One thing I really love about the summer weather is the chance to get outside to get my workout in. During the winter, the gym can get a bit tiring after a while and it can get harder and harder as the cold days drag on to get motivated to keep a good workout program. But when the warm weather hits, it’s like a hibernation over the city lifts and you see all of these people outside exercising from running Red Rocks to biking on the Cherry Creek bike path. People are more excited to get out and run with the sun, to find new activities where they can get their exercise in for the day but also enjoy the beauty that is the Colorado outdoors.
One thing I have discovered is SUP, which stands for Stand-Up Paddling boarding. This is an amazing workout where you stand on a paddleboard and use your core to hold yourself still as you paddle around the water. This type of activity has been popular for a few years now but I recently discovered that some people have taken it to a new level and added yoga to the mix. Colorado is known as a haven for Yogis and this is a way to push your yoga skills to the next level.
Huffington Post wrote an article about the some of the top reasons you should try yoga on a SUP:
1. It’s a better workout – Because you are not on a stable floor, you are going to really have to engage your core to keep you stable as you move through the water.
2. It will refine your technique: This will help you feel if you are balanced on each side of your body when you do your poses.
3. It’s more calming: We know as a young child that floating can make you feel weightless and the same is true for this which gives you the feeling of floating to help lift any heaviness.
4. It’s empowering: This might be as close as many of us get to actually walking on water and this really pushed participants to focus on their poses and more importantly themselves.
5. It teaches you to get back up: There is a high chance you will fall off, more than once, but if you do, it is up to you to get yourself back on your board and find your balance again. It helps ease the fear of falling from your poses.
6. It’s beautiful: Like I said before, would you rather workout in a gym or find yourself floating on a beautiful Colorado lake at sunset watching the sun set behind the Rockies as you strike into your downward dog pose?
Below is a list of some places you can check out if you want to give yourself a challenge this summer in the yoga department:
· Soda Lakes, Morrison CO
· Chatfield State Park, Littleton CO
· Union Reservoir, Longmont CO
· Maggie Pond, Breckenridge CO
· Dillon Marina, Dillon CO
Get out and enjoy your summer workouts this year!
