As you approach Christie Lake Conservation Area in Dundas, Ontario the setting is serene. While the sky may be overcast and the summer wind cool, the sounds of nature could instantly brighten anyone's mood. Birds are chirping, crickets are singing and the soft lull of water splashes in the background—a perfect day for 'SUP' yoga fitness.

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Otherwise known as stand-up paddleboard yoga, SUP is a new form of fitness taking the yoga world by storm. Today, Moksha Yoga Hamilton instructor, Nicole Doro, is teaching a pair of women the art of aquatic yoga. The older participant, somewhere between 40 and 60-years-old, brings her own paddleboard and seems eager to get started. The younger, in her twenties, shivers as the morning breeze blows her hair about. This is her first time at SUP.

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"You don't need to worry about falling in. It's honestly warmer in the water than it is out here," says Doro, 26. She then goes on to show the class where the life jackets are on the boards and explains that it's easier to jump off if you feel like you're falling, rather than slipping and sliding on the board.

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Doro began teaching SUP after hearing about Moksha's assistant recruitment for a new summer paddleboard program they were starting that year. She admits to also being swayed by yoga girls posting pictures on Instagram. "I was like 'that looks really cool,' and I had a background in aquatics as a lifeguard so I thought with my yoga experience and my aquatic experience, I would ask if they needed help." 

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As an avid fitness enthusiast, participating in anything from rock climbing to circus, Doro saw SUP fitness as just another athletic challenge she could conquer.

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"It's just having an end goal, knowing how to do it on the ground and then knowing some principles of SUP—like where I want my weight distribution to be on the board, and then every time something doesn't work, you just go for a swim," she says with a small chuckle." But it's kind of fun because it's problem solving as you're going so it's a mental component too, which I find really interesting and unique."

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Like Doro, 24-year-old participant, Danielle Cupido, also enjoys the rare opportunity to break free and workout outdoors.

 

"It's a lot of fun and it's a different type of workout rather than the static workout people are used to at the gym or inside of a room," she says. "It's a little bit more peaceful, a little bit more mindful when you're out there."

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Her favourite part was paddling alongside the trees.

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But SUP yoga isn't just for the twenty-somethings like Cupido and Doro. The older woman in the early morning class was right up there, leading the pack during the paddling cardio spurts.

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Doro says she always begins her class by asking what type of experience the participants have. She then tailors each session to the group she's working with that day.

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"If there are more beginners, we'll do a more beginner-friendly class. I had the whole staff of Lululemon come out the other day so the poses we did were a little more challenging," says Doro. "I've even had a group of senior women come out and try, so that was really fun!"

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No matter the age or skill level of her participants, Doro always makes sure everyone leaves feeling stress-free and rejuvenated."I teach to the bodies in that class, which should be true of any yoga class that you teach anyways."

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And if the workout part isn't up your alley, there's always the meditation at the end of the class where you lay on your board, swaying alongside the waves.

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