After a hard surf session, you can feel as though your knees are composed of driftwood. Alternatively perhaps you have returned to the car with a familiar limp, board tucked under your arm, ego somewhat damaged by a wipeout? If you surf, you understand that surviving those severe wipeouts depends on being limber and flexible—not only for the spectacular maneuvers. Here is where yoga for surfing course finds application.
Imagine paddling out with fluid, easy strokes, your arms cutting across the lake like a professional. The beauty of shoulder mobility is that Dynamic stretches—think of cat-cow, dolphin position, and a stealthy upward dog—start surf yoga lessons. These motions? They are like the allusion to hours of watching surfers duck dive seen in yoga.
The magic ingredient? Reversal. Holding a firm posture on solid ground is somewhat different than standing erect on a board as the water throws you about. Yoga teaches your brain how to use those ankle muscles by using refined ways to build balance; Warrior III to activate hip stability and Tree Pose. You will wiggle, so be advised of this. But it’s part of the process, guiding you to pay attention to the muscles that might have missed the memo when surf season got underway.
Still another revolutionary game is breathwork. With yoga, slow, deep, wave-like inhales and exhales—which constitute ocean breathing—became second nature. After all, surfing usually becomes a battle with breath (hello, mid-wave stress). Deeper breathing exercises can help you to have greater stamina, less faceplants, and a calm mind when the ideal wave approaches.
And for the daredys? Ever try seagull or crow pose with your board underfoot? It is on quite another level. To increase your core strength, yoga sessions center on basic motions as side planks and planks. Trust us; unless your definition of fun is a noodle spine after 30 minutes of closeout waves, you should not skip these.
Let us now specifically address those hips. Particularly for your hips, surfing strains your physique. Tension can be released with yoga’s pigeon posture, lizard stance, even relaxing on your mat while pretending to be floating on an inflatable flamingo. When you can surf without feeling as though you just completed a marathon tomorrow, you will thank yourself.
Yoga is more than just exercise for surfers; it’s your pass to longer rides, greater jumps, and less of those post-session “old man groans.” The waves could make you humble, but your body? It will continue to paddle backwards for more.