Contact Us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right. 


Darien, CT, 06820

347-229-8835

Thumbs up stand up paddle board and land yoga classes, trainings and retreats by Danielle Brown. 

Blog

ThumbSUP Yoga Teacher Training Immersion

Danielle Brown

In addition to a family vacation to play in the waves, I taught a ThumbSUP Yoga Teacher Training immersion with The Yoga Pagoda as part of their 108 Hour Advanced Practices and Master Classes offering in Vero Beach, Florida earlier this month.

The students of the training were 200hr+ Yoga Teachers or wellness professionals and active practitioners. They had a range of paddle board experience, a range of curiosity in SUP Yoga and were interested, potentially interested or not interested in teaching SUP Yoga.

The 1/2 day Thumbsup Yoga Teacher Training Immersion program allows Yoga Teachers and Students to dive into the study of Yoga on a Paddle board without the certification requirements of CPR, First Aid and water rescue accreditation.

Immersion discussions include:

  • Equipment, Paddle Technique and Environmental Awareness
  • Sequencing options - their plentitude, the crescendo of balance play and the overarching emphasis on transitions
  • the anatomical positioning and biomechanical activity of on-board postures and movement
  • the theory of themes like aparigraha (non-possessiveness) (as it relates to succumbing to the element of water, for instance)
  • the application of the lower chakra awareness (as the platform for discovery is physically turning in the wind and rocking with the swells)

The goal of the immersion is to provide an overview of Stand Up paddle board Yoga (from how to hold a paddle to how to use the board as a belt in a forward fold) and to equip the trainee with the on land and on board fundamentals of how to conduct a safe, efficient and effective SUP Yoga class with the assistance of a SUP Professional. As a reminder, the Academy of Surfing Instructors (ASI) recommends a student : teacher ratio of 6 : 1 which furthers the calling for support.

At the Vero Beach SUP Yoga TT immersion, I was grateful to have two helpers on the water scene: Chris, owner of Paddles by the Sea (and provider of the equipment used that day) and my friend and advisor and local SUP tour leader, Kat Kruse.

The winds were just a singular palm frond short of being prohibitive to play on board that day. Chris, Kat and I each had a role. Even though the floating yoga studio was a few paddle strokes from shore, the roles of onboarding, assisting with equipment, photography and guiding the sequence and the float back the shore were all deployed.

Between the gusts, the trainees challenged asana preconceptions, relaxed into the wake and rose with receptivity to the tide. It was a thumbs up day.

If you are interested in adding a SUP Yoga Teacher Training Immersion to your 200hr, 300Hr, 500hr Yoga Teacher Training or Masters Classes Yoga programming, please contact me.  

Comment
Book SUP Experience