Pranayama for surfers — breathing that changes your sessions

Pranayama is the yogic word for breath control — prana is breath or life force, yama is restraint. In practice it means a set of techniques that change the pace, depth and rhythm of breathing on purpose, to change the state of the body and mind. Some techniques calm, some energise, some train the body to tolerate discomfort. Surfers need all three, at different moments.

The three moments the breath fails

The paddle-out. Fighting through white water, the breath gets fast and shallow. The chest tightens, the shoulders rise, and the paddle stroke shortens — exactly when you need it long. Most beginners arrive at the line-up already exhausted, not from the paddling but from breathing badly while doing it.

The drop. The wave lifts, you commit, and the breath stops. A held breath at the moment of the pop-up locks the core rigid and slows the movement. The best surfers exhale on the drop.

The hold-down. Under a wave, tumbled, not sure which way is up. The instinct is to fight and to panic-breathe when you surface. Both burn oxygen. The skill is stillness underwater and a controlled recovery breath after.

The techniques, and what each one fixes

Ujjayi — the ocean breath. Slow breathing through the nose with a slight constriction at the back of the throat, which makes an audible sound and slows the air. It's the breath used throughout Vinyasa yoga. Fixes the paddle-out: it trains slow nasal breathing under effort, so the paddle stays long and the shoulders stay down.

Nadi shodhana — alternate-nostril breathing. Closing one nostril, inhaling through the other, switching, exhaling. Slow and balancing. Fixes the pre-session nerves: five minutes on the beach before a session of bigger waves brings the heart rate down noticeably.

Box breathing. Inhale four counts, hold four, exhale four, hold four. Used by divers, athletes and — famously — military units for the same reason: it is the fastest reliable way to bring a spiking nervous system back down. Fixes the post-hold-down recovery: two rounds after a wipeout and the panic is gone.

Extended exhale. Any pattern where the exhale is longer than the inhale — in for four, out for eight. The long exhale activates the parasympathetic system directly. Fixes the drop: practicing it on land builds the habit of exhaling through the pop-up rather than bracing.

Kapalabhati — “skull-shining” breath. Rapid, forceful exhales driven by the abdomen, with passive inhales. Energising, warming, and demanding. Fixes the cold-morning start: two minutes before a dawn session wakes the body faster than coffee. Not for pregnant practitioners or anyone with high blood pressure.

What a pranayama session looks like

Forty-five minutes to an hour, seated or lying on the rooftop, at the point in the week when the body has a few surf sessions in it and the mind is starting to race. The instructor moves through calming, balancing and energising techniques, and ends with a long rest. Most people leave the session slightly surprised at how much a breathing class can do.

Wellness package residents have one pranayama session a week included.