WindsurfYogaBlog

another year passed

12/29/2019

It seems almost as if 2018 and 2019 morphed together into one year. How can the passed year already been 2019...
With only a few days left and everybody reflecting and reminiscing, we wanted to let you know we are
super gratefull for you being there and here!!! :)

The passed year, 2018, changed our lives A LOT as Sava, our wonderful boy, arrived. Then 2019 secretly started with an amaaaazing newyears week, a fireing January and it seemed time just passed, in the blink of an eye, to December.

The last summer was calmer than any summer we ever had. We noticed flights are not the same as before, an article recently said 4000 flights less for Fuerteventura in one year, that is "4000 x 200 people less (800.000)", we noticed this also in our holidays and on the streets and beaches.
This drop in flights goes 2 ways for us: We are happy there are less flights, It's great to have less pollution from planes and to have a bit of the peace and quietness back to the streets and beaches, as 2018 seemed a very hectic year with more tourists than ever. This is also the other side of the coin, less tourists also brings less income to all of us living here. We need to share and support each other always, island life is about sharing, this year we noticed for many of us live got a little harder.
And it is all OK!!

Anyway it goes, we are okay and still happy, we keep sharing our passions, our lifestyle.
Also this year WindSurfYoga been a wonderful process with monthly courses, almost every day yoga on the beach and Little Sava to help us entertain everybody with his blond hair and big smile.

So, 2019 was a beautiful year which we experienced as a family. We connected with many new beautiful people, made new friends, had campnights in the lagoons and savasanas under the stars. The middle of the year we celebrated with 108 sun salutations in the dunes, this was definitely up for repetition next year, and all of us teachers bonded throughout the year more than ever! 2019 is also the year Stephane started to teach more and Martin a lot less. Everybody is happy, content (santosha), we look forward to another year like this :D...

We thank you from our heart to yours, for joining us, being part of THIS and more, for sharing, discovering, connecting and growing together!

With love,
WindSurfYoga family, Eline, Martin & Sava

As usual we don't have any photos as we were to busy living, sharing, exploring and BEING.. If you have some great photos from your time here in 2019, please share and let us all remember..

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Pre-Natal Yoga - I - Sun Salutation

7/1/2018

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Moving & Warming up the body with sun salutations.
A sequence adapted for the changing body of mama's to be. This sun salutation for pregnancy will keep you flowing, stretching, opening and relaxing..
Try to connect with your little one during the moves, feel your breathe deepening, breathing into your sides and as much as you can into your belly! You breathe for 2 and little one will thank you for your love!!
Take a moment to ground, connect and release, than make your rounds through the movements, following your breath.
Read through it or ask somebody to read it to you as you go, slow and steady,
you find the photos on the bottom for help.

Let's Start!

Start standing on the front of the mat, feet a little wider than your hips, hands on the side.
- This golden triangle you will hold during your yoga poses, the length of your upper leg, is about the distance between your feet. -
Tuck your tailbone in a bit, scooping your baby a bit more in and up (hugging your belly in with minor muscle support).
Roll your shoulders ones, relax them down.
Close your eyes.
Feel your feet touching the floor, make them active (lifting the arches, pressing the outsides, heels and pads under your toes in the floor),
Feel your lower legs, squeeze your calves ones and release, soften your knees with a micro bend (don't pull kneecaps up or lock your knees),
Feel your upper legs, squeeze your quads and hamstrings ones, than release..
Feel your butt muscles, soft. Squeeze and release.
Feel you pelvic floor muscles (inside (does that stop your pee), soft,
inhale squeeze/pull in the muscles as if you stop peeing, use an exhale to release..
Feel the belly hugged in a bit, supported by some muscles, feel your lower back, the middle back and the upper back..
Feel your chest, the space in between your collarbones, without lifting, just release..
Feel your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms all soft..
Feel the wrist, the hands, squeeze them together into fists and release..
Feel your neck, your throat, the back of your head and the top of your head,soft..
Feel your face, smile as much as you can, and release..
Focus your attention on your breath, feel the breath flowing in... and out..
Feel your body expanding and collapsing, following your natural breath..
All without any effort.

Take a nice deep inhale all the way into your belly and exhale through the mouth…. release..

