Surfing, you have the unparalleled thrill of taking a piece of board and take on the waves. A complete game of balance as you struggle to finish it without falling overboard. The constant pumping of adrenaline during the ride runs a course through your body and your mind blacks out everything except what’s in front of you. And at the end of each run, you find yourself catching your breath as the excitement dies down and the physicality of the endeavor has made itself known. Then you have yoga, the serene and trance-like exercise, which in the eyes of the inexperienced may seem like doing one thing at a time at long intervals. But for the yogis, the sweat you get and the physical strain you constantly experience in each pose will definitely say otherwise. For some inconspicuous reasons, these two activities are closely connected than you think and doing these two is better than doing one.
There are commonalities in the benefits of surfing and yoga. There has been a rise in organized retreats where the benefits of combining both exercises are maximized by doing both. Many countries are suitable and have been offering this type of retreat. Places like India, France, Portugal, Costa Rica and many more. A typical group of these practitioners do surf and yoga in Costa Rica or some other places and would dedicate time and energy to improve their skills in both activities. Surfing needs and waves and, yoga don’t require much space. So a lot of these places have spots where the waves are worthy to ride on.
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Endurance And Physical Strength
It is clear that surfing can take its toll on you physically, especially if you take a number of wipeouts, but doing it constantly at a steady pace you’d realize you are actually getting stronger. Yoga also requires endurance as you take on high-level poses, some parts of your body will take on the load and gradually it strengthens those parts. Surprisingly, those same parts mainly the core and legs are also trained when you surf. Doing both exercises can help you improve your strength faster and would make both activities more satisfying. The strength and endurance gained from both exercises will pay dividends to your other activities. Even in your daily lives having the strength and endurance will take you further than you can imagine and will help you overcome more challenges.
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Better Flexibility in Sports and in Life.
Surfing trains your body to be flexible, it exercises your range of motion in your shoulders and arms as you chase down waves and it also helps you keep your balance in difficult situations. Yoga is widely known for people contorting themselves into unthinkable positions easily. The benefits of doing both will increase your range of motion and will also prevent injuries in both exercises or any other physical activities. Mentally, knowing that you are able to perform beyond what is normal for most people, will give you the confidence that you can manage each situation and position yourself better each time.
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Balanced Physically and Mentally
This part of the activity is pretty obvious, as one is the struggle to keep yourself on a piece of board while the wave tries to roll you over and the other one is maintaining a certain pose without rolling over yourself. Improving your balance is key in both exercises and developing it will also be beneficial to you, mentally. Having a balanced disposition will help you think faster and make better decisions. Your mind is a major contributor to improving your balance, getting better at controlling yourself in doing yoga and surfing will translate into your life as well.
Surfing and Yoga is now a widely accepted form of exercise and has proven to be beneficial both physically and mentally. It is uncommon now to do both and improving yourself in one will surely improve yourself on the other. There is really no secret there, training both your body and mind will always give you strength and confidence when you face life’s challenges.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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