It only costs $40 and that includes lunch and shuttle. All proceeds go to AW so that they can continue to work for the river access and conservation that we whitewater paddlers have the privilege of enjoying.  Meeting time is 8:30 a.m. at NARR on Friday the 17th of September.   Our team of female trip leaders and safety boaters will include accomplished paddler and women’s Green Race record holder, Adriene Levknecht, Girls at Play ambassador, Mary Frances Hansford and more!   Join us for an awesome day of girl power on one of the most beautiful and exciting rivers in the world — and give back to the community.   Call North American River Runners to book your spot and make a difference. 800.950.2585 www.narr.com

See you on the River!

The Girls at Play Staff

We want to thank our sponsors for providing the latest and greatest demo gear for the ladies:  Kokatat Watersports, Dagger Kayaks, Shred Ready Helmets and AT Paddles. This year there was added excitement thanks to the generous donation of an Eddy paddle from AT Paddles worth $329.00!  The paddle will be raffled off and one of the lucky women who participated in select Girls at Play Summer Tour events will win!  The raffle will take place August 31st, so stay tuned….

We also want to thank our hosts:  Green River Adventures, Riversport, Northeast PA Kayak School, Madawaska Kanu Center, Brown Ledge Camp, Appomattox River Co, Bearpaw Outdoors, The Outside World and River City Canoe and Kayak!  Below are some photos from the events.  Enjoy and see you tour!

I see a lot of head yanking when I teach the roll and most of us have experienced the sensation that if we just try hard enough, lifting our heads will make us roll.  Unfortunately this technique doesn’t work and no matter how many times you try to roll, if you lift your head it’s just not going to work.  In our society of hardcore striving, many people do tend to yank their heads and bodies around trying to get to an end goal, not paying attention to how it affects the alignment and health of their spines.  A lot of us store tension in our necks and sit with our heads/necks jutted forward staring at a computer screen all day, driving our cars and even kayaking.  If we can learn to sit with our necks and heads in alignment and let go of the tension in our necks it can lead to better posture, reduced neck pain, and the ability to ‘roll up’ without having to yank our heads around.

Here are a few poses and tips on how to strengthen, align and stretch the neck to counter our head yanking tendencies.

1.  Learn to sit with your spine and neck in alignment.  This will not only help your posture and neck when you sit at your desk in front of a computer or drive your car, but it will also help you sit up better in your kayak.   If you can sit well in your kayak then your paddling strokes and torso rotation will improve.

Notice in the difference between these two photos — Photo 1 is shoulders rounded and neck jutting forward and photo 2 is proper alignment.

To practice, sit on the forward third of a firm chair that allows your feet to touch the floor and your thighs to be parallel to the floor.  If your feet don’t touch the floor then you can stack books underneath them and if you have long legs then you can fold some towels and stack them to sit on.  If you do this make sure that you fold and stack them evenly.

Sit up straight, open your chest, lift your front and back ribs evenly so you’re lifting the front and back bodies evenly.  Draw the shoulders back and down and draw the chin back until you feel that your head is centered on top of your spine.  Once you feel in alignment, find the top of your head, imagine that you can lengthen up just a bit more to sit up taller.  At the same time feel your sit bones grounding into the chair so as you lengthen your spine down. This will create a beautiful lengthening in the spine.  As you breath in feel your spine extending from the sit bones up all the way up through the top of the head and as you exhale feel the spine extending from the top down into the sit bones.

Once you feel this alignment try to keep it throughout the day the best that you can.  It will help if you can find a comfortable chair that allows you to maintain this posture.  Leaning back into a chair with a rounded back will only accentuate your slump forward.  This is also true of kayak seats and back bands — especially in recreational kayaks where the backs of the seats are designed to lean back.  Although it may seem that leaning back is more comfortable, it can actually accentuate back pain because the spine is out of alignment and it hinders your ability to paddle properly.  So, while you’re paddling tighten that back rest or back band so that it supports your back and helps to hold you a position of proper alignment with your spine extending.  If you don’t have a good chair then practice sitting on the front of your chair various times throughout the day.  Positioning your computer monitor so that it’s in line with your gaze when you’re sitting at your desk will help too.  If you use a laptop a lot then prop it up on something so that you’re not hunched over and staring down at it.

Once you feel like you’re in tune with proper spine and neck alignment then try to bring your attention back to your alignment several times throughout the day.  At first you may not think about it as often as you’d like, but the more you practice, the easier it will become and the better you’ll feel.

