Jun 29, 2015 2 min read

Lakes and ponds, with waves and wind, aren’t the best place to start learning how to use a paddleboard, let alone practice yoga poses on one. So, Scott Township native Jodi Doyle is taking her paddleboard lessons to local pools, scheduling classes like stand-up paddleboard yoga at pools in Dormont, Upper St. Clair, Settlers Cabin and South Park.

“Stand-up paddleboard yoga, or ‘SUP yoga,’ is unique because you’re engaging your core muscles just from standing and balancing on the board,” Doyle said at her class at Boyce-Mayview Recreation Center.

Doyle started her business, Pool Paddle Fitness, after becoming a certified yoga instructor in Santa Monica, Calif., and moving back to the area to teach the novel exercise methods in the South Hills.

“We have some of the biggest and best pools in the nation here in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, so why not utilize them to start learning how to do something you can eventually take to natural bodies of water?” she said.

As women moved through various poses during a 60-minute routine, Doyle coached them through traditional holds: “tree,” “downward-facing dog” and, for some, “headstand.”

“For me, it was automatic on the board,” said Sarah Thiebaud of Cecil, who teaches at Urban Elements Cycology on the North Shore, and is gearing up to teach alongside Doyle.

“I’ve been doing yoga for seven years, but I really love it on the water. It’s just relaxing and actually feels more natural,” she said.

Ann Morrison, formerly of Mt. Lebanon, said her visit home from California has been a good one.

“This has been the most fun I’ve had on the water this summer. It’s like being on a dock. It’s not too stressful, but you’re getting a great workout.”