The Complete Yoga Community

Increasing performance and working to counter the rigorous manoeuvres and specific strains of surfing, Miles Masterson speaks to the “big wavers” about how yoga is transforming the sport

Natural Yoga
Though surfers sometimes call surfing “natural yoga”, this is of course not an accurate appraisal of the sport. While it is true that surfing does involve immersion in the outdoors and is a vigorous pursuit that benefits overall fitness, the physical dynamics of surfing are also incredibly taxing on the human body. Even the act of paddling a surfboard (which surfers do far more than riding waves) is an unnatural face-down prone position that wreaks havoc on the shoulders and neck.

Thanks to the rigours of standing sideways on the board and twisting and contorting one’s torso and limbs into and out of the different manoeuvres – not to mention body-wrenching wipe outs – prolonged periods of surfing often result in painful injuries and can have a detrimental effect on posture and alignment. Without a basic stretching regimen to counter the sport’s specific strains, many long-term surfers suffer from a plethora of ailments, particularly those of the spine, rotator cuff, elbows, hips, knees and ankles.

Fortunately, yoga has long been recognised as a great way to thwart these negative side effects and increase surfing performance. Of late, yoga has become so popular in surf culture that scores of surf resorts worldwide now offer “yoga retreats” to cater for the sheer number of surfers bringing the practice into the core of their lives.

The Rise of Yoga and Surf
Tuned into Eastern philosophy, the athletic minded hippie surfing movement of the late 60s and early 70s originally turned to yoga as a means to prepare for the challenges of surfing and, along with living in communes, eating organic and having an appreciation of nature, yoga became as de rigueur for these surfers as long blond hair. Famous surfers, such as 1966 world champion Australian Nat Young and 70s Hawaiian Zen master Gerry Lopez were early adopters. Later, American multiple world champions Tom Curren and Kelly Slater, among others, all brought yoga into their lives. To this day, these surfers all remain among the most fit, supple and youthful adherents of the sport in their age groups.

In the early 1990s “Yoga for Surfers” gained real momentum with the advent of a specialised course and the release of a DVD of the same name by Californian surfing yogi Peggy Hall. Career surfers such as perennial performer American Taylor Knox (who, at 38, is currently the oldest but still one of the fittest full time professionals) and lady’s superstar, the Hawaii-based Rochelle Ballard, publicly endorsed Hall’s aesthetic. Subsequently, yoga became one of the most popular forms of cross-training among surfing professionals and average surfers alike. “You are stimulating your entire system… increasing flexibility, range of motion, and strength,” says Ballard, who recently released her own DVD, Surf
Into Yoga, of the benefits of yoga for surfers. “You can also increase your breath and hold for bigger surf,” she adds.

Big Waves, Big Lungs
Enter big wave surfer Greg Long, who was voted one of the top 50 fittest Americans by a men’s magazine in 2008. “Yoga is a huge part of my physical regimen from a flexibility standpoint,” says Long. Suppleness notwithstanding, Long also lauds the mental benefits of yoga, something big wave surfers tend to focus on to help them deal with hold downs and violent thrashings underwater. He also credits the ability to tune into nature to enhance his immersion in the moment to yoga and, as he puts it, “to be able to go into that total state of peace and relaxation.”

As one of the most respected young big wave surfers in the world, and someone who has influenced others in big wave riding circles to take up yoga, Long, 27, practises it wherever he is. On the road for up to 10 months a year, he will go solo or attend Hatha or Ashtanga classes. However when he is home in California, Greg does Bikram yoga to prepare him for extreme surfing conditions, be they 70 foot plus waves or marathon, 10-hour surfs. “When the temperatures get up high it can be very intense, so flexibility-wise it is incredible,” says Long of Bikram. “It’s almost like simulating a wipe-out. You know you are putting that kind of physical strain on your body, but at the same time you have to keep a really focused head.”

Like Long, recreational surfer and eight times free dive record holder, Hanli Prinsloo, trains hard to remain judicious in extreme conditions. South African Hanli, 30, tells how for free divers, yoga is an absolute necessity in their training regime, particularly the mental and breathing aspects. For Hanli, who has swum straight down on one breath to a depth of 60 metres, they are one and the same. A keen surfer, she recently began advising many of Cape Town’s top big wave surfers on her Apnea (suspension of external breathing) dive training techniques which, among other things, incorporate yoga poses and philosophies. She explains how, as a defence mechanism, the body tends to resist being deprived of oxygen, especially when immersed in water, and how the diaphragm will naturally spasm as a result. This often triggers the first feeling of panic in the brain that can prove detrimental to both free divers and surfers alike.

By understanding that this is merely the beginning of what is called the Mammalian Dive Response (MDR ) and working through it, divers can learn to control their minds and remain calm underwater for up to five minutes. To this end, Hanli advocates repeated Sun Salutations, yoga lung stretches and Kundalini and Hatha breathing exercises to boost lung capacity. “I blend styles of yoga to find optimum positions and breathing techniques,” she says. “This gives surfers the self confidence to take on whatever the ocean throws at them and remain calm under pressure.”

Yoga for Everyday Surfers
For more average surfers though, what type of yoga is best for them is largely based on personal requirements. “It really depends on the individual and what they are looking for,” says Rochelle Ballard. “I like to mix it up a bit with Chi Gong and hip restorative Vinyasa Flows.” Like Hanli, Rochelle advises doing Sun Salutations to cover most of these areas for focus and flexibility too. “I find if I am going into a surf session it’s best to warm up and do sequences that stimulate my body,” she says. Ballard recommends the Downward Dog for overall flexibility, Camel Pose to open the shoulders and hips as well Bridge and Warrior Poses.

Overall, it seems Hatha yoga is the most popular with surfers. “Maybe because of my age, I prefer the Hatha yoga, as it’s a little slower,” agrees 61-year-old Sandy Campbell, yogi at the Yoga Mat in Durban. A lifelong surfer, Sandy discovered yoga fifteen years ago and has never looked back. “In Hatha yoga,” he continues, “awareness is placed on alignment and adjustment in the asanas. This provides a good grounding for surfers.” Of course, all styles of yoga bring focus to the breath. Kundalini yoga, for example says Sandy, is better for younger surfers. “I find Kundalini yoga, with time, makes the body more flexible for other styles of yoga and definitely your surfing,” he says.

Whichever they adopt or combine, Sandy emphasises that all surfers need to focus on upper body strength. “Because of the paddling position, shoulders and neck muscles take strain,” he explains. “The cervical spine is arched and so the trapezius muscles need strengthening, as do the shoulders, rotator cuff and arms. All of the above need a strong core centre, i.e. abdominals and lower back/ lumbar spine. Moreover, as surfers stand sideways on their boards, the hips can also take a beating, one usually more so than the other, resulting in an imbalance and pressure on the knee and ankle joints.

“Because surfers are already connected to the ocean and all that is in it, yoga enhances this awareness. It starts when you first identify the swell in the set that you are going to ride… in every moment that you are riding the wave… and when you kick out at the end, the feeling of gratitude at being able to surf and interact with this ever-changing force of nature,” closes Sandy.

By Miles Masterson