"SUPerior insights" - Part three

So what makes SUP so special?  

What makes SUP so developmental in my opinion is largely that we learn to relate to a context that we are not normally used to handling. A context that our brain sees as extremely risky but which is actually not. If we still dare to step out on the board, the decision itself creates better conditions for handling other activities and challenges. Actually daring is one of the most important aspects when it comes to training effects and personal development. 

To understand what makes SUP so special, we first need to look at the context and influencing factors. First comes the environment itself, in this case the marine one, then the unstable support surface, i.e. a board on water. Both of these factors affect us humans in a way that we have great difficulty dealing with. For the most part, our reactions to this occur on an unconscious level. 

With extensive experience in both conventional wave surfing and free diving as well as “Evology” (reflex-controlled behaviors), I am more than familiar with how and why I am so strongly influenced by the element of water. Through evolution, we have learned that water is a potentially dangerous environment, where we either risk drowning or where various types of predators live. At the same time, we also see all the life-changing benefits of water.  

This developing conflict between risk and opportunity contributes to the sharpening of all our senses. Not only when we are on or in the water but also when we are near it. This can be linked to the “Blue Mind Theory”, which means that the water controls our focus and thereby provides recovery from all the problems that we normally worry about. Used, among other things, to treat PTSD etc.  

In addition to the somatic reflexes that are triggered by the environment, we have additional reflexes whose purpose is to keep us upright and prevent us from falling, as we both risk injuring ourselves and are easier prey for predators if we were to fall to the ground or, worse in the case of the brain, into the water. When all these reflexes are activated, there is no room to think about anything else. The brain's primary focus when SUP paddling is simply that we should not end up in the water. How experienced we are is less important.  

With these effects, basically all of our systems and muscles are activated when we stand on a SUP board. First and foremost, our stabilizing muscles, but also our mobilizing muscles, are engaged as help. Another reflex that we humans have is to stretch to raise our center of gravity when we feel threatened. In addition to making us look bigger and more threatening, it is easier for us to move and escape with a high center of gravity. Which means that the muscles that straighten the skeleton are activated.  

The effect of this is that both our discs in the back and neck are relieved, but also our joints. After SUP paddling, many people experience that they feel lighter, which is believed to be due to this particular reflex. The problem, or rather, one of the advantages, is that when we are out there on the water, we cannot escape the situation. Instead, we are forced to relate to it...  

More about this never-ending source of inspiration will come in the next "SUPerior insights - Part four  

Stand up for your health and development - See you on the water!

/Magnus R Lindstedt