Yoga is a fantastic supplement for you as a kitesurfer or other type of water sports! Kitesurfing is fun, but it can be hard on the body. Yoga can i.a. contribute to better performance and less risk of injury. For me personally, one of the primary benefits of practicing yoga as a kitesurfer is the increased well-being you get in your body. Everyone knows how stiff and sore you can be after a session on the water. When you practice yoga, you won't get the same soreness and muscle pain.
Here I have selected 10 of my favorite yoga positions as a kitesurfer. I use them both as a warm-up, stretching or as supplementary training for my kitesurfing practice.
Remember that in yoga there is no final result. Each position looks different in each body, so adapt the exercises so that it is bearable to be in them. It may well be. you don't look like the pictures and that's totally okay!
Breathing is also a very important factor, but in this article I have tried to keep it all short and simple. It's a good idea to take a few breaths in and out of each position before moving on to the next. In yoga you always breathe in through the nose and out through the nose. You inhale all the way down to your stomach and exhale completely
1. Sun Salutation – Surya Namaskar (Great yoga warm-up for kite surfers)
Why: Heat stretches and tones the muscles in the legs, hips, arms and spine. Tones and stimulates internal organs. Teaches us to flow with our breathing. It is a good idea to do a few sun salutations in a row, without a break between them. A good number can be three (one is when you have repeated the cycle on both legs) Sun salutations are super good as warming up the whole body before kitesurfing.
How:
1. Start in Tadasana – mountain pose – inhale / exhale
2. Inhale - stretch your arms towards the sky, tighten your buttocks while doing a small backbend
3. Exhale – come down with a straight back, heart leading into a standing forward bend
4. Inhale – step your right leg back into a low lounge, lower your knee and ankle into the ground and look up
5. Hold your breath and step your left leg back so that you are in the plank position
6. Exhale - lower your knees, chin and forehead into the ground
7. Inhale cobra
8. Exhale – tuck your toes and lift your hips up and back into Downward Facing Dog
9. Inhale, step the right foot up between the hands, lower the knee and foot to the ground and look up
10. Exhale the left foot up between the hands, look at your knees
11. Inhale come up with a straight back, tighten the buttocks and do a slight backbend
12. Exhale hands in front of heart
13. Repeat on opposite side
2. Downward facing dog / Adho Muka Svanasana
Why: Stretches and strengthens the spine, hips, legs, arms and shoulders. Kitesurfers often feel a lot of tension in and around their shoulders – downward dog will loosen up this area nicely.
How: Get on all fours. Hands under shoulders, knees under hips. Now place your hands a little further forward and spread out on all ten fingers. Underturn all ten toes and lift your hips toward the sky. Try to lengthen through the spine and hips. Your feet do not need to touch the ground, the important thing is that your back is straight.
3. Plank – uthita chaturanga dandasana
Why: Strengthens the whole body, from the inside to the outside. Can also provide more presence in the body. If you love to jump or you do unhooked tricks, you use your core a lot. A strong core will reduce injuries.
How: From downward facing dog, come up on your toes and with your navel leading, lean your body into the plank position. Push the heart forward and roll the shoulders back.
4. Dolphin
Why: Strengthens the upper body in particular. Upper body strength is especially important if you want to improve your unhooked skills. The dolphin can also be a wonderful heart opener and opens up the front of the chest and our shoulders.
How: From downward facing dog, come down onto your forearms. If you want an additional challenge, switch between dog and dolphin for a few breaths. Try not to "set" your forearms down, but rather slide them.
5. Warrior III / Virabradrasana III
Why: Improve your balance ability and strengthen the muscles in your standing leg. When kiting and especially in hard, uncontrolled landings, overstrain can occur in the knee, so it is particularly important to keep them strong. Balancing on one leg activates and strengthens all the small muscles in and around the knee.
How: Start from a lunge where you ground into the front standing leg and slowly and controlled lift your back leg. Suck in the navel while lifting the back leg up in a straight line with the upper body, or as high as possible. Your hands are either in front of the heart in prayer position or stretched out along the ears.
6. Wide leg forward fold with hands clasped behind the back
Why: Stretches the legs, behind the thighs and opens up in and around the shoulders, which are under a lot of tension when kitesurfing.
How: Take a good standing position on the long side of your yoga mat. Let the toes point in slightly. Lengthen your spine and intertwine your hands behind your back. Bend from the hips and come down with a straight back and heart leading. When you can't go any further with a straight back, you can slowly round your back and let your arms fall over your head. Try to bring your shoulder blades closer together. Let the crown of the head look down towards the ground.
7. Bridge – Setu Bandhasana
Why: Stretches the chest, neck, spine and hips. Strengthens the back, buttocks and hamstrings. If you have ever tried to kite for several hours straight or sail in the same direction for some time, you will feel how much your lower body works! It is therefore a good idea to keep these muscles active and healthy, so you can have more stamina on the water!
How: From a position where you are lying on your back, bend your legs in so that your feet are about 15cm from your buttocks. Extend your arms down at your sides, palms on the floor. Activate the inner thighs and inhale your lower body towards the sky. Pull the shoulders slightly under the body and together the hands and stretch out through the front of the arms. Kneeling, push forward and lift your chest up towards your chin. As a variation, you can lift one leg towards the sky. When you need to get out of the position, you first loosen the arms and then lower vertebra by vertebra, the last thing that touches the ground is the coccyx.
8. Head to knee / Janu Sirsasana
Why: Opens all the muscles in the back of the body.
How: Sit with your legs stretched out in front of you. Pull your right leg in towards your body so that your feet touch the inside of your right leg so that it forms a 90 degree angle. Extend through the spine and the crown of the head, turn slightly to the left and on an exhalation fold from the hip and with the heart leading out the leg. Repeat on opposite side.
9. Seated twist / Adha Matsyendrasana
Why: Stimulates the liver and kidney. Strengthens the back. Stretches the hip, shoulders and neck. A good position to do after a kite session to release tension from the muscles.
How: Sit with your legs stretched out in front of you. Place the right foot over the left leg. If it is possible for you, you can also pull your left heel to the right buttock. On an inhale, straighten the spine and extend the right arm toward the sky, on an exhale, place the arm on the outside of the right knee. The right arm is brought behind the body. On each exhalation you can get a little deeper into the twist. Repeat on opposite side.
10. Savasana – The deep relaxation
Why: Relaxes and relaxes the whole body. Calms the mind and increases mental health. Reduces stress and improves body awareness.
How: Lie on your back. Your arms are down by your sides and your palms are pointing up. The feet fall out to the side. Relax your whole body and mind. Feel the weight from your torso, legs, arms and head sinking towards the ground. Soften your face, the area between the eyebrows, the muscles around the eyes and the jaw. Allow yourself to feel the conscious relaxation.
Thank you very much for reading along!
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This article was written by Emely Freja Petersen, who is an internationally certified yoga instructor (500YT), and 2x Danish champion in kitesurfing.
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