Magnify

Beth digs lingerie and bluegrass music, and was a Colorado extreme athlete until Lyme disease did her in. After healing through yoga and surfing, she now helps women “release their inner bad ass” at Sol Shine Surf and Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica.

Rules:

Remember to breathe.

Talk is cheap.

Let your freak flag fly.

Talk to your dogs, they are great listeners.

Question authority.

Beth grew up near the North Carolina coast and has been surfing since age 12, but catching waves took a backseat to high altitude rushes once she landed in Telluride, Colorado, where she lived (and skied, rock climbed, mountaineered) up until five years ago. She moved back to the East Coast to be closer to family after a brutal bout with Lyme disease. Put on mega doses of fierce antibiotics ("I'm pretty sure they were made for horses and not humans") and told she'd need to be on them for a year or more, Beth endured them for five months and "thought I was going to die from the antibiotics alone. That's when I decided to take matters in my own hands and heart and find a different way to get better," she says. Yoga became part of her alternative therapy, and on a trip to Costa Rica, she rediscovered surfing. "The two combined made an amazing impact on my health and my life," says Beth, who got certified to teach yoga and last year launched Sol Shine Surf and Yoga Retreats. "Living the life that I love and sharing it with other women is a dream come true." Beth splits her time between Playa Grande, Costa Rica, and Charleston, and between her yoga mat and her Al Merrick 6'4 surfboard and a custom 6'8 SunBurnt fun board made for her in Hanalei, Kauai.

Sign up for an indulgent Sol Shine getaway at www.solshinesurfandyoga.com.