Written By: Antonia Di Leo
It was a beautiful warm morning on Lake WallenPaupack in Pennsylvania but the lake wasn’t very calm at all. It was a busy Memorial Day weekend and there were people already on their boats and jet ski’s flying around. I didn’t care as I just wanted to be on the water and on my board. As I was getting up on my board the water was a little rocky but I stayed on my knees until I felt safe enough to stand. Once I was standing I paddled slow as someone on their jet ski was forging ahead of me full speed. Not knowing what he would do I slowly, slowly paddled to the left to avoid the waves that I was about to go over. Reacting slowly is a tremendous practice for me since I go full speed ahead into most things in life (which has been good and bad).. now, I had to stop and think and use caution.. something I need to incorporate into my every day life. In general my excess energy does not allow me to have a lot of patience however on my board that day I discovered how I could incorporate the patience I was learning on my board into every day life.. By going slow and not reacting hastily on your board is what you can incorporate into your actions through the day.. slow your mind and body down and think.. think about the consequences of paddling to the right, then to the left.. think about the consequences of saying certain things to others…
Another gift paddle boarding can give you is aligning your chakras.. from your root chakra it can help you feel grounded and stable, from your sacral chakra you feel the sense of fluidity in your body when you paddle, smell the clean air and the sun on your skin, from your solar plexus you have a feeling of self accomplishment by being strong enough to stand on your paddle board and feel your strength, from your heart chakra you can feel this balance inside your self that can not be replaced, this love in your body for yourself and the beautiful nature around you, from your fifth chakra your sense of being able to verbalize your emotions becomes higher and you can express yourself in different ways on your board; if you are tired you can sit on your board and take in the beautiful scenery, if you have a lot of excess energy you can put the paddle between your legs and do some push ups, squats or whatever your body feels it needs to be stronger, from your sixth chakra you can stay on your board and just reflect on life, on nature, on yourself.. this is especially important if you are a care giver.. being able to focus and be present inside you own body for only yourself is great healing.., from your seventh chakra you leave this experience with a sense of awareness about yourself, nature and the life lessons you take with you from this experience.. I took patience with me and when my days get hectic and life becomes overwhelming I try and picture myself on my board and go through all the feelings I have learned from my board…
