outside his house eager to try out his new wetty as we pulled up on Longsands Bank at 7.30am. The waves were sizeable (maybe a little large for a debut). As we walked to the beach across a slippy pavement, fingers freezing then straight into the water (which was warmer than the outside temperature). The current was strong and a tad hard to get through some powerful waves to the ‘good stuff’ further out but well worth the push.

One thing summed up surfing to me today as I had an eye out for my mate Marc who borrowed my sons bright yellow foam board, as I watched him tackling anything from turbulent white froth to vertical walls of surf, But the bit where he bravely/naively (delete as applicable) took a huge wave and got catapulted about three metres then disappeared made me slightly nervous to say the least, but within seconds he jack-in-a-boxed out of the water wearing a massive smile which was a relief... the waves were super crisp today and the sunrise developed into a sight never to be forgot, comparable to an Ibizan chill out LP cover, as the sun rose the whole sky turned a faint pink, and the sea started to fill with eager swell addicts, didn’t catch as much as I’d liked today getting mangled in some brutal breaks twisting my elbow but it’s noticeable how fun masks pain very effectively indeed.

One point that stuck out was trudging back into the green waves when eight or so swimmer in just trunks and bathing costumes shrieked and laughed as they entered the sea, which made me laugh how hardcore these folk are, the endorphins must be incredible when getting back out and getting

We called time after about an hour (it anyone’s guess how long as nobody had a watch on) as my physical energy was comparable to Smithers from the Simpsons, the place was starting to fill up with morning dog walkers. As we discussed what had just happened before preparing to get out of those lush warm wetsuits, and bearing the temperature drop to get changed. Popped over to Coast for the obligatory mocha and a bacon sandwich drenched in HP before dropping off a pleased looking Marc and heading home for 10am feeling I had achieved more in a morning than I ever had before, leaving a lush long day for dog walks, coffee and chinwags.

 

Did anyone mention anxiety?

Rain Clouds Gather...

Everyone's left the house and i'm still laid in bed on my day off with Wilf the dog as a convenient hot water bottle replacement. I'm wasting time, I've even had a look on Magic Seaweed to see if it's worth the drive over to Longsands or South Shields and I decided if I pack the van up with gear I can decide a little later.

Today is a day I could REALLY do with a surf, but it looks a bit flat, there are black dots lining the lip of the sea but they seem to be sat waiting around for yonks. A grey cloud of self doubt hovers around me as I move around, questioning what am i doing with my life, am I gonna make things work at the café or is it a means to an end? (that sounds like an harsh/rash question to ask yourself but that's how my head operates at present) if I go surfing I'll get a couple of hours of free time to think clearly, reflect and calm my trademark hyperactive mind which in turn might provide some clarity or at least a break from all the perpetual uncertainty. As I write this i'm sat in Jesmond in a café then abruptly decided to head for towards my good friend - the sea.

Praia de Longsands on the Geordie Riviera

I hit the lip of Longsands just outside the Grand Hotel and see many unexpected lush waves, clean long and regular, totally unforecasted as I pull up there's Womp in his tiny Peugeot 106 crammed full of 'surf stuff' so we chat for a while then we head out together both opting for 'foamies' and quite frankly turns out to be an excellent choice filed under 'f' for fun, he encourages me with what he refers to as 'peer group pressure' to swim out further and the waves are incredible, easy to pick up, but last night I went to a circuit training class and I'm struggling to really 'pop' as my thighs feel like I've been holding the world on my shoulders... oh wait a minute!

Watching Womp

Last night I'd finally repaired my decaying winter wetsuit after relentlessly tolerated direct contact with the winter swell via a growing hole just above my derriere and low and behold it's worked and i'm surprisingly warm as well as saving £350 on a winter suit which I frankly don't have. Remember before when I talked about the grey cloud, well I don't! as I'm totally immersed in the North Sea, mentally, physically and spiritually having the time of my life. The only grey clouds are above and it's raining torrentially, on land this is not most people's idea of good weather but out here it's a thing of visual beauty.

