Anyone who has ever watched Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) – a sort of stand up canoeing but on what looks like a surfboard – would agree it looks difficult. But now be prepared for the latest all-but-impossible sporting challenge to arrive at Salford’s Helly Hansen Watersports Centre – SUP Yoga!
Enthusiasts undertake a yoga routine while floating on the board, which obviously adds a degree of difficulty and calls for extreme accuracy in the exercises and a strong sense of balance.
It has been developed in exotic places such as Hawaii, Bondi Beach and California but is also popular throughout the Mediterranean – and has now arrived in Salford. Among the many virtues claimed for SUP Yoga is that it re-invigorates yoga for people who may have become a bit jaded after years exercising on a mat and need a bit more of a challenge.
“Practicing yoga on a SUP brings a whole new perspective to both activities” claims Caroline Barrow, Salford Community Leisure’s Sport and Leisure Manager. “It is really extremely difficult and, of course, fantastically beneficial. Benefits include more engaged core, improved technique, stress relief, increased strength and flexibility, plus improved balance and cardiovascular conditioning.”
SUP Yoga sessions are now available at the Helly Hansen Watersports Centre, Salford Quays, at a cost of £12.50 per session (£10 for Aspire members), Sunday mornings at 10am. Outdoor sessions run until 27th September, before moving to the indoor pool at Clarendon Leisure Centre from the 1st October.
“This is a really challenging new sport and underpins Salford Community Leisure’s commitment to searching out and investing in activities that go way beyond the normal and predictable,” added Caroline. “We are expanding our SUP programme and will soon be offering training for both beginners and experienced boarders, as well as boards for hire.”
For classes, contact the Helly Hansen Watersports Centre on 0161 877 7252. For more information visit www.salfordcommunityleisure.co.uk
