There’s something crucial that lies at the heart of both yoga and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP): balance. The buoyant board essentially takes on the role of a yoga mat, while the open surroundings replace the confined spaces of yoga studios. The practice was probably developed in Hawaii, the birthplace of SUP, but it has now spread across the world to lakes, canals and coastal seas where the water is still in all corners of the world. Many such locations can be found in the UK, and paddleboarding enthusiasts have taken the opportunity to run SUP Yoga sessions here. Keep reading to find out more about this innovative and inspiring yoga practice.
The Benefits
Practising yoga on a paddleboard trains the body to hold positions calmly and confidently, as the resultrs of slipping or overbalancing are magnified by the response of the board. But the goal isn’t to make yoga harder or more exclusive. Working in harmony with the board and the water helps develop your focus, as does the opportunity to spend time with your body and mind in beautiful natural surroundings.
SUP Yoga is a fantastic option for yoga novices who already have paddleboarding experience because many of the skills are transferable. It’s a wonderful way for committed yogis to develop their practice too, introducing new challenges and unlocking fresh rewards.
The Equipment
For the board itself, you’ll be looking for something stable. If you’ve read our blog post about the different types of paddleboards, you’ll know that inflatable SUPs provide the most buoyancy and stability, making these the best choice. This goes for beginners as well as advanced practitioners of SUP Yoga, because other types of board are designed for paddling and gliding efficiency and you won’t even be using a paddle when holding yoga poses.
Another piece of kit that you might encounter during a SUP Yoga session is a central floating platform, like the Safe Waterman™ Starfit Platform, which allows up to eight people to dock their paddleboards together in an inward-facing pattern. The yoga instructor can then take a prominent position in the class, while the interconnected structure provides extra stability to the individual paddleboards. These are particularly well suited to beginner-level sessions.
Previous experience
Sometimes yoga can feel like a difficult activity to get into - wouldn’t adding another element raise the entry barrier even higher? Not at all. As a relatively new arrival on the scene in the UK, SUP Yoga hasn’t become the kind of activity full of highly skilled practitioners that’s enough to put newcomers off just yet. So sign up for a session even if you’ve never done yoga before!
On the other hand, some prior experience of paddleboarding will really help you out. As we’ve mentioned before, the interplay between your movements and those of the board is a key element of SUP Yoga, so knowing how to read and predict the reactions of your paddleboard will help you hold poses and transition between them. We recommend taking at least a SUP taster session before signing up for a SUP Yoga class.
The Poses
Anyone new to SUP Yoga will start out with basic poses. Start with a seated pose or a child’s pose to gather yourself and listen to your environment - the sensation of the open air, the sounds and smells of the water, the sensation of buoyancy pushing up on you and your board. Then move on to positions such as the plank or the downward-facing dog. It might take a moment to find your balance in each new pose, but we have some top tips from yoga instructors to help you out:
- Find the balance point of the board: this is generally where the carrying handle is.
- Keep two points of contact with the board at all times: this is good practice in all kinds of SUP.
- Use the horizon: looking towards a stable point on the horizon will help you maintain your equilibrium.
Bearing these tips in mind and slowly building up confidence, you can go on to advanced poses such as the wild thing pose, the half camel pose and even standing asanas.
If you have any more questions about SUP Yoga, just pop it in the comments. We also want to hear from anyone who’s tried this activity - where did you do it? What was it like? Has it changed how your view on yoga or paddleboarding?
