When you’re first learning how to surf, getting up is hard enough, but getting acquainted with the surfing community is another feat in it of itself. At any given surf spot, there’s a bit of a hierarchy. At most all surf spots, you’ll find groms, kooks, old guys, rippers, et cetera. Somehow they all seem to coexist harmoniously, but occasionally clashes occur. As you develop your ability to surf, keeping Sutra 1.33 in mind will help you to interact with everyone peacefully. It may even help you to grow as a surfer or yogi – what have you – at a faster pace.

Maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.

-Yoga Sutra 1.33

Sutra 1.33 is so brilliant because it is precisely how we all need to be treated if we are any of the aforementioned states of being. Essentially, each individual gets precisely the type of interaction that they need in order to facilitate growth (in the case of the wicked, no interaction at all).

Delight in the virtuous is an especially helpful key for unlocking the mysteries of surfing. If you befriend those that can surf well, they’ll undoubtedly give you a few pointers. Knowledge of currents at different spots, minor adjustments of the body while mid cutback, secret surf spots, etc. are nice little bits of information to know as a surfer.

Disregard toward the wicked is also a vital key for beginners to unlock. It’s inevitable, when you’re first starting out. Until you perfect paddling and reading the ocean’s currents, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself in someone’s way. Who isn’t wicked when their ride has been brought to an abrupt halt? If someone lashes out at you for getting in the way, don’t be completely indifferent. Acknowledge that you were in the wrong and apologize for any damage caused. We all need to practice non attachment sometimes.

Compassion toward the unhappy is largely ignored in the surfing community. Don’t take it personally beginners. All surfers hate crowds, and consequently they don’t offer much compassion or encouragement to newbies. If you want to receive compassion, go to the right surf spot. Different surf spots are ideal for beginners.

Friendliness toward the happy is absolutely crucial. Every surfer loves it when you acknowledge a sick wave that they caught, though they may brush it off. Those are always the best days in surfing anyways. When your favorite surf spot is firing, and everyone is just blowing up in their own way. I sneak into this category all of the time. Sometimes when the surf is dismally small, I’ll just take someone out to teach them how to hop up. I get a little high off of their stoke, which is selfish I know, but the sutras also tell you to mind modify selfish thoughts into selfless thoughts.

Pretending you are the other person, and acting out from a place of complete empathy is the key to all of the locks. So in those heated moments out there in the water, remember the four locks and their respective keys and you’ll be fine.

Both surfing and yoga obsessive types tend to get a lot of flack from their significant others regarding the time that they seemingly squander away doing what they’re passionate about. It’s easy to forget about time in both, primarily because of the omnipresence of that bothersome element water.

Well, water (whether it be sea water or sweat) does tend to incapacitate electronic devices. Losing track of time due to the lack of a time keeping device is undoubtedly one of the most common excuses for being late to important events back in the real world.

But clearly there is another reason for the slippage of time. Both surfing and yoga – if done properly – not only suggest that you embrace the present moment like a good self-help book; they require the individual to be completely enamored by the present moment. If the surfer or yogi detracts themselves from the present moment for an instant, there are a multitude of natural koans that will bring them right back to NOW.

Instead of a cute little literary inquiry that teases your mind into occupying the present moment, yoga and surfing function as a koan in a more literal sense. If you aren’t an inhabitant of the present moment, while out surfing, you can and will get decimated by a set wave, run over by a surfer who is infatuated with the present moment and unwilling to change their line, miss glorious barrels that you could have been shacked in, et cetera.

In an asana practice, the consequences can be just as daunting. If you let your mind wander into the past or the future, while transitioning between two strenuous poses it can mean serious internal injury. Pulled muscles, dislocated bones, detached retinas, concussions, and the like can all be incurred if the yogi isn’t paying attention to everything happening in the present moment.

To be completely honest, between surfing and yoga I consistently have minor bumps and bruises all over, little reminders of my lessons learned. I’ve learned to graciously accept the lessons that nature has to teach me whether it be through the ocean or my very own human body.

