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Are you sitting there thinking to yourself, “What is SUP Yoga, and how can I get involved?” Floating yoga is taking the paddle boarding world by storm, and it’s no secret why.
Lucky for you, we’re here to give you all the information your need to know about SUP Yoga and why you should be getting involved.
We’ll give you some pro tips to get you started — you’ll be a floating yogi in no time. Channel your strength and focus; discover a new level of balance and get doing yoga on the water this summer!
SUP Yoga is a combination of paddle boarding and yoga practice. It challenges you to find another level of balance and focus your mind, all while floating atop the water.
Paddle board yoga is not only elegant but also a great challenge for any rider.
There are many cross-overs between traditional yoga and SUP yoga. Both provide a workout, stretch and strengthen muscles, and call for controlled breathing.
Yoga enthusiasts have taken Hatha and Vinyasa sequences to create a hybrid flow that works well on a stand up paddle board.
The main difference between the two is obviously one is on the water. Your paddle board becomes your mat. You need to make small adjustments to your body and weight distribution to counterbalance the movements of the board.
Immersion into nature takes your yoga practice to a whole new level. It’s no wonder why the SUP Yoga movement is booming.
Whether you are a beginner learning SUP basics or a seasoned expert who regularly hits the water, SUP Yoga is available to everyone.
We recommend paddle board yoga to anyone wanting to improve their balance skills and work on their core muscles in a fun way. It’s also an excellent way to wind down after a long day in the office or after a hard week of work.
Before you start trying to balance in the downward-facing dog, it’s important to make sure you have a decent grasp of what paddle boarding is and the basic techniques you need. You have to be comfortable with some fundamentals of paddle boarding, including:
Practicing yoga on a stand up paddle board is not only relaxing but also fantastic for your wellness. There are so many health benefits of SUP Yoga.
Mindfulness has been highlighted as a key area of modern life since 2020 when the global pandemic took hold of events. Finding mindfulness, creating a calm headspace, and empowering individuals is key to a happier life.
And guess what? SUP Yoga is the perfect way to be mindful, gain inner calm, and see your individual power.
When practicing yoga, the focus falls on the breath, helping you move from positions and hold longer poses. Taking yoga on the water is no different.
Once you’ve mastered breath control, you can take this practice with you in all areas of life.
Along with breath control comes improved blood circulation benefits. This promotes a healthier body and helps destress your mind, ultimately working towards improved emotional wellness.
Have we mentioned SUP Yoga is a workout? You can burn a lot of calories on a paddle board, and when you practice SUP Yoga, you will be working often forgotten about muscles. Core, legs, upper body — yoga demands a full-body effort without you even noticing.
Try Sup Yoga and you will see how different it is from everything else. This is a refreshment from yoga on land and traditional paddle boarding. Mixing up your fitness regime and doing something offbeat is a great way to keep your motivation stimulated.
Practicing yoga on a paddleboard allows you to take your session into nature. Breathing in fresh air and being surrounded by water is a proven method to improve your mood. Don’t skip out on this experience.
The best form of exercise is always the most fun, and SUP Yoga is certainly that. Joining a SUP yoga class is another way to make the session even more enjoyable.
But remember, just because it’s fun doesn’t make it easy. SUP Yoga practice can be made as challenging as you want by mixing up the poses and pushing yourself.
Increasing your flexibility will help you paddle stronger, faster, and further. Improving your balance will allow you to explore new locations.
Both challenging your skills in varied water conditions to reach the next skill level.
Ideally, you want to wear flexible clothing for SUP Yoga. Just like yoga on land, you need to be able to move between yoga poses seamlessly and without restriction.
For warm summer days, many people choose to yoga SUP in swimwear so they can have a cool-down dip in between poses or at the end of the session. We recommend you throw on a rash guard to give you protection from the sun.
For cooler days, you can wear your workout clothes over the top of swimwear to give you an extra layer of warmth — this is good if there is a cold wind coming across the water. Just be prepared to get wet in whatever you choose to wear, just in case you take a tumble!
To make your SUP Yoga session even better, we recommend you get hold of some of these accessories to add to your gear:
To practice SUP Yoga, you need to have calm water. This will help you be stable while balancing on one leg in a tree pose or taking on a headstand for something more challenging.
Make sure you choose a safe location considering: wind conditions, water depth, water temperature, and other people/vessels.
The most common locations for paddle board yoga are calm water lakes. However, you can take your yoga practice to ocean waters, harbors, and bays. Just make sure you check tide times and can maintain a stable balance.
There are so many perfect locations for floating into a downward facing dog. Check out these to start you off:
Beginner or experienced, there are many poses that you can take from the land and put onto the paddle board. Place your hands on the deck and try out some of these paddle board yoga poses before putting them into a flowing sequence.
Mastering paddle board yoga basics will take time and perseverance. But stick with it, and soon you’ll be a floating zen machine inspiring others to give SUP Yoga a go themselves.
Begin with buying the best yoga paddle board to get your practice off to a flying start. You need a wide board for optimal stability while you experiment with various yoga poses. When it comes to SUP Yoga, the bigger the board, the better.
Supreme versatility and excellent stability, the GILI Komodo is our number one stand up paddle board for SUP yoga. The wide deck allows you to get the best stance throughout your whole flow.
Dimensions: 10’6” x 33” x 6” (225L volume)
Weight capacity: 340 lbs
We love the versatility that comes with this board. You can go from yoga to catching waves, all within the same SUP!
Wide, stable, and versatile — the GILI Meno is an excellent inflatable board that can take you from the ocean waves to a floating downward dog faster than you can say namaste.
Dimensions: 11’6” x 35” x 6” (240L volume)
Weight capacity: 485 lbs
This board’s shape allows for easy gliding through any water conditions, while the wide deck allows you to get your stance wide for yoga positions.
Fancy trying out Acro Yoga? Grab a buddy to lift you up high and find your zen together in partner poses.
Dimensions: 15’6” x 56” x 8” (735L volume)
Weight capacity: 1150 lbs
This supersized board is perfect for two people or even a dog to join in the fun of SUP Yoga.
First, you need the correct equipment and a safe location. When you take your yoga practice onto a SUP, try to keep your weight as close to the center line as possible to maintain stability and balance. SUP yoga poses are the same as on the land with minor adjustments of weight distribution to avoid falling into the water.
You need to wear comfortable and non-restrictive clothing. Standard yoga pants or exercise clothes are ideal for paddleboard yoga. Many people choose to wear swimwear for warmer days so they can take a refreshing dip in the water after the session.
SUP Yoga is a combination of paddle boarding and Vinyasa/Hatha yoga. It takes the poses and sequences from traditional yoga and puts them into a different environment on the water. Having a stand up paddle board as the yoga mat adds an extra dimension to the fitness session to test balance, focus, and skill.
The bigger the board the better. Ideally, you need a board at least 34” wide to give you maximum stability as you explore your yoga practice. The width of a paddleboard directly affects the balance of the rider.
Anchoring your paddleboard is recommended when practicing yoga. This will allow you to focus on the session and not worry about floating off in currents. There are specially designed lightweight anchors made for SUPs that are also suitable for SUP fishing activities.
If you join a SUP yoga class, you may even have the opportunity to tether yourself to another yogis board. This keeps the group together, adding additional energy to the practice.
Inflatable paddle boards are the best type of SUP for yoga. Having a bigger sized board will help you significantly. We recommend a board at least 11’ in length, 33” in width, and 6” in thickness. The GILI Sports inflatable range is excellent, versatile, and offers durable paddleboards perfect for SUP Yoga.
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