Photo: Maria Revelj
It’s a well-known fact that modern life, with too much sitting and not enough diversity of movement, causes poor posture. We also know this leads to pernicious aches and pains, especially in the lower back, neck, and shoulders. On top of that, we’re often reminded that our chosen sports and hobbies might be making things worse.
Surfing, however, is a little different. The typical poor posture we see—rounded shoulders, collapsed chest and head poking forward—is at least partially reversed in the paddling position. This is great for strengthening the mid/upper back (upper traps and rhomboids) but it does bring with it a new set of problems.
What causes the pain and tightness?
Overuse of certain muscles and joints, underuse of others, and maintaining an unnatural position for long periods of time causes pain and can lead to injury. As a surfer, it’s your job to minimize the short and long-term effects on your body with simple habits that include warming up, cooling down, breath work, stretching and strength training. Yoga can be an extremely effective tool for targeting these facets of athletic recovery.
What are the major problem areas for surfers?
-Overuse of the shoulders.
-Excessive tension in the neck, shoulders, upper back and torso.
-Tightness in the chest.
-Compression in the neck and upper back.
-Stiffness in the thoracic spine.
How can we counteract these issues?
1. Restore range of motion in the neck, shoulders and thoracic spine.
2. Stretch the chest, upper back, shoulders, and neck.
3. Strengthen and stabilize the shoulders.
4. Release tension in the upper body.
1. Mobility: Restore range of motion
Here is a short video of mobility exercises. You can do them every day when you wake up, before you surf, when you come out of the water, or in the evening before bed. Improvise on these movements to loosen up your specific areas of restriction, especially in the shoulders and thoracic spine.
2. Stretch: release tension and restore muscle tissue length
Here are six poses to release tension in tight muscles caused by overuse and/or prolonged contraction, primarily in the neck, shoulders, triceps, chest and upper back. They are great to do after a surf when your muscles are warm and pliable. Hold them for 5-10 breaths. You can find detailed instructions for all of them at yoga15.com.
3. Strengthen: activate and stabilize weak structures
Surfing builds epic shoulder strength, but not all the muscles in the shoulder work equally. Some structures get stronger as others become weak. Isometric holds of some key yoga poses can help to balance this out. Hold these poses for 5-10 breaths and repeat several times a week.
4. Relax: release tension throughout the body
Check out my article on yin yoga for some relaxing long-hold poses. And here is a Body Scan Meditation you can do for deep relaxation whenever you need it.
Lie on your back in Savasana or prop yourself up with blocks or cushions in Supported Fish to passively stretch your chest and the fronts of your shoulders.
I’ve put together a 5 x 15-minute video mini series, specifically targeted at the neck, shoulders and upper back. You can find out more here
