In yoga class, you’ll often hear teachers instruct students to “find the edge” in a given posture. The edge is not the point where you can’t breath or the point where you feel nothing at all, but somewhere in between. I like to teach my students to look for a point of mild discomfort where you can still breath deeply, but there is definitely a sensation of challenge. Pigeon pose is a great place to experiment with your edge.

In pigeon, we focus primarily on relaxing our muscles so that we can allow gravity and our own body weight to open our hips. Usually when I first enter into pigeon my body is a little surprised by this sudden stretch, therefore my muscles contract. At this point my edge is very apparent and very near. However, after a few deep breaths my muscles will relax and my edge will have shifted. I may need to stretch my torso forward and reach my forearms ahead to get back that sensation of challenge. By surfing the edge, you’re able to not only gain optimal physical benefits, but also to keep your mind steady, a practice that offers mental clarity and fresh energy to the mind-body-heart. –Michelle Laxton

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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The essence of surfing is deeply rooted to nature as similarly, yoga has a strong connection to Mother Earth. Nature and Mother Earth are one in the same, releasing a vibrant energy which touches the soul.

Patience and practice are very important aspects to yoga and to surfing.  The ability to calmly sit on your surfboard and wait for the right wave to arrive, one has to come into a state of meditation, with the reward being a gift from nature: a great ride! It is the manner in which the word “practice” is associated with yoga since it takes a great deal of time and patience for the body to be able to achieve some of the postures – eventually, it will happen.  Surfing and yoga may look easy to the outsider, but in reality they both require great practice and patience 

Yoga has connections to nature in every asana (posture). For example, Tadasana (Mountain Pose), Vrkshasana(Tree Pose), Matsyasana( Fish Pose) or Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) are all expressed by shapes and animals, which allows a person to find a deep connection to nature. As a person practices yoga their breath becomes like the ocean: constantly flowing back and forth like waves on the shifting sand. This is what gives yoga a strong connection to our Mother Earth. 

Being in the ocean while surfing, surrounded by a vast body of water, we are in the hands of our Mother Earth.  As you’re sitting or riding a wave you become connected with it, as if you were one with nature itself, just as when in an asana on your mat you become that natural organic shape or animal.   

Surfing and Yoga both can be your own expression of art, one that can never be perfected.  There is always room for improvement as you learn and experience new aspects about yourself and your body, external and internal. This is what makes surfing and yoga so spirituality connected. This is part 1, stay tuned for part 2, when I will discuses the physical connection of yoga that benefits surfers.