Funny how time becomes irrelevant when you’re so completely engrossed in the present moment. Nature rewards those that give their undivided attention to the present moment. In yoga it may be a beautiful sequence perfectly linked together or a deeper expression of a pose. It could be speeding down a tube section, watching on as the ocean’s maleficent hand cradles you. These are all external manifestations of something more subtle. They happen as a byproduct of the individual’s connection with something timeless.

Losing track of time is a tell tale sign that you’ve flown off into a deeper communion with your true self. We’re all undoubtedly better people for having used our time wisely. So, whatever it is that you do, be sure to lose yourself in it.

In both yoga and surfing, we’re really just trying to unite with nature. In yoga (specifically western asana practice) we’re merging with the nature of our own bodies, and with surfing, well, the ocean, duh. Surfer’s code and yoga etiquette are unwritten rules that exist within both realms of union for the purposes of preventing any obstructions from the yogi or surfer’s endeavor to practice or surf.

In yogic philosophy, the manners in which we should act outwardly towards others is referred to as the yamas. There are five specifically:

1. Ahimsa – Nonviolence
2. Asteya – Non-Stealing
3. Satya – Truthfulness
4. Brahmacarya – Continence
5. Aparigraha – Nongreed

These come first and foremost on the 8 limbs of yoga and for good reason. We should ideally be working on all 8 at once, but it definitely helps to have the first few down before working on things like Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses). It always helps to move from the gross the subtle, as opposed to vice versa. Can’t ever get too far ahead of ourselves.

This concept isn’t foreign to surfing. It’s quite prominent, actually. You’ll wear out your welcome at a surf spot real fast if you don’t abide by Surfer’s Code. For some reason I’m reminded of Pirate’s Code whenever I talk about Surfer’s Code. I suppose it’s akin. Both cultures historically are quite anarchist, but even in the midst of all of the chaos there is order.

There are the obvious codes of conduct:

• Don’t cut people off
• Don’t snake people
• Don’t paddle out in the middle of a peak (which is stupid because it’s harder to paddle out there anyways)
• Don’t be a wave hog

However, if you truly want to be esteemed or even revered at a break, there are the more subtle inflections to take into account. Respect the elders at that particular break. Be gracious and understanding to the grommets (wee man surfers with an over abundance of testosterone and corporate surfing paraphernalia).

The more diligently you apply each yama to your own life, the more you will reap the benefits. Let’s take Satya (Truthfulness) for example. The more you speak words of truthfulness, and refrain at all costs from lying, the more people perceive you to be a trustworthy perso

n. The more people perceive you to be so, the more trust they will invest in you.

The more you are respected at a surf spot for your gracious demeanor towards all, the more waves you seem to be allowed to take off on without paddle battles or grimaces staring back at you from the shoulder. Instead you’re waved into the wave by the fellow next to you, and those paddling over the shoulder grin at you.

Being a girl could help too…

It pays to be a person of beneficent integrity. It inspires others to do the same. As that energy radiates throughout the community, peace and serenity are manifest. At least, in the case of surfing, that yields more unobstructed beautiful moments of connection with nature.

So to quote Bodhi from Point Break, via con dios.

*And Namaste*

The ocean can be a malevolent median for the initiate in surfing. But what is one man’s complete and utter demise can also be a sanctuary of blissful serenity to another. The same is true of “life” in every facet of it’s bounty. Surfing offers up an abruptly literal translation of samsara. We all are constantly operating in a sea of energy; different energetic forces act upon us from different directions. Depending upon where we want to go, it is up to us to imbibe the forces we have access to in the present moment that will get us there. You must learn how to surf in the ocean of samsara to become a master surfer.

In reality, you are your own creator. You can surf in a world where you get pummeled every time you paddle out, or get barreled over and over again. You’ve seen those surfers that make it look absolutely effortless. They may not even be the most chiseled of surfers in terms of muscular definition. Just look at Gerry Lopez and Craig Anderson. A good surfer always makes it look easy. They make it look easy because they know how to enlist the assistance of various currents. They can read the contours of the ocean and decipher exactly where to be in order to imbibe the most energy that a wave has to offer. The best surfers almost seem to make the ocean bend to their will.

