After you make your way in from the surf, enjoy a nice post surf yoga stretch on the sand. Throughout the surf session your muscles were working hard to paddle for waves and make it back out to the line up. This causes a build up of lactic acid (why your muscles get sore). One of the best ways to decrease muscle soreness is to stretch and release muscle tension. The post stretch postures are held for a longer amount of time (about 1-2 minutes), releasing deep muscle tension in the muscle facia and joints.
The first yoga stretch is Child’s Pose, which creates length in the back muscles, specifically the Latissimus Dorsi, relaxes the neck and shoulders and restores your energy. Keep reaching your arms forward and relaxing the tailbone towards the earth.
Next is a Seated Forward-Bend, stretching out your hamstrings as well as the entire back. Continue lengthening the spine from the very base, as well as creating length in the back of the neck. It can be a passive stretch which can alleviate fatigue.
To create a deep stretch in the hips, i recommend Pigeon Pose, which stretches the hip flexors. Allow your hips to melt into the sand. This posture is a great restorative posture to stay in for 1-2 minutes.
The final yoga stretch is Knees-to-Chest, this posture releasing any left tension in the entire back and neck. You can also rock side to side, which creates a nice gentle massage for the lower back and Kidneys.
By practicing a post yoga stretch after your surf session, this will aid in preventing soreness, knots and tightness in the body. Making the body later on in the day feel rejuvenated,preparing yourself for your next surf session. Feeling energized, strong and flexible to tuck into the barrels and make your way back into the lineup are all great reasons to take a little time after your surf session and practice a post surf yoga stretch.

Yoga Cue’s

Child’s Pose: Begin on your hands and knees . Sink back into your hips and extend your arms. Relax your head and neck. Option: Hands along side of body or knees wide apart.

Seated Forward Bend: Inhale and raise your arms over head, hinge at the hips, placing your hand were ever they fall, to the shins or rap them around your feet. Feel the chin melting to your heart.

Pigeon Pose: Starting in Down Dog, bring one foot forward and bring your shin to the sand. Keeping the knee pointing forward and the heal close to your body. Hinge at the hips and bring your forehead to the sand with arms extended.

Knees-To-Chest: Lying on your back, hung your knee’s to your chest and rap your arms just below the knee’s. Allow your entire spine and back of the head to completely rest into the sand.

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I may be living in the 21st century with all of its norms and social patterns of accepted behavior but many dimensions of me might as well be a caveman wandering through the dark forest in search of food and comfort.
My instincts and emotions are like a machine that runs on certain specific data that was programmed in thousands of years ago.
Much of our mind is dwelling in the dark forests of the past. The mind is chemicals that have changed little in thousands of years.
An interesting thing about the mind is that it fixates on what it wants and any variation from the specifics identified meets with a lot of resistance. Sri Chinmoy in one of his book Everest Aspiration expresses this very well: “We want to possess [a particular thing], but if one thing more or one thing less than what we wanted comes, we are not satisfied because human desire is so limited that we want the thing exactly the way our mind has conceived it.” This attribute of the mind is great when it comes to survival but runs us into plenty of trouble if it is our guiding principle through life.

As I meditated upon this idea it occurred to me that the reason for this goes back to the need for specificity when it comes to survival. Once an animal identifies a specific thing needed for survival, or a specific thing to avoid for survival, then it is imperative that the animal be sure to hone in and stay focused on that exact thing. The red berry can keep you alive, the blue on will kill you.

A child who is having a “temper tantrum” will often reject all offerings because the exact thing that they wanted was not given to them. They wanted the orange two-sticked popsicle and NOTHING else will suffice. And even that will now not suffice for they did not get it WHEN they wanted it. So it is not just WHAT but WHEN that affects the animals existence and hence our desires.

Welcome to the past!

Before you jump into the water, take a few minutes and warm up your muscles with five really great stretches, it will only take five minutes, plus you can look for the best spot to paddle out and the best peak to shred.
The first three stretches i like to incorporate into a flow. It begins with Cow Pose, Cat Pose and Downward Facing-Dog. By linking all three poses together, gives the body a great overall warm-up for the spine, back, neck, shoulders, hamstrings and calf muscles.
The next stretch is a standing forward-bend with the knees slightly bent. This releases any tightness from the lower back and continues to stretch the backs of your legs.
The final stretch is a wide-legged forward-bend with your hands clasp behind your back. This creates openness not only in the hips but the shoulders as well.
By including a pre stretch before you surf, awakens the body, prepares the muscles for paddling, popping up and laying down fluid carves.

Yoga Cue’s

Cow Pose: begin on all fours, arch your back and gaze to the sky

Cat Pose: still on all fours, round the back, hollow out the belly, bring your gaze to the sand and drop your tailbone to the earth.

Down-Dog: lift the hips to the sky, gaze back at your bellybutton and press your hands into the sand

Standing Forward-bend: keep the knees slightly bent, hinge at the hips, let the hands touch the sand or grab your elbows with your hands

Wide legged forward-bend: take a wide stride, hands claps behind your back, hinge forward at the hips, crown of the head towards the sand and your knuckles to the sky.

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Virabhadrasana 1 or (Warrior 1) has not only great physical benefits, it as well has symbolic meaning attached within this asana. This posture is named after Virabhadra who was a powerful mythological warrior that showed great virility and courage. This posture physically increases the strength within the muscle of the legs specifically in the quadriceps muscles and tones the shoulders. It creates stability in the hips and the knees joints. The asana increases flexibility in the spine and deep in the hips. Bringing together both physical strength and mental focus.
The most common way to enter Warrior 1 is from Downward-Facing Dog. On the in breath take a big step forward to the top of your mat stacking the ankle right over the knee joint. Back foot is anchored 45 degrees and you have a heal to heal alignment. The hips begin to square to the front of your mat. Arms rise to the sky at shoulder width apart or together with palms pressed together. Continue lunging into the front bent knee, bring it as parallel to the earth as possible, making sure the knee joint dose not go over the ankle. Breathing deeply into the hips and legs. Pressing through the outer edge of your back foot, keeping the energy balanced, feeling a firm connection to the mat with your feet by spreading the toes wide. On each inhalation lift your chest, feeling light and grounded. On the exhalation the shoulders continue to melt away from your ears, as the arms, finger tips stay active and extend to the sky and lunging a little bit deep into your front leg. Hold for 3-5 breaths. On the final exhale, hinge at the hips and bring your palms to the earth, step or lightly jump back into plank and flow into another posture (a vinyasa). Repeat on the other side of the body.

Modifications: if there is restrictions in the hips, step your back foot more to the edge of the mat.

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