The Blog of Ryan Huxley

Helping surfers of various age and skill level, to stay fit and healthy in the water, is the primary resaon I created the Surfbodysoul program range. To be honest I get the same satisfaction from helping a 65 year old sea dog regain basic hip movement so he can pop up again as I do from helping one of my pro's. 

A good friend recently posed 3 simple questions to me:

(Above: One image that will not leave so quickly, Empty Andaman perfection)

I returned home from the subcontinent three weeks ago, and as I focus my energy on the activities of ‘here and now’ my memories have been steadily fading. Visual interludes of apricot sunsets, decorative Hindu festivals, the fervent heat of thali in banana leaf, beautiful people and smiles are all now spaced further and further apart.

 

Today I enjoyed a rare North East swell on the mid-north coast of Australia. Accompanied by my girlfriend and my sister’s dog ‘Bailey’, all perched in the front of my beat up truck. We meander along a 16-kilometer stretch of unspoiled beach looking for ‘the’ bank.

The aeronautical descent into Sydney airport is the only time I get the flying jitters. You know the feeling, you have spent weeks, months, even years away from your closest friends, family, and for me favorite clients. Combine this with the heightened anticipation

One of my living hero’s Yvon Chouinard once said an adventure is a trip that you may not come back from at all, and at the very least come back a different person. Right now sitting back in Varkala I feel changed. Physically I feel exhausted from days of tropical flue, fever, and intense heat.

Returning from the serene mountain hideaway of Ponmudi on route to the coast offered numerous opportunities for roadside Chai’s. These interludes allowed my girlfriend and I the chance to reflect upon the rolling palisades of unspoilt subtropical vegetation and floating hillside palms we were riding through on our humble (and delicate) scooter. Vegetation broken up with harmonious plantations of tapioca, tea, banana and occasionally coffee bean. This must surely be the least densely populated region of India.

(Anthony Walsh 'Fanning' the virtues of 'Core' strength)

By and large I do love internet swell forecasts. For the modern surfer we have an oceanography service that allows us to quite literally plan our professional lives around the next swell. Ever wondered why the late completion of your seaside home renovation coincided with a bulging swell season?

Last week I depicted, to be honest it was more of an elaborate description, the movement of an infantile south west swell as it wrapped around the sand of one of my favourite Kerala points, ‘Ed’s wave’. To be fair to those readers currently land locked or in the midst of an extended flat spell, lets just say day 2 of this swell gazumped day 1 for perfection. Noteworthy was the behind the rock barrel section, which emerged more cavernous and treacherous than the day before.

In the Surf media’s pursuit for new, inspiring, digestible content India has become the flavour of the month. Yes it ticks the exotic box, representing a photographer or painters dream, evident through the Monet style impressionism experienced with every setting sun. Yes the food is striking, served on banana leaf, and possibly blessed in the name of the cook’s cherished deity before serving.

(Enjoying a quite little spot north of Varkala, India)

You have not lived until you have sampled the authentic south Indian cuisine at Kumari’s. Located in a shy backstreet of Varkala, and within a stones throw of the tourist district North Cliff, Kumari’s is a humble home emanating culinary aroma’s that fill her back yard table with a feverous anticipation for the inaugural serving.

(First glimpses of dawn in Kerala. This shot is taken from the thin strip of sand seperating beach and backwater)

Waking up in India can be a consistent, ritualistic process. Deep inanimate sleep steadily progresses to semi-coma, rapidly migrating to ardent wakefulness as Hindu lyrics blair from the cheap speaker system annexed to the peach and ivory coloured temple on the corner of our street.

I am at present enjoying a Kerala coffee watching fun 1-2 foot wedges sporadically unload themselves on the Varkala beach sand bank out front. The friendly lads at the Marine Palace restaurant have accommodated my corked right calf by kindly providing some ice and a chair to elevate my leg whilst I write this blog. The injury occurred 2 days ago at Ed’s wave, a fun left hand sand point I have previously allured to that was throwing some fun head high, low tide kegs off a 2 feet@16 second south-west swell.

(Enjoying the spoils of an empty Indian lineup)

Teaching surf specific Yoga and Pilates to the small international, multilingual team of enthusiastic board sliders at Soul & Surf last night was beautiful. The Yoga space on the southern indian rooftop is tranquil and profound, with the energetic resonance of a culture steeped deep in Yoga tradition. After 2 months of wave chasing through New Zealand, Australia and keeping up with my online Surfbodysoul clients, it is so nice to personally teach and offer to others again.

Descending through the soft pink horizon above Kerala evoked immediate energy in me, manifesting in an uncontrolled smile. Finally, after so many years of travelling and surfing I had reached the true home of Yoga, many of its principles I have gradually introduced into my own life and applied to the Surfbodysoul ethos.

(Above: KL's food is rich in colour, fervent in flavour, zesty and ridiculously cheap. Oh by the way, the streetside vendor will greet you with the warmest smile)

Scenes and sounds of unabating smog skyrises , sirens wailing, an escalating monsoonal storm threat, a sprawling mass of noisy bikes, screeching car breaks, people grouped in unnatural abundance. Welcome to Kuala Lumpar, the capital of Malaysia. i am currently writing from an apartment overlooking this chaos as a stopover point on my way to India. I always tell my incessent frequent flying clients such as surfEXPLORER's Emi Cataldi and big wave charger Anthony Walsh to stretch their Hip Flexor, particularly after sitting for extended periods on the plane. Below I will detail why this helps prevent lower back pain and run through a specific exercise to give you a headstart. Enjoy!

(Walshy, playing to his strengths)

Currently my mind and body are in transit as I migrate from nostalgic Byron Bay to the shores of southern India. Being inland away from the waves allows my body to recharge, and the mind to wander into the realm of surf deprived imagination. I have been reminiscing on a session I shared with Surfbodysoul client and big wave pro Anthony Walsh. This was about 9 months and 'The Pass' was a fun 2-3 foot. As part of Walshy's program I have him completing a variety of Yoga spinal twists.

(Enjoying the rustic pleasures on the mid-north coast of Australia)

Hi Everyone. Currently I am enjoying some warm summer vibes in Byron Bay before joining the team at Soul&Surf in the Southwest of india. Here I will be to teaching Yoga & Pilates, treating injured surfers, and exploring the vast coastline for surf potential. I am also excited with the prospect of inspiration and knowledge in the birthplace of Yoga, taken in with an open, inquisitive mind. Spiritual growth aside, the goal of this process of learning and discovery will be a constantly evolving, specific and professional Surfbodysoul exercise program range for you the client.

(Remote West Coast on New Zealand's South Island, write down 'The Surfers Paths' alley) 

As the 'health and fitness correspondent' for 'The Surfers Path', I have the honour of contributing for a magazine that I deeply respect, has a commitment to minimising its impact on the environment, and still manages to inspire its readers with breathtaking waves and stories from around the surfing globe.

(National Park solo peak, somewhere on the east coast of Australia)

As I was peacefully bobbing in the Pacific ocean today, far away from the approaching bustle of christmas, in a little national park hideaway near home, my mind drifted to the topic of todays blog. In the health and fitness industry there are many 'buzz' words thrown around such as flexibility, endurance, power and countless others. These are physical attributes that certain exercises create in your body, helping you to rip like 'Fergal Smith' and 'Paige Hareb'. Today I will give a clear definition of a few of these attributes, and how they equate to more fun in the water, with less effort.