The first time my PT/Yoga Therapist told me I had ‘sleepy’ glutes I didn’t believe her. How was it possible that an outdoor athlete/Yoga teacher like me that kayaks, SUPs, hikes, mountain bikes and practices Yoga on a regular basis could have weak glutes? And anyway, I was in her office because I was experiencing
On a beautiful December day my husband and I drove two hours to paddle the Watauga gorge – a classic Class IV creek in the mountains outside of Boone, NC. On the way to the river I started experiencing pain in my left shoulder blade. It wasn’t the first time that I felt the cranky
For approximately half of my life, I’ve been on a quest for water. Around the age of 11, when I read a novel about a 16-year-old girl rowing the Grand Canyon, I developed a deep fondness for the concept of navigating waterways via boat. Anyone who’s ever lived with me, traveled with me, or gone
A Quest, a Question and the Power of a Quiet Mind Read More »
Saturday, August 1st, 2015, circa 11 o’clock in the morning. 21 intrepid ladies deftly slipped into the currents of the Ocoee and stunned every soul on the river with the excellent lines they picked. For those of us first-timers, Ocoee veterans stood by our sides and offered keen advice and constant cheerleading. Talk about the
Spring is the season of clarity and new beginnings. After the winter season of contemplating and going within, it’s time to break out of our seed pods and blossom into our full potential. Or maybe I should say boof into our full potential :) It’s a new paddling season full of natural flow and possibility.
In my yoga classes this week I’ve explored the alignment of the feet and how it affects everything, including how deeply we are able to breathe. Even though they are our connection with the Earth and the foundation for our knees and hips, we tend to neglect them. When we bring awareness to the feet,
Yoga for Paddling: Feet Alignment for the Holiday Season Read More »
Wilderness river trips tend to draw me in with their present-moment awareness energy – whether it’s the Grand Canyon, Middle Fork or Main Salmon. As soon as I put on my focus shifts to what is right in front of me: The River, the people I’m traveling with and the beauty that surrounds me. Some
This week my theme for my yoga classes is ‘Cleansing and Replenishment.’ This theme is easy for a paddler to appreciate. When it rains the rivers are replenished with water and anything that was stagnant or stuck on the river is washed away downstream. Our bodies also replenish and cleanse themselves without us even thinking
Giving Yourself the Gift of Replenishment this Holiday Season Read More »
By Em Shanblatt The Girls at Play 2010 Yoga for Kayaking DVD with Anna Levesque and Joe Taft has taken off tremendously. Hundreds of kayakers have redefined their bodies and minds through the sequences Anna and Joe take you through. With such high praise and success, we’ve decided to offer a real life yoga for kayaking series
California Kayaker Magazine positively reviewed Yoga for Kayaking with Anna Levesque and Joe Taft. The reviewer found that doing the yoga regularly helped with his problem of his legs falling asleep in his kayak, a longtime issue. He also found it easy to follow, relaxing, and clearly narrated. The reviewers also found that the sequences,
Awesome review of Yoga for Kayaking from California Kayaker Mag! Read More »
