Yoga and Kayaking have more in common than one might think. Anyone tempted to try both can try one of the upcoming expeditions led by Rising Tide Expeditions and Green Lotus Yoga.
Jacqueline Holmes, kayak instructor with Gabarus-based Rising Tide Expeditions, says that no experience is necessary to go on these expeditions. “On our last [trip], no one had been in a kayak before!” she explained. With certified instructors leading the way, the outing is designed so that any level of experience will have a positive experience.
Yoga instructor Nicole Cammaert agreed, saying the best thing about the trips are that “they’re just a lot of fun. We goof around, share laughs; it’s a great way to connect with others.” The trips take participants kayaking around the scenic shorelines in Gabarus, incorporating Yoga technique and on-shore instruction.
Both Cammaert and Holmes spoke about the commonalities in kayaking and yoga. “We both refer to working around our ‘edge’ in kayaking and yoga,” Holmes explained. In kayaking, to stay within the boat’. Cammaert said that in yoga, working with one’s edge partly means not pushing one’s body past the point where you’re feeling pain. “If you go past your edge, then you’re not honouring your body.”
“If you’re in a studio, on a flat surface, on your mat, there’s no big wind hitting you or anything, it’s all pretty safe. It’s like this wonderful clean little laboratory that you can you can go inward and examine yourself with this very stable environment,” Cammaert explained. The appeal of practicing Yoga out in nature is that it introduces more of a dialogue between the practitioner and their surroundings. “Once you go outside and your feet are in the grass, in uneven terrain, and maybe you’ve got a little bit of wind going on, or maybe a change in temperature–the way you examine yourself in that becomes a little bit different.”
Kayaks and meals will be provided for all excursions, along with camping gear for the overnight session. The cost is $135 per participant for the one day excursions running from 9:00 to 4:30, and $375 for the two day expedition. Dates for the kayak/yoga expeditions are July 17-18 for the two-day trips. For the day trips, dates are July 24, August 14, September 4, and October 2. To register, contact Rising Tide expeditions at 1-877-884-2884, and for more information on this and other expeditions, visit risingtideexpeditions.ca.
Holmes has led multi-day sea kayak trips in British Columbia’s Inside Passage and Haida Gwaii, Baja Mexico and Nova Scotia since 1995. She is a certified guide, Paddle Canada Sea Kayak Instructor and Red Cross First Aid instructor. Together with her fellow enthusiasts Kathy Harriss and Tim White, Holmes co-founded Rising Tide Expeditions in 2007 to provide quality sea kayaking trips and instruction across Cape Breton Island.
Cammaert is a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher who teaches students ranging in age from 3 to 80. Her passion is helping people re-connect with the deeper parts of themselves and with nature. Cammaert offers private, semi-private and group yoga classes in the CBRM area. For more information on her instruction practice visit the Green Lotus Yoga Facebook page.
