The Siargao Session w/JL
A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE
This experience still to this day sits closely with me and I regularly check back in with my journal notes from that 7 day experience. I’m unsure how I can express the week via 1 blog post; all that went on and all that was taken away from the experience, but i’ll give it a red hot crack and hopefully you can come away inspired. Maybe even putting your hand up and heading to the next ‘Siargao Session’.
I was feeling pretty stuck, feet in the ground and no momentum or real push to get moving anywhere fast. As most 19 or 20 year olds can probably relate to, it seems like if we aren’t working 40 plus hours a week or studying full-time we are wasting our lives. I was working and living a mundane lifestyle, the most exciting parts of my weeks were Friday nights and the weekend, that’s all I knew and it seemed like the norm. On top of coming out of a long term relationship, I was genuinely lost. The last 6 years were spent building up, and planning a future with someone, and just like that it was taken away.
Then I got a message from Josh Lynott, telling me about this project he was working on, and ‘this could be something [I] could be interested in’, and Oh boy, was it ever! He sent through the draft write up of what he had in mind; ‘The Siargao Session - challenging your fitness and mindset’.
Fast Forward 3 months and I’m on a plane with a, now, best mate of mine Jack Allwood. I had only met Jack once or twice prior to the trip, for a coffee and a jog. Incoming - 30 hours of transit. This would be one my longest trips away from home.
I somehow scored three and half weeks off from work, using almost all my annual leave that I had saved up, all of the 4 weeks a year we get! Fuck that! never again will I fall for that trick again.
The boys finally arrive, and as per usual Jack and I were the last arrive to the island; exhausted but hyped. We meet the rest of the crew who we were going to be spending the next unknown 7 days with. There’s always that first awkward ‘hey and how are you’ small talk conversations with any new group, but this was different. We connected quickly, I think purely from the fact we all were alone. All having just jumped on a plane to the session with an open mind and zero expectations. No judgemental feelings were in the air.
The mornings were wholesome, and by far my favourite time of the day.
Up early, 5AM sort of early, and we would all head out to the grass; quietly each of us would sit / write / stretch / meditate or just anything that made you smile and feel alive, watch the sun rise, and welcome the new day together.
6AM, we would pile onto the scooters and head out along the coast; running through the palm trees and along the rice fields. It all sounds like a dream, but trust me, we were there and living it.
If it wasn’t a morning jog it was the local gym, where shoes were of course - in true Philippines style - optional. Those days back home when you’d wake up and that thought or doubt of 'today i’ll take it easy’ or rest, didn’t exist. I don’t know what it is, but when you are surrounded by some of the most supportive and inspiring people, it feels as if anything is possible and you can’t or don’t want to stop.
We had won the morning, by a long shot. But it didn’t stop there, post jog/gym we’d come back to our bungalow oasis where we would freshen up by jumping into the ocean, or keep it simple with a shower. Gathering together in the common area, we would start tackling the mental side of things. We’ve just worked ourselves physically, but it was time to build up a mental toughness and start setting a positive mindset.
Each day we had morning and afternoon workshop session where we would go through a specific topic. They ranged from titles like - ‘Go Slow’, ‘Smash Negativity’, too even ‘Taking Risks’, just to name a few. Over the week we worked through eight workshops. Each one of us had our own journal and would be asked to write down a handful of things; from questions to personal thoughts, and even just writing down an answer to what Josh had asked us. Over the week we answered and asked questions that we had just never even thought about or even considered. They weren’t hard questions but they did what Josh had anticipated; they played on our minds, made us dig a little deeper and go below the surface, thinking a little harder on the answers each time. There never was a right or wrong answer, everyones answer would be different and that’s what made it that extra bit special There was never any pressure, just rock up with no expectations. Be an open book. Be honest to yourself.
THE DAILY BLACK-BOARD.
A workshop that stuck with me the most was the ‘Go Slow’ workshop (I even had it tattooed on me, so it really is stuck with me). I learnt a lot from that one workshop. Being the youngest child in my family, my older brother and sister already being 29 and 26 respectively, both with a house and kids from relatively early ages. It felt as if I was falling behind and would have to follow in their footsteps sooner rather than later. This job I had was it, It’s all I knew. If I stopped work, no money would be coming in, that means no savings, and how would I afford this lifestyle that everyone around me would be living?
‘Go slow’ taught me, Why the rush? Who set the deadlines? Why aren’t you setting your own deadlines? Life isn’t short, its as short as you make it. If the weekend is your only hype, your wasting 5 days to live for 2. I wasn’t about that anymore. My attitude had changed, and I no longer worry about my age or put pressure on myself. No more deadlines on the stuff that worried me.
The week was full of surprises with each day unraveling and the unexpected just kept popping up. I guess that’s the thrill of traveling to different locations, your mind is always blown away with speechless moments. From island hopping, and swimming the clearest of water, to land hopping on a the roof of an old jeep, and swinging off palm trees into the river, to climbing palm trees to collect coconuts. Adventure was everywhere, and we were all thriving off it.
Each day breakfast, lunch and dinner, we sat down as a family. In the morning, we would chat and run through how the day was going to go. Dinner time was always special, someone always had a story from the day and it always ended in tears of laugher. Each night as we ate, we went around the table and would talk about our one percenter of the day. A one percenter can be a small or big highlight of your day, or maybe something that happened that wasn’t planned, something that wasn’t on the agenda for the day but it was special and stood out.
At the end of the week, JL had a surprise in store for us. ‘The Siargao Session Challenge’; a half marathon. We were told the night before and were given our racing bibs. I’m 15 weeks post meniscus surgery and was a little worried on how the knee would hold out. This would be by far the longest run to date.
We were told to be up at 4:30AM, and be ready to be at the start line at 5:30AM. 4AM alarm goes off and I have never jumped out of bed so fast. We didn’t get our normal breakfast, it was just a coffee and fruit. I loaded up on the bananas and felt confident. It’s hard not to feel that way when, again, the group around you is just absolutely marvellous.
I was just keen to get it done. Keeping an eye out on my knee and playing it safe, but still pushed and happy with how it went. I rested and iced my knee after and we all went and got mango shakes and massages afterwards, because why not. The feeling after that half marathon definitely played a rolled in why I still continue to run and play around with the bigger Kilometres .
Something that sits with me still is that this week didn’t go fast. You know those weeks away, or even just a normal week, where it’s come to the end and you think, ‘holy smokes that went fast'? No way, the last few days dragged on, in a good way, It wasn’t till the last day when it hit us and it was time to say goodbye. I cant thank Josh enough for what he delivered and to the 10 incredible humans that I met that week.
It’s the little moments on this trip that I will forever carry with me. Either a conversation at one of the workshops, a special one on one chat I had with someone during the week, or the simple feeling of my hair blowing in the wind while we rode our scooters to the smoothie bowl cafe. I’ll always appreciate the little things and be thankful for the unexpected things that happen in my day to day life.
