I always loved surfing and being in the ocean and the last eight years I experienced the benefits of yoga. How could you combine all three? Let me tell you… SUP Yoga in Manly!
And just like that, by luck (or thanks to Mr Google) I bumped into the beautiful FlowmOcean website and I knew I had to travel to Sydney and meet Donna the owner of FlowmOcean (https://www.flowmocean.com.au ).
Let’s go back 6 weeks beforehand. I had started teaching SUP yoga in Cork but I did not know about all these amazing locations around the world where you could do Stand-up Paddle boarding. If I had known, I would probably gone sooner to try. I loved it!
I stayed in Manly for over four weeks and I was paddle boarding nearly every day. The freedom of standing on top of the board and be able to go wherever you want is such a nice feeling. Also sitting down wherever you want and stop to just watch the world go by. Placing the feet in the water and noticing the connection with the ocean. The waves rocking you and life flowing through you. Blissss!
I completed the SUP Yoga teacher training course with FlowmOcean in a fabulous location in Manly, Australia. The set-up of the floating yoga studio is closed to a very nice and quiet beach, while still protecting the natural environment. The water is crystal clear and the different shades of blue makes the paddle from the peer to the floating yoga studio a beautiful journey. I got to experience this on a daily basis and I got to assist Donna in her classes every weekend. What a fantastic experience learning a lot about SUP, yoga, the ocean and about myself.
Yes, this teacher training has been a really interesting personal journey. Facing fears, facing challenges and facing new experiences completely outside of my comfort zone. I had never been teaching in the ocean and it came with a lot of discoveries. My biggest lesson is how easy it is to lose balance and fall into the water. Like in life. If you are not paying attention or focusing on where you are going, it is very easy to get distracted and the wind or the waves can knock you down. But that is part of the journey, to laugh as you fall into the water, to get back on the board and try again.
One thing I love about Donna’s classes and training is her energy and how she makes the experience so much fun. Every time a student fell into the water, we had to clap and cheer. This was one of the best parts of the class because everybody would encourage each other to try and even if they fell, it was a reason to celebrate the success of having tried something new.
How often we don’t celebrate in life our trials? We concentrate so much in doing a good job from the minute one and we miss the enjoyment of the process. This is one of the biggest learning I have taken from this yoga teacher training. The importance of celebrating all my failures because even getting into the water was a very rewarding experience to cool down after an energetic yoga practice on the sun.
Now it is time to be back in Cork and share all my new gained yoga knowledge and experiences with my clients.
If you want to get out of your comfort zone, try something new and have a lot of fun, come to my next SUP Yoga class in Club Vitae Clayton Hotel Cork City. Ireland.Contact me on sara@flowithme.com for more information.