Ocean as Healer - Jada Alexander
About Jada Alexander
Jada Alexander has a deep reverence for the ocean. Her personal journey as a young Black woman has left her with emotional scars and is how she came to understand that the ocean is more than a place to catch a wave. Jada is the founder of the Daybreak Beach Club. Daybreak teaches participants to enjoy, respect and protect the ocean while discovering that the ocean provides a path to healing and personal growth.
On the podcast Jada discusses how the ocean promotes mental and emotional well-being. Surfing, other water sports, and yoga are ways Daybreak encourages mindfulness, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. These holistic approaches are complements to more traditional medical and therapeutic practices, and at the same time promote ocean stewardship.
Why Ocean Health Starts with Personal Wellness: Jada’s Perspective
When she was young her dad got laid off of his job and her family took a nearly yearlong road trip around the United States. She created all that time spent visiting national parks and fishing and camping and hiking to developing a relationship with the natural world. She recognized that water was very healing during high school when she played water polo and was on the swim team. All that time in the water made her feel good which was helpful as she experienced a lot of racism at school. And when COVID isolated the world Jada found the ocean a way to cope. It has helped her heal herself, other people, and want to protect it. She discusses how learning that parts of the ocean are dying is toxic and that we must prioritize our health. “Without being a healthy person, emotionally and physically, you are not able to help others, including nature.” Jada discusses her Daybreak Beach Club and its mission to help young people and their families to work on their own wellness and to be ocean stewards.
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00:00:00 Pam Ferris-Olson
So it's a pleasure to meet you and the fact that you've got coverage on NPR. WOW! How did you do that?
00:00:06 Jada Alexander
I don’t know.
00:00:08 Pam Ferris-Olson
Who did you impress?
00:00:10 Jada Alexander
I'm very grateful for the opportunities, including this one to be on your podcast, yeah.
00:00:15 Pam Ferris-Olson
Well, thank you.
Today on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com, I'm speaking with Jada Alexander. Jada is a young woman with a deep reverence for the ocean. Jada’s personal journey provides an understanding that the ocean is more than a place to catch a wave. Jada loves to surf, and recently founded the Daybreak Beach Club. Daybreak teaches participants to enjoy, respect and protect the ocean while discovering that the ocean provides a path to healing and personal growth.
00:00:53 Pam Ferris-Olson
The Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com engages artists in conversation about their work and explores their connection with the ocean. Through their stories Wo(men) Mind the Water hopes to inspire and encourage action to protect the ocean and her creatures.
00:01:13 Pam Ferris-Olson
This podcast I'm speaking with Jada Alexander, the founder of Daybreak Beach Club.
Daybreak uses ocean-based programs to promote mental and emotional well-being.
Surf, other water sports and yoga are ways Daybreak, encourages mindfulness, self-awareness, and emotional regulation. These holistic approaches are complements to more traditional medical and therapeutic practices and at the same time promote ocean stewardship.
00:01:46 Pam Ferris-Olson
Jada, I am excited to talk with you for The Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast.
Thank you for being willing to share your personal journey. Jada let's talk about that journey and how you're using it to help others.
00:02:00 Pam Ferris-Olson
I've read that a young age your parents introduced you to the outdoors. Growing up in Southern California what were some of the outdoor activities that you most enjoyed?
00:02:12 Jada Alexander
Yes, thank you so much for having me on the show. It is wonderful to be, you know, another woman alongside all of the, I think you said 86, women that have gone before me on this show, so I'm very honored.
And as for what I enjoyed the most when I was younger. You know actually during the recession, my dad got laid off of his job and my family was very fortunate to be able to go on a road trip for almost a year around the United States. And so we went around all the national parks and, you know, went fishing and camping. And we're always hiking. And that just really exposed me on another level of always being in nature, always being on the road. And I think of that experience is really what my relationship with the natural world has been grown from.
00:03:22 Pam Ferris-Olson
So when you were introduced to surfing were you a natural or did it take time for you to learn how to sustain a ride?
00:03:30 Jada Alexander
Absolutely not, definitely not a natural. My very first time I went surfing I actually, my friend Kenna, from water polo at high school had a surfboard. She said let's go to the beach. And so me, her and some other friends went to the beach. I tried to get on her like 6 foot board have never been on a board in the water before and it was so, so hard for me to balance on the board. Even sitting down on my stomach. It was so, so hard; but I'm that type of person where if I'm bad at something I feel like I just, it's like a game to me. I really want to get better at it. Within a few months, I went to Costco and I got a Wavestorm. I started to teach myself how to surf, and I'm forever learning. But that was definitely the beginning of my journey.
