Surfing the stress away

In the zone has a double meaning for Stephanie Marcum, a Laie mother who turned surfing into a family affair.

There’s the surfer’s reference, inspired by her love of riding waves at her favorite break at Malaekahana Beach. And there’s the health practitioner’s reference. A licensed reflexologist, Marcum treats clients with “foot zone therapy,” which is a mixture of acupressure and massage that she says can improve a person’s health by stimulating pressure points on a person’s feet.

For the 36-year-old Marcum, exercise has to be fun — and when she’s in the zone, surfing doesn’t let her down.

“Exercise is important to me, but if it’s stressful then I’m just causing more emotional issues,” she said. “That’s why I look for things that are exercise but are also enjoyable. I want my exercise to be stress-relieving, not stress-inducing.”

Surfing, along with Pilates and Zumba, is how Marcum stays fit. To make sure she has time in her busy schedule of mothering and foot zone therapy, she follows a routine.

“I schedule my exercise mostly in the morning because at night it is easy to say I’m too tired,” she said.

Marcum wasn’t always a surfer. A mother of four, she moved from Utah to Hawaii with her family in 2011 when her husband got a job at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Marcum had been on a surfboard only once before but decided she would learn how to surf in her new home.

In the beginning she spent most of her time paddling and not catching waves, but she kept at it.

“I went about three times a week in the beginning and didn’t stand up for a few weeks,” she said. “Then I started standing, but mostly by luck. Within six months I felt like I could catch waves by my knowledge and skill. Now I know the beaches I go to so well that I can catch almost any wave I want, but still not good enough to surf steep North Shore breaks.”

Surfing is a really good stress reliever, Marcum said. She frequents family beaches, where the waves are manageable. Big sets take the fun out of it, she said.

“I don’t need that much adrenaline,” she said. “I’m out there to exercise and enjoy, not to catch the biggest wave.”

She didn’t know how important surfing had become to her well-being until she spent a few weeks visiting family in Utah. “I started dreaming of the ocean,” she said.

When Marcum lived in Utah, she had to be creative when it came to finding an exercise routine. Taking care of her children took more of her time. She joined a basketball league and went on walks with her children to stay healthy.

In Hawaii, surfing has become a family activity.

“My husband and I go surfing for date night,” she said. “We usually try go once a week to the beach as a family and surf.”

Marcum’s youngest son is the only one who isn’t a fan of surfing. He calls it boring.

Exercise is only one part of the healthy life she leads with her family, Marcum said. Her family’s diet mostly comes from a code of health called the Word of Wisdom, found in Mormon scripture. Marcum tries to stick to whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and minimizes the amount of processed food she and her family consume.

“I focus on nutrition just as much as exercise,” she said.

Marcum believes that good health is tied to emotional well-being. Thanks to surfing, body and spirit are in good shape, she said.

“I want to live a long, healthy life not dependent on medication,” she said. “I’ve found when I live more healthy, my spirit is happier, not just my body.”

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