2.  Ear to Shoulder Stretch

Sit with proper alignment either on a chair or in a comfortable cross-legged seated position.  Inhale as you extend your spine and exhale, drop your right ear toward your right shoulder.  As you do this make sure that you don’t lift your right shoulder toward your ear.  Keep your shoulders down and back.  Breath deeply, slowly and fully in and out through the nose.  As you breath feel the left side of your neck gently lengthening.  Once you’ve held this pose for 5 deep breaths, inhale the head back to center and exhale the left ear toward the left shoulder.  Again, take 5 deep, slow, conscious breaths.  Once you’ve held this pose for 5 breaths you can then start slowly turning your chin toward your shoulder.  Breath into any tension and move gently and slowly.  Hold for another 5 breaths.  To deepen the stretch you can extend your arm and fingertips toward the floor on the side that is stretching.  These stretches are easy and quick to do at your desk and while sitting in your kayak.

3.  Head to Knee Pose Variation with Neck Stretch

Sit on a flat surface with the legs extended in a wide stance.  Bend one leg and bring the foot in toward the inner thigh.  Flex both feet to keep the extended leg dynamic and the knee of the bent leg protected.  We’ll start with our right leg extended and left leg bent.  Inhale the left arm up and exhale it behind your back, taking hold of some clothing or, if your flexible enough, holding the right thigh with your left hand.  Drop your right ear toward your right shoulder and gently and slowly allow your upper body to fall out over the extended leg in a side bend.  Really allow your neck to stretch in this position.  Just allow your body to hang over your right leg.  You can use your right hand on the floor for support if you need it.  Hold for 5 deep, slow, full breaths.  Imagine and allow your neck to release and stretch.  On an inhale roll up slowly, your head being the last thing to come up.  Release the pose.  Take a few breaths here to notice the difference between both sides of the neck.  Switch sides and repeat on other side.  Once you’re comfortable with this pose you can gently roll your chin toward your shoulder and breath into any tension.

Remember that we want to let go of our ‘head yanking’ attitude so practice these exercises slowly and mindfully.  If at anytime any of these stretches cause pain then stop immediately and consult a yoga teacher that you can see face-to-face or consult your doctor.

Anna is available for private, custom yoga instruction that fits your body and your needs. Her private yoga and private kayak instruction are open to both men and women.   Click here to learn more!

Namaste

We arrived a week before our first trip to spend some time paddling on our own and doing recon trips on all of the rivers.  Our friends Jason and Kara McClure also decided to check out the paddling around Jalco the same week.  And, once we were down there I got to catch up with some Canadian paddlers and friends whom I hadn’t seen in a few years and who work and live in Mexico.  It turned out to be a really fun week of paddling and hiking.

We paddled the Pescados, the Actopan, the Antigua and the Alseseca.  We also did one of my favorite canyon hikes.  The hike starts in the village and follows burro trails up to and past a natural swimming hole into a long, deep canyon.  As you go up the canyon you have to do some bouldering, climbing and crawling over, around and under big rocks.  Eventually you get to a spot where you scurry up the side of a steep hill, through a grove of coffee and tangerine trees to wooden ladders that take you up the canyon wall.  There’s nothing that tastes better when you’re hot and sweaty than tangerines that you’ve just picked from the tree!  From there we walked across the meseta to another burro trail that lead down the mountain and back to the village.  The view of the valley from the highest point was breathtaking.

Along with the paddling and hiking we also enjoyed delicious food.  Our favorite place is El Navegante taco stand.  El Navegante use to be a raft guide and now he makes the best pork and pineapple tacos ever!  The bad thing is that he only sets up on weekends.

Even though it didn’t feel lik e Christmas to us because we weren’t with our families, Mexicans definitely get into the festive spirit.  One of my favorite traditions in the village are the groups of kids who decorate a tree branch, make rattles and go door to door singing Mexican Christmas carols.  If they come to your door and sing you give them a few pesos and then they carry on to the next house.  At New Years there’s a similar tradition where the adults get into the action too.   Groups get together with instruments and one or two people dress up as elders who represent the old year going out.  They sing and dance for you and then you give them a few pesos.  It’s really fun.

The day after Christmas Andrew and I hosted an awesome group of paddlers for a week of fun and kayaking.  There were different skill levels in the group so we split up and tackled different rivers on different days, coming together to paddle for a few runs.  It was a great trip and we’re so glad this group got together and wanted to come to Mexico!  In addition to the singing groups at New Years we were also treated to an Afro-Cuban band and African Dance performers as well as a fire show.  Everyone was so tired from all of the paddling that only a few of us made it to midnight!

