Finding balance: Beach yoga on Amelia Island

Is your goal to focus on your health this year? Do you want to be more flexible, have more energy, increase your strength and balance? Maybe you want to lower your blood pressure, sleep better, improve your cardio vascular health, decrease your stress and improve your overall health? These are all benefits of yoga.

How would you like to feel happier, increase your creativity and boost your immune system? Studies have shown that these are improvements that come from spending time at the beach. When you combine the two, you get amazing health and mood benefits. Lucky for us, local yogi Deb Cunningham started a beach yoga program, and it gets even better. Amelia Island Beach Yoga is free (well, sort of). The program is donation-based (donations are optional), and there are no reservations required.

Cunningham has been practicing yoga for 25 years and became a certified yoga instructor in 2012. She had always taught in studios, but in 2020, when everything shut down, she took her practice outside

“I kept thinking I’d go back into a studio but there are people that would come out that have never done yoga and are afraid to go to a studio, they love being outside. Half the time we see dolphins, right now we’re seeing whales,” she said.

“I just love it, it just brings me joy,” Cunningham continued. “I love seeing people out here that have never done yoga before and found it here. I grew up in Colorado, moved to Chicago and my yoga teacher at the time would tell us to imagine hearing waves. We were in a studio, I wasn’t near an ocean. I still, 12 years later, am so happy to have that perspective and so grateful to be in this spot.”

Besides free beach yoga, Cunningham also offers private individual and group lessons and conducts stand up paddle board yoga in the warmer months. She is also a certified life and mindfulness coach as well as a Reiki master. You can find out more about her and see her teaching schedule on her website at DebCunninghamyoga.com.

Beach Yoga classes started with just Cunningham, but now there is a whole team of yoga instructors that works together to give a wider availability of yoga beach sessions. Kellie Boston, Britni Waldo and Kayla Jones are the other instructors who, along with Cunningham, have been trained in teaching all levels yoga classes.

“All of us were trained at Yoga Den," Cunningham said. "They specialize in in learning and how to teach a true all levels yoga class. I give modifications to make it as gentle or as challenging as you would like.”

Want to try beach yoga? The classes are held almost daily, alternating between a few different beach spots on the island, and welcome all skill levels. Class times change depending on the season and weather. Go to the Amelia Island Beach Yoga page on Facebook for information, changes and weather updates. If you aren’t on Facebook, send an email to Deb Cunningham for information at Deb05@icloud.com.

Leah Jones
News-Leader