STORY:

Last summer we found the perfect location for all of our balancing activities: Pace Bend State Park in Austin, Texas. My husband and I enjoy SUP yoga, attempting acro yoga on the paddle board, and slacklining. Slacklining requires rigging one-inch climbing webbing between two trees, rocks, or mountains, then walking across it.

This past weekend, we decided to go to our favorite adventure spot to celebrate Independence Day. Since we live in Houston, which is about 3 hours away from Austin, we loaded up our car the night before and headed out early in the morning. It’s so easy to throw our inflatable board in the back of my SUV, hike it in, and pump up our paddle board once we get there. We always inflate our ISLE board first so we can use it to transport the gear and webbing we need to slackline back and forth across the cove. Otherwise, we would have to swim the very heavy (and expensive) gear through the water.

After the board is inflated and the slackline set, we play! Between turns on the slackline we do SUP yoga, acro yoga, or just hang out and explore the cove. It’s a welcome break from the serious energy expenditure of the slackline. When practicing yoga on the SUP board, I feel a special connection with the nature I’m surrounded by. There’s a calmness and serenity I achieve while being out on the water that I could never get in a studio.

I can’t think of any other way I’d have rather spent my 4th of July weekend. It’s always nice to share my love of paddle boarding with friends and having my SUP board this past weekend made the holiday extra fun.

PRO TIPS:

• Invest in a small anchor. It’s distracting to have to navigate while in the middle of your yoga practice.
• Widen your stance! Distributing your weight diagonally across the board helps with stability.
• Don’t be afraid to fall in. It’s the best part!