Aqua Firma on the SUP

16 Mar Aqua Firma on the SUP

Muscles position the joints in a yoga pose and align the bones. Although we can use gravity and other forces to attain the general shape of the asana, the instability of the board in Aqua Firma activates certain muscles to provide precision.

Aside from engaging agonist muscles (the muscles that produce the major joint actions) and stretching the opposing antagonist muscles to sculpt the posture, we also automatically co-activate the synergists or the muscles that work together to create a movement. Even difficult-to-access muscles are automatically engaged, which is why you will feel muscles you didn’t know existed after an Aqua Firma practice.

This phenomenon is called recruitment. Recruitment creates locks or “bandhas” throughout the body, which helps us achieve stillness and stability in the postures, and accentuates the sensory imprint of the postures on the mind.

Then there is the breath. In virtually every posture in Aqua Firma we can benefit from expanding the chest. By combining the accessory muscles of breathing with the action of the diaphragm, we increase the volume of the thorax. This improves oxygenation of the blood and removes energetic blockages in the subtle body, which further helps us achieve this quietude.