By Rosie Markwick, Summersalt yoga teacher

It is not new news that a lot of humans feel naturally compelled towards the water. Water has been used throughout time and across cultures to cleanse and purify. To celebrate and to exercise. Civilizations have been built around it. And we drive, walk, run, and fly to get to it.

As a lifelong water lover, I know the feeling well. I can spend far longer than I could do anywhere else sitting in silence if I am watching waves rolling in. I know that a sure-fire way to soothe an anxious and busy mind is to get myself in a pool and swim. And it is perhaps no surprise that my work has taken me to be a SUP yoga teacher and SUP instructor.

In this work in particular, I hear and see the positive effects people feel on the water all the time. In the middle of a city like London, I have clients who arrive to paddleboarding sessions nervous or quiet or perhaps a little tense and so often they leave noticeably relaxed, more steady and brighter. And I believe this can be accredited to more than just the natural confidence that occurs after doing something new and different. The conversations that seem to be inspired when out on the water never cease to happily surprise me. They are often more open and honest than usual or certainly become so more quickly than when say, over a coffee or a walk.

This is just one example of the positive effect of water of many but all adhere to the same point; for a lot of people, water does really good things. And as I notice this connection more, I am becoming increasingly fascinated with the why. Why do so many of us like being in, on, and around water so much?

I am sure (and hope) I am just at the beginning of this understanding but so far my research has highlighted these two particularly interesting ideas.

Firstly, water (and make note this is being in, on OR just near) stimulates the production of Relaxin and Serotonin, the hormones responsible for relaxation and happiness respectively. We are quite literally on a cognitive biology level soothed and contented by water.

Wallace J Nichols, calls this a ‘Blue Mind’, as he puts it in his book on the topic, this is “a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment” — that’s triggered when we’re in or near water. ‘We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken’

Secondly, is the transpersonal psychology explanation, which I think is accountable for a lot of what I see in my SUP sessions. Water is a force of and an example of nature. There is a mystery and a very naturalness of water. Transpersonal therapy states that the act of doing something a little out of our physical comfort zone in nature or, experiencing the perspective relative smallness of us in nature and then noticing we actually feel comfortable even so, ignites a feedback mechanism that says; if I can do this, what else can I overcome?

Our experience of this ‘aliveness’ becomes a useful tool of healing and self-development, of confidence and assertiveness and peace. Wilderness therapy has for a while been acknowledged as effective and I would suggest that this line of argument could extend more specifically to water-based activities as well. SUP and SUP yoga offering perhaps the perfect example.

So if you are a self-realized water baby already, know there are real reasons why! And if you are not so sure yet, go and see how being on the water makes you feel, with this perspective perhaps in mind.

Wallace J Nichols’s book “Blue Mind” explains why we love being by the water so much!

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By Caroline Graham-Wood, Summersalt yoga SUP yoga teacher

In spiritual growth, it is important to avoid imbalances between academic or intellectual learning and practical implementation. Otherwise there is a danger that too much intelectualization will kill the more contemplative practices and too much emphasis on practical implementation without study will kill the understanding. There has got to be a balance.

Dalai Lama

As the indulgences of December and resolutions of January fade away, it’s a good time to reflect on how we can practically implement changes in our lives that are realistic and sustainable.

We are often told that dramatic and quick solutions will change our bodies, change our lives and change us for the better. However, the longer I practice yoga and as I reflect on the benefits of taking up rather than giving up, I believe that perhaps one word offers more answers to the changes we may seek, than the fads that are sold to us. It is a word that is open to subjective interpretation as well as having the potential to hold a deeper meaning, depending on those we choose to influence our lives and learn from. That word is very simple, balance. Balance can be applied to so many aspects of our lives, from what we eat to how we choose to spend our time.

A key emphasis in yoga is to progress at your own speed, to avoid competitiveness yet to find a level that pushes you and helps you grow in your practice. This is never more true than in the balance poses.

In yoga we seek balance and allow that balance to move in a positive direction, rather than remaining static. In a tree pose we move the ball of the foot slowly up the leg as we progress our balance, from below then above the knee, then moving the heel to the groin and finally up to Arda Padmasana. Once there we can try a further challenge, moving your drishti (view point).

The approach to asanas, especially balancing poses, can often bring out a side to yoga that we need to counter-act. Seriousness, frustration, competitiveness. One fabulous way to challenge these often natural impulses to the balance poses is SUP yoga. This ultimate challenge to balance never fails to release the tense approach that can accompany balance poses, because pretty much everyone falls in the water at least once!

