Ambassador Highlight // Sami Glascott

Join us as Paddle Into Fitness Ambassador Sami Glascott, who considers herself to be a little bit from Alaska, a little bit from Hawaii, tells us a little about the significance of stand up paddling to her life.

Sami, what physical/mental changes have you noticed since including SUP into your life?

I have fallen in love with SUP and feel giddy just thinking about it. All of my vacation planning now includes SUP and I feel lost when I don’t have my next vacation in sight. As for SUP in Alaska, I have to chuckle. Many people say, “you can’t SUP here, it’s too cold.” Yet kids swim in the lakes every summer. SUP will take off here and in some ways already has. People have already ridden the bore tide and explored iceberg-infested glacial lakes. SUP is about opening your mind to the possibilities.

When and where do you teach?

Though I teach small vinyasa classes from my home yoga studio, it is mostly through my writing that I share the benefits of yoga with hopes to inspire people to try it or take it to the next level.

What do you like most about teaching SUP?

For most people the learning curve on using SUP is fast. Within just one session, you see people transform from being hunched over and squatting to standing up tall, heart open and asking for more. Being on top of the water and standing in yoga’s most fundamental pose, tadasana, is empowering. Gently guiding students into poses sparks a kind of playfulness and brings out their inner child. This presents a rare opportunity for adults, in particular, and is theessence of SUP and SUP Yoga. Watching students walk away with a sense of accomplishment, a smile from ear to ear, and a changed attitude of “I’m not sure about this” to “I have to find away to do this again” is why I share my love for SUP.

What is your favorite post-SUP snack?

Coconut water and almond-butter on a slice of Dave’s Killer Bread (out of Oregon).

Thanks, Sami!

If you live in Anchorage, Alaska, visit Sami at Alaska’s Island Style Yoga!

To become a Paddle Into Fitness Ambassador, join one of our teacher trainings this summer