SUP Yoga at Surf Expo

[blueplanetsurf]

Our booth at Surf Expo was right next to the demo pool and they had a demonstration of SUP yoga every day.  I must say that I was really impressed.  I never thought much about SUP yoga but after witnessing some of the amazing balance and flexibility demonstrated by the Yoga instructors, I am now convinced that Yoga on water is here to stay and has a great future.

The beginning of the video has a short interview with Sarah Tiefenthaler, the owner of Yogaqua (www.yogaqua.com). 
In the interview she said that practicing yoga on water helps with core strength and alignment, as balancing on water requires proper alignment. 
What she said about focus makes perfect sense and resonates with our Zen Waterman philosophy:
When you are balancing on water if fully absorbs you and you can't think about anything else.  The purpose of Yoga is to turn off the chatter in your head.  Well said, thank you Sarah!

[mittenkitten]

Thanks so much for sharing this!

A lot of people are quick to dismiss yoga, but it's benefits for surfing have been known for a long time (hence all the surf vacations you see advertised that always include yoga, too). It seems only natural that it go hand in hand with SUP, and even cooler that you can do it on your board! We actually just discussed yoga in the PaddleFit cert class I took. One lady was surprised that a "super athletic" (gym rat) friend of hers had so much trouble trying to SUP, but the fact is what that person did in the gym on a daily basis was completely undunctional and benefited him in no way in terms of balance, functionality and connection with his body. I started yoga this year and am hoping by next year to add it to my SUP inatruction. So many benefits for SUP!

[Celeste]

I just started yoga in December as rehab for dislocated shoulder and torn subscapularis and started paddling in earnest in june.  No need to wait till next year, any time you find yourself in calm enough water, start doing some poses. Nothing hard like side crain  or peacock, just simple sun salutations.  You can judge your progress at first by how far you drive water into your sinuses, but that quickly goes away.  I hit the water on Tuesday doing side angle. trying to pull my shoulder blades together and left the board back first.  It was in a drinking water reservoir and you are not suppose to  be in the water, but I had just finished a 2 hour paddle, and it was a great excuse to cool off.