Every spring Girls at Play heads up to Madison, WI for Canoecopia, the largest paddlesports expo in the world. It’s packed with over 20,000 paddlers checking out the latest and greatest paddling gear for all disciplines and taking advantage of the great sale prices. A popular aspect of Canoecopia is the speaker schedule loaded with talks ranging from ‘Paddling the Arctic Riviera’ to ‘Bear Proofing you Camp’ and everything in-between.
Anna has been teaching yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday morning for the last 4 years and her Saturday morning class usually has over 70 people in it! She loves that so many paddlers are turning to yoga to help their bodies align for reduced injuries, better health and better paddling. Anna also gave a Friday night talk called ‘Stretching for Paddling Longevity’ where she goes into the basic anatomy of paddling and explains how injuries can occur from over-use and under-use of certain muscle groups while paddling and sitting. She offers helpful stretches to stretch the muscles that we over-use and strengthen the muscles that we under-use in kayaking.
One of Anna’s most popular talks is called ‘Kayaking Tips for Women.’ This is a fun, interactive talk about the basics of kayaking for women such as choosing the right gear, getting in and out of your kayak and lifting, loading and carrying your boat. Every year the rooms are packed for this talk with between 70 and 100 women and men. Anna especially appreciates laughing with the audience and hearing women share their experiences with the crowd. A few of the best comments came from men this year who chimed in with funny and interesting anecdotes.
We want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth to chat with both Anna H and Anna L and who attended Anna L’s talks!
If you’re interested in having Anna Levesque come speak at your event, school or retreat please email [email protected]
