Lately, we’ve been thinking more about what happens around the surf.
The hours before you paddle out, the recovery after and everything in between. Because that’s where things get really interesting.
Here at Xanadu, we’ve stopped seeing surfing as just an activity you tick off each day. It’s more like the centrepiece of a wider wellness rhythm: saltwater, heat, cold, movement, rest, all feeding into each other.
Not because it’s trendy or because we’re trying to optimise performance, but because it genuinely helps… especially for those of you juggling busy lives back home.
We’ve just added a large infrared sauna to go alongside the ice baths and daily yoga sessions. And honestly? It’s completed the picture.
How surfing and wellness quietly merged
This shift didn’t happen overnight. And it definitely didn’t start as some wellness trend. It grew out of real needs.
More and more surfers started noticing that:
- How well you recover affects your next session just as much as your fitness level does
- The stress you bring from home follows you into the water… not the other way around
- Feeling calm, mobile and actually rested makes for better, more enjoyable sessions
Sauna: A muscle-melting method for recovery
Surfing is for sure joyful, but there’s no denying it takes it out of you.
All that paddling loads up your shoulders and upper back, pop-ups fire through your hips and even a mellow session can tax your system.
For beginner to intermediate surfers still figuring out efficient movement, your body remembers every session.
Heat is often where all that tension finally starts to soften.
Walking into the infrared sauna after a surf feels grounding straight away. The warmth works its way in slowly, coaxing muscles to release without forcing anything. And your body starts letting go of whatever it’s been holding onto since that last paddle out.
What infrared heat does for surfers:
- Supports a slow unwinding that helps with stiffness and soreness
- Improves mobility without overwhelming your system
- Leaves you feeling ready rather than wrecked for tomorrow’s session
- Creates better circulation and helps joints feel less compressed
But just as importantly, the sauna creates a pause. There’s literally nothing to do in there, nowhere to be, no phone buzzing for your attention. That absence of noise tells your nervous system it’s safe to slow down.
With the new sauna at Xanadu, this post-surf ritual has become part of the daily rhythm rather than something you squeeze in if there’s time. It’s a proper transition from effort to ease, from movement to stillness.
No rushing necessary.
Ice bath: Getting comfortable with discomfort
Cold water divides people.
Some love it immediately. Others need convincing. But when you approach ice baths with intention rather than trying to prove how tough you are, they become one of the most effective tools for recovery and nervous system training.
The second you step into cold water, everything sharpens. Sensation becomes crystal clear, your breath demands your full attention and your mind has no choice but to be present.
There’s no room for distraction or spiralling thoughts. Just breathing and staying.
Physical benefits for surfers:
- Reduces inflammation after long or repetitive sessions
- Improves circulation throughout the body
- Speeds up muscle recovery, especially for bodies not used to daily surf loads
- Makes a noticeable difference over the course of a trip
Mental and nervous system benefits:
- Trains your system to stay calm under pressure
- Teaches you to soften and breathe instead of tensing up or panicking
- Builds the ability to stay composed when conditions get unpredictable
- Translates directly to the water when sets roll in unexpectedly
When you pair heat with cold, you create contrast. And your nervous system actually thrives on contrast. Unless it’s the contrast between the wave of your life and the wipeout of your life.
That kinda sucks.
Surfing: the spark that makes everything else matter
Surfing is still the reason for all of this.
It’s what we do! Very few activities combine physical challenge, mental focus and emotional reward quite like surfing does. And we’re alllll for it.
But for beginner and intermediate surfers especially, it demands a lot. There’s constant learning, plenty of falling, endless paddling and trying again. You’re building strength alongside coordination and balance. And confidence grows with every small win.
That activation is part of what makes surfing feel so alive. But it’s also why recovery actually matters.
The complete cycle:
- Surfing energises and challenges you
- Heat soothes and releases tension
- Cold clarifies and steadies your system
- Yoga restores balance, length and breath
Together, they don’t just support better surfing… they support better recovery, deeper rest, and a more sustainable relationship with the ocean.
Why this works so well in Lombok
Lombok naturally invites you to slow down.
Warm water, consistent waves, fresh air and a pace of life that gently pulls you out of urgency. All of it supports nervous system balance before you even touch the ocean.
At Xanadu, the sauna, ice baths and yoga complete that environment.
Through trial and guest feedback, we now reckon we’ve turned surf trips into something genuinely nourishing and sustainable.
This is especially so for surfers in their 30s, 40s and beyond who want to feel good in their bodies, not just rack up session counts.
A typical day finds its rhythm:
- Surf in the morning
- Warm up in the sauna
- Cool down in the ice bath
- Stretch and breathe in yoga
- Rest, eat well and wake up ready to do it all again!
The most meaningful shifts often happen off the board anyway. It’s one of the reasons we added mindset sessions to our surf retreat programs. In those quieter moments, where your body absorbs the day’s session, your nervous system settles back into balance.
Surfing will always be the heartbeat for us. The reason you come, the reason you keep paddling back out. But heat, ice and intentional recovery? That’s what allows you to have your cake (max out your sessions and eat it too (wake up ready to go the next day).
