Yoga and Surfing
At Chica Brava, we know a little about surfing, but for other activities we like to bring in the experts. We had guest blogger and yogi, Dana Wendel with Heal ya Roots, send us a quick sequence you can do before or after surfing! Check out her gentle stretch and kind words below.
Being completely present. Enjoying the natural sounds around you. Listening to your body and quieting your mind. Having fun alone or with a group. Feeling ALIVE. Feeling apart of and connected to, something bigger than ourselves.
Yoga and surfing have a lot in common, and practicing each of these activities, can be beneficial for the other. Practicing yoga can improve your surfing, and surfing can improve your yoga, as it will also enhance every aspect of your life. Yoga can help by building strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, confidence, mental focus and better breathing. It will help aid in stronger paddling and faster/stronger pop ups.
The most important aspects of yoga, to focus on for surfers, are to lengthen and release the spine, open the hips and chest, and focus on the breathing. By focusing on your breathing you are then able to listen to your body. Use your exhale to deepen a stretch or inhale to come out of a posture or to simply back if you need to. If it hurts, you have gone too far, you are probably holding the breath, and the mind is screaming “Ow Ow Ow” at you! This is not yoga. This is not listening to the body and pushing it too far. Find what feels good, and then do more of that…in each pose.
Connect with Your Breath
Sit comfortably with eyes closed and shoulders relaxed. Sit on the floor, on a cushion, in a chair, or just lay down on the floor. Stay comfortable and adjust yourself as needed. Breathe in and out through your nose for a count of 8. Repeat several times. You can even bring your hands onto your belly to help you follow your breath. The belly should expand with each inhale and float in towards your spine, on your exhale. This will help slow the mind, reduce blood pressure and heart rate, calm your entire Being and brings you back to the present.
Child’s Pose
From table top position, spread your knees slightly, then bend from the hips, folding your upper body onto your knees. Rest the forehead on the floor with arms next to your legs, palms up, or extend your arms on the floor beyond your head, palms down. You could also bring the hands together and rest your forehead on top of your hands. Breathe deeply and experience the belly rising and falling still with each breath, while it presses on and off of the thighs. This completely refreshes the back and spine and promotes a sense of security and nurturing.
Cat/Cow
Coming back into a table-top position, with knees hip distance apart and hands directly under the shoulders, fingers are spread wide and your weight is evenly distributed. To come into Cow Pose, as you inhale, begin to lift the chin up towards the sky while dropping the belly down towards the Earth. Tilt the tailbone up towards the sky, as well and really expand the belly as much as you can. On the exhale, begin to round the spine, tuck the chin into the chest and squeeze the belly in. Picture an angry cat, arching his back! Now, move with your breath, inhaling into Cow and exhaling into Cat. Repeat as many times as needed.
*Also, for sore or injured knees, place a folded towel or blanket underneath for cushioning. Listen to your body.
Pigeon
From table top, as you exhale; slide your right knee forward so that the femur (thigh bone) and knee are directly in front of its hip socket. Comfortably align the right heel over towards the left hip without letting the knee slide to the side. Check your back leg and make sure you are on the top of the knee and thigh, your foot is laying flat and the leg is in line with its own hip socket as well. Remain sitting up tall with hands on the floor in front of you, or, IF it feels ok, slowly lower down onto your forearms. Wherever you are in YOUR pose, try to be somewhere in between too much and too little. Hold for 10 deep breaths on each side.
*For tight hips, place a folded towel/blanket or a block underneath the hip of the front leg, so that the pelvis is raised slightly.
Downward Facing Dog
Once again, from table top position, exhale as you tuck your toes and lift your knees off the floor. Reach your pelvis up toward the ceiling, and draw your sit bones toward the wall behind you. Allow the head to gently drop in between the arms so that the ears are next to your biceps (or upper arms). Gently begin to straighten your legs, but do not lock your knees. Bring your body into the shape of an upside down “V.” Imagine your hips and thighs being pulled backwards from the top of your thighs. Rotate your arms externally so your elbow creases face your thumbs. Breathe. Hold as long as you need to. Come out of the pose, whenever you need to. To release, exhale as you gently bend your knees and come back to your hands and knees. As a nice release, you can come back into Child’s Pose for a few breaths.
*For tight hamstrings, keep the knees bent at all times and come in and out of the pose as needed.
Warrior 2
Come to standing, or Mountain Pose. Now with an exhalation, step or lightly jump your feet about 3 to 4 feet apart. Raise your arms parallel to the floor and reach them actively out to the sides, shoulder blades wide, and palms down. Turn your right foot slightly to the right, so that your toes are facing forward. Bring your left foot parallel to the edge of the back of your mat. Align the left heel with the right heel. Firm your thighs and turn your right thigh outward so that the center of the right knee cap is in line with the center of the right ankle. Exhale and bend your right knee over the right ankle, so that the shin is perpendicular to the floor. If possible, bring the right thigh parallel to the floor. Stretch the arms away from the space between the shoulder blades, keep them parallel to the floor. Don’t lean the torso over the right thigh: keep the sides of the torso equally long and the shoulders directly over the pelvis. Press the tailbone slightly toward the pubis. Turn the head to the right and look out over the fingertips. Stay here for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Inhale to come up. Reverse the feet and repeat for the same length of time.
Ya know, lots of yoga instructors will talk about bringing your yoga, off the mat. When you do yoga, and you listen to your body; you back off of a pose when you know you should be backing off. You will learn what poses feel good to you and YOUR body, and when to push yourself a little more in certain poses. The same goes for life. You must then practice humility, patience and understanding of where you are today, right now, in this yoga pose, on this mat, HERE and NOW. It’s about making that connection with your body, and in turn making a greater connection with your Soul. That same connection that is sometimes made by most of us, who experience the awe of the ocean and sit on our board and just take it all in! Feeling the Being of energy and light that is driving your hot bod around all day! By connecting with your Soul you are therefore more apt to listen to your intuition, more likely to take care of your body and mind, and frankly, a calmer, more bad ass person to be around. So get yoga-ing dude.