Yoga is always evolving and new styles, techniques and trends are always emerging. One of the hottest trends right now is paddleboard yoga. You can now find places offering the opportunity to practice yoga on a stand up paddleboard across the country from Key West, Florida to San Diego, California and many places in between.
Paddleboard yoga combines stand up paddle boarding and your yoga practice. Paddle board yoga is challenging because you need to remain balanced on the board in the water, while moving into various yoga poses. This form of yoga provides a good core workout and a fun experience.
When preparing for your first class, you won’t need your mat, since you will be performing the asanas on a stand up paddle board. Most places supply paddleboards to students, so you won’t need anything other than comfortable clothing and an adventurous spirit.
Although there is some variation, depending on where you take your paddleboard yoga class, most classes start out on the beach. You will practice on the beach using the paddleboard in place of the mat. This allows you to get the feel of the paddleboard before you are in the water. Once you are in the water, the instructor will likely start you off with some balancing poses and basic yoga poses, such as downward facing dog, to give you the chance to get the feeling of moving on the board on the water.
When you first start off with paddleboard yoga, it is common to fall off the board at some point. On a hot summer day, most people don’t mind getting wet for a minute. Once you get the hang of the movement of the board on the water, this can be a very challenging practice and unique experience.
Yoga classes on paddleboards are cropping up around the country, particularly in resort areas where stand up paddle boarding is already popular. If you want to try something truly unique on your summer vacation, give paddle board yoga a try.