I received a free stand-up paddleboarding lesson from Walk on Water Fitness during my attendance at the Niche Parent 2013 conference. All the opinions expressed below are entirely my own.
Learning to Stand Up Paddleboard
Stand Up Paddleboarding is an experience for everyone! I recently was invited to a S.U.P experience with a group from the Parent Niche Conference. The hosts were Paula and Tom from Walk on Water in Hollywood Florida.
I really appreciated that they took their time to help us become a confident safe paddler right from the start as we were ready for each stage.
First we slipped onto our boards from the dock, then paddled on our knees for a few minutes to help us gain stability and confidence. Then we progressed to a standing paddling position. YEAH! Trust me I never thought I would be standing on the Paddleboard but honestly it was fairly easy.
I did take to my knees a few times as we were learning since you tend to use your toes for balance but Tom assured me that once you get used to it you stand more as though you would on land using your whole foot and it doesn’t happen anymore.
The tour lasted for about an hour around a calm and isolated lake in Hollywood, FL, it was a welcomed break for the conference rooms we had just spent 3 days in. As we returned to the dock, Paula inspired the whole group to do some yoga poses on our boards.
WHAT? Yes yoga on our paddleboards. We were able to do 3 or 4 poses with little effort. I must confess I did fall in the water during my warrior pose, but hey it was hot and I was cool with that.
The thing that I love about this Stand Up Paddleboarding is that that people from preteen to retirement can do it. It was a complete body workout and really focused on our core, which is something we all need as much as we can. And if you are anything like our group, everyone left with huge smiles on their faces and a great sense of accomplishment at having stood up on a paddle board and even tested out some yoga moves.
The next time you’re near Fort Lauderdale I highly recommend checking out Walk on Water with Paula and Tom. It will be an experience your group will remember for a lifetime.
Thank you so much Teresa Foskey, author of Making It All Work, for encouraging me to try this paddleboarding adventure and arranging it for the group at the Niche Parent Conference. If you’re still wondering like I did that it’s for you check out this video. I promise you’re going to want to try S.U.P as soon as you can!
For more inspiring videos visit http://www.youtube.com/user/StandUpPaddlingTV
What a fun experience!!!