SUP yoga offers wonderful benefits to not only balance your body but also your mind and energy (pranic) flow. It focuses on your core, a powerful centre for the body where manipura charka, the seat of the ego lies. The core is also at your kanda, where the 72,000 nadis (energy channels) converge. The Uddhyiana banda – ‘belly flies up’ – is when we use the muscles around the core to draw the navel back towards the spine and up, promoting the upwards flow of Kundalini energy through the body.

There are many ways we can seek balance in our lives. For me, SUP yoga is an opportunity to understand it in a way that is tangible, that is fun and where in a short space of time you can see progress.

You learn to accept the challenge of doing playful asanas on the SUP, to surrender to the elements and accept that you may fall in! This overrides the ego and also by practicing outside in nature, you create the harmony and reconnection with the world.

In a small way, the way we approach SUP yoga can represent how we often have to approach life. Lets face it, life is not easy and throws many obstacles at us. In SUP yoga we learn to fall off balance, fall in the water, laugh, get back on your board try again! And slowly, with focus, we can try and stay on the board a bit longer.

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We’re very thrilled that our SUP yoga teacher Caroline Graham-Wood is coming back for the 2020 yoga season! he brings her energy to the mat and the SUP board and shares this incredible experience (and her balance!) with you passionately.

Why and when did you decide to become a yoga teacher? And then started specializing in SUP yoga?

I never planned to become a yoga teacher. I was in Mexico working as a fire hoola hooper with a couple of friends who performed various circus acrobatics. I was practising yoga when given the opportunity to teach some classes, I never looked back. I found yoga a wonderful experience for myself and love guiding yogis of different abilities through their practice, helping them learn, develop and expand their practice.

I started specialising in SUP when I was living on a cenote and a friend came with some boards and we played around on them. I saw another teacher giving a SUP yoga class one day and I thought, wow this is my dream, I want to do this.

When I extended my own practice to include SUP yoga I couldn’t believe how fantastic and different this form of yoga could be. You are in such wonderful surroundings. I remember my first class, paddling across the crystal clear lagoon in Tulum, totally peaceful, and was like hey this is my job!

What do you enjoy most about teaching SUP yoga?

Being outside in nature brings a different perspective to the practice. Being able to reference the elements that surround you in a SUP yoga class and teach the student to truely connect to nature and their surroundings. Often water is used as a reference in yoga teaching, to be fluid and let the breath flow like the ocean, in a SUP class these phrases are tangible and even more powerful.

I enjoy the fun and playful nature of the class, how it can be most peoples first time not only on a Sup board but also practicing.

Savasana is also so sweet it is a joy to give people that experience of melting away on their board with the water gently lapping against the board.

I love the sense of freedom and space. Being on the SUP board helps you challenge your balance.

Do you have any advice for SUP yoga beginners and why they should not be afraid to try it?

Have fun, fall in, laugh. Once you relax and gain awareness of being on water you will find you are totally supported by your board and will forget you are on a SUP, until you fall in again!

Name the top 3-4 benefits of yoga (regular or/and SUP) to you personally.

The space you create in your body and your mind.

Core strength and balance you build up

The connection to nature and to focus on compassion and taking a positive frame of mind to the outside world.

What changes do you notice in students after some time practising SUP yoga?

Confidence, balance, strength, childlike re-connection, happiness, greater connection with the earth, elements, respect for the earth.

Why do you think participating in a SUP yoga retreat is a good experience?

Outside, sunshine, water, elements, fun, playful, strength, fitness, outside, challenge, over fear. It challenges what you learnt from land yoga, makes you understand the asanas and muscles groups more obviously as you have to get the correct alignment.

The post Our teacher Caroline: have fun, fall in, laugh! appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

By Vanessa Fleming, Summersalt Yoga teacher 

Imagine floating on the blue and turquoise sea, with the sun sparkling on the waters and nothing but the sky is above you, and not a worry or care in the world is with you.

Imagine embracing the same relaxation you feel after a yoga class, and falling deep into your savasana in this setting.

Now imagine it as a reality.

This is one of the wonderful benefits of SUP yoga. Being able to practice warriors, headstands, shoulder stands, wheel pose, all while being challenged in balance and composure. Or even coming into the fish pose and seeing the sky and sea meet along the horizon, it’s a new vision and takes on “traditional” yoga. The chance to utilize the Hatha and vinyasa poses in a completely different environment is just another opportunity to reconnect with the present.

