Is surfing a form of meditation, and if so have you ever surfed the Superbank?
Admittedly Nic and I have just moved up here earlier this year, so one might say we are fresh to the Gold Coast scene. Though Nic is originally from Brisbane and has spent plenty of summer time on the white sands of Rainbow Bay, I on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. I grew up in rain soaked England, with my only source of sun and surf coming in the form of foreign magazines.
Occy, Barton Lynch and MR were heroes back then, and so it’s strange that I now find myself rubbing shoulders (literally) with some local surf legends out there at the Superbank. I know, I’m just another blow in, adding to the already clogged and frantic lineup in front of my house, so I apologise to all you Coolangatta locals in advance.
Though surfing has always been a source of relaxation and calm for me, I’m now faced with my local break being one of the most crowded (but certainly one of the best) breaks on the planet.
Which brings me to this. Is surfing a form of meditation, or is it just a fun sport? It’s a statement I often get faced with as a meditation teacher, and one that will no doubt keep coming up time and time again. ‘I don’t need to meditate, surfing IS my form of meditation.’
Jeez, have you ever surfed the Superbank?
While surfing can certainly be relaxing and allow your mind to focus on nothing but the present moment, it’s also an active sport, much like yoga is, so my thoughts are that they’re not totally the same thing.
Why? For me it’s simple, the deep rest and repair that a daily meditation practice can give you, I just don’t think can be reached through surfing alone.
I have two young boys and one was born with autism, so rest and repair are something I hold close to my heart. Without daily meditation I honestly don’t know how I could physically and emotionally recover in time to meet the demands of my children on a daily basis. Surfing just doesn’t give me that. It’s fun, sure, and it gives me more joy than any other sport I have ever partaken in, but it doesn’t allow my body the deep rest and repair it needs in order to carry out a busy working dad life.
The second thing a daily meditation practice can give you is more aligned with surfing in my opinion, and where I think people generally confuse the two. Meditation expands self-awareness, which leads to more clarity and focus, while empowering you to redirect your life in the way you want it to go. Surfing can certainly do that as well. All your daily troubles can be washed away with one salty wave, and you feel more alive and present in that moment than you thought was ever possible.
We practice meditation for our eyes' open experience, meaning that it doesn’t matter what happens in the practice itself. We are more interested in how this practice affects our eyes' open state in daily life.
The benefits of both meditation and surfing are endless, but the deep rest and repair a daily meditation practice can give you, and the expanded self-awareness will make your life a little easier, and even make surfing the Superbank seem like a good idea.
With Love, Dan x