How Does Yoga Compliment Surfing?
Yoga compliments surfing as it helps to build strength, flexibility, balance, mental focus and better breathing techniques. All of these are key skills for surfing.
Why Surfers Should Do Yoga
Yoga is a great way to warm up before paddling out, to stretch out after surfing, and to stay in shape between surf sessions and/or surf trips.
Incorporate Yoga Into Your Routine
Surfers benefit greatly from yoga as it helps to unwind all the knots and tightness that can accumulate out in the water. Yoga will help your surfing now, as well as keep your body in the condition to keep surfing for life. Once you start incorporating yoga into your before and after surf routine, you will likely find that you don’t have as many aches and pains the next day. Or, they definitely won’t be as bad!
The Biggest Benefit
In addition to yoga being a great form of exercise, one of the biggest benefits you get is learning how to breathe properly. Most people are in the habit of taking short and shallow breaths through their mouth. Yoga teaches you to breathe through your nose and fill up your belly and entire lungs. It has been said that if you can control the breath, you can control the mind. If you can control the mind, you get closer to controlling your body (and therefore, your surfing)!
Get In Sync
There is a true connection between yoga and surfing. Both tap into a ‘flow of energy’. Yoga taps into the flow and rhythm of the body, while surfing taps into the flow and rhythm of the ocean. Instead of trying to alter or force either, you want to get in sync with this flow.
What To Do Next
Check out 7 of our favorite yoga poses for surfers.
We highly encourage our surf students to get professional yoga instruction in the beginning to learn the correct positioning and alignment of the poses. If you would like to join in person yoga classes while on Maui and/or add on a massage to your trip, contact us and we are happy to give a referral of where to go on island in the Kihei/Wailea area.
Ready to learn to surf and have fun? Book Maui surf lessons today.