The nearer the summer season the more the call of the open air becomes irresistible: let it be mountain, countryside, a simple city park, our instinct invites us to abandon our home walls and live more outdoors, possibly in contact with nature .
The same discourse can be applied to yoga: a practice carried out in a forest, on a lawn, in a garden will have a completely different flavor compared to the gym hall or any artificial structure.
If we lived in Los Angeles, however, probably none of the scenarios just described would be the one we would first consider. We would turn to the great natural protagonist who dominates the Californian shore: the ocean .
What is sup yoga?
Sarah Tiefenthaler, a Californian yoga teacher, thought about marrying yoga with the ocean, developing the so-called Yogacqua or SUP yoga (stand up paddle yoga) or yoga practiced on surfboards .
In other words, Sara has devised asana sequences that can be performed on this medium, some dedicated also to pregnant women. The creator herself explains the benefits of the practice: “ The biggest difference between a class in the studio and on the ocean lies in the different degree of freedom. As soon as you leave the mainland it is possible to abandon all worries and thoughts while floating gently on the water. Doing yoga on the ocean is a complete experience that involves body, mind and spirit . The physique is put to the test in the constant search for balance, strengthening the deep musculature. The mind relaxes, leaving daily stress on the shore, while the sun and the sea breeze delight the skin. Furthermore there is nothing more beautiful than to surrender to the waves during the final relaxation lying on the table ".
This type of discipline wants to enhance the physical and mental well-being given by yoga thanks to a certainly suggestive natural setting, that of the ocean, which becomes, as the promotional mantra states, "your yoga mat".
A style of yoga not suitable for everyone
As anticipated at the beginning, the practice immersed in a natural context can be extremely restorative and relaxing, gently leading to calm lulled by the sounds of birds, wind and insects.
This bucolic landscape, however, can also present disadvantages that are not romantic, but real: the very same poetic elements could be transformed into large nuisances. Troublesome insects, rough sun or annoying wind. In short, it is not enough for a place to be natural to be suitable. Moreover, given that green spaces are available to all, we will have to use the foresight to choose one deserted or at least populated by very silent individuals.
So, unless you own a slice of private beach, next to the water yogis you might find noisy teenagers, swimmers or even curious on the lookout. All this could have on more than one a powerful inhibiting, disturbing or, in any case, little relaxing effect.
In any case, the picture just presented, if desired, can be overcome on the basis of the ability of the individual to concentrate and withdraw from the context, which is not always easy, but possible.
The most obvious limitation of this type of yoga, in my opinion, lies elsewhere. The prerequisite of the practice, its raison d'être, lies in the fact that it takes place on a surfboard: this cuts off, almost automatically, the elderly, those who do not feel like going offshore, those who are afraid of water or can not swim, and, more generally, anyone who does not have enough training not only to manage an asana, but to do it on a precarious "floor" like the waves of the sea (although the table is anchored).
This instability certainly requires a strong presence on the part of the student at the here and now, which is good, but it could also require a latent tension both on a muscular and mental level in order not to lose balance and not fall into the water. Furthermore , the work of the teacher becomes much more complex : directing the students, possibly correcting them, from one table to another could be difficult for him / her and distracting for the whole class.
Sup yoga comes to Europe
Honestly, I find that the super yoga has an unquestionable charm especially if you can find the right place to put it into practice. Like many other types of contemporary yoga, I consider it, at least potentially, very undemocratic because it requires some mental and physical prerequisites that the dear old mat does not require .
In any case, for those wishing to try this method without moving to the other side of the world, yogacqua has already landed in Skiantos (Greece) ...
