Tuesday 29 October 2013

Surf Sistas go to Indo - Win tix to Hangs Upon Nothing at the London Surf Film Festival

We have a treat for you Sistas!   We have two pairs of tickets to giveaway to the screening of Hangs Upon Nothing at the London Surf Film Festival on Sunday 3rd Nov at 7pm.   This film is a visual feast set in one of our favourite destinations, Indo. To win the tickets just find this posting on our facebook page and like it or leave a comment below.  We will draw the two winners Thursday lunch time!


Photo by Scott Goldsbury courtesy http://www.korduroy.tv/


image courtesy http://www.korduroy.tv/
Hangs Upon Nothing is an aesthetic masterpiece, lovingly captured on 16mil by artist/filmmaker/musician Jeremy Rumas. Six years in the making, this ode to Indonesia and beyond combines sublime surfing, compelling cinematography and an original score by Turbo-fire to Zenith. Channelling the essence of Morning of the Earth and mixing it with the pure vibe of Litmus – its a must see for our generation.



We found a great interview with the filmmaker Jeremy Rumas on Korduroy TV - check it out here and more about the film at www.hangsuponnothing.com/


The London Surf Film Festival is on at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith from 31st October to 3rd November, check out the full line up of features here ..  we'll see you there!  

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Where will you be in 10 days time?


We will be cruising along peeling waves in Portugal's azure seas, practicing our sun salutations to the tinkle of cow bells and pondering the virtues of red or white sangria  ..   if you want to join us check out our Surf and Yoga retreats in Portugal  .. 26 Oct - 2 Nov & 2 - 9 Nov ..  





Monday 14 October 2013

End of Season Sale in the Surf Sistas Boutique!



30% off Surf Sistas Tees while stock lasts.  We ship worldwide so don't miss out, snap up a treat for yourself right now before they are gone ..
www.surfsistas.tictail.com

Before Miley and Anastasia Ashley there was ..

the Surf Sistas girls ..  yes we were perfecting our twerking way back in early 2013 before Miley and Anastasia Ashley made the headlines with their own high profile twerking antics ..

Here we have Sam Sunshine and Nicole Lohse enjoying a little pre-surf twerk to warm up for a photo session with Mario Rubbino (photos by Mario - such a difficult job he has!)




Saturday 12 October 2013

Sistas Snaps: Pura Vida Surf & Yoga in Santa Teresa

Thanks to Lynda Vesco for these Sista Snaps taken on our Surf and Yoga retreat in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in April ..  we love that she captured some of the partner Yoga the group did as we always forget to take pics of our Yoga sessions!  She's also got some lovely shots of the abundant jungle wildlife and of course some beach and cocktail hour shenanigans too :)

If you take a domestic flight to Tambor to reach us you will be greeted by white sand and jungle palms 
practicing in the jungle yoga shala

Partner yoga with adjustments from Surf Sistas Yogi Wendy

Lynda and Wendy Yogi enjoy some well deserved ice cream! 

about to hit the waves at Playa Santa Teresa

an easy way to carry your longboard

Gillian, Pia and Lynda at playa Hermosa, big smiles all round

time for a sunset surf

A meal with a view, one of the many amazing restaurants we will take you to in Santa Teresa

meet the neighbours

Manu and Welly sample the delicious cocktails

Mr sloth pays a visit

Surf coach Sam entertains the girls at sunset with her ukelele

Vicki contemplates another sunset surf

Racoons on the forest floor

Electric Mint Lemonade - don't mind if we do 

Welly loving the view

M and Sam after a really fun session at a local point break

Friday 11 October 2013

We're in Coven Magazine!

We are super stoked to be featured in the latest Coven Magazine in the article 'A Bike, a Board and a Wave with Surf Sistas'.   Juliet, Coven's editor, joined us on our White to Green course in Cornwall in July with a brand new (to her) longboard that she had just that morning swapped out with Roxy longboarder Candice O'Donnell for a bike - love it! 


Coven always have beautiful covers, this one illustrated by Isabel Greenberg

You can check out Juliette's full story from her day on page 17 of the online edition of Coven and the mag is jam packed with other goodness including fitness, fashion, nutrition, track cycling, controlled failure, sport psychology, art, design and the great outdoors .. so get stuck in!    Thanks Coven .. we're looking forward to the next issue already!  



We're bringing back socks!

Theres a nip in the air and we may .. sob .. need to stop wearing flip flops for a while ..  we think the poor old sock has been overlooked in recent years but at last the sock revolution has arrived in the guise of US company Stance ..   we think Stance could maybe, just maybe, help us survive the winter ..   happy feet make happy people after all ..

Here's our pick of their sock crop ..

Pink is punk - these beauties include a donation to the keep a breast foundation too!

Wednesday .. we'd wear them every day though ..


Shooting arrow


Sheerra Blue




STANCE WOMEN'S SPRING 2013 VIDEO LOOKBOOK from Stance on Vimeo.


Sally Fitzbgibbons wins the Roxy Pro in France!

Oui, oui, old news we know ..  Carissa Moore has already eclipsed this update with a world tour win in Portugal .. but we weren't in Portugal and we were in France watching Sally take the crown at the rescheduled Roxy Pro .. we though Sally deserved to win the heat but kudos to Tyler Wright for an oo ahh air, she put up a good fight ..  Enjoy our snaps below and if you ever get the chance to go and watch these girls in action do it, it will blow your mind!   And yes boys .. they do surf better than you! :)

Sally doing her thing at Le Penon in the final
Sally is carried back up the beach by her supporters
Surf Sistas chef Daisy gets in on the action
More excitement - such a great atmosphere on the beach!
We spot Steph Gilmore in the riders enclosure .. as does everyone else, cameras everywhere! 
Surf Sistas Sarah D getting papped by us on the beach! 