However, if you haven’t learned how to enlist the aid of those external forces to assist you in your endeavors, you’ll end up getting your ass handed to you. So often, when I’m teaching beginners, I find that people tend to try and fight the ocean. As if the ocean is going to give into your commands! The trick is in realizing that you are the ocean. To deny this fact is frugal and will only lead to your own demise. You are one with the ocean, but you are also a free agent that is capable of circumventing atrocious aggressors in the form of close out waves seeking to take you back towards the shoreline with a simple duck dive.

Bringing this metaphor back to land, I’ve found it increasingly helpful to view each and every person with whom I interact as a source of energy. It is incredibly important to determine whether or not the energy that a person is harboring is the type of energy that you’d like to tap into. I’m not endorsing the using of people. Quite the contrary. It is crucial that you become acquainted with the type of energy that other people are invoking. If you meet them at their vibrational frequency and they happen to be broadcasting a forlorn or downcast demeanor, you most definitely don’t want to imbibe that energy. If their energy is a human manifestation of sunlight, by all means meet them on their level and vibe on that.

Whomsoever you surround yourself with in life will directly effect the course of your life. They become a part of you (sometimes in more ways than one). But each of us is constantly changing. Concerning our physical makeup, we’re changing so much that we can’t even attribute a measurement of time to it. The most important thing is to maintain a steady awareness of what forces are surrounding you, and conscientiously making the decision to imbibe the ones that will help you in your life pursuits. We are all one, so fighting one another is as vain as picking a fight with the ocean.  So do as Bodhi says when Johnny Utah is freaking out about surfing at night, “feel what the wave is doing, flow with it, become one with it.”  Who knows, if you continue to thrive off of the positive energy that you discern out from the sea of samsara, maybe someone else will be able to feel that energy as it emanates from you too.

So the original Gidget strolled into town this week. I can’t deny the mixed emotions I had upon viewing her documentary at the local Fremont theater. She was, after all, the one that sparked the commercialism of surfing that eventually roared into the raging brush-fire that’s evolved into the even greater conflagration that it is today.

To be completely honest, I didn’t know who she was until recently. I followed the hottest boys in my fifth grade class into the waves, but my respect for the history of surfing and my desire to investigate it’s upbringing in America led me to slowly unravel her story. While watching the film, I was consistently surprised by how many stereotypes found their inception back then; not quite to the same extent as Spicoli in Fast Time At Ridgemont High, but nearly. Luckily for us female surfers, the stereotypes are generally ones that work to our advantage, most notably that of being graceful while dancing in the waves by day, and sexy while dancing with the boys at night.

One particular grad student, featured in the Gidget documentary, assertively made her thesis revolve around the feminist underpinnings that the Gidget persona conveyed. It seems like a stretch at first glance, seeing as the name Gidget is a variation of “girl midget,” but upon closer examination such actions back in the fifties were viewed as extremely radical. As the very first ambassador for women’s surfing, she was able to carve out a niche for women in the global stage of surfing. It’s a small place (almost as small the one reserved for the Brazzos), but it’s there nonetheless. She paved the way into a male dominant sphere of human existence, and I’m so very thankful for that because being surrounded by well-sculpted men in skin tight rubbers isn’t half bad.

The most delightful point in the evening was undoubtedly during the beginning of the Q and A. Linda Bensen was nice enough to make an appearance as well (another famous female surfer in the fifties that emerged from one of my favorite California surfing regions, Encinitas), and she opened up the dialogue with a heartfelt confession of her love for the ocean. I’d never be able to replicate it in its perfection, but it went along the lines of a sincere confession of her exemplary gratitude for the energy transmitted by the ocean crests she’s ridden throughout her life that has transversely emanated into every facet of her existence.