00:04:29 Pam Ferris-Olson
So I learned in the 2011 documentary Whitewash that surfers of color have experienced a good deal of racism and discrimination on the beaches in the US. And I was wondering, as a black girl surfing in Southern California, what are your experiences? Has it always been a supportive environment?
00:04:49 Jada Alexander
As a Black woman in surf culture, especially in Southern California, it has not always been a wonderful experience. And, I've had slurred said to me. I've had people that were purposely, you know, being rude or, you know, making me feel like I didn't belong in the water. And yeah, yeah, that's, that's, what my experience has been on the negative side. There have also been so many beautiful moments where I have made friends out in the water just by chatting or, you know, meeting a group of women out in Oceanside Harbor and, you know, being welcomed in and everyone's cheering for each other. And so there are two different sides. And I think sometimes it depends on what beach you go to..
00:05:41 Pam Ferris-Olson
It's too bad in this day and age that that happens, but I'm glad you've persevered. And I wondered if your love of water-based activities had anything to do with your choice of college to study environmental science, or more specifically, marine biology?
00:05:58 Jada Alexander
When I was in high school, my parents were very supportive of doing what made me happy, not really worrying about, you know, what kind of money I was gonna make. They were very much told me it will come. And so I was applying for colleges and I had just taken a tour at UCSB.
And that was my top choice, my number one school. They had a wonderful Environmental Studies program. And you know, I feel like when you're in high school, you don't know how many options are really out there. And so I just knew I want to do something that has to do with the environment and education so that's what I'm going to choose. And then as I learn more, I'll go from there.
00:06:45 And so when I went into college, I just kept meeting people and getting new opportunities. And I got to teach at elementary schools. And then I met people that introduced me to an application for the Diversity Project to go do marine science research in French Polynesia.
And then I got the opportunity to do that. And none of this, I would have been inspired to do if I didn't have a healing relationship with the water that had gotten me through middle and high school.
00:07:22 Jada Alexander
I think the first time that I recognized that water in particular was very healing for me was during high school when I played water polo and was on the swim team. I would spend like 7 hours a day in the pool. And I always felt so much better after being in the water. And I really didn't know why. I just knew that’s what made me feel good. You know, I experienced a lot of racism at school. And so I was really shy. I was really self-conscious. And so I just didn't have any other outlets other than, you know, water sports. And so that became my way of coping. And you know, once COVID hit it was less the pool for me and more other forms of water like the ocean.
From there on, I feel like I've felt like nature's spirit and that has really driven me to give myself to the healing of myself, other people, as well as the protection of the natural world.
00:08:52 Pam Ferris-Olson
So it's an interesting transition to going from college, playing water polo, and studying marine biology and going to French Polynesia. And then, I don't know, is it a pivot to go to wellness recovery as a study?
00:09:10 Jada Alexander
No, no, I don't think so at because the reason that I cared about environmentalism in the first place is because it healed me. And so going from a place of really, really needing healing; I was diagnosed with depression, didn't have any other outlets, literally the outdoors were my lifeline.
And then I, you know, I learned more in school about what's going on. What's going on with nature? Like climate change and that really made me feel like my lifeline was in danger.
I am directly affected by climate change in more ways than one, but because nature is my emotional lifeline I need to protect it.
00:10:11 Pam Ferris-Olson
So it's one thing to study marine science or environmental sciences in the university, but how do you go to wellness recovery, did you make a pivot?
00:10:25 Jada Alexander
For me, wellness, holistic wellness has always been a part of my scientific journey. I think that when you are in the field. It can be extremely toxic because you are, I mean what I was learning about, you know, when I was I was in the field was literally how parts of the ocean were dying.
And that is a lot to take. That is a that's a lot to take in. And so, as a scientist, it is extremely crucial that you prioritize your health because without being a healthy person, emotionally and physically, you are not able to help others, including nature.
00:11:20 Pam Ferris-Olson
How do you address ecological anxiety at a time of rising global temperatures and sea levels and a global political climate that is less inclined to focus on environmental healing?
00:11:33 Jada Alexander
I, you know, my personal journey with climate anxiety and stress has been very much one with many ups and downs, because you know, like one year I was in Moorea [French Polynesia] and there was a beautiful flourishing coral reef. The next year I went back and it was all covered by algae. You couldn't see the reef and to see something like that. It's very heartbreaking. But it's important to take care of yourself. So that you are able to continue to put your best foot forward and to be able to fight.
00:12:17 Jada Alexander
I was a teaching assistant for a UC climate anxiety course, which was featured on NPR.
And in that course, I had the opportunity to teach students that were in college, some environmental studies students, some students, you know, just undecided exactly how to take care of themselves. In this political climate, in the environmental, in our environmental issues and, you know, our social issues as well. And you know, some of those tactics were, you know, just taking a moment and breathing. And, it can sound, “Oh, sure.” But when you really sit and you do it and you take that time for yourself, it can be very, very grounding. And in order to make any change we really need to be grounded ourselves.