But it isn’t just about bringing your mat practice to the board. It’s about bringing a new perspective, and perhaps challenging the ego. Paying attention to the transitions a little deeper and closer, looking at the poses from a very symmetrical and asymmetrical point of view. And? Maybe ending up in the water when that balance is challenged. All moments of letting go, letting things unfold.

And now for the (superficial yet noteworthy) bonus: your summer glow is going to be on point!

Fun in the sun, a new perspective, and a challenge for the mind, body, and soul. What else could there be?!

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By Rosie Markwick, Summersalt Yoga teacher

SUP yoga is a fairly new craze that is hitting the US, Asia and slowly creeping its way over to European shores.

It is essentially yoga on a paddle board. That’s right – a yoga class on a large, 10ft long floating platform in the middle of the water.

Sound bonkers? It does a little yes. As SUP teacher often the first question I get is; really you do yoga on that? On the water? IS that even possible?

The answer is YES YES YES!

Stand up paddle boarding is currently the world’s fastest growing water sport and has been established in the last 5 years especially, as a fun and accessible way to get fit and spend some time on the water.

So perhaps it isn’t surprising that SUP related activities are popping up left right and centre. SUP touring, SUP racing, SUP surfing, SUP fit, SUP angling (for reals) and SUP yoga. Turns out there are lots of things you can do on a paddle board in addition to standing and paddling.

My own discovery was random and brilliant and the love affair that took my practise and teaching out to the water was fast and furious. I remember my first ever SUP class coming to a close and feeling so present, focused, strong and deeply relaxed. And on top of this it was almost as if my body and subsequently mind had fused and blended with the environment, no longer separate entities. Wholeness in its complete form. It was, magic.

Needless to same I am a convert. Having said that I am aware it is still a relatively lesser known practice and so we thought it would be helpful to compile a few of the reasons you might want to give SUP yoga a go this year…

CORE CORE CORE! I cannot stress this enough, SUP yoga is amazing for developing stability and strength in the core. And stability and strength in the core = injury prevention, spinal health, self-confidence, finding your centre… and the list goes on and on.

Essentially akin to being on a floating Pilates plate the balance required means that you have to activate the core just to stay on the board. SUP yoga will help you to connect to this part of the body like no other. And because the core isn’t just activated with repetitive movement here but the entire time i.e. you breathe whilst it is activated, it is a real game changer for improving strength and balance. You will leave the board feeling stronger and more stable in your mat practice and beyond.

The 2^nd chakra, Svadhisthana is located in the pelvic area. And the element associated with this chakra? WATER. When I first started practicing and teaching SUP yoga I realised I was really drawn to poses that got deep into the hips and legs – lizard lunges, pigeon, half hanumanasana, even full splits (side note: the latter is not a pose I am normally drawn to AT ALL) After a bit of exploring it appeared that students typically also felt more openness in these shapes when on the water. It’s a bit of a theory of my own but I believe there is something about being on the water, the element of Svadhisthana, that inspires the body to move as the water does – fluidly, thus mirroring the element of the chakra and promoting a depth in the related body parts that might not be so easily reached on land.

When you practise SUP yoga you get to be outside. Take your practise out of the confines of a studio and the sky becomes your ceiling, the water your ground and the air / sun / rain / wind your walls. There is just something about water that is so good for us humans and now the science is backing this up as well. Research has shown that being on, near and in water has been found to release Serotonin and Relaxin. The hormones associated with happiness and relaxing. How delightful! Nature is SO good for the soul and trust me floating away during savasana out on the big blue is reason enough alone to try SUP yoga.

I have taught SUP on lagoons in Indonesia where sea turtles come and say hello and canals in east London (no sea turtles but a lot of ‘urban charm’). The environment changes but a few things remain the same; we are outside, learning to let the water hold us, allowing ourselves to wobble (inevitable), to fall (highly likely) and then to get back up again. The ego literally gets washed away (pun intended) during SUP yoga whether you like it or not and the best thing you can do is laugh, clamber back aboard and keep on trying – now what a lesson for life that is.

Plus it will make you feel a bit like a mermaid for a morning and who doesn’t want a bit of that.

