(credit: Lilledeshan Bose)

(credit: Lilledeshan Bose)

For a sport that only began in 2005, stand-up paddleboard (SUP for short) is experiencing a huge boom these days. And its offshoot, paddleboard yoga, is one of the more popular movements the fitness practice has experienced.

Erin Nealy, owner of Sunset Stand Up Paddle in Mission Viejo, first got involved in SUP yoga four years ago. Already a yoga instructor, she became an ambassador for yoga clothing company Lululemon in Irvine and thought doing yoga poses on her dads newly acquired paddleboard would look really cool. She got hooked, and after connecting with industry pioneers at BOGA yoga, Nealy got certified as a SUP yoga instructor one of the first in the burgeoning sport.

(credit: Lilledeshan Bose)

During a class, students get on a paddleboard, paddle to the middle of a lake (where Sunset Stand Up Paddle holds classes) or a cove in the ocean (as in Bliss Paddle Yogas case), anchor the boards down, and start practicing yoga.

Most SUP yoga classes incorporate basic poses, such as downward dog and warrior two, for example, because balancing on a paddleboard while holding a pose is usually enough of a challenge. Learning how to hold your balance in basic poses is usually a challenge even for longtime yoga practitioners.

Most beginner classes teach students how to paddle proficiently before bringing them out into deeper water as well; for many, the hour-and-a-half class is a perfect fusion of the sport of paddleboarding and the mind-body connection of yoga.

(credit: Lilledeshan Bose)

SUP yoga improves on in-studio yoga practice because it gives you more of an awareness of your body and what actions need to take place to build a solid pose, Nealy says. Taking people on the water for their first time is incredible, she adds. [Regular students] always come of the water with a big smile and what feels like a lightness in their heart, theres nothing better. (Im living proof of that: The day I had my first paddleboard yoga class, I spent the whole day grinning so hard my face hurt by the afternoon.)

See the original post here:
Guide To Paddleboard Yoga In OC

Yoga enthusiasts from across the region are invited to gather under the spire of the Gateway Arch at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15 for the fourth annual Yoga Within the Confluence.

This years event gives participants the opportunity to share the benefits of yoga while overlooking the mighty Mississippi River beneath St. Louis most iconic monument.

Participants are encouraged to bring a yoga mat or blanket, water bottle, and sunscreen.

Renowned yoga teacher Saul David Raye will guide the event and will be accompanied by acclaimed New Orleans musicians Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band. Yoga Within the Confluence will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. and last until 11:30 a.m.

Presented by Big Bend Yoga Center, Great Rivers Greenway, and the National Park Service, the goal of the event is to build a sense of community while recognizing the importance of our rivers to the vitality of the region.

For more information about Yoga Within the Confluence, visit http://www.GreatRiversGreenway.org or http://www.bigbendyoga.com.

Note: Attendees can ride the Metrolink to Eads Bridge Station. Street parking is free in downtown on Sundays, Arch grounds parking is $6.00. In case of rain, call (314) 918-9642, ext. 2.

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Free yoga event under the Gateway Arch on Sept. 15