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Yoga is based on a principle of uniting body, mind and breath it taps into our inner being, or spirit, through a disciplined practice so that we might be more at one with our chosen activity. Iyengar yoga focusses a lot on alignment and extension in the poses to recognise what our potential and limits are in order to progress practice safely.

In the case of sea kayaking maintaining good posture while paddling helps brings more control over your stability in the boat and efficiency with your stroke, allowing you to develop a more rhythmic or meditative quality to your journey without tiring so much. Yoga and sea kayaking both require multi-tasking and the practice of yoga on dry land can help to develop focus and concentration for the mind in such a way as to help make your more efficient with your paddling. I practice yoga much of the time I am in my boat even though I may appear to be focussed on paddling techniques, both are possible.

While there are plenty books and videos to draw upon, a good teacher, just like a good kayaking coach, who can respond to the needs of those in front of her is better still. So, what better way to develop body and breath awareness than a mindful yoga practice for a couple of hours before kayaking. We might want to start by loosening off the body or ‘intelligising’ our mind: body connections. Then we’ll engage with specific actions through carefully selected poses (there are many to choose from) to prepare muscles and joints for the day’s action whether that is to improve core strength, open tight hips or ease off hamstrings for getting in and out of the boat more easily. Depending on the group we may focus more on improving shoulder action and arm extension for stroke improvement. The morning session will also be a good time to energise with some twists which are also good poses for mobilising and strengthening the spinal muscles.