SPENCER, Iowa | Inside The Studio Yoga and Barre on Fourth Street, Amanda Jorgensen and Philip Ramstack press their feet firmly into their yoga mats. On the waters of Okoboji, their mats are 32-foot paddle boards.
"You'll have a greater appreciation for your feet after you experience SUP yoga," says Jorgensen, owner and head yogi of The Studio Yoga and Barre. "Your mat is constantly moving, so it changes how you move from pose to pose."
Jorgensen has practiced yoga since she was 19, but it was Ramstack who suggested a change of venue. "He's the one who got me doing yoga on the board. I've learned a lot about SUP from Philip."
Ramstack first tried stand-up paddle boarding, or SUP, in 2009 while on vacation with his wife Marcia in Florida.
“Right away I was hooked," he said.
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Ramstack, now a certified PaddleFit Pro coach, traveled back to Miami in 2009 to shadow with PaddleFit founder and 2016 Olympic head coach for the USA SUP and paddle board team Brody Welte.
With numerous races under his belt, Ramstack wanted an activity that would keep him in SUP shape during the off-season. Yoga was the answer, just as it was for Jorgensen.
“After I had my fourth child, I was exhausted. I didn’t have the energy to run or lift weights, but I felt I had the energy to crawl around on a mat," said Jorgensen. "Yoga helped me gain strength and clarity."
The water, Jorgensen added, brings a serenity and calmness. "The water takes away other distractions that you may have during a class. But at the same time, water can bring new challenges."
"Because your base isn't on solid ground, it forces you to focus on using all of your muscles, rather than just using the muscles for a certain pose. It's more of a full-body experience," said Ramstack
"You'll find muscles you didn't know you had," Jorgensen said.
SUP may sound advanced, but Jorgensen said SUP yoga is "for everyone; any age, any skill set."
"On the water, we're moving a lot slower. We're doing more seated poses that focus on the core and foot placement. Movements are slower, more calculated."
Jorgensen said unless participants are really challenging themselves with a difficult pose, "people rarely fall into the water."
"Safety is the most important thing -- whether you're paddle boarding of doing SUP yoga, you should always be out there with a life jacket," Ramstack said.
After his time in Miami, Ramstack returned to the Midwest knowing he wanted to share what he had learned from Welte. He opened The Studio SUP, located inside Jorgensen's shop in Spencer, which offers paddle boards, SUP gear, race programs for kids 9 to 14 and classes that focus on paddle board form and technique.
They held free, casual SUP yoga classes in Okoboji this past summer "just because we love it," Jorgensen said. The duo are working on a joint venture that will bring The Studio to the lakes all summer long. A date and location soon will be announced.
“We want to take both of our loves and build a community of people who feel strong and secure on their boards,” Jorgensen said. "It's a unique way to understand and enjoy the lakes. And it's just good for the soul."
