SUP Yogis! 

I get questioned a decent amount about what the right gear is for wearing to a SUP Yoga class. Here is an overview of what I like to wear, plus some recommendations on my favorite brands.

Bottom Line (if you read nothing else):

Wear layers, not cotton. Prepare for it to be colder than you think it will be.

Head

I never go out on the water without sunglasses or a baseball hat or both. Bright sun plus reflection off the water means these baby blues need some protection! If you bring glasses that you would be heartbroken to lose you MUST bring croakies! 

Uppers

When I do SUP Yoga, I generally wear a bathing suit top or quick-dry bra1, a quick-dry tank or t-shirt, a long sleeve quick-dry Portland Paddle shirt2, and a fleece. 

Even if it is too hot on land to wear the fleece, I always have one with me in a dry bag. It is often colder on the water than you think it will be. 

Pool paddleboard yoga portland maine

Lowers

Bathing suit bottoms or quick-dry underwear3 with quick-dry shorts or yoga pants on top. If I am worried about being cold, I will wear neoprene pants4 or neoprene shorts. 

Feet

FUNctional exercise

Usually Crocs, sometimes Aquasox. The things you walk on to get out onto your board are generally either going to be slippery or sharp. SUP Yoga with cuts on your feet is less fun.

Gear

There are 2 pieces of gear that I absolutely will not go out on the water without: 

  1. A dry bag5 to tote around all the bits and bobs that I want to have out on the water with me.
  2. A big plastic water bottle because being out on the water makes me very thirsty! Avoid the metal ones because they get stinky. Do not put your water bottle in your dry bag. Not only will your drinking water be harder to access, but if it leaks then your drybag won’t keep anything dry!

Product Recommendations

  1. Branwyn – I did a bra review a while back and tested out bras from a bunch of different companies (because, ladies, we gotta wear ‘em everyday, they often suck, and I was tired of having uncomfortable bras). At that time, I recommended a bra from duluth. Then I found this Branwyn bra and it changed my world. I’m gonna be real with you here, I wear this bra almost every day and I wash it like…..once a month. It’s so comfy, it dries fast, and you gotta wear it for a long time before it smells. I’ll never buy a different bra again! They offer a referral program where both people get $10 off. Feel free to shoot me an email if you’re interested and I’ll set you up 🙂
  2. If you have ever done SUP Yoga with me, you have 100% seen me in a Portland Paddle (P2) shirt. P2 doesn’t sell them on the website, but I’m sure if you sent them an email they would figure it out for you if you just can’t wait till they open back up on the East End Beach this spring. 
  3. My favorite quick-dry underwear are from ExOfficio. I bought them so long ago though, that I am not sure what they are exactly. Branwyn makes super comfy underwear too (those I wash everytime I wear them). I also have lots of quick-dry underwear in fun patterns from Duluth – of their quick-dry options, I think the “Buck Naked” style is the most comfortable.
  4. One of my SUP Yoga students recommended these awesome Carve neoprene pants to me last year. They are fantastic and I also wear them in the winter when it’s chilly just to be on land! I needed to size up 1 size in these
  5. NRS makes super dependable gear and I have a variety of it, mostly purchased from the Portland Paddle end of the season gear sale. If you wanted to invest in a dry bag, I am currently lusting over this back pack dry bag. I don’t have it, but if I was going to invest in a new bag this is what I would get. NRS also has some great options for smaller bags for under $30 which are totally sufficient for a casual paddler! 

*What about the paddleboard piece? Want to buy one of those, but don’t know how. Check out this older post about choosing a board.

* Now you’re ready to get out there! Check out the available classes on my SUP Yoga page.