In the yoga philosophy all practices start with learning how to breathe, stretch, move, and be still – ways to stimulate the bodymind to experience uplifting well-being. Such well-being is exactly what it says: wellness of the whole being.

In ordinary daily-grind reality there is seldom harmonious synergy of body, mind and spirit. Business, physical, mental and emotional discomfort or pain, imposed or self-imposed, is the order of the day. As a coping mechanism bracing, numbing down and escapism is  the common go-to defence.

Yoga suggests practices that builds well-being rather than destructive coping strategies. Sustainable in the long run, simple or challenging as the practitioner is capable of.

● Yoga provide an experience of true well-being
● Yoga provide tools to overcome conditions that prevents an experience of well-being
● Yoga provide management and acceptance of conditions where it is not possible to to experience well-being

Get to know joy

A useful place to start is to cut right to the chase. Popular yoga as commonly practiced is based in asana or the exercises, but these are only an aspect of the real or greater yoga that leads one to true joy. When happiness is experienced for no reason other than feeling alive, in the moment, in the now, not because of something, or inspite of everything. One could potentially feel it in a supermarket or a prison, but of course joy is more likely to be found in a beautiful place, indoors or in nature. I’m talking about the pure pleasure of physical being alive, without any reward or expectation or getting or giving.

If you’re not feeling an inkling of such joy, ask yourself: What makes me happy, and how does it feel? You must understand that you may be looking for joy in the wrong place, or perhaps just gave up on the idea. In yoga joy is something that the practitioner directly aspires to, with awarenesses of that which prevents an experience of joy as part of the learning and process.

The nature of joy

Yoga takes its practitioner to a straight forward realisation that there is no such thing as real joy in anything except a simple, direct connection to feeling alive. Everything else is indirect and causal, fleeting happiness or happiness as result of something.

In nature, life on earth, there is much light, sky surrounds us. At night the stars gives light, and provides restful respite from bright and busy day. But it is sunrise, so magnificent and glorious on occasion, that may fill the onlooker with awe. Noticing these things, finding joy in nature, wherever and in whatever condition you in, teaches us that we are, in being, body, mind and spirit, a joyous part of the greater nature.

The simple breath and movement practices of yoga nurtures this nature, in our being.

Sunrise Beach Yoga on a calm, bright Muizenberg morning for a small European tour group.
Surfers Corner 28 September 2017

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Celebrate FREE Beach Meditation Yoga & Chi Gung Sessions. Enjoy Sunrise events such as Solstice on Surfers Corner (sun sets behind mountain) and Sunset events such as Full Moon by the river mouth (a short way down main beach). Your hosts are usually Chi Gung specialist Richard Stoltz and Johann Kotze, one of Cape Town’s most experienced yoga teachers. All levels practitioners welcome. Or send me an email if you want to be notified.

ॐ Summer Solstice Sunrise Beach Yoga – Friday 21 December 2018 – 5.30 AM 
Or follow us on Facebook.

Sunrise Beach Meditation & Yoga Music Video

Sunrise is a great yogi blessing – blog link.
See my Live-Swell global surf directory article why Muizenberg is an awesome Cape Town Winter Surf Destination.

Stunning aerial footage from the 2016 African Soul Surfer Logjam video shows the beautiful natural ocean and mountain surrounds of Cape Town city and specifically the Muizenberg/False Bay/Cape Point side of the peninsula. Also a compelling inspiration to visit the haven of Deep South Surf Culture

See my yoga music video promotion for my online yoga with great drone footage of Muizenberg beach yoga.

Surfers Corner Screenshots courtesy of Google maps. Top pic Lifestyle Surf Shop (note Tigers Milk not built yet). 2nd pic is at the Beach Road circle opposite Gary’s Surf School/TaDa and Joffi’s Falafal.

My Cape Town Surf Yoga television insert filmed at Surfers Corner.

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Johann Kotze Music & Yoga Studio, Muizenberg, Cape Town.