Put your hands on your belly and connect for a moment, You and the Little one. Nothing else..
Maybe you like to set an intention, for you or the both of you, a short positive SanKalpa..

Slowly open your eyes.

The Postures
Starting in Tadasana - Mountain Pose!
Stand strong on both legs (golden triangle), soft knees, gently hugged in belly, soft shoulders..

Inhale, lengthen your arms UP
Exhale, Bend Knees, sink down to all-4 (hands on the floor, step left leg down, right leg down).

Inhale, lift and open your chest forward, the back of your head up (not your forehead), try to not hollow the back too much, moving into Cow-pose.
Exhale round the spine UP, pressing hands in the floor, tucking the tailbone in between the legs and your head between your arms, Cat-Pose

Inhale U Bend to the left - Exhale back in the center - all fours, straight spine.

Inhale U-Bend to the right - Exhale back in the center.

Inhale open-up your knees each to one side of the mat, lift the chest a bit
Exhale sink your chest forward and down to the floor, bring your forehead to the floor (or on a block if the neck is to tense), lengthen your arms to the end of the mat, relax into Child Pose.
Slightly leaning more forward lifting the butt up in the sky to have space for the belly.

Inhale move back up to all4 / hands and knees
Exhale roll your Butt UP and back into Downward Dog, keep your feet a little wider,
while staying here for 3 breaths, take time to MARCH: bending/stretching each leg, one after another in the pose, dont move your upperbody
.
Take one full breath, exhale & walk your hands to your feet.
Put the hands in the hips, while Inhale roll up to half way,
stretch your spine forward, shoulderblades apart and down the spine.
On your next inhale, stretch all the way up, rolling the spine upward, making sure you dont hollow your back more than normal..

Exhale relax..

Repeat the flow 2 more times..

Side note!!
If you never done any yoga before, it is best to seek a prenatal yoga class to get some guidance and correction before you move to deep/fast/strong :)..
Do what feels right, but realise you might think you are more flexible than you truly are, due to relaxine hormones which are making ALL JOINTS in your body weaker/softer and therefore you seem more bendy.. Don't over stretch the muscles by sinking to deep in your joints (shoulders, arms, hips, knees and spine!).
Playing with yoga is nice, but it is not simply some movements, please take your time to feel and discover! :)
Keep breathing no matter what and all will come - and eventually go;)..

With love,
Eline

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Meet our new yoga teacher Marian

6/4/2018

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This summer we have extra forces to keep offering you the best and greatest holidays in Fuerteventura.
We are pleased to introduce you to Marian, take a moment to meet her and don't wait to try her classes between middle of July till middle of August!!

So who is Marian?
Marian Ypma, she is 48 years and lives in Holland, Leeuwarden, where she teaches yoga, pilates, gives massages and lives the goodlife!

We asked her some questions for you to get to know more about her :)

What are you passionate about; I love traveling, my daughter, my dog & cats and chocolate....

How did Yoga became a part of you? By practicing Yoga almost everyday, Yoga has
become a lifestyle. Yoga helped me in hard times to stay mentally strong, and to
release tension. Yoga makes me smile...

How many years are you teaching for?
Teaching since 2004. I started with aerobics and fitness.
After a couple of years, I wanted to offer a program for people with injuries, so I studied Pilates.
And I discovered how to teach people to move with more awareness for the body and
more focus on the breath. The next step was teaching Yoga
Where did you study Yoga? I started in 2011 with PowerYoga by Tonny Goes in Utrecht.
For further development and deepening, I studied in 2015 Vinyasa Teacher Training
at De Nieuwe Yogaschool Amsterdam (350 hrs).
As a teacher it’s also important to remain a student.
To keep learning and to stay inspired, I follow workshops and yoga lessons
with Prana Vinyasa teachers like Robert Hess (USA) and Simon Rowe (Netherlands).

How would you describe a lesson with you?
First taking a moment to be quiet, to take a break and connect with your body.
Then moving slowly, flows that i designed to slow us down.
My flow lessons are challenging and varied. Connecting the body, the breath, the heart and the soul.

