The Namaste SUP Challenge is a 30-day instability challenge where contestants can practice and post their yoga moves and a new move every day. Congrats to all of the challenge contestants and the final four winners including Natalie Morales, Jennifer Hill, Lindsey Bankston and Jessica Mahoney.
Natalie Morales:
Natalia Morales was born and raised in Medellin Colombia; she is a fashion designer, a yoga instructor in training, and Sup Lover and currently has a project that involves all three (sup-yoga-design). @supcolombia
“I think it's hard to have three passions in the same dream, but with determination and perseverance you can do everything. Just love what you do and are.”
“I do my sup yoga practice in a little town called Guatape located in Antioquia Colombia; there is a dam and some little islands where you can change the view in any moment, the houses are colorful and decorated with traditional sockets.”
“I realized about the challenge on Facebook days before and I started thinking about the place and I chose the dam. The challenge strengthened me in ways I did not think spiritually, physically and mentally. Yoga becomes a discipline that strengthens the love for yourself and compassion for your body. This challenge brought me strength, confidence and love for what I do.”
Jennifer Hill is the owner and operator of Ohana Paddle Sports (www.ohanapaddlesports.org) in Surf City, NC. She has been in business for four years now and for the last three years she has offered Sup Yoga classes. She teaches in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) behind Topsail Island in NC.
“I really enjoyed doing the Namaste Sup Challenge and it did challenge me. I teach often but not everyday so this was a great way to remind and motivate me to do yoga everyday. My life can get hectic, I am in the shop 7 days a week during the season with my two toddlers by my side, so the challenge helped me to make sure I set aside that time everyday. There were also a couple of asanas from the challenge that I was not very good at but the challenge forced me to focus on them and work on them. I was very glad that I had just ordered the Indo Yoga Board because it rained and thunder stormed almost everyday constantly for the first two weeks of August but I was still able to do my asanas on my indo board. This challenge was also great because my three year old got really into doing yoga with me, so it was a great way for me to have some one on one time with her and have a special activity for just us. She was always excited to do our asanas for the day and kept wanting me to show her more and more!”
Lindsey Bankston, @maestralindsey, does SUP Yoga in Minnesota.
“This challenge encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and try new lakes and new poses on my paddleboard. Because of this challenge, I found the most restorative lake where hardly anyone else goes. It is now my favorite place to go to get some R&R in the summer sun.”
“My name is Jess Mahoney and I'm from Orlando, FL. I paddleboard and practice SUP yoga on various lakes around town, but primarily on Lake Mizell, which is a part of the Winter Park Chain of Lakes. I was inspired to participate in the Namaste Sup Challenge after attending yoga retreat in West Palm Beach over the summer with Amelia Travis (aka Stoked Yogi) where I first practiced yoga, SUP style. Needless to say it was love at first float! When I saw Lauren's challenge offer I borrowed a friend's paddleboard and just soaked up the SUP life all month! Yoga on a paddleboard unlocks so many new challenges; fundamental postures on land, like Trikonasana become a balancing act and true test of patience. Nothing compares to the bliss that comes from soaking up the sun while floating in Shavansana on the open water. Namaste and Paddle On!”