Yoga with Charlie, welcome aboard the Paddle Up family
In our very first IGTV, we chat to Charlie—a yoga teacher, ray of sunshine, and our latest member of the Paddle Up family. Like us, @yogawithcharlie_ recognises the power of our bodies, creating rejuvenating experiences to promote mindfulness, balance and flexibility.
Catching up on a board with a cuppa, Charlie shares her yoga journey so far, the benefits of SUP yoga, what to expect, and more! We can’t wait for you to meet her 🤍☕️
You can either watch the video here, or read the interview below, we hope you enjoy it.
Paddle Up x Yoga with Charlie, board meeting
🔥 Fire round 🔥
Q. The first concert you ever attended
A. Blockparty
Q. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
A. Sri Lankan Curry
Q. What is your favourite word?
A. Lush
Q. Name something on your bucket list
A. I would love to go to Nepal
Q. Who do you admire the most, dead or alive?
A. My friends
Q. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no?
A. Yes definitely, love pineapple!
Q. What is your most used emoji?
A. Probably the kissy one, mwah
Q. What are you currently reading or watching?
A. RuPaul's Drag Race and i’m so sad the English one has ended
Q. Where’s your favourite place on earth?
A. Sri Lanka
Q. Where are you from?
A. A small town called Dorking, Surrey
Q. What is your favourite yoga pose?
A. Pigeon, I love just lying down
When did you get into Yoga?
I got into yoga when I was at university, so that must have been about 7 or 8 years ago now, wow.
I remember at the time I was quite stressed and thinking what can I do? I found out about yoga and I thought right, lets give this a go. So my first class was at a gym and I only did one day a week with a yoga teacher who was actually amazing. She told me to keep it up when I left uni, and at that time, I didn’t.
But now I practice daily and it’s become part of my life.
What made you decide to become a teacher?
I guess after lots of practice, then going abroad living in Sri Lanka and being in India, I kinda realised it was a way of life that I wanted to continue. For me it’s always been a way of managing my emotions, to help me feel more grounded and support my well being. I think that I just wanted to be able to give to people what I get from yoga.
I work in mental health already so that’s something that I already support, and I thought yoga was a very different way of being able to support people in more a kinda movement meditation way.
Self confessed nature lover, water babe, and traveller. Always promoting self love 🌱
Why combine yoga and paddle boarding?
Well, basically I have always loved the water and always been in the water. I used to swim for Surrey - quite a while ago. We knew each other from School and we’ve recently reconnected which has been amazing. You told me about what you’re doing (Paddle Up) and I thought combine two of my favourite things, yoga and being with the water.
What are the benefits of SUP Yoga?
The same as doing yoga on a mat, you’re getting that sense of emotional well-being, also getting that exercise and that is exactly what you’re going to get on a board. Exercise, core strength - VERY much core strength on here because you’ve gotta really balance.
Also just that meditatory feeling as well. There’s something about being on the water and lying down on your board, just hearing the water, sensing everything that’s around you. I think that benefit is really great because our lives are fast paced most of the time. So being able to slow down and be in nature is awesome. So many benefits!
What should people expect?
With paddle board yoga, we’re going to ensure that people feel safe and calm on their board. It’s going to be a very slow flow and we’re going to hold postures for some time to ensure that we are in a space of meditation.
It’s more about this slow flow and calming experience. I can understand why people might feel quite nervous, but I can ensure people that they will be OK, as long as they flow with their breath, go slow and take their time.
SUP Yoga is really giving you a focus, when you’re doing it on a mat you can sometimes focus away, but when you’re on a board you’ve got that extra - OK I need really focus on making sure I balance. I think that then centres you and makes you more present, which I think is a really good part of it as well.
People will get variations as well. If you want to just meditate and breath, that’s cool! Ill be using some of my lovely Nepalese bells as well.
What to wear for SUP Yoga
You should wear comfortable clothes, also if you have wet shoes bring those. Make sure to bring a spare pare of clothes as well just in case, and a towel and water bottle. Sometimes you can fall in, and that’s OK.
We provide these lovely boards that you guys have, buoyancy aid, ankle leash, and paddle.
In warmer temperatures you can wear swimwear if you fancy it.
Do you need SUP or Yoga experience?
Not necessarily, I mean it can be quite helpful if you have done a little bit of yoga before, just so you know kind of what to expect and what’s being translated onto the board. We also say people must be able to swim a minimum of 50 meters and ask for them to be 18 +.
But in regards to experience, you can just come along and see what works. As I said there’s variations, so people can just take whatever variation they feel comfortable to do. And Paddle Up will go over SUP safety with you.
How do we book?
Bookings are made online via the Paddle Up website, just click on the button below
We’re going to be running a class once a week, and times will vary. So it’s going to sometimes be in the morning or just before sunset
Classes will be in groups of 6, keeping in line with government guidelines, but classes will go up to groups of 8 as and when
We hope you enjoyed this interview, thank you for reading/watching.
India, Joshua & Charlie
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