Namaste, Muskoka yogis! In honour of International Yoga Day, MuskokaStyle asked Suptopia Floating Yoga to share five of their favourite poses to enjoy in Muskoka.
“These poses are a great place to start floating your yoga and turning the lake into your very own yoga studio,” says Steph Ouellette of Suptopia. “Moving your practice onto the water will challenge your balance, improve your strength and stability, and teach you to go with the flow.”
Here are five of Suptopia’s favourites, as shown and explained by Steph Ouellette:
Down Dog (Ado Mukha Svanasana)
Down Dog is one of the foundational asanas of yoga practice. It is a great way to stretch all the muscles in the back of the legs, build upper body strength, and invigorate circulation. With weight distributed evenly between hands and feet, this pose is a stable place to start when trying SUP Yoga. Don’t forget to enjoy seeing the lake from a whole new angle!
Boat Pose (Navasana)
Boat Pose fires up your core and hip flexors. On the water, the added instability ups the challenge to your muscles, and your balance. This pose also stimulates kidneys, aids digestion, and regular practice will help with back pain. Step it up? Straighten your legs.
Seated Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana – Half Lord of the Fishes Pose)
Seated Twist works on hip, spine and shoulder mobility. Twisting poses are very detoxing for the body, and this pose stimulates the liver and kidneys… in case your cottage time has you feeling the need for a little cleansing and re-balancing!
Fish Pose (Matsyasana)
Fish Pose is a heart opening pose that lets your soak up lots of vitamin D. A great way to unwind your back, neck and shoulders after a week at the office and the car ride north. The weight should be in your elbows, the top of your head just barely touching the mat or SUP. Open your eyes and watch the water just rippling past….
Savasana
Everyone’s favorite. Time to unglorify busy, and take a few minutes for rest, relaxation, and resetting body, mind & soul. Completely magical on the SUP, with the sound of the lake lapping under the board, fingers in the lake, sun warming your skin.
Photos of Steph Ouellette by Jason Rienks, SUPtopia.
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For more info: Suptopia Floating Yoga invites you to join them on the lake this summer. They have regular weekly classes at Bush’s Watersports Park (Mondays 4:30pm), Clevelands House Resort (Fridays 2pm), and Deerhurst Resort (Thursdays 10am & 2pm; Saturdays 10am). Suptopia can also bring their beautiful yoga boards to you for a SUP Yoga Cottage Class. Get in touch to make it happen! muskokaSUPyoga.com steph@suptopia.yoga 705.345.9344 Instagram: @suptopia. Steph’s outfit is Lululemon from their Muskoka Pop-Up location at SWS Marine in Minett, on Lake Rosseau.
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