Recovery from Surf Training
After each session with the group or in a 1:1 training, I facilitate a few minutes of deep rest.
The yogis have known it for ages - many of us in the west need to wait for science to confirm:: To maximize the effects of any movement or breathing practice, mobility training or workout in he gym, it is advised to get into the RECOVERY phase AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
During the practice session we challenge our system with new stimulus, we literally expose our body and nervous system to stress. We do this because we want to improcve, want get stronger, more flexible or better at a certain skill.
Research has shown that the adaptation, our body´s ability of integrating and processing the training, is significantly better when we enter the recovery phase directly after the training. So instead of packing our bags after the last exercise, looking at our phone and drive home, we take a few minutes to encourage our nervous system to switch towards rest and digest, into it´s parasympathetic state.
After a strength workout this could be 5-10 min. of gentle, passive, yin-style stretching while using the breath to calm down the nervous system: Inhaling for the count of 3, exhalinhg with open mouth, slowly, for the count of 4, 5, 6 or even slower.
In my group sessions I provide a short guided relaxation that starts with a physiological sigh: A 2-part quick inhalation through the nose, followed by a long, slow exhalation through the mouth. That´s the quickest way to get into relaxation.