Top Four Yoga Poses for Surfers

Relevance of yogic science has been established to the point of inevitability. The multifaceted life demands an approach, which involves opting for alternate means of wellness that not onlyanswers the need of the body, but the mind as well. The unnecessary, distracting noise that surrounds us makes it impossible to conduct any creative or challenging activity properly. That’s why painters, chefs, surfers, dancers, architects, etc. keep both their body and mind in check with yoga.

People with higher physically challenging prefer yoga over gym or aerobics because it fulfills the blank of mindfulness in the their check list. While asana creates greater balance and strength in the body, pranayama enables the practitioner to access refined breathing patterns, which works as a substantial edge on the surfboard. Balance is a key factor in a surfer’s world and so is patience and determination. Merging with the rhythm of the ocean, yoga allows the practitioner to hold the core, control the breath, go an extra mile, and create a heightened self-belief and worth.

A few yoga poses, which can directly help the surfers to excel in their practice, are mentioned below.

Garudasana or Eagle Pose

A balancing pose, where the arms are intertwined and so is one leg over the other, Eagle Pose can be a guide to harmonizing the thoughts by drawing the attention inwards. Surfers stand on the board to face the challenges posed by the ocean. This pose becomes a foundation and keeps the body centered. During a surf session, most of the time goes in paddling. Eagle Pose works by extending and elongating the arms and relieves the pressure on the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulders. This facilitates a healthier movement of these small yet significant muscles.

Adho Mukhasavasana or Downward Dog

The semi-inverted motion of Adho Mukha Savasana makes it a people pleaser. By calming the parasympathetic nervous system, Downward Facing Dog pose relieves the back of the pressure of extra time of sitting on the surfboard and paddling. The elongating motion of the back stretches and strengthens the spine. Also, the hamstrings are stretched deeply as the heels are placed on the floor, which creates even more space in the lower back. Some amount of weight rests on the arms as well, which acts as a strengthening action. This creates more strength in the shoulder joint too.

Ek Pada Rajkaputasana or One Legged Pigeon Pose

The king pigeon pose is one of the deepest hip openers available to us. Surfers need to pop up and get ready to face the challenges. By practicing Pigeon Pose, the hip flexors receive greater flexibility. With an increased range of motion, we can expect to jump up in action in lesser time. Also, the burden experienced by lumbopelvic region is relieved by allowing the spine a greater range of motion, which helps the body in twisting and turning on the board. Not just this, the forward bending motion is countered with this posture. The groin, thighs, hips, Pigeon Pose is truly a king pose in all contexts.

Naukasana or Boat Pose

Boat pose is an effective core-strengthening pose. The V shape, where legs are straight, the core holds most of the body weight, and global abdominal muscles work to maintain this position. Apart from focusing on the balance, the practitioners also need to hone on their breathing pattern. While the mind centers its awareness on the breath, all the unnecessary thoughts are thrown out of the window. This makes concentration easier when the real life challenge crops up on the surfboard. The quadriceps and the hip flexors are secondary muscles that work to keep the posture in place. Beginners usually start with bend legs and gradually work their way up to fully extended legs in the posture.

Chaturanga Dandasana or Four Limbed Staff Pose

Being on all fours and holding the core, requires some amount of strength. Beginners find it difficult to meet this challenge and often fail to stay in the pose for more than a few seconds. Building the core strength, it works with both shoulder stability and strength. An all round asana, it covers balancing, strengthening, and stretching together. Helping deeply with pop ups, a practitioner can expect to get up swiftly and easily. Many people use this pose as a total burn out to shred extra fat and tighten the core muscles.

Shalabhasana/ Locust Pose

Most of the times we are focused on working with the front of the body, Locust pose brings our attention to the back of our body. This prone pose strengthens the entire back of the body. By strengthening the muscles of triceps, back, buttocks, and hamstrings, it also stretches and strengthens the spine. A surfer might face the challenge of rounded shoulders with the help of Locust pose their body posture will improve too. The lifting action of the torso expands the lungs and tones the entire back of the body.

All forms of artistic activities require a deep sense of attunement with the flow of the energy. Just like yoga taps into the flow of energy, even surfing demands a profound connection with the self to stay upbeat with the challenges thrown by the ocean. Practicing yoga , both before and after surfing sessions, helps in removing aches and pains as well. To sum it up, yoga allows a surfer to enjoy greater balance, flexibility, toned body, harmonized breathing patterns, and to be in touch with their intuitive sides.

The Author is a passionate Yogi, traveler and Yoga Teacher in India. He loves writing and reading the books related to yoga, health, nature and the Himalayas.