00:13:22 Pam Ferris-Olson
So how did you come up with the idea for the Daybreak Beach Club? And before you get into that, can you tell us the origin of the name?
00:13:33 Jada Alexander
The first moment where I really knew that I wanted to dedicate my career towards environmentalism was when I was watching the sunset and the color filled the sky, it was so beautiful. It was something that almost just felt fake to me, like there is no way that life is this beautiful and I really feel like that made me, it brought me into the present moment, but also just a moment of gratitude for everything around me. And so I would consistently watch the sunset and the sunrise. And so when I started surfing, I came to Moonlight Beach. Went for a morning surf and while I couldn't see the sun physically rising, I was able to see all of the colors fill the sky. It was a magical moment for me of clarity, of clarity about my purpose and my intentions in life. I was really struggling with “What do I call this? What do I call this.” And then I came up with Project Daybreak. Because when I first had that feeling, that truly, truly sunk deep within me. That was when I was watching the day break. From there, you know, two years down the line is when I founded Daybreak Beach Club. Because now instead of a project, it's a community.
00:15:15 Pam Ferris-Olson
What exactly does the Daybreak Beach Club do?
00:15:18 Jada Alexander
So Daybreak Beach Club is a startup. We were founded in April of 2024 and it became my full time job in July of 2024. And so, you know this far it's been much trial and error, but our mission is to increase emotional balance and regulation through ocean-based activities such as surfing. And so we run individual and group sessions in which we work with families on the social, emotional and physical things they want to work on with their kids. And we use surfing as a tool to do those things. The point of being a part of Daybreak isn’t truly to learn how to surf, but it's using it as a vehicle for connection and all of those other ways that we just listed.
00:16:20 Pam Ferris-Olson
So how's it possible for individuals to sustain their mental/emotional well-being while navigating these stressful times.
00:16:32 Jada Alexander
[sigh] For me, I think the way to really keep oneself grounded, whether you're a child, whether, you know, you're a parent or you're just an individual. Is to think about what brings you the most pleasure. You know, that could be doing arts and crafts, that could be going for a run, that could be going for a surf, that could be just spending time with friends, but whatever charges your battery is the most healing thing that you can do for yourself.
00:17:06 Pam Ferris-Olson
Why when people are working on their well-being, should they also consider being an ocean steward?
00:17:13 Jada Alexander
For people to focus on their well-being, I think it is very crucial to do whatever brings you the most joy. But you know, as somebody that is very much a water person, I have experienced the healing properties of water. And so, you know, whether you're near the ocean or you have a pool nearby or, you know, you have the ability to take a shower if you're not feeling great. All forms of water are very healing. And you know the entire natural world is healing to us without our realization of it. And so my advice is to just get outside. Get outside, create that relationship and in order to nurture it, we have to take care of the environment. So that means, you know, learning more about what's going on locally for you, maybe that means, you know, limiting where you spend your money as well as just supporting local initiatives and, you know, educating yourself and other people on the issues that are rising and really what you can do to combat it. Because while it may seem like this is such a big issue that nobody you know, you know, like, you know me not eating meat isn't really going to do anything.
00:18:46 Every single person has a huge impact in this world because you interact with so, so many people every single day. The way that you present yourself, the way that you walk around in the world, your beliefs are spread through that every day. And so every single person has the opportunity to induce change on any level. And I think that, you know, environmentally it is our duty. It's our duty to take care of our life source, our planet because all this time it's taking care of us.
00:19:25 Pam Ferris-Olson
Jada, it has been an incredible pleasure to explore with you. You are a young woman with a great deal of passion and a very high emotional IQ. A lot of people can enjoy the sunset once in a while but they don't make the connections that you do. Not only to the Earth always giving to us, but that we have responsibility to them, but also that the Earth helps us with our emotional well-being. So thank you so much for in sharing. Sharing with us and inspiring people to take action to protect the ocean.
00:20:09 Jada Alexander
Thank you so much for having me on the show. It's been so much fun getting to chat with you.
00:20:16 Pam Ferris-Olson
Thank you.
00:20:18 So I'd like to remind listeners that I've been speaking with Jada Alexander, the founder of the Daybreak Beach Club, an enterprise that promotes mental and emotional well-being through ocean-based activities.
Jada is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. This series can be viewed on womenmindthewater.com, Museum on Main Street, and YouTube. An audio-only version of this podcast is available on womenmindthewater.com, iTunes and Spotify.
Wo(men) Mind the Water is grateful to Jaine Rice for her song Women of Water. All rights for the Wo(men) Mind the Water name and logo belong to Pam Ferris-Olson. This is Pam Ferris-Olson.
