Core Flow Is Serious Fun

I think I drove the instructor, BA Laris, crazy by asking over and over again during her class “who gets to do this?” to which she kept responding, “I know, really!”

No kidding. Pilates on the stand-up paddle board was the most relaxing, yet challenging, class I have ever taken. Picture yourself lying on your back, bringing your legs into a table top (knees and ankles lined up and legs forming a 90 degree angle) and then bringing your legs out straight so they almost touch the board. And while you are doing this, you notice that the sun is breaking through the clouds above you and you hear this little splash of the water as your board wobbles ever so slightly. I kid you not, this is straight out of some fitness magazine and it was awesome!

I asked BA about her background and how she started teaching this class:

“My background is in public health. I have my MPH and I work full time for ETR Associates, a non-profit health-related organization. They have a publishing division (all those health pamphlets and curricula) and a program services division and I work in the research department. I have worked for them for about 12 years. I have worked on research and evaluation projects across lots of public health topics including physical activity, the link between physical activity and academic achievement, nutrition, teen pregnancy prevention, after school programs, safety and school climate, tobacco, asthma . . . you name it.

Patch: How long have you been doing Pilates? What got you into it? How did you dream up the class?
BA: I have been doing Pilates for about eight years and have always loved it. I have a teaching certification from Long Beach Dance Conditioning.  I started doing yoga probably 20 years ago. I have been doing triathalons for about six years and also have been doing AIDS Lifecycle for many years – this June will be my 4th time – riding my bike from San Francisco to L.A. to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS.

 I first started standup paddling about a year and a half ago with Kate Nulty (co-owner/ president of SUP Café) and have done a few races this past year and just love it.  I think it is super fun. So, being somewhat of an outdoor activity junkie, I started thinking that it would be really fun to do Pilates on the board. I was in Hawaii last Christmas with my family and my sister and my nephew and I started trying different things on the board. From there, I started playing around with more ideas and talked to Kate about the idea of teaching a class. Everyone at the SUP Cafe was totally supportive and excited about the idea so I designed the class, and we started in March.

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During the one-hour class, BA does do a lot of traditional moves, but they are more fun and demanding because you have to balance on the board the entire time – yes you have to balance in a traditional Pilates class but you really have to balance here and it is more challenging because the board is moving and you could fall off (which I came very close to doing) and the water temperature was not really up to my non-wetsuit-liking yet.

While listening to the directions for the next move, the boards (with the students on them) are floating out into the bay but I am not worried because our instructor is watching us. Just like any Pilates class, the instructor gives modifications and I would say beginners through advanced Pilates students could take this class. BA was excellent at giving us feedback which was very important because there are no mirrors on the bay. Pilates is known for being a core workout, meaning that strengthening the stomach and back muscles are integral to the class and most all of the moves involve your core. However, we also did some arm strengthening moves and flexibility moves and worked on agility and balance.

The end of class was probably my favorite. We got to do lunge jumps (position is like a runner’s stretch) and jumped in the air switching from a right lunge to a left lunge. I was afraid at first because I thought I was going to fall into the water and then remembered that I like being afraid –a little. Last, was the headstand. BA did it beautifully and it didn’t look that hard so I tried – it was hard, but seriously fun. Really!

BA said people do not need to have SUP experience or specific Pilates experience to come to the class. They just have to be ready to have fun and try something new. She recommends that people make reservations because the class does fill up and she usually caps the class at eight people. BA is working on a certification for the class and will be certifying instructors in Northern California for teaching Pilates class on the SUP board. If enough interest is generated, there will be a certification in Long Beach as well.

Core Flow Fitness classes are Fridays at 9:15 and 10:30 a.m. Students meet at 76½ 62nd Place (the SUP Café location) to sign up for the class. The class costs $20 and includes paddle and board rental. To reserve a spot send an email to: suplbc@gmail.com . The website for the SUP Café is http://www.thesupcafe.com/ . Boards can be rented for $20 an hour or $40 for a half day. There is also a SUP basic class on Sundays at 10 a.m. for $20 and a SUP conditioning class (for stroke technique and racing skills) for $25 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Additional Cardio Flow classes will be added on the weekends this summer.