The lovely Peggy Hall is back with her usual bright outfits and perky haircuts to give you Yoga for Surfers 2 – Fluid Motion! If you’ve been following our yoga posts, we hope you are already feeling limber and flexible! If you’ve read them but haven’t had the chance to give it a go, get motivated!
This video has some awesome moves and is less than 4 minutes, so get your yoga on!
Keeping surf fit is tough, especially when working and being away from the ocean. They say nothing keeps you fit like getting out there. But we think surf yoga is a pretty good way to stay in shape when you can’t go for a paddle.
Check out old mate Peggy’s Yoga for Surfers. It takes less than 5 minutes! Use it as a pre-surf stretch or as a part of your daily routine.
Get motivated!
After a surf I find that my back gets quite stiff and sore. I like to do some stretches before and after just to limber up and make sure I feel less like an old maid in the water! 🙂
This is a great back stretch video I found from veteran surf yoga instructor Peggy Hall. As an added bonus, she’s wearing some super bright yoga gear.
These stretches will ease that tight spine in no time! 🙂
Greek Yogurt Chocolate Truffles –
I’m never going to be able to give up chocolate. It’s something I realised very early on. What makes me happy is that there are now so many delicious recipes out there to make “healthy” chocolate treats. MMMMM We have our friends at My Urban Nutrition to thank for these!
Ingredients:
4 teaspoons cocoa powder + some extra cocoa to roll the truffles in
1 tablespoon fat free vanilla Greek Yogurt
5 tablespoons vanilla protein powder or powdered skim milk
2 egg yolks
5 drops of vanilla extract
3 teaspoons stevia, agave nectar, honey or artificial sweetener
Directions:
Mix together all ingredients except protein powder. Add protein powder until the paste reaches a firm consistency. Put aside in the fridge for 30 minutes or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Before serving, roll the mixture into balls and dip into cocoa powder.
Enjoy!
Need a new after surf snack? Think corn. POPCORN.
Homemade popcorn is a healthy treat that will cure those after surf munchies. It’s better than stuffing your face full of chips and chocolate too.
I’m not talking about the super buttery microwave packets, they contain loads of nasties. Buy yourself a packet of plain corn kernels, put them in a pan, heat some oil and place the kernels inside. Then, secure the lid to avoid corn in the eye and crank up the heat, shaking the pan intermittently.
It takes a few minutes but when the corn starts popping you know it’s almost done. Turn down the heat and wait for 4-5 minutes for the popping to ease.
Serve with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of oil. *If you prefer sweet popcorn, replace salt with some brown sugar…mmm
NB: Nothing tastes worst than burnt popcorn, make sure you turn down the heat when the first kernels start jumping!
Enjoy!
If you call Australia home and love to surf, my bet is that you have some opinion on what Australia’s best breaks are. Even those who have visited Aussie breaks will have their favourites…
Which is why I was intrigued when I found out that Australian Geographic has chosen the top 8. According to them the list is as follows:
1. North Coast – Angourie to Byron Bay, NSW Snapper Rocks, QLD
2. Noosa – Point Break, QLD
3. Snapper Rocks, QLD
4. Seal Rocks and Pacific Palms, NSW
5. Northern Beaches, NSW
6. Torquay – Bells Beach, VIC
7. Crescent Head, NSW
8. Margaret River – Yallingup and Prevelly Park, WA
As a local Victorian, I don’t feel like our incredible selection of cold water waves has been represented (but I’m probably biased). I’m interested to hear your view. What is your top 8?
Nicaragua is our new favourite place. Bordering Honduras in the North and Costa Rica to the South, the Nicaraguan coastline is a tropical, jungle hideaway. It boasts incredible waves, atmosphere and a fraction of the crowds.
We suggest staying in Playa Gigante. This quaint local village has a few restaurants, a hostel (including a variety of rental properties for long and short term) and best of all surf camps. Even if you aren’t staying with the camps, there’s surf board rental and you’ll be able to jump on the boats (for a small fee) frequenting one of the 14 local and amazing breaks.
If you love to practice yoga, there are also daily classes run by the Papaya Wellness girls (who you’re sure to meet out in the water). Carly and India run incredible retreats including delicious nutrition courses.
Volunteer:
There are also lots of opportunities to volunteer with the locals to give back to this awesome community. Check out The Sweet Water Fund and Project Woo.
Wildlife:
There are 3 groups of Howler Monkeys around Playa Gigante and you’ll hear them early in the morning. There’s also an abundance of local seafood, pigs that wander the streets and local dogs and kittens who are all very friendly.
How to Get There:
Catch a plane to Managua, or enjoy a delightful bus ride (sarcasm noted) from one of the surrounding countries. For safety reasons we suggest you take a King Quality (ask any local tourist tienda). If you like living on the edge you can catch Chicken buses all through Latin America for a fraction of the price.
Currency:
They take both US dollars or Nicaraguan Cordobas.
Language:
Spanish
Things to pack:
Sunscreen
Swimmers (make sure they are tight as the beach breaks can be heavy!)
Board
Wax (can be hard to get in town).
Remember:
Don’t drink water from the tap! Sadly, it’s only bottled or purified water. (Please try and recycle your bottles to save the environment).
If you want any more information – head to www.playagigante.com
Ola Nina - We love the ocean 