Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide - Legged Forward Bend) While we like to call ourselves surfers, the reality is that we spend the majority of our time paddling, not riding waves. And paddling surfboard is hard work. Particularly with shortboards—but even on longboards as well—we spend hours flexing our lower backs and upper legs in order to support a more efficient streamline through the water so that we can paddle faster and catch more waves. All of this flexing can lead to strained, tight muscles in our upper legs and lower backs—basically our entire core. And of course, our core is the foundation of movement and posture in the body, so anything that stresses the core affects everything we do. This is why it is so important for surfers to maintain healthy lower backs and upper legs. After years of holding the paddle position, we probably have pretty well-developed muscles in our core—but that strength needs to be balanced by flexibility. This month’s yoga pose, prasarita padottanasana, helps maintain that balance so that we can move efficiently and painlessly both in the water and out. Prasarita Padottanasana is also known as a wide-legged forward bend—one of the most aptly named poses in...

Yoga Poses That WillHelp you Surf Better During challenging times, sometimes the best thing to do is to look for the silver lining. The months of March and April were hard for a lot of people, due to illness, lost jobs, financial difficulties, and the global pandemic/economic shutdown as a whole. To make matters worse, in many places around the world, surfers were restricted from paddling out and enjoying the natural healing that the ocean provides to our bodies, minds, and souls. But during times like this, when our daily routines are upset and we are unable to do the things we love to do the most, we have an opportunity to branch out and broaden our lives by learning and embracing new, healthy practices. Over the past couple of months,more surfers than ever turned to yoga as a physical practice that they could do while sheltering at home—and that kept them fit and flexible for when the surf was once again accessible. Hawaiian South Shore’s favorite yoga teacher Kilty Inafuku (www.kiltyyoga.com) has been leading donation-based online classes throughout the COVID-19 crisis, helping people stay grounded and healthy during this difficult time. Today, she talks to us about why yoga...

A Short, Pre-Surf Yoga Practice to Help You Shred Harder and Recover Faster 📷@kiltyyoga Surfing is an intensive, full-body activity that involves repetitive motion (paddling), weird, posture-related tension (lower back tightness), frequent twisting (hips and neck), and unbalanced weight distribution (back leg versus front). Taking that into consideration, it’s no wonder that our bodies often feel tweaked after we surf. One of the best things we can do to prepare our bodies to shred during each session and recover quickly after we paddle in is to integrate a short, effective yoga practice into our daily surf routine. This can be done in the morning when you wake up, shortly before paddling out, or after your session is complete—or all three, if you want! By focusing on flexibility, core strengthening, and balance, it’s possible to tune our bodies into the surfing activity, helping us rip into our 80s, and even longer! Hawaiian South Shore’s resident yogi Kilty Inafuku suggests the following poses for surfers looking to limber up their bodies and improve their surf skills: 1) Thread the Needle: For this stretch, start on your hands and knees, with your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your...

YOGA POSE OF THE MONTH: MALASANA The yoga pose of the month for May is one that directly improves our ability to surf better. After all, that is exactly why many of us get into yoga. We want to become stronger, fitter and more flexible so that we can better enjoy our hobbies and sports and perform at a higher level. Although this pose is one that can help you surf better, yoga is intended to do something far more important, like helping us live better. Whether you’ve been practicing yoga for years or are just getting into it to help improve your cutback, try to open your mind to the holistic benefit that’s achieved through consistent practice. Who knows, maybe you’ll find that yoga doesn’t just change how you surf but also how you approach life in general. Malasana (also known as garland pose or squat pose) is sort of a funny-looking asana, but it’s a powerful one that has the potential to benefit you in many ways. Not only is malasana a grounding pose that helps you to relax, but also it has many physical benefits, such as stretching the hips, groin, and low back, improving digestion and metabolism,...

UTTANASANA YOGA POSE Greg Long once said that anyone who is serious about big wave surfing and doesn’t do yoga, is fooling themselves. The reality is, that the logic applies to surfing of any type. Not only does yoga keep us limber and prevent injuries, it also increases core strength and teaches us to breathe properly. These are two fundamental building blocks of good athletics. To keep us surfing and living at our full potential, local yoga teacher and life-long surfer Kilty Inafuku will lead us through a yoga pose of the month. This month’s pose is intended to help us wake up with ease and prepare you for the day. This move will energize you as you head out for an early surf session, before the sun comes up and the crowds clog the lineups. Uttanasana is one of the foundational asanas (poses) in yoga. It’s a forward bend that serves as a stable, supported “inversion.” While you are not actually standing on your hands or shoulders (as in some of yoga’s inversions) you still get the benefit of reversing gravity. With your head below your heart you will enjoy a rush of energy to your head that will energize...

YOGA FOR SURFERS: RECLINED DOUBLE PIGEON POSE As surfers, we tend to do a lot of repetitive motion and spend a lot of time in certain positions that can create imbalances in our bodies. Two of these—the arched-back paddle position and standing on a board with our feet perpendicular to the stringer (often with the majority of our weight and power on our back foot, and with our front foot turned ever so slightly forward)—create tightness and imbalance in our hips. This can affect our ability to surf and do other activities well, and also contribute to lower back pain. Thus, it only makes sense that surfers should spend a bit of time every day loosening up our hips and ensuring that they are flexible and healthy. Our monthly yoga pose does exactly that and should become a part of your daily routine. Five minutes in the morning and evening will do wonders for your hip flexibility—and you might as well do five minutes on the beach before you paddle out as well. It’s a relaxing pose, and nothing gets you in the mood for some waves like lying in the sand! Supta aginstambhasana (also known as reclined double pigeon...