Rochelle Ballard demonstrates Bridge Pose in Nicaragua. Photo: Aura Boulton
What do most people think of when they think of surfers and yogis? Hippies. Well, more and more people seem to be turning into so-called hippies by rolling out their yoga mat and paddling out. I’m a surfer and my wife is a yogi. Neither of us are interested in each others’ sport, but we have a mutual respect for them. And while they are very different physical practices, there are many reasons why they are synonymous. Here are five of them:
1. Commitment to practice
In some sports, you can have all the gear and no idea, but still get away with playing. Both surfing and yoga have minimal gear, but they are disciplines you have to master – and they can only be mastered by consistent and committed practice.
2. The importance of flow
As a surfer, you move with the flow of the wave. Your movement sequence has to flow in a harmony of body, wave and board. Working against these principles, or against the flow of a wave, just doesn’t work. In yoga, your body moves with the flow of the breath. In fact, in ujayi breathing, your breath recreates the sound of a wave.
Both yogis and surfers require constant, sequential movement when this flow is interrupted, it takes time to regain it. Surfing and yoga are also trigger activities to induce a flow-state: a seamless psychological state where time dilates, focus sharpens, and your sense of self diminishes. It is a state that most extreme athletes tap into in order to redefine and push the very limits what is considered physically possible.
3. The Fear
Fear is present in both yoga and surfing: whether you’re a yogi embracing a headstand, or a surfer taking off a wave outside your comfort zone, both participants must accept that fear is a part of their practice and they have to get comfortable being in it.
Very few sports consistently meet that element of fear on a daily basis. Facing fear is hard; finding a comfortable spot in the fear zone is a skill. That skill can be learned, and mastered.
4. A solo endeavour in a like-minded community
As kids, both my wife and I competed in team sports. They were more socially challenging than physically challenging. When it comes to working on our physical health, we prefer to go it alone. Whether surfing or practicing yoga, you learn a lot about yourself: your mental and physical limitations, your commitment, how you handle adversity, how you react to pain or injury.
Both disciplines force you to challenge yourself and work within the boundaries of your limitations with the aim to gradually extend them further. Although they are solo activities, yoga and surfing thrive within a like-minded community. There is comfort in laying down your mat in a class or paddling out to the line-up. You are there for yourself, but you’re not alone.
5. They involve meditation
Very few activities and sports REQUIRE a calm mind and total focus to execute a move or task. Very few physical activities have it as part of their movement sequence. Yoga and surfing both excite yet focus the mind, whether it’s by working through a deep stretch or finding the right line through a barrel.
Most people find it difficult to make time for meditation, but it is much easier when it is a part of your daily physical practice.
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Hooroo,
Ash Boddy, The Weekend Surf Warrior
