During the last years, the practice of Stand Up Paddle and also of SUP Yoga has become more and more popular on Mallorca. There are several different spots on the island where you have the possibility to rent a board to discover balance on your own in the water, or join a guided excursion, or why not, a SUP yoga class. In this article, we will shortly explain what SUP yoga is and where on the island you can have a try.
Originating from India, yoga is a tradition built up during many thousands of years, but didn’t gain strength in the Western world before the XX century. June 21 is International Yoga Day, a day of celebrating the union between all beings, recognising the benefits that the yoga practice provides, on both a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level; individually and universally.
SUP (Stand Up Paddle) started in Hawai in the forties, but, just like yoga, it has its roots thousands of years ago. In several cultures in the world, canoes or a stand up board have been used for transportation or hunting. In Hawai, surf, paddle surf and yoga were (and are) all very popular practices and people started to fuse SUP with yoga, creating a unique practice experimenting yoga postures on the board in the sea. Not so many years ago SUP yoga arrived to Europe, and here on Mallorca we are lucky to enjoy a good and stable climate throughout the year, which makes the SUP yoga season long and each year more and more practitioners are joining.
Where can you practice SUP yoga on Mallorca?
Below we list some of the places where you can experience a SUP yoga class on the island:
El Niño Surf center – Playa de Palma
La Mosca Cub de Surf – Palma de Mallorca
Be Happy Yoga Mallorca – Pollensa
What are the benefits?
The fusion between paddle board and yoga offers a unique practice with several benefits: balance, flexibility, alignment and strength, just to mention a few of them. You don’t at all have to be sporty or experienced in yoga to join; everyone can enjoy a class, where you are invited to practice mindfulness in different exercises and postures, standing, seated, on all fours or lying down. The human body is constituted of more than 70% water. Bringing awareness to that fact, and play with this special connection with the water, the flow, the movement, brings us to the reflection about what is moving in life and within each one of us.
What can you expect from a SUP yoga class?
To enjoy sea and nature, strengthen the core and your whole body, delight in moments of play and moments of relaxation. Let go and allow yourself to experience this special present moment with mindfulness, and discover your body and your balance in relationship with the water.
Maria Larsson, Team Assistant @ Mallorcaresidencia & Yoga Teacher