Some footage of Linda Bensen, just to prove that she’s the shit. Her surfing is so groovy!

My eyes were getting teary with empathy, when the interviewer superseded in order to begin the Q & A. To even be in the same proximity as these surf legends put me in a mental state of such great humility that it could only be akin to that moment in Wayne’s World when Wayne and Garth get to go backstage with Alice Cooper. Kathy Koehner was the inspiration for the character Gidget, but Linda Bensen was delving into the same untapped well of euphoria that Kathy was around the same time. One was able to take the credit, I have such a wealth of respect and admiration for both of them, that to quantify it would be a fruitless endeavor.

Linda took off before I could collect enough courage to succumb to groupie level and plead for a signature, but I was able to snag one from Kathy. She wrote, “I hope that you learn to love the waves as much as me,” probably because she might have presumed me to be one of those fools in the audience that didn’t know the difference between regular and goofy stance. Unbeknownst to her, I’ve been surfing consistently for 17 years (and I’ve been working on surfing in switch stance). My passion for surfing is the greatest passion that I have ever come to know in this lifetime, and I am certain that it will continue to grow exponentially.

She brought the female surfers out in droves. Perhaps, I can teach them all some surfer etiquette.

I’m not even going to go there with Jaws. We’ll save that for another time because I don’t even want to think about it. I wouldn’t even go into a pool for a month, when I was 7. How I was able to get past that newly instilled phobia, is beyond me. However, Point Break nearly ruined me.

I saw that movie, and I thought, I’ve just got to learn how to surf, and I’ll be able to attract virtually all of the hottest hotties (namely Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves look-alikes). WRONG.

I followed all of the hottest guys in my 5th grade class into the ocean and fell in love with the sea instead. I swear, I’m like that “Brandy” song, except I’m the sailor; my heart belongs to the sea. No man has managed to sweep me off my feet in the same exhilarating way that the ocean has time and time again.

It get’s worse. I can’t date non-surfers. It’s not that I don’t like them; it’s just that I’m surfing so much, that I often get blamed for cheating on them.

Female surfers are in a real pickle when it comes to finding their soul surfer counterpart. Ladies please think first before you decide to become an awesome shredder. I don’t mind dating guys that can’t surf as well as me, but trust me, they definitely do mind. Just put yourself in their booties for a moment.

You’re out in the line-up. Your girl is ripping harder than you. What do you think the entire line-up is saying to you while she’s on the inside still throwing buckets off of that last set wave? It’s the epitome of emasculation. See, surfing is a male dominant sport. That would be like having a girlfriend that played better in co-ed pick up games of football. Yeah no, that relationship ain’t gonna stay afloat.

Johnny Utah and Tyler? Would not happen in the real world. He must be insanely good in the sack to compensate for his pitiful surfing. Although, not to get too specific, but she doesn’t sleep with him until after she’s tried to teach him how to surf (and suffered a great deal of ridicule from onlookers). I mean COME ON. And yes, we view your surfing style as an indicator of how good you’ll be after the sunset sesh.

However, she does mention at the party, prior to getting it on with Utah, that sex is more exhilarating to her than big wave riding, when she alludes to the possibility that Grommet may not be “doing it right.” I would argue that she probably doesn’t have the big wave experience to back up that claim though.

I’m just going to be honest and say it. Kooks don’t get any from surfer chicks, and if they do, well it must be the US Open. If you are a shredder and are considering taking your boyfriend out to learn how to surf, let me stop you in your cross steps.

DON’T DO IT, unless you want to severely damage your reputation out in the water. If you are absolutely adamant about teaching him, teach him how to surf in the most obscure beach break that you can possibly find. There is no way that Tyler would have still had the hots for Utah after he came around with that piece of crap log with flames on it, unless she saw a massive bulge in the crotch region of his wetsuit.

