Once reserved for the royal family in Hawaii, surfing has now become one of the most popular sports in the world, as long as there are beautiful waves to enjoy it. Some say that mastering the art of taking a wave and surfing the water is a life-changing experience.
Summer is around the corner and it's synonymous with sand and surf and sun, so learning the sport is a natural for the coming season.
Surfing is a fun practice in which one quickly finds an infantile and spontaneous joy of life. The other great benefit of surfing is to provide strong sensations from the first push felt, whether you are standing or lying on your board. Speed and power are immediately noticeable for the beginner surfer. We can add to this joyful program that surfing is a complete sport, which makes work the muscular mass, the endurance, the breath and the balance.
From the very first sessions, surfing generates physical fatigue and a psychological "rinse" that gives the feeling of being filled with new energy. The sessions in the water are also accompanied by a deep and restorative sleep. Surfing belongs to these activities that require a lot of concentration, and therefore avoid repeating his daily problems. This is a great way to disconnect.
There are a multitude of ways to surf; depending on your physical abilities and personality, everyone can find a surfing practice that suits them. There is something for everyone: from gentle surfing that makes you paddle quietly in the mosses to extreme sport that overcomes the limits of its fears and abilities, through a very aesthetic surf that resembles a dance with waves. No, nothing you are can stop you from surfing.
First of all, before learning to surf, it is useful to take stock of your ability to swim at sea without drowning. What is called aquatic fluency is not an inborn skill. For those who do not practice the ocean, a small course of initiation can prove useful.
Then, it is essential to leave your adult brain on the beach. Adults have two major failings: intellectualizing everything that passes through their consciousness, and setting unachievable goals. Surfing is about feeling. Trying to rationalize, understand and plan is a recipe for failure. Asking your instructor why you are doing a particular exercise, why you have to look in a particular direction or what's the point of bodysurfing is useless, and it will annoy your teacher. If he tells you to paddle, paddle... that's it. He knows the ocean and where he's taking you, but he can't explain everything. It's up to you to feel things and learn from them, without going through words.
And then forget the fear of ridicule. Surfing is made of falls and spins. Children have a definite advantage over adults: they try everything, pick themselves up, laugh and start again. The adult, too often preoccupied by what seems to be, is blocked in his learning. In your learning of water sports, you will look foolish, it is impossible to avoid. But it is one of the most joyful aspects of surfing: to get rid of this image of a big person, very solid on his legs, with an assured pace. In the liquid element, the vertical position is not the norm, and we learn to feel upright in all positions.
Finally, it is necessary to abandon the salt-free diet, the French manicure, perfect brushing and full tanning. The apprentice surfer swallows a lot of salt water, by mouth, by nostrils, by infiltration and by large silted gullies. Don't worry, it's good for your health! You will be confronted with natural elements: wind, sand, and sea water will soften your skin, style your hair and tan your body... but not like fashion magazines. The adult who learns to surf must let his roots speak, because his pace when coming out of the water will be shaped by the ocean. And it greatly helps in the process of disconnecting from everyday problems, and reconnecting with its internal assets.
Finally, take good care before and after the session, keeping in mind that a surfing day is not a day like any other. Before you go in the water, prepare your things meticulously (it will avoid you immense galleys) and put some solid in your stomach three or four hours before (slow sugars, starchy, rice, pasta...).
After the session, set aside time for yourself to "digest" what you have felt and learned; without this mental re-examination, your body will not integrate much into your body.
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