Mindful Skating: Yoga and Stretching for Skateboarders

Skateboarding and yoga may sound like opposites, conjuring an oxymoronic parade of funny parallel weddings: barbarians having tea, or football players doing tai chi. But not only do opposites attract, life’s curveballs have a way of pushing things into balance… and we all want good balance, right?

Skateboarding can take a toll on your body, especially if you fall, crash, or otherwise bite it. To stay in top shape, prevent injuries, and improve performance, even a dollop of yoga and stretching can help keep you less sore and more nimble.

Why Yoga?

Yoga’s beneficial parallels to skateboarding are numerous. Skateboarding demands a combination of explosive movements, flexibility, and endurance. With repetitive motion, falls, and impact from landing tricks, your muscles, joints, and ligaments can tighten, leading to injury or decreased mobility. 

Yoga focuses on muscle control, balance, flexibility, and, uh—focus. Long poses to strengthen opposing muscles, body parts held aloft, extended balancing in challenging positions… the more you look at yoga, the easier it is to see these strengths empowering a body to keep control over a small, zooming platform on wheels. Regular practice can also reduce stress and boost mental performance.

Benefits of Yoga for Skateboarders

1. Better Flexibility: One huge benefit of yoga is improved flexibility. Skateboarding stresses specific muscle groups, especially the lower back, hips, hamstrings, and ankles. Yoga poses such as forward folds, hip openers, and hamstring stretches increase flexibility, which expands the range of motion in your skateboarding movements.
2. Enhanced Balance: Balance is stability—in place and in motion. Mastering yoga postures like tree pose, warrior poses, and eagle pose can build balance and stability, which will translate directly to better control on the skateboard. Improved core strength and coordination will help skateboarders land tricks with more ease and precision.
3. Improved Strength and Endurance: You can’t hold anti-gravity poses without strength, particularly in the core, legs, and arms. Holding postures like plank or downward dog engages key muscle groups that are also essential for skateboarding. A stronger core, in particular, supports better posture and control while skating, allowing more power and confidence in moves.
4. Prevention of Injuries: With flexing and compression, yoga works your joints, reducing the risk of injuries common to skateboarding. Regular yoga practice increases blood flow to muscles and tissues, enhancing recovery after long skate sessions.
5. Mindfulness and Focus: Skateboarders need mental focus, especially for complex tricks and terrain. Yoga can boost mindfulness, breathing, and presence for a skateboarder in need of calm focus in riding.
6. Breath control: You probably won’t forget to breathe, but FOCUSING on your breath can improve muscle relaxation, stress reduction, and mental clarity. Taking deep, slow breaths helps engage a meditative state.

Key Yoga Poses for Skateboarders

A haphazard hop into impromptu stretches might be better than nothing, but yoga has a deep catalog of tried-and-true “tricks” that might help you achieve gains faster. Here’s a selection many skateboarders find useful.

1. Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): This classic yoga pose stretches the hamstrings, calves, and back, which helps relieve tightness after a long skate session. It also engages the shoulders and core, improving stability and alignment.
2. Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana): Pigeon pose is excellent for opening up the hips and improving flexibility in the groin and hip flexors. Tight hips can impair mobility and lead to lower back pain, so this stretch can prevent those issues and improve movement fluidity on the skateboard.
3. Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana): This pose stretches the hips and quads, essential areas for skateboarders. It helps increase flexibility in the hip flexors and legs, making it easier to crouch, jump, and control the board.
4. Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): Warrior II enhances leg strength, stability, and balance. It also stretches the inner thighs and hips, improving skateboarding posture and the ability to maintain control while performing tricks.
5. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana): This pose strengthens the glutes, lower back, and core while stretching the chest and spine. Strong glutes and a solid core are key components for powering through skateboarding movements and maintaining good posture.
6. Child’s Pose (Balasana): A gentle pose that stretches the back, hips, and thighs while allowing for deep breathing and relaxation. It’s ideal for recovery and releasing tension after an intense skate session.

What was Qui-Gon Jinn doing when he took a Jedi meditation break in the middle of a life-or-death lightsaber battle?  Well, maybe it wasn’t yoga, but the intent was clear: finding focus and renewal. In the same way, the intense and sometimes damaging action of skating can be balanced by the stabilizing effects of yoga. You can enhance skills, prevent injuries, and improve overall body flexibility and strength. Regular yoga can help round out your body’s potential, bringing balance—if not to the Force, then at least to your skateboard skills!