On our way home Andrew and I spent a day in Mexico City where we were surprised to find an ice rink, an artificial snow tube run and a snowball fight area in the middle of the Zocalo.  And there were beautiful Christmas lights on the buildings surrounding the Zocalo too.  We ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Girasoles and that was a delicious way to end our holiday trip to Mexico.  Luckily I get to go back this week to run my women’s trips!  Below are some more photos from my camera, enjoy!

It’s an important and fun skill, especially in class IV and V when it can be  a necessity.  There aren’t always nice banks or beaches from which you can slide back into the water easily and you may have to seal launch.    Even if you don’t ever paddle class V, you can still find some fun seal launches on class III and IV rivers that are just fun to do for the sake of doing them, like Lunch Rock on the Nantahala (pictured below).  There’s nothing like launching yourself down or off a rock into the water.  It’s like running a little waterfall… except there’s no water.  It’s fun, really!

Here are the seal launch basics:

1.  Make sure that you find a secure spot to get into your kayak on the rock.  You don’t want to be teetering on the edge of the rock too much or on a slippy part of the rock.  There’s nothing worse that flying off the rock before you meant to without your sprayskirt on because your kayak wasn’t in a stable position.  Get a friend to help hold your kayak for stability if you need it.

2.  Use one of your hands or a boof stroke to propel yourself off the rock or to pick up speed if you need it.   You can also ask a friend to give you a push.

3.  Once you’re, going commit to it.  Don’t second guess yourself and lean back or try to stop once you’re going.  It’s better to commit and keep your weight forward and balanced.

4.  Look at where you want to land.

5.  If you’re seal launching from a height then you’ll probably want to push down on your heels so that your bow hits the water at a 45 degree angle.  You’re most often seal launching into flatwater so if you land totally flat it can be jarring.

Remember to have fun with the seal launch!  It may seem scary or intimidating at first, but if you’re with a group that you trust on a river that’s within your ability it’s easier to trust yourself too and enjoy it.   You may want to watch a few people do it before you go so that you can make a more informed decision for yourself.  On the Girls at Play Intermediate Trip in Mexico (pictured below) we offer to lower people using a rope on one of the seal launches down a slopping rock.   This way paddlers can choose if they want to be lowered the whole way or want to be let go of and experience the slide.  It’s exhilarating!

I personally really enjoy paddling the Green, but I haven’t run Gorilla in some years and I have no desire to race over it!  So, I have a lot of respect for the men and women who race.  This year’s top female is 21 year old Adriene Levknecht, a very talented paddler who lives in Hendersonville, NC and is no stranger to the class V scene.   Not only did she win the women’s division, but she also broke the record for the fastest women’s time ever.  I enjoy paddling with Adriene and I thought you’d like to hear about how she approaches paddling so I asked her a few questions.  Here’s some insight into the life of this talented young paddler.

GAP:  How long have you been paddling and hoe did you into the sport?

AL:  I have been in kayaks for about 14 years.  Growing up in Michigan my parents were both sea kayakers so that got taught to me when I was a child. That spawned into river kayaking when I was around 11.

GAP:   Your Mom paddles and she is very supportive of you. How does it feel to have a Mom who paddles? Is it fun?

AL:  I love it, I really like going kayaking with her when I can. She is my biggest fan and I am her biggest fan for sure.  She just paddled down the Tellico and I love being able to talk to her about kayaking, it is a really big part in both of our lives. She can understand the lingo and I don’t have to dumb anything down for her. I love her more than anything I have ever felt and I know I couldn’t do what I do without her and her support.

GAP:  What was your training strategy for the race?

AL:  Living with Shane Benedict. He pushed me as much as he could. I spent a lot of time doing flat water on Lake Summit. I did a mix between sprints and somewhere around a 6 minute fast paddle. I also tried to spend a lot of time calming myself down and visualizing myself having fast, clean lines.

GAP:  What was your biggest challenge leading up to the race and how did you overcome it?

AL:  I never felt like I had any pressure to win but people always have the proverbial “are you going to win the Green Race” question and those are always hard to answer. I tried really hard to not let that get into my head and just make a personal goal for myself and want to succeed in that goal. I really needed to stay calm on the day of the Race because I didn’t want to overshoot anything and crash. Shane did a good job talking me down and kept telling me to stay calm all morning.

GAP:  Do you have any pre-paddling rituals?