Check out the highlights reel to see what went down at the contest:



Thursday 10 October 2013

Go with the flow ..

Katie from Flow enjoying the flat spell this summer!

 “Hi there, I am just ringing to confirm your business as Flow Physio and Pilots.’’
Sorry, it’s actually Pilates.”
Oh right, so what’s that then? Anything to do with aeroplanes?”
Not quite”


A recent, now fairly routine, conversation I had when I ventured into the world of advertising my company; Flow Physio & Pilates.

Pilates is a term a lot of us have heard of, but are not necessarily that familiar with. The Yoga image has really taken off when it comes to limbering up ready to catch a wave. So when Surf Sistas invited me to write a little blog, I thought explaining what Pilates was might be a good place to start.

Pilates was initially built around developing ‘core strength’. It has since diversified and focus has moved onto core control and awareness. Sometimes we aren’t aware of the way in which we move. We can get from A to B on ‘auto-pilot’ and be left wondering how we managed to get somewhere without any recollection of the journey. This movement gives no awareness to our bodies and how we move. We may only notice if we experience pain or altered movement patterns. Pilates is a form of ‘mindful movement’. It aims to draw your attention to how you are moving your body; noticing areas that may be weaker, tighter or stronger.

Pilates works brilliantly alongside surfing. It helps draw your mind’s attention to the present moment and the activity you are about to undertake, as well as prepare the body for exercise through stretching, strengthening and building tone. The Pilates method is based on flowing movement, aiming to improve movement patterns and developing a sense of wellbeing.

In my spare time I am usually at the beach surfing, kite-surfing, stand-up paddle boarding or swimming. Alongside my sport I practice Pilates to help maintain muscle-balance and notice any areas of weakness or compensation. It is also a great way of relaxing the mind and focusing on just you and your body’s movement. 

I also do Pilates on Paddleboards, which was recently featured in the Guardian’s article on ‘Making the Most of the British Coast’. Pilates on paddleboards is the perfect combination of getting out and seeing the coastline as well as using the natural movement of the water with the paddleboard to challenge you further with your Pilates practice – and its a great workout for those flat days between surf sessions!


Here is a great little Pilates routine designed to help improve your control, awareness and flexibility for surfing – enjoy!

Handy hints
  • It is important to remember to keep your body relaxed when you are doing any Pilates movements; if you are holding your breath and tensing up, you are probably working too hard.
  • Pay attention to how the rest of your body is compensating for the movement you are doing, if you are having to make a lot of movement adjustments, you might need to do the exercise more gently. The aim is to keep the body steady and the movement flowing.
  • Unlike yoga, the effort of the movement is done on the out-breath to help you stay relaxed and focus on the movement

Mermaid
Mermaid
Stand with your feed hip width apart, slide your right thumb up your side, then unfurl your hand towards the sky. Scoop down in front of you, sweeping across your body and then back up with your thumb along your side. Repeat 4 times and then do on the left. This is a great exercise for loosening off the mid back and shoulders.









Roll down

Roll Down
Slowly reach down towards the ground, as if unpeeling your spine from a wall, feeling each vertebrae curl down. Bend your knees slightly when you get to your limit, then hand there for a count of 10. Slowly stack back up, then repeat 3 more times, on the last roll down, come down to a lying position on the mat. This is really nice to wake the body up and stretch out the whole body.


Cobra
Cobra
Place your hands on the mat as if you are about to pop up on your board. Keeping your hips relaxed, slowly raise your upper body upwards, lengthening through the chest towards the sky. Feel each vertebrae move one at a time, then slowly lower back down. Repeat 3 further times.






Leg Pull in Prone
Leg pull in prone
Come into an all fours position, with your knees directly under your hips and your arms slightly ahead of your shoulders. Curl your toes under, then left your knees off the mat and hover about a couple of inches off the mat.

To make this harder, after you have hovered your knees, you can straighten your legs out and come into a plank position on extended arms, keeping your body straight. Then return to the knee hover position and gently lower down. Repeat 3 further times.



clam
Clam
Now roll onto your side, placing your feet together and in line with your back and head. Slowly lift the top knee up, keeping the body still, then lower down. Repeat up to 10 times – you should feel this in your bottom and it is a great exercise for stability.





Spine Twist
Gently then fold yourself into a sitting position, either with one leg in front and one behind or cross legged. Make a praying position or diamond with your hands on your chest, and rotate your upper body round to one side. On the next breath out, try and gently rotate further, as if you are rotating round a pole through your centre. Repeat this on the left, doing 4 altogether.

Come down into the clam position on your other side and do up to 10 clams on the left hip. Then roll onto your back.

spine twist










Shoulder bridge
shoulder bridge
Rest your hands by your sides and your knees bent. Roll your back up from your tailbone so that you are in a ski slope position. Try and keep that position steady, and raise one leg off the ground, reaching away as if turning off a light with your toe.
This is a great exercise to practice isolating movement and build control through range of spinal motion.






cat stretch
Cat stretch
To finish off, come back onto all fours, and tuck your head under whilst arching your back, then breath out and sink your belly button towards the ground. Repeat 4 times then roll back up into standing.





Now get in the water and enjoy your surf!

Katie Watson
Flow Physio & Pilates 

For more information on Pilates, visit www.flowphysio.co.uk or email info@flowphysio.co.uk