MORGANTOWN — Spending summers on Cheat Lake might be a staple for many people in the Morgantown area.
Summer activities there include boating, swimming and fishing.
Joelle Cameron, instructor and owner of JoJo Yoga, has found a new way to use the water.
In summer 2014, Cameron thought teaching yoga might be something for her. She enjoyed the way yoga affected her both mentally and physically. She attended a private paddleboard yoga class on Cheat Lake and connected with it.
After starting to teach yoga in 2015, she decided she would offer lakeside paddleboard yoga. She didn’t see similar classes in the area take off, and since her house is right on Cheat Lake, she thought she’d take advantage of that perfect location.
“I just saw an opportunity and I figured, worst case, if it doesn’t really work, we have extra paddleboards and we’ll use them and our friends will use them, but so far it’s been working,” she said.
Stand-up paddleboard yoga (also referred to as SUP) is definitely a challenge, Cameron said. Being on a paddleboard in general, you have to be constantly balancing your weight. Oftentimes, there are waves that come, and people must be conscious of how their weight is distributed.
“Just think about your practice on solid platform, then take that and add it to something that’s moving,” she said.
She said sometimes people will fall into the water. More often than not, at least one person per class might hit the water, but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from taking a class. Oftentimes, she said, once someone hits the water, he or she will try that much harder for already being wet.
“I always tell people that’s the worst part that could happen, but if it’s a hot day it’s refreshing. You just pop right back up and keep on going,” she said.
The backdrop of the class is at the bottom of Quarry Run, next to a waterfall.
“It’s really nice. It’s really peaceful. We practice usually around 10 a.m., so there’s not a lot of boat traffic yet. It’s usually a nice temperature, the sun’s starting to come out. It’s not like 95 degrees and there aren’t boats zipping back and forth,” she said.
Cameron also teaches a class on her dock as well, and said if someone wants to try paddleboard yoga, yoga on the dock is a good place to start. The dock sways to the movement of the water. She stresses you can take your practice where you need to and do what you’re comfortable with.
“Really, I say in all my classes I’m just here to give you suggestions. This is your practice,” she said.
She said if you have the adventurous spirit, paddleboard yoga is something you should try. For her, it’s like an extra level of meditation because she can connect with everything around her.
She starts her classes reminding students they’re there for the experience, to embrace the movement of their bodies and how it connects with nature.
“It just gives you a better appreciation for nature and everything else that we would normally take for granted. Like how often do you sit outside and listen to the birds chirping and think, ‘that’s amazing? So it’s a nice, meditative sound to hear,” she said.
She was hoping to get classes started by the first weekend of June. She said she often has a variety of people who participate, and anyone should give it a try.
“Paddleboard yoga is definitely more of a challenge because clearly you’re on a paddleboard. But you can also leave that still feeling like that was nice. I worked my body and I worked my mind all at the same time,” she said.
Classes can be booked online at jojo.yoga, and Cameron also said she encourages anyone who may have questions to email her at joelle@jojo.yoga.
