The Wellness Surf & Skate Podcast

Episode 9: The Healing Crew: Why Community Matters in Movement Based Therapy

In this heart-centered episode, host Albert Balderas, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Surf Therapy Facilitator, explores the role of community in the healing process — especially within movement-based therapy. Whether it’s a surf pod, a skate crew, or a group session in motion, Albert dives into how co-regulation, emotional witnessing, and shared space create deep opportunities for growth. We break down why belonging matters, how community supports nervous system repair, and how skating and surfing with others fosters safety, courage, and connection. Healing doesn’t have to be solitary. Sometimes, the ride is better together.

Episode 8: The Art of Falling: Building Resilience One Wipeout at a Time

In this episode, host Albert Balderas, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Surf Therapy Facilitator, explores what it really means to fall — and get back up. Through the wisdom of surf and skate therapy, Albert shares how falling isn’t failure — it’s feedback. It’s an essential part of learning, growing, and rewiring the nervous system for courage and resilience. We dive into growth mindset, trauma-informed movement, and how boardsports gently teach us to try, fall, and try again… without shame. Whether you’ve wiped out on a wave, on a board, or in life — this episode is your reminder that rising starts with permission to fall.

Episode 7: From Breakdown to Flow: Movement as Emotional Alchemy"

In this powerful episode, host Albert Balderas, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Surf Therapy Facilitator, explores how intense emotions like grief, anxiety, stress, and anger can be transformed through movement. Using the frameworks of skate and surf therapy, Albert shares how we can move these energies through the body — not to escape them, but to alchemize them. This is a conversation about nervous system regulation, emotional rhythm, and finding flow after the fall. Because sometimes, healing doesn’t begin with stillness — it begins with motion.  Breakdown isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of transformation.

Episode 6: Surf, Skate, and the Inner Child

In this episode, host Albert Balderas, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Surf Therapy Facilitator, invites you into a deeper exploration of your inner child — the part of you that still carries wonder, fear, playfulness, and pain. Through the rhythms of skateboarding and the ebb and flow of surfing, Albert shares how movement becomes a powerful way to reconnect with the parts of ourselves that long to be seen, supported, and celebrated. We explore how skate and surf therapy invite emotional risk, curiosity, laughter, and even tears  all of which make space for healing. Whether you’re just discovering your inner child or already walking with them daily, this episode is a call to move, to feel, and to remember.

Episode 5: Play in Motion: Where Play Therapy Meets Surf and Skate

In this episode, host Albert Balderas, California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Surf Therapy Facilitator, explores the deep connection between play therapy and movement-based healing through surf and skate practices. We unpack how play — often seen as something just for kids — is actually a vital part of emotional regulation, self-discovery, and healing for people of all ages. Through the lens of skateboarding and surfing, Albert shares how embodied play activates the nervous system, builds resilience, and opens space for joy, expression, and repair. Whether you’re a therapist, a board rider, or someone who’s forgotten how to play — this episode is an invitation to move, laugh, risk, and remember. 🎲 Play isn’t a distraction — it’s medicine.