So drenched i'd be better off in the sea

My arms soon don't have the strength to keep me in the deep so I call time, wave to the man and use my board like a bodyboard for a free lift to the shore. It's now that I realise it's actually raining cat's n' dogs, i'm soon wetter than when I was on the surfboard, but things feel good, I struggle to get dressed as my hands have turned into useless cold blue blocks and for a while sit listening to the very apt Bedouine in the van and prepare my journey back to the 'Eeeeeeed! (Gateshead to those that are curious!)

Why I Started Surfing...

At the age of 44 I started to surf (aroundabout late Summer 2019), maybe on impulse or maybe it's always been there just waiting for the right time to dip my toe in. I've been told by a few folk I'm having a mid-life crisis (I assure you i'm not!), this rapidly developed into a nothing short of a full-on addiction.

Throughout 2019 (for reasons I won't go into) I started to suffer from spiralling bouts of anxiety of varying levels often followed by a bluesy depression and self doubt this would switch off my creative spark. I'd spoke to people about surfing before and decided to start the wheels turning to give it a go, saving a little cash to buy a second hand surfboard which i found on Facebook Marketplace, and a cheap wetsuit (which i thought was awesome at the time, looking back this wasn't the case) i started gradually improving my equipment, adding in warm boots and gloves and a balaclava type thing/surf hood as the months progression and as the temperature dipped each with every month, the colder it got the bigger the reward.

I found each time I decided to go surfing (some points during summer this would be every day!) my symptoms would subside temporarily, as I started the routine of filling up the van with boards and wetsuits etc, checking all the gear was present, and heading over the car congested flyover, out of Gateshead and down the coast road, breaking free into Tynemouth sometimes in the summer mornings then winter afternoons/evenings. I'd pull up on the bank at Tynemouth Longsands alongside the other surfers (some newbies, mainly intermediates and beyond) and swimmers on a morning (these don't generally wear wetsuits as they power through the icey waters), get changed into my gear, go get a parking ticket, wax up the board frantically as not to waste time or waves, survey the waves for a while and head out into the non-tropical North Sea waves hoping to catch anything that comes in my direction (true sign of a surf novice) until my energy eventually runs out, then shower off my board, push up the hill with a huge grin on my face, maybe say hello to other surfers and ritualistically get changed in the back of my cramped Citroen Nemo as the endorphins started to rush through my veins and head towards Tynemouth Village for an incredible Chip Stottie from Longsands Fish Kitchen (This is the reason i'm not ripped or sporting a sixpack... really!) and a Mocha at Coast until I regained the feelings in my hands. 1 - 2 hours of uninterrupted mindfulness amongst the cold waves between the beach and the sky, no phones, no worries and certainly no hassle. Nothing short of perfection.

Through my chunky thirties I've struggled to get lean, with a dad-hunch and pot belly to match it's took just 6 months of surfing and my back has straightened, i've lost a nearly a  full stone in weight and built some nice upper body strength which in turn has improved my mental state, I still get anxious and sometimes I feel a bit down, but at least I now know where the off switch is!

A Longsands Love In!

Over the past six months I've been surfing (Not sure I'd mentioned it before! Lol...) in the quest for happiness, to alleviate growing mental pressures, seek some solitude, switch up my friend circle and scenery a little, dive literally head first into nature and get fit while having a laugh in the bitterly cold North Sea.

I take a few photos each time I go surfing predominantly at Tynemouth, Longsands or Saltburn. I'm just working out how to get some photos in the sea, I've seen some incredible sunsets, downpours and rainbows and would love to share them for all to see, If anyone has any suggestions on what to use drop a message in the comments box.

If you would like to get together (whatever your ability) or start surfing get in touch (in season you can often hire gear from a few places at Tynemouth or Saltburn) I'll also be starting a facebook group up soon so people with spare gear/boards can lend or share, carpool or even swap skills and advice to others wanting to jump in the Ocean.

Super Stoked!

Surfing today was hands down the best fun I’ve had in ages! Thought it was still light (from the sea it looks much lighter on the beach) until I got out and realised how dark it was. I've met new mates and caught up with a few old ones - Progression wise, I'm moving at a decent rate with more standing and a need to formulate a before and after stretching routine for my shoulders, and some good core/upper body strengthening exercise (any ideas welcome). 

The offer is still open if you want to come surfing around the North East just say, there's always room people!!