An Amiga who joined us at a recent Southern Costa Rica Jungle Retreat took home the footage and edited it into this awesome video. We usually do the edits ourselves, so it is really cool to see the experience purely from the perspective of one our guests. Here’s what it looked like last week in Costa Rica!
Below is a very detailed and awesome blog post written by an Amiga named Kelly Fine who recently joined us on a retreat in Northern Nicaragua. To read the full story of her experience click here!
Nicaragua, Part One: From Sadness to Surfing
Last year I decided, with the help of my hubby, to finally do a surfing trip, since I was turning forty-five.
I convinced my childhood BFF, Kari, to join me, so we traveled to Nicaragua for a week during the end of May for surfing, yoga and other activities with Amigas Surf and Yoga Adventure Retreats.
Leading up to the trip I would tell people, “I’m going to Nicaragua to learn how to surf before my aching, aging body is unable to try.”
Responses varied: “Wow, that sounds awesome!” and “I would love to do that!” or “Why are you going there? Isn’t that where all the political unrest is?” and “Are you crazy? Women are stolen from those countries every day!”
But the haters could just keep hating, because I was determined to go. Never mind the thought going through my head as I got ready for the trip…”Am I having a mid-life crisis?” Who in their right mind would decide to travel to a third world country to learn a sport, in a bikini designed specifically for surfing that young women wear, and decide to have ALL their bits waxed in order to do so? Yep, that would be me and, yes, I probably am having a mid-life crisis.
So many Amigas come on retreats at turning points in their lives. New jobs, breaking out of bad relationships, or just needing a chance of perspective. We love to help guide you towards a new point of view and leave the past behind. Rachel did just that and left the week feeling refreshed and re-inspired.
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Cynthia joined us on her second retreat and drastically improved her surfing. She said that her first retreat in Nicaragua was the best week of her life, until this one! Don’t take our word for it, click play and hear what she has to say about Surf With Amigas Surf Yoga Retreats.
Kira Harrison is from Seattle, Washington and came on a retreat with zero prior surfing experience. She picked it up super fast and achieved her goal of turning and riding along the wave. Here’s what she had to say about the experience at Surf With Amigas Surf Yoga Adventure Retreat in Nicaragua.
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Alli is a marathon runner from Chicago who had essentially zero previous surfing experience when she joined us on a retreat in July. On the last afternoon of the retreat we pulled her aside and asked a few questions about her experience.
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A blog post from an Amiga who came on a retreat in January.
I just spent the most incredible week of my life in Nicaragua at a surf and yoga retreat. I suspected the trip would be healing but never anticipated that the ocean would teach me so much about myself and life itself.
Learning to surf for the first time was an incredibly humbling, challenging, and spiritual experience. The ocean is powerful. Surfing is complex. It is challenging yet oddly easy at the same time. The skill of balancing and joining forces with the wave’s energy was at times a frustrating and scary task. At one point, it even brought me to tears. The process of learning to surf challenged me to try, try, and try again. And then try some more. It taught me to push past my fears and self-doubt that were fighting to cloud my judgement. To push past those voices in my head that said “you can’t do this!”
In those moments where I rode the wave, it was absolutely magical. An experience of pure bliss and excitement.
Of course, I wasn’t alone out there in the ocean. I was blessed to be surrounded by a community of wonderful women. We all came together with different levels of experience and from all walks of life. Yet we all had one thing in common: the readiness to push ourselves to new limits. We learned from one another, got inspired by one another, and drew from one another’s experiences. We bore witness and brought compassion to the low moments and shared in the joy and excitement of the highs. We knew when to push ourselves and when to take a break or call it quits for the day. There was ample cheering when one of us made progress and encouragement or a hug when frustration ran high. And of course laughter when those all too frequent “wipe-outs” happened-and we all had them, regardless of experience or skill. No matter what was happening, we always supported each other in an atmosphere of love and encouragement.