The 10 Top Yoga Studios in Cape Town selected by the hugely popular CapeTownMagazine includes the up and coming Muizenberg yoga scene. The Cape Town Surf Yoga Studio on the now rocking-every-weekend-Surfers Corner received a warm heads-up in the influential online magazine:

“With the double-storey lodging literally on the beach, it comes as no surprise then that African Soul Surfer boasts Cape Town’s only sea-facing yoga studio. What’s more zen than looking out onto the calming ocean while perfecting your breathing and poses, right? The backpackers hosts yoga classes 7 days a week and pilates twice a week. Session costs between R70 and R80p/p. Of course, if you want to contrast the calming effects of yoga with an adrenaline rush, the vibrant hostel integrates surf culture into its look and feel and also offers surf lessons and hires out boards and wetsuits.”

See the other Top Cape Town Yoga Studios nominated by the magazine.

The unpredicatable Muizenberg and False Bay wind, cool or strong sun does not allow for regular beach yoga practice, but the surf yoga instructors do take learners through a beach routine. Yoga classes varies between before or after surfing, as yoga is equally useful as a warm-up or post surf practice. Most of all yoga helps surfing in the long run, with developing a more rounded skill set. And the combination is a lot of fun:

Johann, Johann Kotze Music & Yoga, Cape Town, Winter 2016.

The long, sandy beach has a great wave for beginners and a long ride from the deep back line for the more daring. All-in all a great, fun place to catch a wave on a long board, short board, old board, new board, boogie board, SUP, surf ski, paddle ski, whatever floats. On a nice weather days, and weekends throngs of visitors flock to coffee shops, surf schools, surf gear hire vendors, restaurants, rusty old cars with roof racks, shiny SUV’s and all sort of transport that brings surfers, alone, in groups or in families.

Right in the thick of it, overlooking the famous Muizenberg Surfer’s Corner circle and beach area, on the 2nd store above a surf business and eateries, are my Sea-View Yoga Classes at African Soul Surfer, a lodge with surf town amenities and a great vibe.

Be one of the Cool Ones. Join Gandhi, Einstein, Bob Marley, Mandela and some other icons in the Surf Yoga Lounge at African Soul Surfer. Prove it with a selfie. :-))

More Cape Town Yoga Holiday and Surf Yoga Holidays are coming up from mid-year. We have some cooking ideas like rooftop yoga and other special events lined up for 2016 and beyond. We’re amped to welcome local Cape Townians and international tourists who specially come to us for a surf & yoga tour, or who just happen to be near to catch a wave or be on the beach. 

● Drop-ins welcome.
● Book your own session should the scheduled classes not cater for our needs (Cost is R 350 individual /R 450 for 2 or more, up to 8 persons)
● Stay tuned for workshops and special events.
● See my yoga class schedule. My Johann Kotze Music & Yoga Studio is just a block away from the buzz, further down Beach Road.

Classes are presented in an accessible, Easy Flow Hatha Yoga style. All level of practitioners are welcome. Make a great family outing to Muizenberg beach even better. Moms can do yoga while dad has session and the kids are taking surf lessons (or any combination thereof). Surfers can loosen with a pre session stretch and surf better with yoga that basically makes for a more effective pop, agility on the wave, and improved focus and speedier recovery time.

We invite you to come get amped, be stoked, chill out and feel great with a yoga class. The motto is:

● Surf ● Yoga ● Sleep ● Coffee (in any order)

Cheers, Johann

Below: original promotion poster, September 2015.

Muizenberg is a happy place to be for one who appreciates a community and a small town feel. Located only about 30 minutes drive from Cape Town city and Cape Point, it feels close enough to the international world, and remote enough to be part of the natural scenic beauty of the Southern Cape of Good Hope peninsula.

But it is surfing, and not yoga, or the history of the town or its stature as gateway-to-Kalkbay and beyond that is the big thing here in Deep South as the area is affectionately known. My short documentary style video below gives a feel of Surfers Corner.

Stream my S.U.R.F. Music (used in video soundtrack):

Surf shops, and coffee shops and restaurants thrive on Surfers Corner’s reputation as premier surf destination in the Cape. Nice weather days and the weekends is just crazy with surfers of all ages and descriptions descending. Locals and Cape Townians bring their own boards, while tourists rent gear and lessons from Gary’s Surf School and Lifestyle Surf Shop. The oldest surf shop in Cape Town, the Corner Surf Shop, bustles alongside the newer arrivals of Roxy Surf School and the SUP store Expression on the Beach.

