Finding Balance on Water: The Healing Power of Glide Yoga
In the gentle ripple of a pool at Clyde Recreation Center, Cari Batty leads a group of students through a practice that’s equal parts strength, and surrender. Known as Glide Yoga or SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboard) Yoga, this water-based class is gaining traction for its unique blend of challenge and calm.
In Glide Yoga, the boards are tethered into the pool. And while not freely floating, they still respond to subtle movements in the water, requiring practitioners to engage stabilizing muscles that remain mostly dormant in a traditional class.
“That board is constantly moving underneath your feet or under your hands, depending on the position you’re in,” Batty says. “So, those muscles are being activated while you’re on the board, but they typically are not used as much when you’re on land.”
Glide Yoga isn’t just about physical engagement, however, but it demands total mental presence, requiring participants to be in the moment.
“It really increases your proprioception,” Batty says, referring to the body’s ability to sense its position and movements without relying on visual input. “Because you’re focused, you are very aware of where your body is. If your mind wanders and you’re not really paying attention on land, then you’re still going to stand up—it’s very rare that you’re going to tip over. But on the board, if your mind wanders and you’re not within your body, it’s really easy to just fall off.”
For Batty, the path to Glide Yoga was deeply personal. Once a personal trainer, she found herself sidelined by chronic health issues and pain. Traditional exercise became too taxing.
“I spent a lot of time in the gym weightlifting. I was a personal trainer and so I really, really loved to be in the gym,” Batty says. “I loved to be working hard, but because of my chronic health problems, my body was in so much pain. I had to really back off my other workouts. I liked yoga, but I didn’t like yoga enough to continue going on a regular basis. My mind would just wander, and I didn’t feel like I was benefiting from it so much.
That changed when her mother, knowing her love for water, suggested she try the class.
“I fell in love immediately,” she says. “I fell in love and noticed that for that one hour of class, I wasn’t thinking about the pain that my body was in or the depression that I was going through because of all my physical pain. I knew I wanted to keep coming back.”
What started as a healing escape quickly turned into a calling. Encouraged by her instructor, Batty began teaching and never looked back.
The physical and emotional benefits Batty had aren’t singular to her experience. Studies have shown that students report improved balance, focus, and inner peace after starting Glide Yoga. Some even experience emotional release—something Batty embraces.
“Yoga can bring up emotions that have been stored in the body,” she said. “And in a typical (land) class, I find it harder for myself to be able to kind of let loose. If I need to cry, I don’t want to because there’s people by me. But in this class, the water and the sound of the water, the fact that people really have to focus on what they’re doing means they are not paying attention to you at all. So, it’s just a very safe and comfortable environment to move through those emotions.”
That soothing soundscape is a central feature of the experience.
“Having the water all around you is so healing,” Batty says. “It’s like no meditative experience I have ever been in. So, I think that that’s a huge benefit of the class. Just that beautiful calming sound of the water.”
Newcomers, she emphasizes, shouldn’t be intimidated.
“It’s very friendly to all levels,” Batty says. “Lots of things can be modified to allow people to be able to come and try it. You can continue to push yourself harder and harder. Even some of my gals that have been coming for five years now are still pushing and trying to get into those more difficult, more challenging poses on the board.”
For those thinking of giving it a try, Batty recommends wearing something you’re comfortable moving in—whether it’s a swimsuit, or shorts and a tank top, so long as it can handle the occasional splash. And yes, bring a towel.
Ultimately, Batty sees Glide Yoga as more than just a workout.
“It’s a way to calm everything and connect my mind, my body, my soul, and my breath—and just really be in the moment,” she said.