What do you like so much about the addition of Yoga to your life?
On the mat you learn a lot about yourself. How do you deal with resistance, with challenging poses,
how is your breathing, are you limited/held back by your thoughts or can you keep focussing on your
breath and body...
Being aware that you have thoughts and that you can allow yourself
not to identify yourself with your thoughts. You can lose them by focussing inside your body,
or to put your focus on the breath, moving consciously.
By breathing deeply you get so much energy.

What is the most important thing you like to teach to people in your class?
Yoga is not about “Who is te best” but Yoga is about FEELING. Feeling freedom in the body & in
the mind. Feel free to move and to breathe, feel free in your heart, feel free to be the
best version of yourself...

Do you have experience with any watersports? Windsurfing and canoeing.

What do you not want to miss during your summer in Fuerteventura?
Meeting nice and lovely people and....SUN!

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little wind-surf-yogi on the way

4/5/2018

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Some of you already were aware of the news, others wondered if Eline just had some cravings growing a belly and some are still completely unaware - until now...

This year we are extending our team with one more member!!!!!!!

Little one is expected to join us in the middddle of the summer and we are very, very happy to meet this little mixture of us soon! With 7 months on the clock it is coming really close, and we are preparing a different summer than others... No worries windsurf, surf and yoga will continue throughout the summer!!!

What is life without adventure <3

As growing a baby in the belly, and delivering a new life, are not easily to combine with teaching daily yoga classes and keeping an office running we have added some help as well!

Soon we will introduce our fantastic summer crew!
With the time Eline will slowly take some steps back and between, July and September, there will be only time for growing and bounding as our new Helping Super Teacher will take care of the classes and the house. :) We are happy and lucky to find these talented people, we hope you are willing to meet them to!

You will still enjoy a beautiful holiday and we will welcome you with all our love and passion, hopefully see you this summer on Fuerteventura!!

warm hugs from the WindSurfYoga Family

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Lajares and the accommodation in Fuerteventura

3/30/2018

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Since the end of 2017 we are back on the island, sun,sea wind&waves.

This year we have our own windsurfyoga house based in Lajares, surftown, in the middle of the North.
The house has more space than our last hub and is located just out of the center, with views on the hills, birds in the palmtrees all around, pure tranquility!!

If you want to know more on the accommodation, read the page and find out which location would fit you best.

Here a quick insiders tipguide on what to do and where to go if you stay with us in Lajares.
There are loads of places to eat or drink something, or to shop, these are just a few in the list
as we can not mention them all and some are obviously better than others :)

Where To Eat?:

Or favorite place for a coffee and french croissant is El Golosso, with a small shop on the beginning and a bigger one just at the corner of our street), definitly not expensive and good quality

Lunches and pies we love to grab at Canela Cafe, this bar in the middle of the mainstreet, in front of the plaza has like 30 different sandwhiches (bocadillos) on their menu, dinners are big and also reasonably prices under 15€. And for dessert you can find here the fresh, delicious pies from El Dulce Hogar (villaverde).

Pizza you can't miss here at La Cancela Pizzeria, take away or a warm night out, always busy so be intime, have some patience and enjoy a fresh stone oven baked pizza!

Typical local Canarian food you can find at Los Pinchitos, a delicious surfer burger you find in El Arko.

Where to shop?

Lajares has the famous artisanal market on saturday mornings til 14h. At the plaza you will find all local artists with recycled, upcycled and newly created, handmade products. Best place to get a souvenir.

Stitch Craft & Gusty, a shop ones started as a sail stitching/repair shed now creates beautiful bags and accessories made out of recycled/upcycled Windsurf & Kite material, they also have eco friendly sweaters, shirts and hand made headwear. Worth a check up when you are in town.

Surfers will be happy shopping at Magma, from wetsuits and harnesses, boards and paddles to fashion, not the cheapest, and all fine brands, if your into it you'll find your summer or winter outfit right here!

The local flipflops, Island Steps, nowadays made in Mallorca, proper leather flipflops, lasting a long time and comfortable at your feet!

Like vintage? Take a look at Dylans Vintage shop for your pair of old skool jeans, blouses and accessories.
the Beach shop next to it offers funny accessories for your house.

