Last week, I had the opportunity to hang in the yoga room with Ellie Bernstein. Ellie reached her 600-hour level certification in April 2011 and has been teaching and pursuing yoga ever since at Vibe Yoga in Bloomington, Indiana. We discussed surfing and what parts of your body it demands. From there, we picked out the simplest and most effective poses to improve overall strength, flexibility and balance.
High Plank- Uttihita Chaturanga Dandasana
- Plank Pose is one of the positions in the traditional Sun Salutation sequence. You can also perform this pose by itself and stay anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- High plank is an arm strengthener as well as core builder. It is also a mentally tough pose that teaches us to breathe.
- How to:
- Start in a push up position.
- Make sure palms are directly under shoulders.
- Equal weight distribution in all fingers to protect the wrists.
- Heels are pushing towards the wall.
- Tuck abdominals, engage your butt and legs and breathe!
High Plank Pose.
To Upward-Facing Dog- Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
- Benefits: Strengthens the arms, wrists and abdomen. Increases the flexibility of the spine. Great for pre/post surf (especially after a bad fall)
- How to:
- From high plank, lower into the bottom of a push up.
- Before touching the ground, flip your toes so the tops are on the ground.
- Reach your chest up and enjoy this back bend.
Upward-Facing Dog.
Warrior Two- Virabhadra
- Benefits: Stretches your hips, groins and shoulders, opens your chest and lungs, builds stamina and concentration, energizes tired limbs, develops balance and stability and improves circulation and respiration.
- How to:
- Find a low lunge. Front foot facing forward and back foot facing outward.
- Arms are in a straight line with palms facing down.
- Make sure knee is not flexed over the big toe.
Warrior 2 Pose.
Modified Crescent/Lunge Hipflexors- Alanasana
- Benefits: Strengthens the quadriceps and gluteus muscles, stretches the psoas and hips, expands your chest, lungs and shoulders, develops stamina and endurance in your thighs, improves your balance, concentration and core awareness
- How to:
- Step your right foot forward and place it beside your right thumb, lining up your right knee over your right ankle.
- Raise your torso and sweep your arms above your head with your palms facing one another, placing your biceps beside your ears.
Crescent Lunge.
Boat Pose- Paripurna
- Benefits: Tones and strengthens your abdominal muscles , improves balance and digestion, stretches your hamstrings, strengthens your spine and hip flexors and improves confidence.
- How To:
- Sit on the floor, lift feet off of the ground and either straighten or keep knees bent.
- Strengthen through the arms or wrap them under your knees.
Boat Pose.
Dolphin Pose
- Benefits: Stretches the shoulders, hamstrings, calves, and arches and strengthens shoulders and arms.
- How to:
- Begin in downward dog and lower your forearms to the ground.
- Keep legs as if they were in downward dog.
Dolphin Pose.
Tree Pose- Vrksasana
- Benefits: Strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, and spine, stretches the groins and inner thighs, chest and shoulders, improves sense of balance.
- How to:
- Stand tall, brings hands to heart’s center.
- Root down into one foot and bring the other foot up to the shin or upper thigh (avoid placing foot on knee.)
Tree Pose.