When conditions are ideal the visitors lend an air of prosperity to Beach Road. Several other factors make this small town with a village feel a fantastic residential and business proposition. City brands like Knead, Primi Piati, Lucky Fish, and new independents like Blonde & Beard, Oraboris, Ta Da, and the much frequented new addition, Tiger’s Milk (December 2014, picture below, from their Facebook Page) is changing the face of Muizenberg with it’s upmarket mix of modern and old design. Fortunately, institutions such as Gaslight and legendary Empire Cafe remains in business.

The long sandy beach of Muizenberg stretches kilometres to the east. My yoga studio is located on the “Golden Mile” part of Beach Road that leads into Muizenburg from Prince George and Baden Powell Drive side. In fact, the sea level drive from this side, from the N2 and Stellenbosch side is spectacular. Our area is somewhat separated from direct access to the beach by the pavilion and recreation area that includes swimming pools and super slides. Below image is from the mountainside, near Boyes Drive, found on Stoked Backpackers Facebook. All other pics by myself.  Johann Kotze Music & Yoga Studio is behind the red roofed building and swimming pool in the centre-left. 

Sign boards all along the N1, M3 and M5 roads from the city, via Constantia and Tokai, and from the Milnerton side, indicate south bound journeys to Muizenberg. This is as far as one can go from the north western side of the peninsula, crossing the Cape Flats, beyond Grassy Park to the other. With the Lakeside and Marina Da Gama surrounding the vlei (a wetland) on the adjoining side, one may imagine Cape Town might have been like before it grew into the city it now is. Quaint, small, and old town historical Muizenberg is echoed by the narrow belt of houses of St James and Kalk Bay towards Fishoek, set against the low mountains that belongs to the Table Mountain along the Fals Bay coastline.

Walking west towards Fishoek, along the magnificent views from the comfortable footpath along the rocks, one passes the famous St James tidal pools, then Dalebrook pool (photograph below), pretty Danger Beach before reaching Kalk Bay harbour, a scenic, traditional village harbour. At Brass Bell one may have meals and drinks right on the water’s edge. Funky shops , coffee shops and restaurants dot the Main Road of the area. The walk or drive from here to Fishoek, and beyond, past Glenn Cairn to Simon’s Town, is just more of the same oceanic scenic splendour.

Winter often appears suddenly, and the ocean temperature plunges. Rain and rain bearing wind can rip for days on end. Relief comes in the form off crystal clear, sunny days, occasionally with glassy, big-but-pleasant-swell surf. Either way, there are always lovely days gentle drizzles inbetween Cape winter storms. I filmed the video below during the spring of 2012, on a moody, wintry day.

All-in-all a cool place for yoga. I moved to the coast in 2010 because to live the dream… but I had to learn to tolerate the wind. The Wind. Seaside here means more often than not an onshore force of nature from November through January, the infamous South Easter season. February to April days are idyllic, beautifully golden, awesome sunrises, calm, clear blue days, forever endless summer moments.

In my studio, mostly protected from sea wind or breeze I can keep an eye on surfers enjoying long Muizenberg rides. On offshore wind or windstill mornings the windows are open wide, at once oceanic and grounding. Locals walk or cycle to class. Some parents take their kids to a surf lesson and drop for a Saturday morning class. Some travel from far as the city centre, to go for coffee at one of their favourite Beach Road spots after class.

I often manage a swim, or occasional surf right before yoga class. Oceanic energy, liquid prana, the salt sea water; swimming in the sea cleanses the aura, forces one into the present, and the cold water here stimulates release of the inner mechanisms of metabolic warmth generation. An incredible, idescribalbe sense of wholeness and energy fills me when I swim or surf at sunrise.

Many visiting tourists and surfers attend several classes during a stay. It is a pleasure and a privilege to send them, and the local students, near or far, home with an experience of the magnificence of Muizenberg. A dream come true, especially considering that some things are worth more when shared.

Johann
Muizenberg, Cape Town,
January 2015

Update December 2015: African Soul Surfer at six a.m. after a Surf & Yoga photoshoot to promote my yoga classes at Surfer’s Corner.