AL:  I try to do the same thing every morning so my body gets used to the feeling. I eat eggs, some bacon, and drink a bunch of coffee. I also drink a Nalgene before I go paddling. I do those things every day including race day. I like to paddle upstream and surf the wave at the end of the Upper Green that my Mom loves to surf, there is no one up there and I can get into my confidence easily up there.

GAP:  What were you thinking coming into the Notch?

AL:  Probably not to crash in front of 500+ people, that I was confident in my training and my ability to not screw up.

GAP: How did you feel at the finish line? Did you know you had broken the women’s record?

AL:  I was super fired up that I had a really good run.  I wasn’t sure if I had broken the 5 min range, but I knew I was right on the cusp. I had caught up to Laura during my run which had fired me up.   I knew I had broken the record because I timed my run on my watch to know at least around how fast I was.

GAP:  Would you like to see more women racing the Green and what would you say to encourage more women to paddle Class V?

AL:  I always get fired up about women out on the Green and other Class 5 creeks. I think it is hard for women to really get out of their head prior to a race. It takes a lot of hard work for women to take a hit and get back up again.  To women who want to race or paddle class V: stay calm, visualize, and practice as much as possible.

GAP:   Anything else you’d like to say to boater chicks?

AL:  Find a solid crew to kayak with. Tell them what kind of kayaking you want to do. Don’t feel like you have to run a rapid because other people want you to run it. Don’t rush into big rapids if you don’t want to. Get out there and do what you love to do!

Photo of Adriene running Sunshine after the race courtesy of Shane Benedict at Liquidlogic Kayaks.

If you have a set time, like a week or two weeks and you prefer to have all of the logistics taken care of  you can book onto an international trip with a reputable outfitter.  This is a fantastic way to travel because there’s very little prep time needed.  You buy your plane ticket, pack your stuff and show up!  From there you’re taken care of and you can relax (in between paddling) and focus on taking everything in.  Usually the food is really good too.  With good outfitters running cool paddling trips all over the world it’s easy to plan the perfect adventure!   I encourage every paddler to take an international kayaking trip at least once.  Some fantastic destinations include Mexico, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Chile, Africa, Bhutan, Nepal or Europe.  In case you’re still not convinced,  here are my top five reasons you should take an international paddling trip this winter.

1.  Learn something about yourself

We all know that whitewater kayaking reveals a lot about how we each uniquely deal with stress and fear.  Combine that with traveling to a foreign country where you aren’t familiar with the customs or the language and you have the opportunity to transform your life with a great deal of enhanced self-awareness.  There’s nothing like learning about the attitudes, customs and beliefs of others to help you better understand your own attitudes, customs and beliefs.  This self-awareness is empowering and life changing as you learn new ways of being.  It may inspire you to let go of old habits and patterns that no longer serve you on and off the river!

2.  Paddling new and different rivers improves your skills and confidence

If you’re getting really comfortable on your local rivers then a good challenge is to travel and paddle rivers you’ve never seen before.  This will especially develop your river reading skills and confidence.  Choose a reputable outfitter with outstanding guides that will create a safe, trusting environment that makes it fun to push your limits beyond what you normally do with your buddies.  This can be especially effective if you feel that you’re stuck in a bit of a rut.  Doing something new and outside of your comfort zone can help bring new energy into and improve your kayaking.

3.  Expand your horizons by immersing yourself in a foreign culture

One of my favorite aspects of traveling abroad is learning about new cultures.  What they eat, how they live, when they take naps, their sense of humor.  I find it fascinating to learn about people because it expands my horizons of what I think is possible.  The coolest thing is that you realize that even though we may look, sound and act a bit different, all of us are human and share the same desire to be loved, accepted and to feel good.  It’s fantastic to meet and paddle with kayakers from other countries because you immediately have a connection to a passion you both share.

4.  Go somewhere warm when it’s cold in the northern hemisphere!

This is a no-brainer!  Most of us living in the norther hemisphere welcome a little warmth, light and sunshine during the coldest winter months.  If you don’t get to paddle in the winter because of the weather then a paddling trip to the Southern Hemisphere can cure your paddling withdrawal and the winter blues!

5.  The opportunity to see places off the beaten path

Not only are you traveling abroad when you go on an international paddling trip, but you’re also visiting locations off the beaten path within that country.  This usually means that there aren’t many other ‘tourists’  who visit the area.  My favorite aspect of this is that the locals are curious and friendly and not always in your face trying to sell you something.  And, the food and customs are usually traditional because the demand for ‘tourist amenities’ is lower.  This gives you the opportunity not only to see pristine flora, fauna and rivers, but also have a friendly, safe and unique interaction with the locals.

