By: Rita-Marie Murphy
Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga is one of the latest trends in yoga. It is a practice that I hope is here to stay! Yoga on a Stand Up Paddleboard is a great way to reinvigorate your yoga practice and connect with nature. With the paddleboard as the mat, yogis are able to refine their technique and become more in tune with their poses, while matching their breath to the rhythmic flow of the water. Since the paddleboard is unstable, yogis must engage their core for better balance, translating into a better workout. The best part of SUP Yoga is it teaches you how to get back up. If you do fall, you learn how to overcome the setback, climb back up on your board and try again. SUP Yoga provides the opportunity to learn a meaningful life lesson and provides great motivation to stay balanced and focused on the present.
This June, I earned my certification as a Stand Up Paddleboard Instructor with the Academy of Surfing Instructors and as a SUP Yoga Teacher with Paddle Diva of Southampton, NY. Teaching yoga on a paddleboard, and my own personal training, has transformed both my practice and my body. The paddling itself has been a great substitute for running; it has been better for my knees and has shredded my core. I have lost a few pounds and inches, which I am grateful for because it did not even feel like I was working out! I was paddling along the beautiful Connetquout River on Long Island’s South Shore or in Three Mile Harbor in Southampton. I was in a playful and adventurous state of mind. The most blissful aspect of paddleboarding is that it forces you to stay in the moment. You must be acutely aware of your natural surroundings, be it marine life or boaters. You are practicing on a platform that glides along the water, and is vulnerable to waves and wind. You must be present. All of the while, you are taking in the overwhelmingly beautiful and majestic views of nature.
I have been fortunate enough to be teaching a few SUP Yoga classes a week at Adventure Paddleboards in Hampton Bays, and I offer my own class on the Connetquot River in Great River, NY with Bunger Surf Shop of Sayville. SUP Yoga forces you to rethink even the most simple pose, yet the surrounding water gives you the courage to try even the most daring inversion or arm balance. In my experience, I have found Tree Pose (Vrksasana) and Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana) to be the most challenging, while Headstand (Sirsasana) and Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana) came with ease! One windy Sunday morning in the Hampton Bays, Warrior I seemed almost impossible. Your entire body works to maintain your balance, thus totally engaging your core and building strength, endurance and confidence. There is a sweet surrender to nature that is made when you practice yoga on a paddleboard; you have no choice but to go with the flow.
One afternoon I paddled south on the Connetquot River, a fresh water river that empties into the Great South Bay. I followed a rivulet into a hidden cove and blessed the area with my practice. As I lay in Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana), I reflected on an analogy in the Translation and Commentary of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda.
Sutra 3. “Then the Seer (Self) abides in His own nature.”
“…You think you are your reflection in the mind. If the mind has a lot of waves like the surface of a lake, you will be seeing a distorted reflection. If the water of that mental lake is muddy or colored you see your Self as muddy or colored. To see the true reflection, see that the water is clean and calm and without any ripples. When the mind ceases to create thought forms or when the chittam is completely free from vrittis, it becomes clear and still as a lake and you see your true Self.”
Is not seeing our true selves ultimately the quest we are all on along this path called yoga?Floating there on my board, I let go of my thoughts. I envisioned my mind as a lake, and each thought as a wave or ripple in that lake. With every exhale, I released a thought or a concern. I exhaled out all those things that were no longer serving me until the lake in my mind was as flat and calm as a plate of glass.
I am grateful for the serene practice of Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga. It is a great way to transform your physical practice and a wonderful way to connect nature. I encourage all adventures yogis to get on a board and enjoy the glide!
Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) Yoga is one of the latest trends in yoga. It is a practice that I hope is here to stay! Yoga on a Stand Up Paddleboard is a great way to reinvigorate your yoga practice and connect with nature. With the paddleboard as the mat, yogis are able to refine their technique and become more in tune with their poses, while matching their breath to the rhythmic flow of the water. Since the paddleboard is unstable, yogis must engage their core for better balance, translating into a better workout. The best part of SUP Yoga is it teaches you how to get back up. If you do fall, you learn how to overcome the setback, climb back up on your board and try again. SUP Yoga provides the opportunity to learn a meaningful life lesson and provides great motivation to stay balanced and focused on the present.
This June, I earned my certification as a Stand Up Paddleboard Instructor with the Academy of Surfing Instructors and as a SUP Yoga Teacher with Paddle Diva of Southampton, NY. Teaching yoga on a paddleboard, and my own personal training, has transformed both my practice and my body. The paddling itself has been a great substitute for running; it has been better for my knees and has shredded my core. I have lost a few pounds and inches, which I am grateful for because it did not even feel like I was working out! I was paddling along the beautiful Connetquout River on Long Island’s South Shore or in Three Mile Harbor in Southampton. I was in a playful and adventurous state of mind. The most blissful aspect of paddleboarding is that it forces you to stay in the moment. You must be acutely aware of your natural surroundings, be it marine life or boaters. You are practicing on a platform that glides along the water, and is vulnerable to waves and wind. You must be present. All of the while, you are taking in the overwhelmingly beautiful and majestic views of nature.
I have been fortunate enough to be teaching a few SUP Yoga classes a week at Adventure Paddleboards in Hampton Bays, and I offer my own class on the Connetquot River in Great River, NY with Bunger Surf Shop of Sayville. SUP Yoga forces you to rethink even the most simple pose, yet the surrounding water gives you the courage to try even the most daring inversion or arm balance. In my experience, I have found Tree Pose (Vrksasana) and Dancer’s Pose (Natarajasana) to be the most challenging, while Headstand (Sirsasana) and Side Crow (Parsva Bakasana) came with ease! One windy Sunday morning in the Hampton Bays, Warrior I seemed almost impossible. Your entire body works to maintain your balance, thus totally engaging your core and building strength, endurance and confidence. There is a sweet surrender to nature that is made when you practice yoga on a paddleboard; you have no choice but to go with the flow.
One afternoon I paddled south on the Connetquot River, a fresh water river that empties into the Great South Bay. I followed a rivulet into a hidden cove and blessed the area with my practice. As I lay in Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana), I reflected on an analogy in the Translation and Commentary of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda.
Sutra 3. “Then the Seer (Self) abides in His own nature.”
“…You think you are your reflection in the mind. If the mind has a lot of waves like the surface of a lake, you will be seeing a distorted reflection. If the water of that mental lake is muddy or colored you see your Self as muddy or colored. To see the true reflection, see that the water is clean and calm and without any ripples. When the mind ceases to create thought forms or when the chittam is completely free from vrittis, it becomes clear and still as a lake and you see your true Self.”
Is not seeing our true selves ultimately the quest we are all on along this path called yoga?Floating there on my board, I let go of my thoughts. I envisioned my mind as a lake, and each thought as a wave or ripple in that lake. With every exhale, I released a thought or a concern. I exhaled out all those things that were no longer serving me until the lake in my mind was as flat and calm as a plate of glass.
I am grateful for the serene practice of Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga. It is a great way to transform your physical practice and a wonderful way to connect nature. I encourage all adventures yogis to get on a board and enjoy the glide!
RSS Feed
