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Steamboat Magazine

SUP Yoga? Namaste.

06/25/2013 12:34PM ● By Grant Johnson

After Warrior 2 sent her swimming, the author nails a SUP yoga headstand. Photo courtesy Steamboat Paddleboard Adventures

This story is a follow up to the article "What'SUP," which appeared in the summer 2013 issue of Steamboat Magazine. Click here to read the original article.

By Jennie Lay

Steamboat Springs, CO – Yoga mash-ups are all the craze. Laughter yoga. Flamenco yoga. Aerial yoga. Karaoke yoga. Whatever works, right?

During a Saturday morning adventure last week, I stepped onto a stand up paddleboard and floated into Fetcher Pond to try SUP yoga. With no disrespect for my well-grounded practice in the studio, SUP yoga is the mash-up that works for me this summer.

Maybe it’s the idea of being outside, floating on the water, absorbing the sun. Maybe it’s the complexity of a new and different kind of mat. Maybe it’s just the quirkiness and challenge of it all. But I liked it – a lot.

On your board, with the fluidity of water under foot, this delicate balance gives you a chance to test your alignment, push your poses to the edge, and realize just where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Focus can’t waver. Breath must remain steady. If you’re out there floating around and truly working your edge, I guarantee you’re going in the drink.

That splashdown is part of the sublime pleasure of it all.

 

Wanna try SUP yoga in Steamboat?
Wear quick-drying clothes or a bathing suit. Sunscreen. Shades. Yogis can join certified SUP yoga teacher Sarah Gorevan for weekly 1.5-hour classes at Fetcher Pond along the Yampa River, or SUP yoga getaways to Pearl Lake. Steamboat Paddleboard Adventures provides the Hala gear.