From Surf Stars to Ski Champions, Yoga Powers Their Extraordinary Achievements

The Surfer Who Found His Balance Through Yoga

Gerry Lopez, a legendary big wave surfer, discovered yoga during his time as a student at the University of Hawaii in 1968. “I thought, if you could move like that on a surfboard, you could be a really good surfer,” he recalls. He began practicing yoga with the hope of improving his balance on the water, but he quickly realized that it offered something far more profound.

Yoga helped him develop mental clarity and emotional control, which proved invaluable when he was caught underwater and unable to breathe. “After getting into yoga, I was able to relax when getting tumbled underwater and not being able to breath,” Lopez says. “The meditative part of yoga was pretty much the exact same state of mind that you needed to relax in those situations and surf successfully.”

This mental poise allowed Lopez to become one of the most fearless big wave pioneers of his era. He became one of the first surfers to tackle the massive swells of Hawaii’s North Shore, where he won the Pipeline Masters championship in 1972 and 1973. Many even renamed the event the Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters in his honor.

What many people don’t know is that Lopez was an early advocate for the role of yoga in athletic performance. Despite his efforts, it took decades for yoga to gain widespread acceptance in athletic training. While sport psychology has long emphasized the importance of mindset in performance, it wasn’t until research showed that yoga and mindfulness could reduce injury recovery time and lower stress and anxiety that the practice started to gain traction among athletes at all levels.

Today, the narrative around yoga and athletics is being reshaped by athletes who are achieving remarkable feats. Olympic swimming medalists Michael Phelps and Cortney Jordan Truitt, NBA star LeBron James, soccer player Alex Morgan, tennis champion Novak Djokovic, and many others have embraced yoga as a key component of their training. These athletes are redefining what success means in sports, highlighting the mental and physical benefits of yoga beyond flexibility and soreness relief.

Mental Resilience: The Power of Presence

Mike Aidala, a performance coach known for tackling extreme challenges, credits his mental resilience to his background as a yoga teacher. He has completed eight ultra-marathons and paddleboarded 82 miles from the Bahamas to Florida to raise money for cystic fibrosis. In 2022, he set a world record for the total weight lifted in the Turkish Get Up, lifting 13,823 pounds in an hour.

“The Turkish Get Up requires the most valuable resource that I have: presence,” Aidala explains. “I’ve been leaning into my mindfulness practices. I’ve been focusing on yoga, meditation, and spending a lot of time in nature.” On the mat, he says, “you’re constantly having a conversation with your mind. The more you can make friends with your mind, the better it will serve you.”

Overcoming Fear: Anchoring in the Body

Sasha Dingle, a renowned mountain biker and free skier turned meditation teacher, credits her early exposure to yoga for helping her manage fear and doubt. “My strength as an athlete was always my mind,” she says. “My coaches were telling me the reason I was getting picked for training camps was because I could just put fear away. Yoga laid a foundation for that.”

Dingle founded the Mountain Mind Project, an organization that provides mental training for athletes and high performers. She believes that yoga helps individuals navigate uncomfortable emotions and build resilience. “Panic was right there,” she says, echoing Lopez’s experiences of staying calm under pressure.

Physical Training: Beyond Stretching

Many athletes defend yoga against the misconception that it is simply about stretching. Aidala notes that yoga can be very physical and intense, helping to improve strength, mobility, and range of motion. “It helps with injury prevention and force production,” he says.

Dingle also emphasizes that yoga offers a more holistic approach to strength building. “It didn’t feel like it was making me a well-rounded athlete,” she explains of traditional powerlifting regimens. “Yoga allowed me to build strength in a way that was more holistic and supported my sports.”

For those who still see yoga as just a form of stretching, Dingle advises looking past the commercialized image of people in spandex. “That is a limited view,” she says. “Yoga offers strength-building, mobility-building, focus, and self-awareness that are beneficial for anyone pushing themselves to a higher level.”

Whether it’s breaking a world record, overcoming personal challenges, or achieving greater mental resilience, yoga continues to play a vital role in the lives of athletes across all levels. Its benefits extend far beyond the physical, offering a path to balance, focus, and success.