I’ve been to Ocean Walker a good few times for Stand Up Paddle-boarding but have only ever had the odd go at yoga over the years. Well age and not stretching… ever… have caught up with me so I thought I would give it a go.
Booking was easy and let me flag up my lack of experience straight away.
When I arrived, the lake was pristine and beautiful… as it always seems to be. Our instructor Sam gave us a clear brief and we were quickly on our way across the lake.
We anchored up and tied our paddles up and got started. There was a lovely meditative start (essentially relaxing on the board). As a middle-aged man with poor balance, I found the session to be inclusive and well differentiated… there was opportunity to challenge yourself but no pressure to do anything you didn’t feel able to.
As we progressed through the yoga, I gave each position a go as best I could and felt pleased that I’d applied myself by the time we finished but also felt there would be a benefit to having more sessions.
The session finished with a relaxation exercise and laying on the water watching the clouds pass by is better than anything you could do in a gym or back… there was a lovely calming sensation as I ran my hands through the water and it briefly felt like floating on a cloud.
As the session ended, we pulled up out anchors, retrieved our paddles and headed back… with the whole group managing to stay dry!
I couldn’t recommend this enough. If you already enjoy yoga, this is fit you. If like me you need yoga to help coax some flexibility into your body, this is a great way to do it!