Last weekend it was so beautiful to be gently drifting down the river on my paddleboard.
I had made my way upstream, paused for a coffee and watched the white clouds above my head. As the board meandered in the current I practiced the breathing techniques that I shared in my previous article.
However now it was warm enough to lie flat on my board. This is a tributary river that in three years of paddling I had only seen one motorised boat. After such a dry spring, the water is barely 30cm deep where the river widens, so that only SUPs or canoes can navigate it. It won’t be long before the river is covered with green and it will no longer be passable.
Instead today, I could drop my little anchor in the water so my board is remains still. There is no-one about so I can play the meditation that I have saved on my phone.
I close my eyes and enjoy the complete the relaxation in my body and the stillness that is brought to my thoughts.
SUP Yoga Meditation
This is also the type of meditation that I will use at the end of my SUP Yoga classes. We begin the practice with breathing and always complete the session with a relaxation exercise.
There is then a mindful paddle from the yoga docking station to the shore.
Your Own Meditation
The next time you are paddling why not try your own meditation. If you are in group, you could tether your boards together as one of you reads through a meditation script. Or if you are few in number or on your own why not anchor your boards to the riverbank or lake shore and play a meditation.
I would advise playing it through your phone rather than with headphones on so that you can still aware of the works around you.
Paddleboard Meditation
Here is a short meditation you can use. You can either download the voice recording, record your own version from the script below or read out the script to your meditating group.
Meditation Recording – Rooted in flow
Meditation Script – Rooted in flow
Here is a short meditation for using whilst on your paddle board.
Anchor your paddle board so it is no longer drifting in the gentle flow of the river.
Begin by settling into a comfortable seated position on your board. Let your paddle rest beside you on the board. Close your eyes, or keep a soft gaze on the moving water around you. The anchor holds you still, but the river still hums below.
For the next two minutes we will arrive and ground.
Take a slow breath in—
and let it go, like the river letting go of all it passes.
Feel the board beneath you—steady, but gently shifting with the pulse of the current.
The water moves, but you are held.
You are not lost in the flow—you are resting in it.
Anchored, like a tree rooted at the riverbank.
Present.
At ease.
Let your breath begin to follow the river’s rhythm:
In… like the draw of the current.
Out… like water flowing beyond the bend.
We will now merge with the river.
Imagine now that you are becoming the river.
Your breath—the gentle pull of the current.
Your body—the surface, smooth and shimmering.
Your mind—the sky reflected, open and vast.
You are not here to resist.
You are here to soften.
Let the river’s patience become your own.
It never rushes—yet it never stops.
Even anchored, you are part of this movement.
A sacred pause in a sacred journey.
Our relaxation will deepen in stillness and flow.
Feel the water slipping silently beneath your board—
always moving, never grasping.
Let your thoughts be like leaves drifting downstream.
You do not need to catch them.
Just watch them go.
Let the quiet sounds of the river—ripples, bird calls, the breeze—
pull you deeper into now.
In this moment, you are not separate from the river.
You *are* the river.
Held by it.
Moved by it.
One with it.
Why not now surrender and place our trust in our anchored board.
Let go a little more.
Release your grip on control, on effort, on needing to know.
The river does not ask where it is going.
It does not cling to the past,
nor strain toward the future.
It flows.
It trusts.
And still, it arrives.
Let that be your practice—anchored in trust,
rooted in stillness,
flowing without fear.
Let us return with the river’s grace.
Begin to notice your breath again,
the feel of the breeze on your skin,
the way the river holds your stillness in motion.
Wiggle your fingers in the water. Feel the water moving through your digits like a liquid silver. Move your toes in the confines of your boots or socks.
Move your shoulders. Wriggle your legs.
Feel your body waking within this moment.
When you’re ready, gently open your eyes.
Let the river greet you anew.
And as you paddle on again,
carry the river within you—
its softness, its strength,
its steady grace.
You are the still point in the flow.
You are water.
You are home.