The big kicker for me is … she left Bodhi for Utah? Any girl would tell you right off the bat they’d go for Patrick Swayze (rest his soul) over Keanu Reeves any day hands down. Therefore, my conclusion is, Tyler is an ignorant nympho who can’t surf big waves. And, if you shred, date someone that can shred harder than you. Just do it for your own sake! He’ll push your surfing to new levels and you’ll find yourself paddling out in all sorts of new breaks. But keep your eye on him. Guys that shred hard tend to be wave hogs too, metaphorically speaking.

Ride the Wave. from HurricaneCroz on 8tracks Radio.

I’m in too deep
You push me away
I push back even harder
Diving beneath your blows
I resurface anew

Reaching for something to hold onto
I push myself forward with each stroke
Gliding along your surface
Through the pieces of you that are broken

Your hand flies over my head
As I dive below again
You brush my hair back suavely as I come back up
Then you follow the curvature of my back down

I take in every mountain and valley of your body with my eyes
I wait
I feel you rise and fall beneath me
Staring out at the horizon
Anticipation grows
When will you come?

But I wait patiently
I know you’ll lift me up and elate my being
I’ve no choice but to wait, becasue
Nothing else could compare to you.

Famed surf cinematographer Kai Neville, has done it yet again. By following his fool proof formula of filming an eclectic mix of professionals and free surfers as well as peppering it all with countless close ups of Dane’s gorgeous mug, he’s got the entire surfing community jonesing all over again. If you missed the 12 hour free streaming, you can forego the trip to your nearest surf shop and purchase it on iTunes. All in all, it reminded me Marcel Duchamp’s famed artwork, The Bride Stripped Bare. A bizarre parallel say you? Allow me to elaborate.

Upon my first viewing at noon, I was a little phased by the blatant objectification of the female model posing amongst the absurd rotating artistic pieces. However, after about the third viewing around 6pm, the onslaught of imagery intermixed with the high performance surfing began to become more aesthetically pleasing, like an album whose affinity grows after each subsequent hearing.

Surfing is an act of defiance against nature, while at the same time a dance with her. I won’t make any remarks at this time about women’s surfing (that deserves its own Jenna Marbles style video rant), but the guys’ surfing is always high energy, a deliberate manifestation of the adrenaline and testosterone coursing through their veins. Watching the guys rip has always reminded me of hunters in ancient nomadic times. However, there is another element to be weary of, that being the sun kissed siren in the bikini watching from on shore.

It was then that I realized that the film wasn’t a continuance of Dusty Payne’s demeaning comment in the former Neville film, Lost Atlas, which went along the lines of, “the suck brah.” Really, all Kai Neville has been doing is masterfully playing with the inherent dichotomy between males and females. Interpretations of The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors separate the piece into two realms, that of males and females. The Bride is above in an almost celestial and enigmatic realm, while the bachelors reside below in a mundane realm. Their actions surrounding the supposed Chocolate Machine are purportedly reminiscent of masturbation. And what is surfing? I’m not inviting the suggestion that it is masturbation, but it is definitely self gratification.

Naturally, most surf shop frequenters won’t read into Kai’s work as deeply, but nonetheless the principles will undoubtedly play upon the consumer. Play into the surf machine and you’ll get the girl.

Once I was able to get through the first 7 minutes of advertisements, it was an enjoyable experience. To feel catharsis with the exclusive boys’ club in the upper echelon of surfing is a privileged viewing spectacle. Songs on the soundtrack will undoubtedly be immortalized with their association to the film. Newcomers to the cast of surfers will be admonished with admiration from the surfing community that will inevitably translate to money endorsements. And as the law of diminishing returns works upon the film’s allure, we will be left with the hangover of having to wait for Kai’s newest work.

In the end, I know I must take it all with a grain of salt. It really all boils down to marketing, and they’re clearly trying to appeal to groms with plenty of mom and pops money to spend. Still, doesn’t mean I can’t envision sitting on the beach with Dion, sipping on some cold ones to assuage tensions before I go into a 90 minute class of Bikram yoga. I know he can take his pick out of any of Joe G’s models, but a girl can dream.

Into the Unknown from HurricaneCroz on 8tracks.