Yoga Boating
"The Yoga Boating program was essentially designed for people who are looking for a way to incorporate fitness with their passion for the boating lifestyle."By Dean Unger
Two Canadian women – Sally Hauca, a veteran yoga instructor, and MaryAnne Galey, a yoga student and avid recreation buff, have, together, devised an instructional yoga program ideal for life on the water.
"It's a a take-along fitness program with a very unique angle that solves a unique problem for our customers and clients," says Galey. "The Yoga Boating program was essentially designed for people who are looking for a way to incorporate fitness with their passion for the boating lifestyle."
"Once the program was complete and the DVD produced, I went through it myself," MaryAnne says. "One of the first things I noticed was a dramatic improvement in my golf-swing. In fact, we found that results came fairly quickly and showed marked improvements in balance and stability, in circulation and flexibility and, among other things, that the program provides injury maintenance due to increased blood flow to injured areas."
Hauca and Galey say that although the one-hour yoga routine was ultimately designed for smaller spaces (aboard your vessel), they found that it can easily be adapted for use in many other places as well. "We’re targeting a niche market," says Hauca, "but this is something that could be used on beaches, lakeside shorelines, on ocean-side beaches; in a lush, green meadow during a shore-leave; in RVs, hotel rooms, guest bedrooms – anywhere there isn’t a lot of extra space.”
Ultimately, MaryAnne came up with the idea for the program and the DVD, last February, during an RV trip to Nevada with her husband. “My initial introduction to yoga occurred in Whiterock, where I took classes with Sally Hauca, a qualified instructor and business savvy woman who has since become my business partner. When I was taking classes in her studio, things were going well until I encountered a problem: sometime later, when I was on the road in my RV, I found that I could not recall the routine that we were being taught in-class. One day, after a long day of travelling, I found myself wanting to do my yoga routine before I went for a walk and decided that I needed Sally’s program/routine on a DVD.”
Back at home, MaryAnne pitched the idea to Sally and in no time the ambitious pair had a partnership in place. “We took everything into consideration, including that there were already many yoga DVDs out there. But it was in the very process of looking at the viability of the idea that we realized we had a very unique angle that solved a very real problem for people like us.”
The one hour program is split into three 20-minute segments, which allows people to take a break after hours of driving or boating and do a brief but thorough session that will help to keep them feeling fit and alert. It’s also excellent for a morning work-out to help get a good start on the day: mind-set and body health are the biggest immediate benefits.
“Despite being Canadian, so far we find that most customers are from the US,” says MaryAnne, but we are making a concerted effort to expand into Canadian markets. Essentially, our program offers the feel of a private program with an instructor or coach present to help people maintain an excellent fitness program. So far the DVD has been met with positive reviews from buyers; sales through the company’s website and a few local retail outlets have been strong.
Yoga RVing is currently available online (www.yogarving.com) or at Shibui Skin Care (103 1440 George St.), Campbell River Store (790 176 St.) and Whitby’s Books and Gifts (14833 Marine Dr.)