Safe Group SUP Yoga During COVID-19

Safe SUP Yoga Practice in the age of COVID 19

2020 has been an enormous wake up call. We had to learn to adjust and change the way we live and work in absolute high speed. All over the world, our local governments are putting rules and regulations in place to navigate us through these strange times – our new normal!

As paddlers, we're always drawn to the water. But in 2020, not only are we more drawn, but there's seemingly more of us heading to the water! You might feel like jumping straight back on board to practice a calming and relaxing SUP Yoga flow. But before going back to your Down Dog, it is super important for you as a SUP Yoga enthusiast or SUP Yoga teacher to familiarize yourself with all new guidelines and how to apply them to your SUP Yoga practice to stay safe and healthy.

From checking if your usual spot is open for public to social distancing rules all the way to proper cleaning of all equipment – there are a lot of things to consider before coming back on board. If you are a SUP Yoga teacher, the new regulations will impact how many people can attend your class. This will dictate the structure of your class and the equipment to bring along.

One of the biggest challenges is your group or class set up and the anchoring system. The social distancing regulations require an altered set up to ensure that everybody in the SUP Yoga class stays safe.

Depending on your location – lake, swimming pool or enclosed waterways- you traditionally have the choice between either single line set ups, individual anchors and docking systems.

With individual anchor points each student has their own anchor and rope which they will drop in the water in accordance with the social distancing restrictions. Check with your local authority your country’s specific social distancing regulations.

The more common set up is the single line. This setup requires two anchor points on each end of a rope. Using a carabiner, students tie their boards to the boards individually.

In the face of COVID19, you will require longer lines for wider distances between each board. Keep in mind, that longer lines cover more water surface area which can increase the drag. Looking at the current wind and water conditions and the weight of people, you might need to add some extra weight to your anchors.

It might be worth looking into setting up a brick formation as this will cover less surface area.

Make sure you allow more planning for the line and rope set up and to bring additional rope and weights.

These are extraordinary times and the new guidelines might be very confusing. They are necessary to get us back on our boards and into the water, while ensuring everybody in our SUP Yoga community stays safe and healthy.

If you wish to learn more about COVID19 safety plan for SUP Yoga, please visit the website of The International SUP Yoga Academy www.isyacademy.com. Sign up and get access to free SUP Yoga education resources to support safe SUP Yoga practices worldwide!