August 11, 2022 | Leave a comment My salty Sri Lankan summer nears the two month mark and at times I feel like the only foreign female walking around without a beach boy slung stylishly over my arm. My leash tan fossilizes herself to my right ankle and on most days I’m totally eating it in a washing machine of brine. July flips to August as I feel a fresh surge of wholesomeness and receptivity enter my being. the fact is: whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are withholding from the world. —eckhart tolle, a new earth new content: Sustainable Habits From Seven Years Of Solo Female Travel Monthly Mood: Starting To Fall Reef rash. Wipeouts. Nose dives. But. Undeniable progress. Surfing proves to be so very high-impact and demanding—physically and psychologically—that I finally get it: I literally cannot practice unless I have prime gut health. How we feel is how we surf. My up and down gut symptoms didn’t seem to respond to anything. That is until I decided to fast for 24 hours. Not really on purpose, the opportunity just presented itself. For the first time in Sri Lanka, I better manage the distended balloon of a bloat I’d been living with. I underestimate how vital it is to have a reasonably flat abdomen to feel any remote desire to throw on a bikini, get out in the ocean, and spend hours lying on my tummy. In surf lessons I almost crack in half from the pressure of being silently filmed by my coach, but I power through. It’s so difficult to not have him by my side, but so good for me. The lilac sunrises in the backdrop of the fuzzy footage are a rare bonus. My clothes have sticky stains and I find dollops of surf wax on my iPhone. I spoil myself with natural skincare products and go a little crazy with making my own oat milk and overnight oats and toy with the idea of vlogging a day in the life. My Czech friend books us Ayurvedic oil massages and I walk out feeling like a body builder grease-ready for the stage. And smelling like fried garlic. I befriend a woman from Shanghai and a fellow ABC. Any Chinese person from inside or outside of China knows that ‘ABC’ stands for American or Australian-born Chinese. In this case he’s an Aussie. I am a firm believer that vitamin ABC is an essential nutrient and ought to be dosed daily. Cheers to adding East Asians into the surf scene one gigantic grin at a time. Sri Lanka’s serious lack of petrol in mid-July. The takeaway of the month is to experience surfing (and life) as I experience yoga. In any given vinyasa class I am sure of myself and my every move. My only concern is what’s going on within the boundaries of my mat. The choice is made to keep my eyes closed whenever possible. I find presence, connection, and feel good all over. The same connectivity, presence, and aliveness can be attained within the maternal embrace of the ocean. Let us coin this new concept as ‘yurfing.’ It should be more ‘suga’ or ‘yorfing’ but let us not sound like fools. Yurfing. In reality, paying attention to other surfers, gauging their skill levels, and remaining very aware of where each person in the water is, are fundamental safety and etiquette measures. I can’t keep my eyes closed during a surf, yet drawing the parallel back to yoga, I see that indeed I maintain awareness of flying limbs during swan dives, three-legged dogs, and floor sequences. here is my secret: i don’t mind what happens —jiddu krishnamurti I notice that eight years have passed since I ‘started yoga.’ Progression happened without effort. I showed up to class when I wanted to, because I wanted to. Relevant read: Flowing Flowing Flown I would never pay someone to film my yoga and provide asana feedback. I can pop into lotus or a headstand without overthinking. I couldn’t in 2019. Imagine where I might be with surfing, effortlessly, eight years from today. The relaxation, tension release, and confidence that I find through yoga are translational to the water and will benefit my surf journey in the highest form. That, plus taking full, high-quality breaths when I paddle. That sexy sexy reef rash. sri lanka, you took the juice out of me, but it’s finally starting to come back. two months of adjustments and tolerance and i’ve found my zone, connected with people exuding incredible energy. two months and i’m finally starting to fall. some trip stats time gone without using a motor vehicle: 1.5 months time gone without socks or close-toed footwear: 2 months time since i last saw flipz, a reuben, or pepper jack cheese in real life 4.5 years last drool at google images of cheese because i had to look up if pepper jack had a space or not: 30 seconds bita poetic action day 1644 8 august 2022 today i am attracted to my own reflection and the sunshine the purifying breeze the crushing of waves onto crystals of sand today i am grateful for mondays and august and hoop earrings today is the first day after this trip turned 4.5 years after this body turned 26.561644 years and today is the first day of the rest of my life bita uterus energy day 1646 10 august 2022 08:30 high in a thousand different ways. from sun glare on cozy seawater, vitamin abc, beautiful boys, the colors of life, textured cappuccinos. from waking up when the constellations are still strung in the sky. from cold-pressed watermelon juice, over ice, and plain hot water. from exercise, estrogen, and pre-menstrual boobies. the recent calories padding my waistline last selfie sunday pop-up practice + palmy paths obsessions: laa dhalu jasmine rose buchspicy manioc chipseryn krouseelsa’s wholesome lifearantza goettthe mindful surfer podcastdettol fabric plasterskookscappuccinosrooibos rose lavender gin cocktailrelax, take it easyfour elements jojoba oilfour elements coco detox cleanserjama’s raceckart tollelibbylotion candles (!)keeping a food diaryoat milksweet & sour hibiscus cinnamon iced teavitamin abcfrench beach boysavo juicesalty swamis watermelon juicemoonshadow dishwash barsucculents accessorizing my coffee photography1995 pamela andersonayurvedic massagescarrot cake oatmealthem solah systems chocolate surf zincovernight oatsmy stovetop granola7’6 fun boardangled take offsaussie accents backyard peafowl, mold forest on my sandals after couple days of moist rain love that for me, what outside looks like when i start hydrating and zinc-ing my face for sunrise waves, mozzies going all out on the midday hickeys Sri Lanka’s mid-August implementation of QR codes for petrol quotas, linked to vehicle plates with SMS alerts for when it is one’s turn to get gas. Bird of the month: Red-backed flameback Source: John Thompson, eBird. Perhaps the first bird spotted in Sri Lanka that is new to my repertoire. My yard is exceedingly lively with wildlife yet this woodpecky’s brilliant red, whenever present, hogs all attention. Current audiobook: A New Earth by Eckart Tolle Previous Monthly Mood: Rice And Curry And Laundry Explore my full archive of Sri Lanka and Monthly Moods. Learn more about this round-the-world solo trip.