Danielle Rueb leads the yoga retreat and immersion weeks here at Xanadu. She’s practiced all over the world including India, where she deepened her understanding of yoga beyond just the physical. For Dani, yoga is less about flexibility and more about consistency, awareness and learning to meet discomfort with presence. Below, she picks up where our last newsletter left off: with a look at how meditation and mindset have reshaped her experience in the water.
So… maybe the newsletter landed.
That part about presence feeling more important than progress. That sense that surfing (and life) is better when you’re actually in it, not just reacting to it.
This is the follow-up. The what now? Because once you’ve felt that shift, the next question is this:
“How do I hold onto it”?
Not just on the dreamy days. But when the wind’s blowing, the crowd’s kinda hectic or your mind’s somewhere else entirely.
Let’s talk about that.
Presence is a skill (and you can train it)
This isn’t something you either have or don’t. Presence is a muscle. It gets stronger the more you use it. But here’s the catch…
We don’t train it in the water. Not really. The real work happens in the quieter spaces. On land. In breath. In noticing.
Yoga and meditation give you that space.
You start to catch yourself mid-frustration. Mid-comparison. Mid-spiral. And instead of being swept up in it, you start to choose a different response.
Breath is your reset button
You don’t need a full meditation practice to come back to center.
Start with your breath. It’s a power you can tap into whenever, wherever. If you’re rattled mid-session (missed wave, someone paddled around you, wipeout, whatever), try this…
- Inhale slowly
- Exhale even slower
- Feel the water on your skin
- Feel your body on the board
That’s it!
That’s presence. That’s surfing with the ocean, not just in it.
Progress isn’t linear, but presence lasts
Look, progress is great. We all want to get better.
But if your whole surf identity is tied to performance, you’re going to burn out or feel disappointed a lot of the time.
But presence? That sticks. Even on the flat days. Even on the off ones.
When you’re really there, small moments start to feel like enough. The glide. The silence. The paddle back out under golden light.
You don’t need a highlight reel to feel fulfilled. You just need to show up awake.
Tools that help (use what works for you)
You also don’t have to sit cross-legged under a tree to become a present human. But if you want to train your ability to be present, you do have to be intentional. A few ideas from us.
1. Five minutes of silence pre-paddle out
On the scooter. On the sand. Before the wetsuit goes on. Just breathe and check in with yourself.
2. Post-surf journalling
One line. One takeaway. It helps integrate whatever comes up in the water… good or weird or enlightening.
3. Move with awareness
Whether it’s yoga or a stretch on the shore, connect movement to breath. Presence lives there.
4. Ask “Where is my mind right now?”
This one’s my favorite. No judgment. Just curiosity. If the answer is “I’m still mad about that drop-in”, cool. Now you know. Now you can come back and assess.
You don’t need to be a perfect surfer
You might just need to be more present.
So yeah, work on your stance. Try the mid-length. Get coached. Get better.
But don’t forget to train the part of you that meets the wave. The part that breathes through the chaos. The part that knows how to let go. Because that’s the surfer who’s still smiling on the walk back up the beach…
Even if they only caught one wave.
Yoga and surfing go together like peanut butter and our sourdough bread. At our Surf & Yoga Retreats, Dani crafts every session to support your surf, your body and your mindset. Expect deep opening, post-surf relief and a whole lot more awareness both on and off the mat.
