You know that super shaky feeling you get in a challenging Yoga pose? Or remember, the first time you stood up on a skateboard or surfboard and were kind of blown away by how difficult it was? That may be your experience when you step on a Indo Yoga Board for the first time as well. But just like surfing or skating, it is possible, it just takes practice, and of course patience, a lot of patience. And Yoga is quite a bit about patience… is’nt it? The beauty of a Indo Yoga Board is that it warp speeds up that patience skill, for, well, those of us who arent so patient. “It forces you to be perfect,” says Indo Yoga Board inventor Hunter Joslin. If youre not doing everything you should being doing in a typical yoga class, breathing smoothly and evenly, engaging your core muscles, spreading your toes and fingers wide into the mat and everything else that good yogis do, you will fall, fast. But because the board is unstable, a class will flow at a slower pace than say your typical yoga class allowing you to really focus and concentrate on your balance.
The Indo Yoga Board, evolved from the original Indo Board, used by surfers and skaters for land training and took on elements of popular Stand Up Paddle Boarding(SUP). The wooden boards are roughly the size of a surfboard with rockers attached to the bottom. For a more advanced progression you can place three inflatable Indo cushions under the board. The Indo Yoga Board was built to mimic paddle boarding or SUP yoga but the beauty with the Indo Boards is that if and when you fall, the stakes are not as high, youre not falling into the water but just a couple inches off the ground. You and your ego can recover quite a bit faster.
Should you try an Indo Yoga Board class? If youre looking to build up your stamina for your yoga practice or become more confident and comfortable with the instability of SUP classes then absolutely, you will benefit from the class. If youre simply looking to shake up your routine with an inventive challenging workout, then grab a friend and try a class, (wobbling is more fun when you’re not alone). Or if youre like me, and although you can ski and flow through a yoga class without a stumble, but cannot, no matter how many times youve tried, ever ever been able to stand up on a surfboard, then an Indo Yoga Board Class may just be the answer until you can get to the beach.
-Erica Jensen
