Media about SwellWomen: Yoga / Surf Retreat on Maui
MAKING WAVES
By SALLY HOWARD
Reprinted from Sights Magazine: JAN/FEB/MAR 2007
MAKING
WAVES
WORDS BY SALLY HOWARD
“Surf’s up,dudettes!”
So runs the rallying cry of Me-Shell Barnas, the envi-ably tanned,
self-confessed surf chick behind Swell-Women (www.swellwomen.com
)—a women-only fitness getaway vacation program, set on the
idyllic Hawaiian island of Maui. Me-Shell is the sort of physically
talented specimen to make couch potatoes dive into a family-sized
bag of potato chips for cover.
At 37 years old, the sprightly native Spaniard has a resume to make
any fitness fiend proud—it charts a high-octane course from
professional snowboarder to snowboard designer, sports writer, California
surfer and accredited yoga teacher. Her latest venture, SwellWomen
on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, combines several of Me-Shell’s
sporting passions, with a particular focus on surfing (for aerobics
and bodily strength) and yoga (for body and soul).
Yoga, of course, is a perennial women’s favorite. “But
surfing,” says Me-Shell, with a 100-kilowatt smile, “used
to be a man’s world. Well, time to move over boys! A lot has
changed in the world of boarding sports since I started 10 years
ago. Women are getting a lot more exposure. When I first competed
in snowboarding, the prize money was less for women than for men.
We just weren’t taken seriously. Thankfully, that’s all
changing now.” Thanks, one would suspect, to trailblazing women
such as Me-Shell, beating the boys at their own game on the crest
of a wave, or in a flurry of powder.
So, how did a professional snowboarder wind up on a conspicuously
snow-free tropical island Hawaiian Island of Maui, then? “After
my snowboarding career, and a period teaching in Redondo Beach, California,
where I learned to surf, I was in New York, working for the music
industry. Then, being an outdoor girl at heart, I needed a break
from the rat race—so I packed my knapsack for a round-the-world
trip.” Me-Shell’s adventure loop landed her, six months
later, in Maui, where, as with so much in her life before this point,
she slunk into a covetable new gig, as assistant director at Maui
Surfer Girls—an overnight surf camp for girls aged 12 to 17.
By the time Me-Shell’s two-month contract ended, a flower was
tucked behind her ear and her future course through life’s
foaming surf was set. “By that point, I’d seen the opportunity
for a wellness program for women on Maui,” she explains. “SwellWomen
was an out-of-the-box idea when we started out. Hawaiian Island Vacations
to Maui don’t tend to be handheld, people will book flights,
hotels etc. and just grab a little of the tropical paradise, without
delving deeply. I wanted to take the stress out of it for the women
who come here—provide them with a truly affirming Hawaiian
vacation.”
Me-Shell Barnas, the founder of the Hawaii-based SwellWomen women’s
surf and yoga retreat, believes that making positive changes in your
life is best done in a tropical paradise.
“I tell them that this is exactly what they need to do. Without
truly feeling happy on the inside, how can you possibly be a loving
wife, nurturing mother and productive employee?”
And what are the unique challenges in targeting a business to women? “As
surprising as this may seem, the challenge that I face most often
is that many women feel that they don’t deserve to spend an
entire week on themselves,” Me-Shell admits. “They have
families, a career, a husband, kids and feel almost guilty about
going on a vacation that is just for them, for their wellbeing, even
to unlock their adventurous spirit. I tell them that this is exactly
what they need to do. Without truly feeling happy on the inside,
how can you possibly be a loving wife, nurturing mother and productive
employee? Now, of course, a one week vacation doesn’t guarantee
all this—I’d be in trouble if I promised it—but
it’s definitely a start!”
And it’s hard to imagine that even the most stressed-out lady
urbanite wouldn’t be fully restored by SwellWomen’s Hawaiian
Vacation program. A typical day of “The Experience,” the
six- or seven-night getaway that is SwellWomen’s core package,
begins with a morning yoga class, followed by a healthy breakfast,
surf lessons until lunch, with the attractive proposition of an afternoon
having a luxurious massage, attending health workshops or simply
lounging around the pool or on the beach seeking what Me-Shell dubs “your
own private bliss,” removed from the hustle-bustle of the mainland
everyday.
“The modern world,” says Me-Shell, “is completely
out of balance. We’re such a society of doers, and technological
advancement that’s supposed to let us do things 'faster’ is
actually just winding up making us do more and more. I’m asking
women to take time out from that.”
Another happy plus-point of the SwellWomen program is the number
of firm friendships it forges. “SwellWomengoers come from everywhere,
east coast US, west coast US, Japan, England, New Zealand, even Tahiti
for a Hawaiian Islands Vacation; and every age from 23 to 63. But
after catching their first wave together, they instantly become o’hana
(family, in Hawaiian). There’s an unexplainable bond in catching
a wave with someone. And I hear that many of the friendships endure
well beyond their time here.” The biggest boost for Me-Shell,
however, is seeing a woman arrive stressed and tightly wound by her
everyday life, and to send her home rejuvenated, even to the promise
of a new life. “Recently, a woman was so inspired by SwellWomen
that she decided to start her own retreats in Montana for recovering
alcoholics. She shared with us her own recovery story, and it had
everyone in tears. And we also had a 48-year-old woman who was taking
a vacation by herself for the very first time. She was a wife and
mother, and worked at a gallery. It turned out she was an incredible
artist, but the artist inside of her was dormant—she hadn’t
practiced her art for over 20 years. It was at SwellWomen that she
finally began drawing again.”
Whether she completely changes a vacationer’s life course,
or merely helps them to incorporate yoga into their everyday life,
go on daily walks, or have the confidence to tackle more adventurous
sports for the first time, there’s no doubting that there’s
much to be said for Me-Shell’s unique brand of “personal
bliss.” Not that she likes to take credit for it. “No,
all the credit goes to the island of Maui for providing such beauty
and nurturing energy, Me-Shell laughs, and then says, “I guess
that’s why they call Hawaii, paradise.”
