Yoga: the perfect fitness routine for surfers | Photo: Shutterstock

The ancient practice of yoga has grown deep roots in the surfing community. Both physical and spiritual, surf and yoga work together to help a surfer achieve a clearer mind and a stronger body.

Yoga's Indian origins go back millennia.

This possibly pre-Vedic tradition combines the power of mind and body to create a perfect balance and open the path to nirvana and illumination.

But what does this deep, inward activity have to do with the outdoors? What could it offer an extreme surfer? A lot, it seems.

Surfers need deep focus and optimum fitness to attain their in-water goals.

Big wave riders make good examples of this, requiring great mental skills to overcome fear, along with very fast physical responses.

A yoga routine can provide these things, emphasizing focus, confidence, balance, energy, endurance, vitality, flexibility, longevity and, ultimately, performance.

Yoga also strengthens key physical points to the surfing practice, such as arms, legs, back, and wrists, minimizing the risk of injuries and improving recovery time after a surf session.

What is not so talked about, however, is that surfing also benefits yoga practitioners.

Riding a wave is, for many, a highly spiritual experience that presents itself as an outward expression of yoga and meditation practices.

It also allows yogis and yoginis to take physical and balance skills acquired through yoga to a whole new level.

Yoga stretches and techniques are perfect before and after a surf session. Yoga also aids in stronger paddling and faster, more grateful popups.

Now that you can see what deep bonds connect surfing and yoga, you can dedicate yourself to it at home or in the line-up before you go into the water.

Here are some of the best yoga poses for surfers:

The Padmasana or "Lotus Pose"

The Padmasana, or Lotus Pose

The Padmasana is mostly a meditation pose. It is a sitting pose, with legs crossed one over the other and each foot placed on the opposite thigh.

This asana requires constant practice to do comfortably, but once achieved, it calms the mind and stretches the ankles and knees.

 

The Adho Mukha Svanasana or "Downward-Facing Dog"

The Adho Mukha Svanasana, or Downward-Facing Dog | Photo: Shutterstock

"Downward-Facing Dog" is a rejuvenating stretch that strengthens the wrists, arms, and shoulders. It is one of the most widely recognized and famous yoga poses.

It consists of standing with hands and feet on the floor, the sitting bones pointing to the ceiling, and heels touching the ground. The knees, arms, and back are stretched, forming an angle.

A pose variation known as the "Dolphin Pose" is also great for opening shoulders and strengthening the core, arms, and legs.

 

The Utthita Parsvakonasana or "Extended Side Angle Pose"

The Utthita Parsvakonasana, or Extended Side Angle Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

This pose is a stretch along the top side of the body, from the back heel through the raised arm.

It opens the hip joints, stretches the groin, and releases the shoulders and neck.

 

The Virabhadrasana II or "Warrior II Pose"

The Virabhadrasana II, or Warrior II Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

The "Warrior II Pose" increases stamina and concentration, stretches the hip, groin, and shoulders, relieves backaches, and improves circulation and respiration.

Stand with feet apart, one knee bent toward the front and the other stretched to the back. Arms are outstretched, parallel to the floor.

 

The Utkatasana or "Chair Pose"

The Utkatasana, or Chair Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

By standing straight and gently bending at the hips as if to sit, with arms stretched upwards, the "Chair Pose" works the arms and legs' muscles and stimulates the diaphragm and heart.

 

The Ustrasana or "Camel Pose"

The Ustrasana, or Camel Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

This challenging backbend pose improves the flexibility of the neck and spine and relieves backache.

The camel pose keeps you on your knees - tail bone pushed forward, chest up and back bent, with hands holding the heels.

 

The Salamba Bhujangasana or "Sphinx Pose"

The Salamba Bhujangasana, or Sphinx Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

This pose releases stress, provides energy, and makes the spine flexible.

It resembles a sphinx, hence the name, as the practitioner lies on the floor on his belly and faces ahead, supported on parallel forearms.

 

The Paschimottanasana or "Seated Forward Bend"

The Paschimottanasana, or Seated Forward Bend | Photo: Shutterstock

The "Seated Forward Bend" completely stretches the entire backside of the body from the back of the head through the heels.

Sit with legs straight ahead and lean forward, reaching for the feet.

 

The Supta Virasana or "Reclining Hero Pose"

The Supta Virasana, or Reclining Hero Pose | Photo: Shutterstock

By lying on your back with knees bent to the side, resting on the floor, the "Reclining Hero Pose" stretches the knees and intensifies the stretch in the thighs and ankles.

 

The Bharadvajasana I or "Bharadvaja's Twist"

The Bharadvajasana I, or Bharadvaja's Twist | Photo: Shutterstock

This position, in which the knees are bent to one side and the torso twists in the opposite direction, is a gentle tonic twist for the spine and the abdominal organs.

It is great for beginners and calms the nervous system.

 

The Salamba Sirsasana or "Supported Headstand"

The Salamba Sirsasana, or Supported Headstand | Photo: Shutterstock

The "Supported Headstand," in which one stands upside down with the body straight, supported on the head and forearms, is a crucial yoga pose with endless benefits.

It improves respiration, balance, and circulation, stimulates pituitary and pineal glands, calms the brain, and strengthens the body.

 

Deepen Your Yoga Practice

For meditation, try Dhyana or "Cross-Heart Kirtan Kriya Meditation," a mantra meditation that helps control thoughts and encourages a renewed sense of peace and balance.

Rochelle Ballard, Taylor Knox, Brian Conley, Garrett McNamara, Tom Carroll, and Holly Beck, to name a few, are all pro surfers who share a passion for yoga in their surfing lives.

Ballard, a former WCT surfer, has even released an instructional DVD, "Surf Into Yoga," with relevant sequences for surfers.

If you want to deepen your surf yoga skills, take a look at Peggy Hall's "Yoga for Surfers."

Watch a video with yoga poses for surfers, and try SUP Yoga.

Top Stories

The small fishing town of Bathsheba in Barbados is home to one of the most surprising right-hand reef breaks on the planet. Here's what makes Soup Bowl such an incredible wave.

Kelly Slater and Kalani Miller announced they are expecting a baby. It's a boy.

Surfing is all about working the unbroken wave face and maximizing riding time. But how can you optimize and balance these two goals that cancel each other out?

Big waves don't just appear out of nowhere. The formation of abnormally large swells is a sum of layers, normally invisible to the human eye.