Stand-up paddleboarding is the next big thing among water sports. Now imagine doing yoga poses on a paddleboard. How complicated would that be?
The concept of the Student Recreation Complex class SUP Yoga is simple: the paddleboards (with no paddles) add an extra layer of difficulty in regards to balance. The class “is a way to incorporate more core challenges” into yoga, according to MizzouRec’s website.
SUP Yoga instructor Hallee Mitchell started teaching the class after enjoying it as a participant.
“The water adds on a lot of challenges,” Mitchell said. “It takes a lot more balance; you have to engage more of your core. Also we provide a lot of modifications to provide a little more balance. A lot of people don’t like to fall in the water.”
The lane lines in the MizzouRec diving well are removed in order to make an open space for the paddleboards. The class is also limited to nine participants, which provides a more intimate feeling.
To start class, the instructor walks through some body preparation and deep breathing, both of which are standard yoga practices, from the pool deck. The subtle noise of the water is relaxing and helps prepare for the rest of the session.
Unfortunately, that water doubles as SUP Yoga’s biggest flaw — there is a tendency to drift away from the instructors and into the gutter of the pool. On many occasions, participants either have to call one of the instructors over to push them away from the pool edge or doggy paddle themselves.
Freshman Angelique Allen has attended the class twice. As a regular yoga participant, Allen quickly recognized the difference between the land and water versions.
“It’s definitely a lot harder to balance doing paddleboard because you’re in the water and there’s other people who move on their board, which causes movement in the water, which then affects your board,” Allen said. “You kind of have to think about how the movement of other people affects you. That was something I had to learn to take into account fast.”
Poses (and staying on the board) are difficult on the water. Any pose that requires lifting a leg instantly adds a balance challenge: Do the pose well enough or fall in. According to Allen, one of the most challenging poses was the tree pose, which focuses the mind more on the poses than anything else going on, which is a main goal of yoga in the first place.
“[In tree pose] you stand on one foot, and it’s really hard for people to stand on one foot in the water,” Mitchell said. “It takes a lot more balance.”
SUP Yoga provides motivation to do well the entire time. Though many poses are similar or the same as on land, the added balance challenge combined with the light ripples of the water make for a fun and relaxing night.
The class also breaks down difficulty barriers as an added bonus. Newbies and experts alike struggle a bit with that extra challenge, eliminating the intimidation that can sometimes be present at regular yoga classes. Nobody laughs when somebody falls in either.
Allen, an experienced land yoga participant, puts her own personal spin on the class to fit her workout plan.
“I would totally recommend doing it at your own pace,” Allen said. “The second time I went, I went at my own pace and didn’t follow the modifications that they said. I kind of did my typical yoga moves. That made the class more difficult, but I enjoyed it a lot more.”
_Edited by Claire Colby | ccolby@themaneater.com_
