I coughed up a big gulp of salt water and desperately reached for my surfboard. Another missed wave. At this point I was so far from shore and too exhausted to keep trying. My best friend Jasmine stayed out in the water with our surfing instructor, while I paddled back to shore, out of breath and defeated. I’d heard Costa Rica was one of the best places for surfing, but so far, the ocean was getting the best of me.
I don’t shy away from the label “fitness fanatic.” I’ve been a group fitness instructor for a decade, run eight marathons, and built most of my adult identity around exercise. All of this is to say: I’m no stranger to moving my body.
So when I decided to pick up surfing last year, I assumed it would be humbling—but manageable. What I didn’t expect was how foreign I’d feel in my own skin. Standing on a surfboard for the first time forced me to move in ways that felt unfamiliar and awkward. Balance didn’t come easily. My timing felt off. And wiping out (repeatedly) required a level of humility I hadn’t practiced in a long time.
Surfing started as a side quest—an excuse to try something new and take a warm-weather trip with my best friend of 30 years. When we landed in Costa Rica, we settled into Lamangata Luxury Surf Resort, a cozy yet adventurous off-the-grid retreat made for people who actually want to learn how to surf—not just pose with a board. This was a legit surfing bootcamp.
Our days quickly became structured around early-morning paddles, technique drills, and more than a few belly-flop wipeouts. I noticed quickly that surfing requires a lot of technical skill and has a high learning curve, so while I’m an experienced athlete in many activities, this was a new sport, and I was back to being a beginner.
I love a physical challenge, but what surprised me most was how mentally challenged I felt. Learning how to read waves, pop up quickly, and stay calm while being tossed around by the ocean required intense focus. My brain felt lit up in a way I hadn’t experienced in years. And as I suspected, there’s science behind that.
“Starting anything new activates reward systems in the brain,” Hilary Cauthen, PsyD, CMPC, a clinical sport psychologist and certified mental performance consultant, tells SELF. “You get endorphin releases, dopamine hits, and increased synaptic growth. Learning a new skill rather than repeating a familiar one engages multiple areas of the brain at once—the motor cortex, the prefrontal cortex, and the hippocampus. There’s a lot of brain activity going on, and it feels exciting.”