The ocean has always been honest with me. It doesn’t hide the hard stuff - it mirrors it. Some days it held me; other days it tossed me around just like life did. SWELLNESS really began in those tangled seasons, when everything I knew seemed to get swept away at once. My home region was devastated by the Lismore floods, my business disappeared overnight, my body broke down from autoimmune issues, and surgeries became routine. It was one of those chapters where you look around and think, How did I end up here?

Through all of it, the lineup was the only place I still felt like myself. On the good days, when I could paddle out, the noise in my head finally quieted. And that’s where things started to shift - when I began blending the therapy tools I’d learned with the rhythm of surfing.

What happened next changed everything.

I dove into the science behind it - how the brain heals, how trauma rewires us, and how movement, nature, and attention can reset a system that’s been in survival mode too long. The mix of research and lived experience became the backbone of SWELLNESS.

SWELLNESS is everything I wish I had back then: practical, grounded, science-based tools made for real surfers in real life. It’s therapy you can take into the water - and honestly, the results still surprise me.

This guide is my way of sharing it all, in a format that’s simple, engaging, and actually doable. My hope? That surfers, ocean-lovers, and even practitioners around the world can use it to support people who need something a little different… where waves, movement and mindset meet.

If it helped me rebuild my mind and body, I know it can help others find their way back to the surface too.

- Rachel, Founder & Author of SWELLNESS