“How did you get your daughter to surf? My kid won’t go near a board, he’s too scared!” Says an old friend from Surfing Mums that I bumped into in the water.  Not infrequently, parents ask me how I’ve taught my eight year old to paddle out the back with me and catch waves.  It’s definitely been a process but it works because we are a team.  We’ve built a strong foundation of communication and trust that allows me to encourage her to push her boundaries and confront her fear.  Yes, she gets scared.  Yes, she tells me “no, no, no, no” as I push her into a big wave which ..read more

They say everything happens for a reason. At the time, I wondered why I was standing in an icy stream in Australia’s Snowy Mountains hugging 25 perfect strangers as tears rolled down my cheeks.  Yet, deep down I knew my path has followed my natural curiosity. In November, I spent a weekend in the mountains learning to become a breathing instructor.  I’ve taught breathing and meditation at my retreats, but wanted to take my knowledge to the next level.  In a few days, what I saw and heard completely changed my perspective on living and breathing.  This information wouldn’t o ..read more

Have you suffered a surfing injury that has made it difficult to get back into the water? Then this post is for you. I asked Fiona Peters to do this interview because I noticed she was having an unfortunate run of gnarly surf injuries. First, she broke her nose at Uluwatu and then she ripped open her feet in the Mentawai Islands. For some surfers, these injuries would be nightmares that keep them away from surfing for months, but not Fiona. She took time to heal and then got right back into the water. I know a lot of us deal with lingering injuries and confronting memories of the events that c ..read more

Since most gyms are closed and we are all still hanging at home, I thought I’d share a collection of my favorite surf fitness workouts from around the web.   While these surf training videos will be especially helpful if you’ve been out of the water for a while due to quarantine, you can use surf workouts to build your strength and mobility and really see results when you get back into the water. My surf fitness journey draws on inspiration from H.I.I.T. (High intensity interval training), yoga, breath work, and now the Brazilian disciple of gymnastica naturale which is a body movemen ..read more

From Chile to Oregon to Puerto Escondido, Katie McConnell shares how she overcomes fear while surfing big waves. Tell us a little bit about where you live and where you like to surf? I'm currently living in the north of Chile, in the heart of the Atacama Desert, a land of urchin-covered slabs and death-defying bodyboarders. This is one of my favorite corners of the world, and I happened to find myself here as the coronavirus pandemic started ramping up... So I took stock of my few possessions and decided to stay in a little room just steps from some waves. I only recently acquired a board, so ..read more

The Sea Hearts using their mindset toolkit in Lombok This mindset toolkit was originally designed for WaterWomen to use in the water as we navigate bigger swell and surf conditions that cause us anxiety.  But that was before COVID-19.   Waking up each day to news of a global pandemic, preparing your household for isolated living, and learning to social distance are now the most stressful pain points of our day-to-day life.  Notwithstanding, many of us have lost our freedom to surf, do our favorite form of exercise, or spend time in nature.  These elements are a deadly mix that can se ..read more

Here’s How to Chose the Right Surfboard: But, First a Love Story. I love surfboards.  I horde surfboards.  I buy and sell boards constantly.  I have bought and sold over 100 surfboards in my life and learned quite a bit since my first board, a neon yellow 6'6" Canyon Surfboard that I selected from the used rack at Hanson’s Surf Shop in Encinitas when I was 7.  I’ve ridden pintailed thrusters, fat keeled fin fishes, longboards, Simmons-inspired shapes, Tomo's, and foils. But throughout my surfing journey, one thing has stayed consistent: I really, really love surf-ridding crafts of all shapes a ..read more

“He still hasn’t turned:” A Breech Birth Story I was 37 weeks pregnant when I went in for a routine ultrasound. I was getting to the pointy end of my pregnancy; the part when your wild emotions make you simultaneously ecstatic to no longer be pregnant/meet your baby and terrified that you will soon be in charge of a brand new human who you’ve never met. That day, the sonographer just happened to be a friend. We chatted while she goo’ed me up and rolled her sensor over my bulging belly. “Oh no, he still hasn’t turned, this little guy is definitely breech,” she told me frankly. I thought to mys ..read more

ALL SOULS OK SOS HIT A REEF ITS 22:00 LOCAL TIME OFF PADANG INDONESIA WE ABANDONED BOAT NOW ON AN ISLAND NEARBY PLEASE CALL HELP MEDIVAC -.9500 LONG 100.1418 It’s 8:30 AM on a sunny Sunday morning. I’m sitting on the couch in San Diego, California, nursing my three month old son. I do a double take of this message as it jumps on to my screen. I can’t comprehend what I am reading. Is this a joke? Am I losing my mind? No normal person would make a joke like this. This must be the real deal. Just hours before, as I slept many time zones away, a group of Sea Hearts departed Padang, Indonesia for o ..read more

Welcome to the Sea Hearts Surf Progression Series where we tackle the tough issues that plague every surfer at some point in their surfing journey. Today, we’re talking all things SURF STANCE because getting your surfing stance right isn’t easy and is a lingering problem I see in surfers at all different levels during their surfing career. Improper surf stance causes all kinds of issues like a lack of balance, inability to generate speed, initiate turns, and being stuck with very kooky style. The surf stance problem isn’t limited to beginners and quite a few people who have surfed for years s ..read more