I quickly began to realize that riding the waves were much like riding the ups and downs of life. Like riding the rise and fall of our various emotions. There’s no hiding from a wave when it comes, it’s the ability to flow with it that must be exercised. At other times, patience must be practiced. Waiting for the “right” wave can be a time-consuming process and you must stay focused to see when the right wave is headed in your direction. A beautiful wave can appear just when you least expect it. Learning to read the waves is an incredible skill. It felt like an impossible task to be able to predict the pattern-especially for a beginner surfer like me. As the week progressed I found myself getting better and better at reading the waves. At knowing which ones to paddle for, which ones to float with, and which ones to brace myself for and hold on for dear life. At times the waves would leave me spinning and struggling to reach the surface, leaving me disoriented and panicked. At times I would be riding waves and would be up so high I would laugh in disbelief….and then quickly fall off the wave. At other times, I was moving in synch with the wave, allowing the incredible power to propel me to the shore. Bringing my soul to new heights.
The ocean reminded me that just as with the waves, in life, there will be ups and downs. They are inevitable and not always predictable. Our task in life is to move with the rhythm and breath of life rather than resist or fight it. Our mission is to learn how to go with the flow. To persevere, practice, and try again. To rest when we need it. And all the while, to do so in a community of love, support, and encouragement. To cheer for your friends and give them a hug when they need it.
Simply Healthy, Simply Strong.
Lisa Tabrizi is a naturopathic doctor who is passionate on inspiring others to take control of their health and to guide others on a simple path towards health and wellness.
For more about Lisa, check out lisatnd.com
“Grom” = A young surfer, usually under 15 years old, with ample excited energy who always wants to go surfing.
A few retreats ago we had a Grom by the name of Julia spend a week in Nicaragua. You can check out the video footage of her here.
It’s always fun to get messages of thanks after retreats, especially messages that show such continued excitement and desires to continue improving. Here’s one from Julia.
Dear Holly,
I really appreciate all the help you gave me when I was in Nicaragua. I had such a good time and my surfing progressed so much. After every video coaching session, I wrote down notes so I could keep working at home. Also, thank you for letting me ride your amazing Dwart. Dad contacted the guys at Rusty and we are looking into getting one, possibly with the exact same dimensions as yours! Not only did I have a fabulous time surfing with you guys, I also had such a great time bonding with everyone at the camp, especially Jackie, Nikki, and Jamrock. I had such a great time that I cried when we left El Coco Loco and when the plane took off from Managua. Y’all’s taking the time to hang with me was really special. Attached are several pictures that Dad took that we thought you’d like.
Grom
We love getting thank yous from Amigas. It helps reinforce our feeling that what we’re doing not only provides a ton of fun and surfing knowledge but that it can also be more than that. We often get Amigas coming down who just really need to get away. Whether it’s a recent relationship breakup, job change, family heartache, or just re-evaluating life choices, sometimes it’s more than a vacation that people are looking for. Getting an email like this makes us smile to realize that we were able to help someone beyond just improving their pop-up. See below for Kathy’s message. Thanks Kathy!
I was definitely missing Nicaragua already when I got out of the airport to rain and 5 degrees the other night. Although I did get a pretty excited welcome from this girl (aka best snuggler ever), which mostly made me forget hammocks for a moment.
While I know you can’t take total credit for how awesome the other people in our group were ;), you guys totally set the tone for a supportive, joyful, trusting place. The fact that it’s paradise with a tropical bird chorus every morning doesn’t hurt either, nor do the great teaching skills both surf and yoga-wise.
Oversharing time, but it’s relevant. My dad passed away (cancer) in October, and while that was sad more than painful (if that makes any sense), it definitely ranks up there as one of life’s more stressful events. I was looking to get away, to turn off responsibilities and cares for a little bit and reset my happy meter, and what I found far exceeded my expectations. Don’t get me wrong!! – I’m not conflating surfing camp with Tara’s wilderness therapy (that sounds like a BAD IDEA for both you guys and anyone expecting something like that), but I found the week to be really healing. Having an ear to ear grin for most of the day, doing something like catching a wave, which just like dancing or riding fresh powder or watching my dog wriggle around on her back fills me with pure joy (oh wait, there WAS also dancing and watching dogs be their goofy wonderful selves!), being around people who are fun, engaged in the world and interesting and also are open and compassionate, and beautiful surroundings, good food, getting exercise, being outside all day…..those are my personal ingredients for some serious recharging and self-care. Which is what I MEANT to try to say the morning I left, instead of getting all teary 🙂
Thanks! y muchas besos,
Kathy
