YOGA on a BOAT

      When we were newlyweds I gave Danny a card whose cover read-

            I  want to make love to you in the worst way…

     The inside read-

                                 in a boat standing up!

    
     So you ask, “What does ‘YOGA on a BOAT’ have to do with lovemaking?” Well, quite a bit, actually.  I won’t get into the specific details- suffice to say that our love relationship is ever evolving- and that IT and YOGA on a boat require extreme strength and BALANCE.







     Boats sail best when they are balanced, however, when Exit Strategy is at anchor things get shifted around some and it becomes slightly unbalanced. To complicate matters, we haul the dinghy out of the water daily to the starboard side when not in use which adds to the imbalance. So for the most part, at anchor our boat is NOT balanced. If you put a tube of chapstick down on an uncluttered shelf or table, it will roll to and fro, until it drives me crazy enough to get up and shove it somewhere secure. The Captain is oblivious to these little noises, of course.

    



     I have not formally studied yoga, but I have come to realize that it is all about balance. Physically balancing your weight supported by your body,  balancing your breathing as you inhale and exhale deeply, and balancing your activity with inactivity to keep personal stressors at bay.  





  




 Did you know that balance is one of the essential markers of longevity? Think about it- how many times have you heard about an elderly person losing their balance, falling down, and never recovering from their injuries.  Research suggests that if you are able to sit down on the floor from a standing position without putting your hands or knees on the floor and then rise up to stand again without using your hands or shifting onto your knees, you are in great shape.  Yoga practice can do that for an individual. I can comfortably lower myself to the floor, but am unable to rise up again…yet.  This remains a goal.  ( http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/stand-sit-test-predicts-longevity  )









     On some islands, there are free yoga classes available on shore two to three times a week and I often enjoy participating in them. At other times, cruiser friends have organized informal yoga sessions ashore at sunset. In my opinion, the ideal place to practice yoga on our boat is on the foredeck where there is plenty of space and just a slight incline.  However, I rarely exercise there because privacy is often at a premium in anchorages.  So I have found the next best place to do yoga is in our cabin.  There I have plenty of room to position my yoga mat along the midline of the boat, so I am able to balance… and stretch… and breathe… and hold. (Good skills to have at any age, if you catch my drift.)