Yoga goes to new locales

Yoga has become so popular it seems they’re running out of places to hold classes. First it was the studio, then the park and now the beach.

Two Newport Beach fitness experts are taking it a step further.

In April, Jaime Donnelly and Noelle Kozak, co-owners of SUP Company Fitness, will launch yoga and circuit training on the water, atop stand-up paddle boards.

SUP Fitness offers four classes through the Newport Beach city’s recreation department. It combines exercise routines with stand-up paddling or SUP, an old sport that is quickly gaining new paddlers.

Be forewarned, Kozak said, because these classes are not for leisure paddlers.

“It’s true training,” she said. “You’ll be doing exercises that go hand-in-hand with what you would do on the board when you are out paddling.”

Standing atop of what is essentially a very large, stable surfboard, SUPers use a long paddle to, well, paddle. While touring, racing or surfing, the upright position gives the paddler an unobstructed view of the world around and underneath their boards.

Kozak and Donnelly have recruited full-time, certified professional trainers as part of the SUP Company Fitness team, including Olympians, clients-turned-trainers and athletes that embody a range of fitness goals.

SUP Fit, their circuit-training program, mixes board time with beach time to create a balanced and vigorous total body workout. The sessions last one hour and are tailored to the needs of the group, but follow a simple formula.

“People really want to be on the board, not the sand,” Kozak said. “They are really excited about paddling and want to be out on the water.”

The program starts with 20 minutes of paddling, followed by 20 minutes of resistance training on the sand focusing on the lower body (paddlers use many of their upper-body muscles on the water). The session is rounded out with another 20 minutes on the board. The trainers incorporate squats, lunges and push-ups while on the board, too, which help with toning and burning fat.

“We believe our clients will get into the best shape of their lives and realize the joy of movement that translates into every aspect of their lives,” Kozak said.

The SUP Yoga program is run by co-owner Donnelly and follows the same “more board, less sand” philosophy as SUP Fit. Drawing from the many disciplines of yoga, Donnelly and her team have designed a more athletic yoga regimen targeted for SUP. It takes yoga a stroke beyond the now-common beach programs.

“We start on the boards,” Donnelly said, “with a targeted warm-up with traditional yoga poses followed by paddling, before heading to the sand for standing and balance poses.”

The paddlers then return to their boards for more paddling and poses before finishing with a 15-minute shivasana, where each member lays flat on their back while afloat.

“We found a way to hook all the boards together so we are all in a circle and you aren’t floating off into the bay,” Donnelly said. “You just lay there and it’s the most incredible relaxation you have ever had.”

Both the SUP Fit and SUP Yoga classes include basic paddling instruction along with state-of-the-art boards and paddles, towels and wetsuit tops. For more personalized training and SUP paddling techniques, SUP Company Fitness also gives private lessons through the city of Newport Beach.

Group lessons cost up to $410 for 26 sessions, at one hour or 30 minutes each.

Also for the first time in Newport Beach, SUP Company Fitness is offering their Keiki Paddler Spring Recess Camp. From April 4 to 9, kids age 6 to 14 will spend their days learning stand-up paddling and water safety.

To register or to find out about these classes, go to www.newportbeachca.gov and select “recreation classes.”

To learn more about SUP Company Fitness and its stand-up paddle store opening this spring in Laguna Beach, check out www.supcompanyfitness.com.