Suave Dulce- Women's Surf and Yoga Retreats

Jessica Bellofatto – Yoga Teacher for October Retreats in El Salvador

hollybeck27 — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:58:55 +0000

Jessica came on a retreat to Northern Nicaragua in January and had an amazing time. She was really fun to hang out with, was shredding in the water, and happened to let me know that she has been teaching yoga for over 20 years! When she emailed about possibly coming to El Salvador in October I suggested she come as our yoga teacher. She is so stoked to join us! See below for more about Jessica…

Jessica Bellofatto, Founder and Director of KamaDeva Yoga in East Hampton, New York, is best known for her easy laughter, radiant energy, and matchless knowledge of the body. A mother, yogini, doula, surfer, triathlete, and avid stand up paddleboarder (and now SUP racer), Jessica has inspired thousands of students in their journey to better understand themselves and their world. She uses movement as play, movement as therapy, and most importantly, views movement in general and the asana practice specifically as a spiritual practice done to benefit all beings.

Featured in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The New York Post, New York Magazine, Hamptons Magazine, Well and Good and many more, Jessica, deeply steeped in her Jivamukti roots, opened KamaDeva Yoga in April of 2009, and leads sold-out yoga retreats worldwide. In 2011, Jessica was chosen amongst over 400 other applicants to be one of Athleta’s Featured Athletes and writes regularly for the ATHLETA CHI BLOG, and other periodicals. She was also recently chosen as an ambassador for the BOGA YOGA paddleboard, a board specifically designed for yoga on the water.

She has studied extensively with many of yoga’s most famous names, including John Friend, Richard Freeman, Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten, Tim Miller, and many senior teachers at the Iyengar Institute in NYC. In addition to her study of asana, Jessica has studied Yoga philosophy and Sanskrit with Manorama (Thea D’Alvia), Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelukpa lineage with James Conner and Dr. Lisette Garcia, Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally, and most recently the Handel Method of Life Coaching. First and foremost a student, Jessica is receptive and curious about various methods of healing and transformation as a means to discover the Self.

Come practice yoga with Jessica in El Salvador October 13-20 and 21-28!

Bikinis That Stay On – Ola Chica

hollybeck27 — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:44:45 +0000

Jackie George has been working with me this season teaching amigas how to become better surfers. She is super awesome, super smart, super cute, and well, just downright super! She wrote the following about her new favorite bikini company – Ola Chica. Check it out and if you’re looking for a new bikini that can handle duckdives, wipeouts, and looking hot on the beach, check them out!

Last April, we were running a couple of women’s surf and yoga retreats in El Salvador. We were there for about three weeks, and the entire time we surfed perfect point-break right handers twice a day, everyday. I rotated between my only two bikinis that I know would stay on because I did not want any embarrassing slip-ups in front of all the retreat girls, hot surfers that flew down for the swell, and tons of local photographers trying to sell us photos.

The last three days we were there, a few girls from California appeared in the line-up that were shredding in super cute bikinis. One of the girls, Aylana, was telling me about her bathing suit line called, Ola Chica. She has surfed all over the warm oceans, and was sick of the same bikini problems that so many of us face, so she created her own line. All of her suits have a draw string in the waist (brilliant), tops that stay put, and some bottoms even have key pockets. And they’re cute! You can tie the waist tight and double-knotted when you surf, then loosen it when you come in (no awkward muffin tops). Mine works perfectly for surfing, but still has a Brazilian cut that doesn’t make me feel like a grandma. My new go-to bathing suit has proven solid through many wipeouts and late duck-dives. The suits are functional, fashionable, and affordable. Visit the Ola Chica website (http://www.olachica.com) and check out the video below that we shot on our last day of the trip. Thanks, Aylana! Stoked.

Corine Scores the Waves of Her Life on Her Third Retreat

hollybeck27 — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:56:39 +0000

Corine is a Suave Dulce addict. She learned to surf while growing up in Hawaii but never really mastered it. She came on her first retreat in July and learned more in one week than she did over several years in Hawaii. She came back again in November and took the progress even further. By her third retreat in El Salvador she was paddling herself into overhead green waves and even starting to walk the nose. So awesome!

Sharon Gets Her First Green Wave

hollybeck27 — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:17:52 +0000

Sharon is a writer from New York who learned to surf for the first time with Suave Dulce in Nicaragua. She came back for another retreat a year later and achieved her goal of catching a green wave. She says her boyfriend calls her a “determined little monkey” and I can see where the nickname came from. Go Sharon!

Holly Explains What it Feels Like to Be in the Tube

hollybeck27 — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:58:43 +0000

Tube riding is a surreal experience. Time slows down, worldly problems disappear, one feels totally connected and completely in the moment. Pulling into closeouts is still totally fun, but once you come out of a tube it’s the most amazing feeling ever!

Kelly Latimer’s Sun Protected Surfing Outfit

hollybeck27 — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:04:10 +0000

Kelly Latimer is an inspirational character. She flies jets as a test pilot and was one step away from becoming an astronaut. She’s super smart, super funny, and super fun to hang out with! A member of the Huntington Beach based women’s surfing club Wahine Kai, she came to the very first Suave Dulce retreat when it was held at the infamous House Hunters house! All the girls were super fired up to get in the water right out of the airport taxi and rushed out into the warm ocean. Before I had even gotten all the girls organized with boards, wax, leashes, etc., I was informed that we already had an injury. What?! Kelly had somehow broken something in her leg. She was an absolute trooper, thinking it was just a sprained ankle, she carried on and walked all over the place and surfed in a tripod style (that I would copy when I broke my foot a year later). To see footage of her first trip:

She needed redemption! She came back to El Salvador and I actually got to see her stand and ride. She was ripping. See video at the top of the post.

Cyd Gurvich Does Yoga and Shreds in El Salvador

hollybeck27 — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:40:57 +0000

Cyd Gurvich is from Vancouver, Canada. She spent the season in Nicaragua with Suave Dulce, scoring super fun waves and teaching yoga. Her surfing improved so much and the last two weeks in El Salvador she took it to a whole new level, doing cutbacks and sneaking into some little tubes. If you’re in Canada and want to do yoga with an awesome teacher who also surfs, check out her website: Sukhaline

El Salvador Surf Yoga Adventure Retreat

hollybeck27 — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:59:01 +0000

Long Rights and Volcanic Mud Bathing! If you have already mastered riding whitewash and want to catch your first green wave, if you’ve already caught a bunch of green waves and want to learn how to cutback, if you know how to turn and want to get tubed…. this is the retreat for you!

Las flores is one of the longest, most playful, user-friendly waves i’ve ever surfed. Check out what a retreat in El Salvador is all about by clicking play above!

Laura Gets Super Long Waves on Her Second Retreat With Suave Dulce

hollybeck27 — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:21:07 +0000

Laura came on her first retreat to Nicaragua last year and couldn’t even read waves. She learned a lot and by her second retreat in El Salvador she was getting super long waves all the way down the point. The goal for her third retreat: get barreled! Stay tuned…

Surfing and Soccer with Mariah Almond

hollybeck27 — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:51:40 +0000

Mariah is from Texas where the waves don’t get very good very often. She came to her first Suave Dulce retreat in Nicaragua last year, spent a lot more time surfing afterwards, and came back for another retreat in El Salvador. Her surfing had improved so much! She met some cute local kids on the beach, challenged them to a soccer game, and left them stunned after she scored a few goals. So what if they were only 13? A goal is a goal!