PJ Brown, founder of One Sea Wellness, is dedicated to sharing her profound passion and healing practices in holistic wellness, yoga and movement through her surf therapy retreats. Brown’s participants embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery, finding belonging and empowerment both in the ocean and within their women’s group. She believes life is an ocean; each set of waves is a unique adventure waiting to be embraced and explored.

“The ocean has always been a big part of my life,” says Brown. “I felt safe to be there but that feeling got robbed of me when I was in a domestic violence relationship while living in Costa Rica.” In the depths of that heartbreak, Brown discovered surf therapy through the Groundswell Community Project, a global surf therapy organization, and with it a way to heal, breathe and belong again.

PJ Brown. Photos by Marine Jaud Photography.

From survivor to advocate, Brown has built a multifaceted practice as a mental health therapist, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) practitioner and surf therapy facilitator. Through her business, One Sea Wellness, she walks alongside women from all backgrounds, helping them reclaim their strength both in the current and on the waves. Since founding One Sea Wellness in 2021, she has guided more than 30 retreats and single-day workshops in ocean and river surf therapy. As a certified facilitator of the Groundswell Community Project’s surf therapy curriculum, Brown grounds her work in a proven framework — while weaving in her own story, expertise and passions to create retreats that are uniquely her own.

Brown honors Mother Ocean as a feminine spirit. “The salient makeup of the ocean is very similar to the salient makeup of the embryo. So when we invite ourselves to go into the ocean to play, we take part in a rebirthing experience,” she says. For Brown, turning to water has been a crucial part of her life both after leaving an abusive relationship and in her postpartum time. “If I didn’t convince myself to go to the ocean or river, I wouldn’t have the strength I have now,” she adds.

Her upcoming surf retreats in Costa Rica offer women unique experiences to play, connect and flow. “When we go into the ocean, we naturally feel a sense of fear of the unknown,” Brown says. The trauma that is stored in the body will resurface and through therapy, participants are able to rewrite their feelings of insecurity to positivity and belonging.

After surf sessions, women gather on shore to affirm one another with statements like, “I am resilient. I am safe. I belong.” In being witnessed by a supportive community, each woman has space to recognize her own growth. This embodied practice cultivates an inclusive environment for women of every shape and size — an especially powerful shift within the male-dominated world of surfing.

This winter and spring 2026, One Sea Wellness will host two transformative retreats. “She Is Rising” blends the playfulness of acro yoga and surfing, inviting women to lift one another up — both physically and emotionally. “Waves of Becoming” offers a sacred space to rest, restore and embrace the flow of womanhood. Each retreat weaves together movement practices such as yoga and Thai massage, therapeutic workshops and surf therapy sessions. Yet above all, they cultivate what Brown calls the most essential element: a community of supportive women and the lifelong connections that grow from it.

Brown is inspired to create mindful surf therapy retreats like these because she once felt like she had nobody to turn to when she was in a difficult place. “I believe that healing can only happen so much cognitively, but through somatic practices we are able to move feelings through the body,” Brown says. “By doing nature or surf therapy you are being witnessed by something that is always there. You build an accessible relationship with Mother Earth and Mother Ocean that you know is reliable and develop a space where you can find relief.”

Brown lives in Gunnison, Colorado with her husband and son, where she teaches river surf therapy, yoga and offers counseling services. You can learn more about her upcoming retreats and offerings at oneseawellness.com.

Kaitlin Emig
Writer
@sunflower_lion