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FitGirl: Paddle Boarding Meets Yoga With YogAqua

Katherine Ostrowski |
November 13, 2012 | 3:02 p.m. PST

Columnist

YogAqua works different muscles than yoga. (Creative Commons/Flickr)
YogAqua works different muscles than yoga. (Creative Commons/Flickr)
Sarah Tiefenthaler, yoga teacher and founder of YogAqua, started experimenting with yoga poses on paddleboards after experiencing Stand Up Paddling (SUP) in Marina Del Ray. After weeks of trial and error, Tiefenthaler—who trained in tropical Costa Rica for her yoga certification—created her own original form of yoga practiced entirely on paddleboards.

Tiefenthaler claims YogAqua works different muscles than yoga done in a studio because students focus on balancing on the board, making every pose more challenging. The surrounding ocean and waves add a deeper serenity to the practice, as well.

“Any problem I’m having, it’s gone after an hour out here - or doesn’t seem as big of a deal,” said Tiefenthaler at a Friday morning class in Marina Del Ray. Other students that morning agreed the surrounding bay centered them and helped clear their minds.

The 90-minute class meets on the edge of the bay in Marina Del Ray and teaches students both paddleboarding and YogAqua. Tiefenthaler begins by instructing students how to use a paddleboard and then lets students row around the bay to practice. Once everyone rejoins, students throw out a paddle “anchor” to prevent their board from floating out to sea while flowing from pose to pose.

(Creative Commons/Flickr)
(Creative Commons/Flickr)
“I used to not anchor the boards. By the end of the class we would be right by the end of the bay, almost to the end. Boats and people would pass by confused when they saw people doing this (she went into Triangle Pose) on paddleboards, floating down the bay,” Tiefenthaler laughed.

No one lost their balance and tumbled in during the class I attended, but it’s not uncommon; roughly two people fall in every class. My favorite part was at the very end when students relax on their board and meditate while the waves rock back and forth.

“We live in an amazing city, where we can go surfing in the morning, hiking in the afternoon, yoga at any of the various studios available to us, but what about combining those elements into one? Get outside, soak up the sun, laugh in the water, and practice your yoga,” said Tiefenthaler.

NBC’s "First Look" with host Ali Fedotowsky did a segment on Tiefenthaler’s innovative yoga. Watch her experience below!

FitGirl is a weekly health and fitness column. If you have any questions you want to see answered feel free to email me.



 

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