SUP yoga

The class

My new adventure of the month was SUP Yoga

I've wanted to try it for almost a year now and finally got around to it.

I did the trip through the university—a student and a yoga instructor led the trip. We met at the university and rode in a van to the lake. There we took the paddle boards off and attached the fins. We put them out of the lake and were off.

paddling out

The only instruction was how to turn (right and paddle backwards.)

I was a little nervous about this. I've paddle boarded once in my life before for a few minutes. I've kayaked once (and hated it). I am horrible about steering. I get dyslexic and turn the wrong way or do the wrong thing

The instructor said the paddle boards were like floating sidewalks and were really hard to flip. She was right. They were really heavy and floated well.

We paddled out on the lake. The instructors were in the very back of the group so we waiting for them to catch up. Then went to the back of the lake for some yoga. I honestly spent half of the class righting  my board to be near the group without drifting too far or not going into the woody bank. I got into the woody bank once and a spider fell on my board and then ran into the handhold. OMG. I freaked out and disrupted the class's zen. Oh well.

Warrior #2 on the lake

Then we went to the other side of the back of the lake for more yoga. And I didn't do half the poses because I was maneuvering the kayak. I don't know how some of the girls stayed still. At some point I figured when the water was shallow enough, I could anchor the paddle in the mud and keep it in my hand to minimize drift. And that seemed to work better than drifting into the bank.

Bridge pose. I'm in the middle.

Bridge pose or wheel pose in yoga.
I've worked so hard on getting my shoulders open. Wearing Workshop Orchid. 

We did more advanced yoga here. Headstands. Which I really wasn't feeling that brave. I finally did one after about 10 minutes of watching others try, but I was feeling more timid than I usually am. We did backbends and wheel pose.  After a savassanah, we headed back. My arms started to feel like they were burning and I wished I'd had a long sleeve shirt.

I am SOOOO pale. 

We ate lunch on the dock. We watched a group of people stack their kayaks on top of each other. We even saw some inflatable paddle boards. (That seems unsafe!)

Then it was either go back out or go home. I was firmly in the go home camp. I was about to burn. I needed to get home. So we loaded up the paddle boards (And that took forever) and were back at the university at 4 p.m., the time we were supposed to be.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Paddle boarding isn't hard. And it was really peaceful out on the water. We saw a heron, turtles, a baby frog.

After:

The day after the paddle board trip I woke up with a rash on my back. It looked like scratches or lines. It didn't itch. It's probably a heat rash

I know it's because I didn't shower after the trip. (I didn't get in the water.) I did get some splash water on my back and that's all. I was dry when I got home and did a few things before I took a shower. I did wipe off my face and side of my shoulder blades (since I have sensitive skin) so there's not a rash there. Always shower after you get out of the lake! Especially if you have sensitive skin and are allergic to everything.

Overall, it was a fun trip. I'm glad I tried it. I might rent a board again. We'll see.

(What I wore: Werkshop Orchid crop. Made of triathlon fabric. The website said they're their perfect for SUP yoga. I was skeptical but they were perfect! When they got wet, they weren't heavy and didn't chafe. They dried quickly. They were bone dry on the van ride home from the lake. I'd totally do a triathlon in these. Totally made in the right choice in wearing these.)