SUP Yoga Poses: What is SUP Yoga And What Are Its Benefits?

Standup paddleboarding yoga (SUP yoga) is a water yoga sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii in the 1940s. Stand-up paddle yogis stand on floating boards on the water, and paddle to propel themselves through the water.

SUP yoga was documented in a 2013 report, which identified it as an outdoor sporting activity with participants for the first time in the United States that year.

What is SUP Yoga?

Standup paddleboard yoga, commonly known as SUP yoga, emerged as a fusion of two popular activities: standup paddleboarding and yoga. It’s a brilliant way to combine the tranquility of yoga with the adventure of being on the water. The practice emerged around 2013 as a novel way to practice yoga while balancing on a paddleboard in serene water settings like lakes, bays, or slow rivers and has since become a favorite among fitness enthusiasts and nature lovers alike.

This fusion of traditional yoga with the dynamic challenge of balancing on water adds an extra layer of excitement and engagement to the practice.

Practitioners navigate through various yoga poses, or asanas, while floating on the paddleboard. Balancing on the paddleboard not only requires core strength and stability but also demands heightened concentration and mindfulness to stay grounded and centered amidst the gentle movement of the water.

SUP yoga is the practice of yoga in the middle of a body of water while on a SUP board. Any SUP board can be used; However, an inflatable SUP (iSUP) is said to be more forgiving for yoga practice. The SUP Yoga inflatable paddle board is a mostly stable, sturdy all-around stand-up paddleboard with a few important additional features:

• Slightly wider than usual
• Non-slippery surface
• Paddle holder to fix the pedals during yoga session
• Sup yoga board 10 to 12-foot enlarged, soft and smooth.

Sometimes a small anchor is attached to the end of the board to hold the board in place during a SUP yoga session.

New to the yoga scene, SUP yoga is gaining popularity among the outdoor crowd. If you’re having trouble picturing it, basically ‘take a Hatha or a vinyasa class, put it on a paddleboard in the middle of the water, and that’s super yoga.

‘It’s really fantastic for developing balance more than any other type of yoga, plus it gets you outside.’ (Some gyms even offer it in their indoor pools.) It’s a challenging yet rewarding experience that requires both physical strength and mental concentration.

In fact, practicing SUP yoga is not as difficult as it seems. However, this style of yoga requires intense focus as concentration is required to keep the board steady.

Benefits of SUP yoga

There are many benefits of SUP yoga exercise. It doesn’t have to be a lot of experience with yoga or challenging paddleboarding to enjoy this workout.

Promotes Mindfulness

One has to focus on the movements of his body along with maintaining a well-balanced posture while SUP boarding and practicing yoga. It really allows for a deeper level of awareness to be fostered.

Relieves Stress

The results show that there is a clear link between reducing stress in yoga. SUP yoga has been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress.

Improves Balance and Flexibility

Staying on the paddleboard will improve and maintain your balance and flexibility. Keeping the body in a balanced state with a variety of poses is known for excellent balance and flexibility skills.

Increases Blood Circulation

One of the important benefits of yoga is the promotion of blood circulation. For this, you have to stay on the paddleboard while swimming on the water, it decreases your feeling of stress and improves emotional health.

Exercises the Body

Although SUP yoga doesn’t require a lot of physical activity, it is proven to exercise core areas such as your arms, shoulders, legs, knees, and quadriceps.

Core Strength

Balancing on the unstable surface of the paddleboard engages the core muscles deeply, helping to strengthen and tone the abdominals, obliques, and lower back.

Connection with Nature

Being surrounded by the serene beauty of water and nature enhances the overall experience, promoting relaxation, rejuvenation, and a deeper connection with the natural world.

Feeling of Refreshment and Experience the Beauty of Nature

The beauty of nature and accessible fresh air is certainly priceless, rather than lying flat on your yoga mat inside a room. It gives you a chance to feel refreshed and experience the beauty of nature, apart from making you feel better and calmer.

Stretch your body and mind with simple SUP yoga poses

If you’re already a beginner SUP yoga student, this sequence is a great way to sneak in some core-challenging yoga for a balanced and fun. Enter this sequence to try out more challenging poses on your board, which is full of those familiar poses.

1. Cat Variation

Start with the CAT variation in the SUP Yoga session. They help you find balance on the board and in your body.

Cat pose is a forward bending and backward twisting yoga posture.

Sit in the knee down, now place both your hands on the floor forward. Raise your hips (hips) by putting a little weight on the hands. Straighten the thighs up at the knees of the feet. Keep your breath long and deep.

Now again turn your head backward and repeat the process.

2. Down Dog into Plank Variations

The Down Dog position allows the balance to engage more freely. It feels the stretch along the sides of the body.

Keeping your hands and feet parallel to the ground, lift your spine completely up, and raise your heels to lengthen your body.

From here you can slowly go into plank pose, keeping the bodyweight on your forearms. Slowly, begin to lower your entire body down to the strength of your forearm. Keep in mind that your back should be straight and your toes should be perpendicular to the floor. Hold for a few breaths.

3. Child’s Pose

Bend your knees over the handle of the board and sink your hips back onto your heels and allow your forehead to rest on the board. With arms extended in front of you, hold this pose for at least 5 breaths. Move the body straight to the next position freely.

4. Easy Seated Pose

For Sukhasana or Easy position, keep your hips on the board. Crossing both the legs, bend inwards from the knees. place the palms on your lap or on your knees. Straighten the spine, lengthen your body. Concentrate on the sound and subtle vibrations of the water tap.

5. Shavasana Position

After coming on the sup yoga board, do not forget to enjoy the position of Shavasana. The fun of stand-up paddleboarding yoga is different.

By hanging your hands in the water and floating in the water, shed your stress in the water. Make yourself feel good with the sight of the sky.

Conclusion

Practicing yoga on the water is a wonderful opportunity, along with the variety of stand-up paddleboard surfing. It is practiced in water (lake, creek, or slow river) on a 10- to 12-foot paddleboard attempting to challenge asanas such as Hatha and vinyasa.

Compared to the traditional type of yoga, the SUP yoga style will provide you with many unique benefits that can enhance your yoga skills.

However, the Yogi may need a different alignment than the Earth to balance the movements of the board.