Surfing is yoga in essence. When we surf our minds connect to our bodies, our movements and our breath. Our surfboards become an extension of our bodies when we ride a wave, and those moments when we are sliding down the face of a wave there is 100% connection between our mind, body, board and wave. Have you ever wondered why you feel so energised and content after a surf session? Apart from the physical exercise and the immersion in salt water (which has many healing properties), your surf session has been a meditation. Personally, when I surf, I don’t think about what’s happened or going to happen in my life. I concentrate on where the waves are my breath and my movement – It’s a moving meditation, the essence of yoga!!
So how can the practice of yoga improve our surfing on a physical level? To surf well we have to be strong, flexible, balanced and agile. We also need endurance and a well aligned body, all which can be achieved through the regular practice or yoga. Apart from the physical benefits, yoga brings the person inside their body through the breath. If we are better connected to our own bodies we are more in tune with our senses, allowing an improved intuition, concentration and focus. These benefits of yoga for surfing will be covered more in the next article.
Strength
A common misconception is that a surfer needs strong arms and shoulders to surf well. This is true to a certain extent, but surfing strength and power should be found from the core of the body. A strong core limits the amount of stress we put on our arms, neck, shoulders and lower back, so reducing injury or strain to those areas. More advanced surfers need a good amount of leg strength to perform powerful turns, especially for surfing longer waves.
Core strengtheners: Moving from plank into downward dog with the exhale, then back into plank with inhale. Repeating to your personal limit.
Leg strengtheners: Warrior 1 and warrior 2
Balance
The surfer needs to be constantly balanced on his/her surfboard. Even to paddle efficiently we need to be well balanced lying on our board. To pop up, take the drop, trim or perform manoeuvres all require huge amounts of balance, especially as the surfer must react constantly to the ever changing wave. Unlike most sports, yoga values the importance of balance and many postures will improve your balance at the same time as increasing your strength or flexibility.
Balance improving postures: The tree and warrior 3
Flexibility
It may not seem obvious, but to surf fluidly and well controlled, the surfer’s body needs to be able to bend itself into many positions. A flexible body also helps to reduce injury and tension.
Consider the pop-up. Before our feet hit the board our body goes into a ‘cobra’ position, which is a front extension and a back bend. To get low on the board, and to move body weight forward and backwards, we need flexibility in the hips. With limited mobility in the hips we will struggle to generate speed and perform manoeuvres. These are just two of many examples of how we need flexibility to surf.
Flexibility postures: Cobra/spinal twist/forward bend/pigeon
Endurance
How many times have you reluctantly had to finish your surf session because you so exhausted you can’t paddle another stroke, even though the waves are still pumping? Or how about on your annual surf trip, when you want to be in the water two or three times a day, but by day three you’re flagging? The bigger the waves are the more of a cardio-vascular workout surfing becomes, and of course everyone will tire eventually. However, through yoga, not only can we increase our cardio-vascular endurance, but we can learn how to surf more efficiently so we can surf longer!!
Yoga incorporates ‘flows’ which are a series of postures linked together by the breath. Flows raise the heart rate for prolonged periods of time, whilst at the same time flexing and strengthening the whole body. Flows are a great way to improve your endurance out of the water. However, more important perhaps than this is how yoga increases your awareness of which muscles need to be used and which can relax. Take for instance our shoulders. Our shoulders always seem to want to help out when our body is in a stressful situation or one where we are working physical hard. They tense and raise towards our ears, but we don’t need our shoulders to do this under stress, nor when we are surfing. We surf much more efficiently when our shoulders are relaxed because we aren’t using energy unnecessarily. Tensing our jaw is another example of parts of our body trying to help, but aren’t needed. Thanks but no thanks…I don’t need to waste energy there.
So, if you’re not convinced already that yoga is simply the most awesome thing you can do, (out of the water of course!!) then here are a few more points in its favour: The regular practice of yoga improves the structural alignment of your body, which many years of surfing can put out of place. It will straighten the spine and balance the left and right sides of the body. You may also notice you become more agile and have improved reaction times. I could go on and on with the list of benefits, but I’m hoping that you’re sold already and you will to enquire into the surf + yoga relationship.
There are some fantastic yoga teachers on our coast, and some have a great understanding of the connection between yoga and surfing.
At Trafalgar Surf Trip we are now proud to be offering ‘Surf + Yoga’ week long holidays between April and October. The yoga classes will be held in Conil and in El Colorado and everyone is welcome to join in. For information on any yoga classes in the area contact us at info@trafalgarsurftrip.com
Check us out at www.trafalgarsurftrip.com
Or call us for more info: 657885665
Happy surfing!