Transport and other handy places

The supermarket, is at the end of our street, all you need is available, open every day, besides sunday afternoon. Prices are just as the bigger supermarket of Corralejo.

The pharmacy is just after El Golosso on the main street, you'll find your ATM right here aswell.

Going out is nice at Canela or Return bar, you'll find djs or live music quite often here.

The Beach; the bay in Majanicho is pretty close by with the free bike!, a 5km road leads you straght to it!
Cotillo by bike is about 20 minutes, on a bike path, and north & south of Cotillo you will find amazing beaches!!
Another option is Corralejo, you could stay after the morning yoga class or take a bus or hitch a ride down to the town where there are some city beaches to hang out at.

Moving around the island without our bike is easy by public transport.
The bus between Corralejo and Cotillo goes untill 22 / 23 o'clock in the evening and costs you up to 2€.
Line number 8, easy to spot!
Check the schedule below to know more about times.
It stops just next to the roundabout with the supermarket or in the center at Canela and at the other side near the footbal field.

Coming from the airport you can take the bus to Corralejo and than line 8 to get in Lajares, or if you are in time, catch line 7, coming straight from the capital via different villages to Lajares.

Bus schedule for Lajares - busses from and to Corralejo / Cotillo. more info thiade.com

Hope fully this gives you an idea of what to do in between yoga, after your windsurf session or when in need of a urgent after surf beer!...

The town has many cool places to visit, and great vibes to enjoy more the local life of Fuerteventura without the mass tourism that strikes down in Corralejo, more and more.

Yoga classes often will be still in Corralejo on the beach [ transport included] or o the roof terrace of the villa, Weekly dinners are spread over Cotillo (awesome place for a sunset dinner), Lajares or one of the great places in Corralejo.

Want to know more? Have a tip yourself?
Let us know <3

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a peak in a week on Fuerteventura, fit&yoga holiday

10/28/2017

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People ask us, about the planning, the program.. What is the schedule during a fitness and yoga holiday? What do we mean with easy going and not to many plans? ..

We like our holidays to be holidays, out of daily structures and into a life of 'don't have to, but want to' do things at your own pace..
No pre programmes tea, snacktime, trips and dinners.. Only what you need; Workouts, Yoga and a good place to stay.. And if you like more arangements, we'll put it together for you! Don;t pay for what you dont need!

Take a look at a random week (which can start at any day) on the Fit & Yoga holiday.

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a little mantra...

9/1/2017

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A Mantra for the days you forget you have a life of your own.

"My favorite teacher once told me a short story about how you have to stay true to yourself, but still can find a way working with bureaucrats and typical protocol rules obstructing your freedom of speech, thoughts and acts..
Something which is very hard for me" - Eline

The conversation was simple but very motivating during my Yoga study…
As you should not take anything in life to seriously and live with a smile on your face and in your heart.

He gave me this mantra to repeat;

इत इस अल्ल् बुल्ल्षित , बुल्ल्षित, बुल्ल्षित
इत इस अल्ल् बुल्ल्षित , बुल्ल्षित, बुल्ल्षित *

Translation:

It is all Bullshit, Bullshit, Bullshit
It is all Bullshit, Bullshit, Bullshit.

Repeat this mantra on every exhale, till your mind comes at ease.. ;)

It makes my day bright and happy when things are getting tough in the bureaucratic lines, when games are being played and when just smiling is not enough to get you trough…
Let go of what keeps you back :)

It keeps me with both my feet on earth and definitely is one of the best mantras that i have heard so far..

Hopefully it will result in a free world one day, a world with less games, less pointy fingers, useless discussions, and more people who think and act with care and love instead of rules and protocols!

*A little side note: I put it in this nice sanskrit translator, making it all pretty and fancy like a good mantra deserves!
I am not 100% sure tho, if this translation is correct.. Allowing funny ‘translated mistakes’ in the middle…
Please if you know there is a mistake,or could improve or confirm my text let me know:)

What is a Mantra:
According to Deepak Chopra;
The word mantra can be broken down into two parts: “man,” which means mind, and “tra,”
which means transport or vehicle.
n other words, a mantra is an instrument of the mind—a powerful sound or vibration that you can use to enter a deep state of meditation.

As im saying when i teach; Keep Smiling.

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