"Beyond the Mat... On Water"
These words are directly from Sunnyside SUP Yogas founder and instructor, Frankie. Let me tell you guys this woman and her amazing passion for the art of Yoga are an absolute gem. I met her and her gals at Kiwanis park in Merritt Island and she was so welcoming and prepared! Frankie made sure everyone was set with bug spray, (which if you are familiar with Florida's summers you NEED around any body of water lol) sunscreen, water, and that our keys and phones were all nicely packaged away in her dry bag. After assisting us all into the water, me in my kayak, we headed out to her more private spot with an anchored floating base. Frankie made sure all the ladies attending were tethered onto the "dock" and they began doing breathing exercises. I had NO idea what to expect when I initially reached to Frankie about taking some shots but found out quickly that even the smallest amount of a breeze will play with a one person kayak in the most frustrating of ways, haha. I probably looked pretty silly trying to wrestle round the wind with 2 cameras going in and out of my dry bag, and trying not to get anything wet or bump anyones paddle board, but it was so much fun no matter how ridiculous I might have looked haha!
Let me take a second and say the these women were so inspiring to watch doing something that they all love! I am definitely motivated to start Yoga again and love the inspiration I walked away with after this class. I also wanted to mention that these classes are not just for intermediate levels they welcome beginners, and by that I mean beginners to yoga and paddle boards! And if your like me standing on the board while paddling is a little intimidating but you're welcome to paddle on your knees! These classes are held only on weekends but they are so worth getting and starting your Saturday or Sunday off with some Vitamin D, and being on the water just makes anyone "get away" from life dumb stresses. PLUS!! We had at least 3 dolphins jet right by us! and a few a little further in the distance! I loved that I asked the group if there was a "dolphin pose" in yoga and there was! They all did the Dolphin Pose in celebration of our beautiful visitors, it was my favorite moment! I hope you enjoy some shots from the class, ill be honest I learned a lot from this and had less photos than I wanted to come out with the vision I had but growth isn't overnight and without challenges so im grateful for the experience, and grateful to the ladies that let me join, and grateful for Frankie for trusting me with some shots and welcoming me to document her passion. If you would like to learn more about Sunnyside SUP Yoga and see the class schedule you can find the website HERE. I hope to join a class myself soon and of course shoot for them again in the future!
