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Surfen als een middel tot verbinding en zelfontdekking, los van competitie of perfectie.
Daar staat Surfgirls NL voor - en achter. Jezelf zijn, in het moment. In deze nieuwe rubriek gaan we (soms bekende) surfers aan het woord laten. Hoe is dat voor hen?
Today we are talking to Anna, who is from the UK. Hence the switch to English. We hope you enjoy reading about her experience with connection, safety and reflection; what it means to be an EFT practitioner (because what does that even mean?) how to deal with expectations, and how much it helps to have cheerleaders inside of her head.
I can imagine - and speak from experience - that an exited support squad is much more helpful than a strict judge attacking you from the inside!
In just a few days she will be hosting a workshop to introduce Surgirls NL members to the basics and we can't wait to hear if it exites you as much as it did us! For instance founder Ruth felt a big mindset shift after practicing techniques like Anna's tapping. Join the workshop here.
Meet Anna, next in the line-up!
(Vind je dat nu niet zo relaxed, lezen in het Engels, dan kun je meestal eenvoudig in je browser kiezen voor een automatische vertaling naar het Nederlands!)
Anna, what does it mean for you, to feel safe in the surfscene, both in and out of the water?
The obvious one is physical safety, which I've learnt a lot about on a surfcamp. Highly recommended, by the way. But for me, actually, it's much more the emotional safety.
And realizing that's a journey of self-trust. Surfing can be like a mirror. So things that come up in your surf are probably things going on in your whole life!
When you feel safe emotionally, it helps you stay physically safe, too. You can stay calm and present - instead of panicking. Yes, your nervous system will naturally try to go into fight-or-flight when you feel unsafe, even in a small wave. When you learn how to change that, everything can transform.
That's what EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) teaches us — how to sit with, feel, release, and accept our emotions. We always start with, "I love and accept myself."
Of course, safety wise, it's also smart to take classes, to learn the theory. To learn how the ocean works. It taught me a lot, and I would also say: don't go alone - and don't go to far out of your level.
Mentally, what you can change in the ocean, will affect you also on land! Don't underestimate the impact it can have on you; I don't think it's a sport. It's a lifestyle!
It's a beautiful thing and it teaches you so much resilience... It's hard work and perseverance and you know ….
…the surfing is also a complete b*tch sometimes ;)
Shit happens, the better you learn to recover from it, the better you are at taking care of yourself - whatever life will throw at you. Tapping might look 'weird' but it’s evidence based, science backed, and hugely powerful!
What else is surfing about for you?
For me, I try to view surfing as a fun activity. I mean obviously surfing is exercise, but I do my physical exercise out of the water. I train in the gym, I do Thai kickboxing, things like that.
The purpose of surf is just to enjoy!
Would you mind telling me more about the cheerleaders?
So when I was learning to surf in Sri Lanka, about a year ago, I noticed that I had some kind of drill sergeant in my head. I'd get off a wave and it'd be "you should've turned faster" and quite aggressive, quite hard on myself. "you messed this up, you did that wrong, it wasn't good enough".
It would take away the fun, the joy of being on the wave!
Then through the tapping, plus a lot of healing work, I started realizing that we can completely change our narrative!
We can change how we relate and talk to ourselves, we can change our beliefs and the stories we're telling ourselves.
Now it's like I have a cheerleading squad in my head, so ...maybe I wiped out and maybe it was terrible - but I'm like "that was that was amazing, yeah"!
Do you have any advice for women who are curious but hesitant to (re)start surfing?
Definitely I encourage people to give it a go! Making sure you're as safe as you can be with instructors and buddies around you, that really, really helps.
These surf weeks, the surfschool I was telling you about; really teaches you the etiquette, the theory, and for example how waves are made!
They push you into the waves and they really help you; correcting and explaining. It was a really lovely way to feel confident, to figure out what I was doing, and to share it with other people.
The other thing is to remember, no one really cares what anyone else is doing.
Not in a bad way, in a really lovely way! Like, everyone's just doing their own thing.
And, you know, there's that phrase, the best surfer is the one having the most fun!
I just want to be able to help remove the barriers so that it allows us to get in the water and feel that connection, that joy, that experience. And when we start tapping, we tap into our subconscious. People often find it really surprising what comes up!
For instance, I was convinced that no one would want to be my friend if I wasn't a good surfer. Which is mental, when you say that out loud. Surely I don't honestly believe that?
Can you imagine what it changes to let go of an idea like that?
It requires you to feel the emotion briefly as we tap through it, but because it's a somatic process, people will notice themselves having really big mindset shifts.
Cognitive shifts, where they've suddenly become aware: it actually doesn't really matter, whether or not I catch this wave…. actually, I remember how much fun I did have!
Anna and me talked about many more things; she knows a lot about false beliefs, feeling safe in your body; the things that happen to us women on land (in the real and the digital world) and of course in the water. I'd say join the workshop to find out more!
This chick has contagious energy, might have something to do with the inner support squad she created. Let's all get one of those!
Like, I'm absolutely going to get barrelled before I die. But that might be a while still.
Fotograaf & sparringpartner @frankbyrenee interviewt komend seizoen surfers over verbinding & veiligheid. Surfen als een middel tot vertrouwen en zelfontdekking, los van competitie of perfectie; iets wat voor haar nog altijd een uitdagend onderwerp is. Daarom gaat ze op onderzoek!
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