The post What is this SUP yoga thing? appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

As we all love lists and pretty pictures, Summersalt Yoga team has gotten together and prepared one that will leave no doubt that it’s time for you to book that SUP yoga holiday! Here are 10 reasons why you should go on a SUP yoga holiday.

1. Get a different perspective of yoga and water

The SUP board offers a different perspective on two different activities: yoga and being in the water. You can notice the power that Mother Nature has and witness your own power manifest as you adapt to the ever-changing water beneath you.

2. Experience the energy of nature

Speaking of Mother Nature – nothing connects the elements and their energy as being on the water, feeling the sun on your face, fresh air in your hair and the salty water on your skin.

3. Spend 7 days in a place like THIS.

A week in an island paradise does wonders for body, mind and soul. Leave the stress behind and just soak it all in.

4. Challenge your yoga practice

Beginner or a seasoned yogi you will find new challenges practising yoga on a SUP board. Your core and muscles will work harder, you’ll test your balance more and shine a new light of the yoga poses you thought you’ve mastered or thought of just basic.

5. Meet cool like-minded people #yogafamily #yogatribe

Nothing energizes and charges more that being surrounded by like-minded people who share the same passions, interests and good laughs. Bond with people from all over the world and share this new experience with them – because happiness doubles (or triples) when shared!

6. Learn a new skill – SUPing. Chances are – you will get hooked!

No matter how old are you it always feels great to learn something new. And if that something new brings lots of joy, great exercise and being on the beach we’re sure it makes it even easier to get motivated and try harder!

7. Spend every day on the beach. Nothing to add.

8. Laugh and have crazy fun like never before.

Trying this new base for yoga brings so many laughs you wouldn’t believe! We’re talking child-like, belly-deep laughter in situations of slipping into the warm sea after a failed attempt to show off your moves, realizing how crazy some poses feel on the board, messing around with the paddle to create waves and just sharing this vibe with the group. And what else do we need in this world if not laughter?

9. Get in shape. Really good shape.

As you’ve already heard – SUP yoga intensifies the practice and your muscles work more, ergo – you’re getting in shape faster and looking better. Not that this is the point of yoga, but hey – it doesn’t hurt, right?

10. Experience a whole new kind of mediation

Forget your meditation app with recorded sounds of waves and a light breeze– you’ve got the real thing right here, on your board. Relax and just feel one with the world. Trust us, sometimes this experience gets almost transcendental!

The post 10 reasons why you should go on a SUP yoga holiday appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

What is SUP?

To put it shortly – stand up paddle surfing or simply SUP is a form of surfing where the surfer uses a paddle to move through the water while standing on a surfboard (a specially designed surfboard) The sport is quickly gaining popularity all over the world because of its simplicity and quick learning curve.

The history of Stand Up Paddle Surfing comes from its Polynesian roots. The Hawaiian translation is Ku Hoe He’e Nalu which means – to stand, to paddle, to surf a wave. So it’s no wonder that the modern version of this sport has originated in the Hawaiian Islands where in the early 1960 surf instructors would stand on their long boards and paddle out with paddles to take pictures of the tourists learning to surf.

Today SUP is popular around the world and holds an advantage over surfing or wind surfing – you do not need to wait for waves, good winds, as well as no special preparation or physical condition, is needed to practice it.

SUP – an incredible exercise

The full-body workout SUP provides is just unbelievable – it offers a combination of balance, strength, and endurance which are exercised at all times, whether you are paddling or just balancing on your board. It’s not only an excellent core workout but it also makes your legs, back, shoulders, arms and toes work together.

For those who are new to any water sports, it’s important and good to know that SUP is a very low impact exercise, which means that the chances of you damaging your tendons, ligaments or joints is very low. So yes, you can relax and just enjoy the workout and the ride! And what a ride – in addition to the mere pleasure of being on the water you are actually doing a cardio exercise, burning calories and hey – lowering the chances of a heart attack and a stroke.

But you know what we love about SUP so much – it’s not just these incredible benefits, but also a unique way to escape, relax, relieve stress and just chill!

SUP and yoga

Today’s wellness world is incredible – it constantly provides us with new experiences. And so do SUP boards. We’re talking SUP yoga, of course. Why do it? Performing yoga while on a paddleboard adds an extra dimension of balance and challenge to the practice as well as a whole lot of fun! In addition to that, having a SUP yoga class is far more pleasant and relaxing than being in a crowded studio or gym. We’re talking yoga on the water, right, does this get any better?

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