Yoga

Without doubt complementary to a day’s surfing, on a basic physical level is great to stretch out. Yoga improves balance, flexibility, core strength and deepens breathing. Hatha Yoga is the easiest style to find in the region. The connection you will get by being in the ocean combined with yoga practice can really help you regain your center.

People find yoga for different reasons. Flexibility, strength, injury recovery, stress relief, self confidence, social. The list goes on! Whatever your motivation, you’re likely to unlock a whole lot more. Making yoga a part of your daily routine will have a major impact on your life! So what are you waiting for?

Daily Yoga with Holly at Lion’s Rest Hotel

Come along to our energising morning class at 8.30 am or for that sunset stretch out at 5:30pm on the breezy rooftop at Lions Rest.

Holly is a Hatha and Vinyasa yoga instructor from the UK, who has been travelling whilst teaching yoga for the past 3 years. She completed her training at Shiva Yoga Peeth in Rishikesh, India in 2015 and almost immediately began teaching in Morocco. Her path led her to Sri Lanka on a beautiful quest for the culture and people that had stolen her heart on a previous trip. Her nurturing approach to yoga means her teaching style is very accessible to all levels. Whether you are new to yoga or have previous experience and are looking for an extra challenge to deepen your practice, there is an option for all.

Holly encourages a practice that feels right for your own body, and can guide you through a Slow Flow, Vinyasa, Hatha or more Restorative style of yoga.
Her experience of teaching in surf destinations, as well as being a surfer herself, means she can cater the lessons specifically for those tired and achy muscles and can adapt the class depending on any pesky surf related injuries. Remember though, there is no such thing as being too inflexible to do yoga! We are all built differently and blessed with different capabilities.

Open to guests and non guests twice daily Yoga classes are available at Lion’s Rest cost $10 USD per class, 3 or 6 passes passes can be purchased at a discount.

Whether you want to start your day with an energising yoga practice or soothe those aching muscles after a day in the surf, you’ll be taken care of. on the shaded sunset deck overlooking Coconuts surf break. One-To-One classes can be tailored to suit whatever you may need or to further explore your practice.  You don’t need to bring any equipment, just an open mind and a willingness to learn 🙂

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to it’s old dimensions” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jnr.

 Location 

Past Surf – Yoga Vibes

The relationship between yoga and surfing goes beyond the union of strength, balance and breath control that can be found in this land based practice and it’s wetter ocean cousin.

Yoga can help surfers become more accomplished in their practice, working on their focus and flexibility to help them surf with more grace and awareness. Yoga also gives surfers the tools to help prevent themselves from injuries and a way to stretch out tired muscles at the end of a day’s session.

As a passionate surfers Lions’ Rest yoga teaching has a special consciousness around it connected to the surf side environment that she loves to teach in. Her classes are perfect for surfers and non surfers alike and she aspires to create a vibe of equanimity in all her classes, with everyone from the super stiff surfing first timers to experienced yoga practitioners who prefer the beachside view.

Teaching style is based around the vinyasa practice, which incorporates elements of interval training for strength and endurance building, creative flow for fluidity and fun –just like you’d find when surfing a wave, and Yin and restorative yoga for repairing and soothing tired or injured bodies (of which there’s quite a few when the waves are pumping).

‘I definitely believe in making people smile throughout their yoga practice and to encourage them to find their own personal expression of themselves with their bodies. We’re all built differently and are graced with different capabilities, and this is one of the beautiful things about yoga; that we can all find our own unique flow.

Saying this alignment and the promotion of self awareness are two elements which are really important to my classes. You come to the yoga mat to strengthen and heal your body not to injure yourself. So safety in class is paramount. Hopefully every class will be a mini journey for you of stretching, sweating and smiling your way into self discovery, all topped off with some calming deep tissue working restorative poses to let you leave the class feeling light, revitalised and happy’.