Yoga for Surfing
Flexibility and core strength (your small balance muscles), along with swimming, are a must for anyone who want a head start over the rest of their fellow surfers. Yoga is a great way to work the right kind of exercises into your daily life. Here’s a simple stretch to get started with .
Instead of yoga, you could opt for a stretching regime. Combined it with some balance and core strength exercises and it will serve you just as well. Taylor Knox has produced one of the best surf oriented exercise videos available. Even if the philosophy behind yoga does not appeal to you, the physical benefits are useful for surfers of all levels. Yoga is a great way to improve your enjoyment and increase your learning curve in the water.
We recommend that you find your local yoga studio or gym and go along to classes a couple of times a week leading up to your vacation. Ask your yoga teacher to show you some gentle neck exercises which will help you to take a good look back at the wave that you intend to catch. Sun salutations will enable you to balance and spring as you pop up off the board. Other routines such as seated spinal twists will give you the rotation in the trunk to help you bring your feet underneath your body, and the flexibility in your legs will come from practicing “down-dog”, which is great for stretching out the achillies, back of the knees and hamstrings. If you are reading and finding the prospect of all of this slightly intimidating, don’t panic. Beginners yoga classes are always friendly and unintimidating.
Included in your package when you stay at the Surf Simply resort is the option to do 5 yoga classes with our resident yoga instructor, Jessie. If you are interested in this option make sure you let us know before hand so that Jessie can chat with you to find out what experience you have had and what type of yoga appeals to you most.
