"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea."
~e.e. cummings
I have always been drawn to the wonder and nature of the water element. She is both inspirational and infinitely energetic, the mother of all life. We humans ourselves are seventy percent water. Our planet is two-thirds water. In order to better experience our blue world and many of the most amazing creatures that inhabit it, I had been ocean kayaking for years. I couldn't wait to learn to free dive so I could cavort with the dolphins and mingle with the marine life living in the warm crystalline waters that defined the shores of my favorite bays in South Kona, Hawaii.
Then my friend, William 'Bill' Morris, bought a paddleboard. We would paddle together, kayaker and paddle-boarder, and I found myself drawn to the board. He allowed me to try out his paddleboard. After a few moments struggling to find my balance, I rose to find myself walking on water. I realized I had never seen that bay, or indeed, any body of water in the same way before - or since.
In 2005 I bought my first board and paddle; previously-owned. As I started spending daily time on the board, waves of healing energy moved through my body. I found various ways to stand, squat, kneel, sit and even lay in different positions based on the conditions of the water and of my body and mood. Within a short amount of time, I was experiencing profound connections to a divine melding of nature, board, paddle and myself.
As my skill level progressed, I found that the board is a tool, a means to an end, if you will. If I crave speed and to feel a burn in my muscles -- done. Or how about just a nice gentle cruise? Easy! Adrenaline anyone? How about that nice set of waves over there? Or, one of my favorites I must admit, to just paddle out to my own little private spot on the water and sit, breathing in the fresh salt air. Caressed by the breeze. Gently rocked by the bay's waters. The visit of an occasional stray bee who somehow made it all the way out here, buzzing by in search of the land it had lost in mad pursuit of some tropical scent. And in my particular watery wonderland I have the luxury of daily paddles and swims with the dolphins and whales. Where was there to go from here? With the right paddle and board, the options seemed endless.
Quite naturally, I started spending more and more time on my paddleboard. In fact, I realized I had not only found a way to stay fit and cruise my favorite bay (or any other body of water on the globe) but I was able to take another huge component of my life onto my board -- yoga. And that is where I truly fell in love with this sport.
Stand up paddling has won out over all of the other many sports I've enjoyed in my lifetime. I was a dancer, figure skater, even a hockey player growing up. In college, I fell in love with sports that connected me deeply to nature: surfing, mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding. Through it all, I always loved swimming. I was a lifeguard (both pool and beach) in high school and college. Ocean kayaking came much later for me, but it is what got me hooked on spending hours on and in the water.
But my challenge was this: all of the high-impact sports I'd thrived on in my childhood and adolescence had taken their toll on my body over the years. Despite imbalances and injuries to my body I refused to stop doing the things I loved. Doctors told my parents that my body just was not meant to do all of these activities. I was placed in a back brace and prescribed muscle relaxers. I was diagnosed with 'progressive scoliosis', myofibrositis, arthritis and having one leg shorter than the other... and all of this when I was only a mere fourteen years old! I decided, thanks to the support of my parents, not to opt for the more invasive procedures doctors suggested.
I continued to struggle with pain throughout my college years. But I also continued to discover new sports that I loved. Unfortunately, my body continued to struggle to keep up with the abuse I was subjecting it to on my quest to dive into nature in every way I could find and stay healthy and fit. Smell the irony? By doing things I thought were keeping me healthy and fit, I was creating my dis-ease.
Then, at 23-years old, I discovered two things, chiropractics and yoga. I'll never forget Dr. Louis Hubbard in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I doubt he remembers me, but he changed my life. His adjustments, recommendation to try yoga and the directive to lighten up on my high-impact sports were a major turning point for me.
With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from West Virginia University and graduate studies in education at the University of New Mexico studying Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies, I had been busy designing training programs. Armed with this background in education, both as student and teacher, I was ready to become a devoted student of Ayurveda and Yoga. I had a lifetime of experience in body-movement & sports, and more than a decade of constant, moderate-to-severe pain to take into my studies and practice. A few adjustments and getting on my path with yoga were what it took to get me on the amazing healing journey that I continue to travel.
It took me quite a few years of exploring and weaning myself away from the activities that I literally lived for in exchange for others that were still fun, but also therapeutic. In those years, I began studying various styles of yoga with some phenomenal teachers. And for several years now, I have worked with some amazing Pilates instructors and other professionals in the health/healing world. I began learning and focusing on diet and lifestyle in a myriad of forms. Becoming a Yoga Therapist meant gaining an understanding of how unique and different each of our situations are as well as some of the more common and similar issues many of us face. The challenge is to find the right combination of practices and support systems that will specifically help each of us where we are as individuals. Meeting this challenge has brought me to where I am today... which is in the healthiest, happiest, usually pain free body I've ever been in, in my entire life!
Within a year, I began referring to my stand up paddleboard as my 'yoga board'. It was one of the final keys to pulling together all of what I've learned to heal and enjoy my life in the most amazing ways. 'Paddle Yoga Boarding' (PYB) allows me to merge so many of the things that I love most in this world into one general activity. I've found a way to do this sport that not only connects me to nature in the most spectacular ways imaginable, but my body loves it! Now that I truly have a healthy and fit body, I can start exploring all the other fun SUP sports with you all!
Yoga literally means 'union'. SUP & PYB have literally brought a level of union into my life that no other sport has touched. So, sharing it with all of you... whether you are someone who has struggled with physical challenges, or who is an adrenaline junkie, a tri-athlete, a nature lover, a pregnant woman, a young child, retired, or whatever... there is a board, a body of water and a style of SUP made for you. Perhaps even a few!
It all starts (usually and ideally) with getting on a good board in a nice, calm body of water and getting your feet wet, quite literally!
If you haven't tried SUP yet, I'll be posting other articles that will give you the basics to get started as well as the various styles you can then explore once you've gotten your feet wet (sorry, had to use it again!) and reached the proper comfort level. And for those of you who have already caught the 'SUP bug', hopefully you'll find your way to our website PaddleYogaBoarding.com PaddleYogaBoarding.com where we will inspire you to take a look at some other ways you can deepen your relationship to your board, your body and the planet. SUP... Yoga... Union.
Heather Gale George is a Yoga Therapist, certified SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboard) and PYB (Paddle Yoga Boarding) instructor based in Laguna Beach, CA and Kona, HI. Her specialty is teaching yoga on a paddleboard. She is a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and travels the world to share and teach the floating water fitness she so loves. For more information see PaddleYogaBoarding.com PaddleYogaBoarding.com
? 2010 Heather Gale George/ All Rights Reserved This article is copyrighted, but you may share it through any medium as long as the copyright and credit lines are included.
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