I hope that I’ve convinced some of you to take the plunge into the world of international paddling.  It’s easy.  You can search the internet for good kayaking trips right now. There’s no better time to infuse adventure and excitement into your kayaking!  If you’re interested in joining one of the Girls at Play kayaking trips in Mexico then click here!

See you out there!

At this year’s Symposium I taught paddling classes, sat on panels, tried a SUP, did a kick-butt kayak fitness workout, paddled with old friends, learned from industry veterans and just had a really good time! I met a lot of great people and soaked in the beautiful fall colors of New England.  The vibe was positive, full of excitement and cutting edge ideas.  One special element for me was getting to catch up with my friend Jessie Stone and her organization Soft Power Health.  Back in 2004 I traveled to Uganda to help her with her grassroots efforts of preventing and treating malaria in local communities along the White Nile River.  Since then the organization has taken off and continues to grow and do amazing things at the grassroots level to improve people’s lives in Uganda.   Jessie’s work is very inspiring so please check it out.  Click here to learn more about the organization.

Thanks to Zoar and Janet Cowie for organizing and running an awesome event!  Here are two photos taken by Mark Singleton.  And here’s a link to photographer Adam DuComb’s website where many more photos from the weekend are posted.

Enjoy and see you at the Symposium next year!

Ladies on the Lower G kicked off the weekend with a river run down the Lower Gauley on Friday.  We had 20 women participate and raised $500.00 for AW.  It was a sunny day full of paddling, chatting and smiles.  At the end of the day there was a raffle with prizes donated by Kokatat and Girls at Play.  Everyone won a prize!  The ladies left feeling tired, yet energized from the day.   I’m grateful for all of the women who participated and to Kokatat for donating some great gear to raffle off!  I also want to thank Kathy Zerkle, Karen Mann and Anne Conolly for helping out and taking photos.

On Saturday I headed to the festival site to set up the Kokatat booth out of which I also promoted Girls at Play.  It worked out great!  I had samples of the ’09 line of Kokatat gear, including the new Ronin Rescue Vest which is now available in the US.  And new this fall, I also had a few samples of the Girls at Play Limited Edition Ronin PFD — Now available on the site!

Kokatat teamed up with AW to raffle off a new Rogue drytop embroidered with the AW logo. The raffle was open to AW members only.  Members signed up with AW, filled out their ticket and brought it over to the bucket at the Kokatat booth where the drytop was hanging.  The raffle took place around 10:30 p.m. and we had hundreds of tickets to draw from.  I got to meet lots of great people in the process.  The winner was a woman by the name of Erin who was very excited!

Sunday and Monday I spent paddling with awesome friends whom I hadn’t seen in some time.  I had a blast catching up with pioneer female paddlers like  Shannon Carroll, Harriet Taylor, Colleen Laffey and Katie Johnson, among others.  It was great to paddle and enjoy the river with them.  There was lots of giggling…   Here are some photos for you to enjoy.  See you on the river!

Saturday morning started off with a gentle yoga class.   After breakfast we headed to the lake where we introduced the beginners to the wet exit and basic concepts while the more advanced students worked on their rolls with Anne.   The Tuck through town section of the Tuckaseegee was our afternoon river run.  Eddies, ferries and running rapids filled our afternoon and we were excited to see a big, beautiful Bald Eagle fly overhead!  Pretty amazing and not very common for that particular section of river.

We returned to circle after the river where we revisited affirmations, talked about our challenges and successes that day and practiced a new guided meditation with Sharon.  That evening after another delicious dinner at Relia’s more of the women were treated to their massages.

Sunday started with another yoga class, a bit more rigorous this time to wake us up!  After breakfast we headed to the Tuck Gorge for the day.  Fun, friendly, scenic  whitewater.  It was a great day on the river where we continued to work on our river running skills, rolling and just enjoying the experience.  A few more massages, dinner and then farewells.

The Whitewater Goddess Retreat is my favorite program because it combines many of my passions:  Paddling, yoga, massage and personal transformation.  The retreat atmosphere allows for challenge and growth in a fun, friendly, supportive and holistic environment.  It takes into consideration the fact that kayaking is much more than the physical act of paddling down a river.  There are important mental and emotional aspects of kayaking that are just as, if not more important than the physical component. The Whitewater Goddess Retreat takes the time to address all parts of kayaking.

I’m grateful for each and every one of the nine women who joined the retreat this year. Each one brought something unique and special to the program.  Enjoy the photos below, most of which were taken my Mary Stager.  Happy Paddling!