Yoga isn’t easy to begin with (not many people can readily twist themselves into figurative pretzels), and it’s gotten progressively tougher thanks to variations like sweat-inducing Bikram and inverted trapeze yoga. But no form of yoga fires up those little (and rarely used) muscles quite like standup paddleboarding yoga, the art of stretching out while perched on a SUP board in the middle of the water.
SUP yoga is relatively new, too, with the first weekly classes sprouting up in San Diego about three years ago. The woman behind the craze? Paddle Into Fitness’ Gillian Gibree, the lanky blonde beauty you may recognize as one of the models from the new Roxy Outdoor Fitness campaign. The Massachusetts native grew up lifeguarding, ocean swimming, and surfing on Cape Cod, but it wasn’t until she moved to San Diego that she decided to combine two of her favorite fitness pursuits—yoga and standup paddleboarding—and launch the first set of weekly SUP yoga classes through her company, “Paddle Into Fitness.” Here, we catch up with Gillian to get the scoop on the benefits of yoga on the water and her tips for getting started.
What are some of the benefits of practicing yoga on a SUP board versus in a studio?
It’s a fun way to get outdoors when the weather is nice. The unstable surface of the board makes it a little more difficult—even planks and other simple poses become harder and they fire off muscles you may not be working on stable ground or in a studio. It’s a nice change from the mirrors and the studio—our goal is to have fun and enjoy the elements, to get out on the water and try something different.
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| Gibree wearing Roxy Outdoor Fitness apparel. Photo by Shadow Van Houton. |
What are some beginner yoga moves we can try on our boards?
Anything from a seated position—eagle arms to open the shoulders, even meditating from a seated position to get into the routine. From there coming to all fours, doing some cat-cows to warm up the spine before extending the opposite leg and hand, which will get the core firing. Work on some balance moves and you’ll start noticing the board making something like the table top position more difficult. Get into plank pose for a few breaths, then move to downward dog.
More after the jump!
