A couple of us from team Paiwen came to Taiwan before the pandemic began. After the virus started to spread, we watched Taiwan and its' citizens doing a carful job of monitoring and testing for the virus and reporting less cases than North America. We then decided to stay. Currently we are still able to go on road trips and discover new paddle board spots. However; we have no idea when we can get back home. For now life is good...even in these uncertain times. Love Paiwen
What happens when you combine Kickboxing and Stand Up Paddleboarding? A sore Kristi and a beautiful picture. Kristi lands a solid back kick on her Paiwen paddleboard. But it took patience and practice to pull it off. Next time you’re on your Paiwen try one for yourself. Credit: Kristi Bieber - Paiwen team member and owner of 30-minute hit Vernon (kickboxing)
Photo: Paiwen By Chantal O’sullivan Pics: Daniel O’sullivan SUP Board: 10’ Paiwen Autumn reminds us about the beauty of letting go. That sometimes we need to embrace change in order to make space for the new. Trees turn gold and red. Fallen leaves are crunchy under our flip-flops and suddenly everything begins to change. And on a crisp fall evening, there’s nothing as wonderful and inspiring as walking down a forest trail to the ocean on Bowen Island and heading out on the water. After an easy paddle around the shoreline to warm up my shoulders and hips, I stop to look at the starfish below and listen to the ravens in the trees, chatting about their day. Then I sit for a simple meditation using this mantra — or silent words inside my head — to celebrate the spirit of the season. On the inhale, I think of the word “let.” On the exhale, I think of the word “go.” While I breath and ground, I pay attention to the sounds around me, especially the ocean rocking my board softly back and forth with the tides. Since the water is so calm and glassy, I practice some yoga postures on my board, a nice way to feel physically open and present to the setting sun. Here’s a few postures from my watery, sunset practice and what they inspire inside me: Heart-opening postures: Wheel (below) feels energizing, especially when facing the colours of the horizon and the golden glow of the sun. Inversions: Downward Facing Dog (below) is a full-body opener. Also, since my head is below my heart, it shifts my point of view, especially on a SUP since the ocean is always moving. Sometimes I'll start facing the shoreline and I end up facing the horizon. It’s always invigorating too. Deep Stretches: Like many people, I have a love/hate relationship to slower postures that require more focus, including this particular hamstring stretch, also known as ardha hanumanasana (below.) While it encourages me to be still and notice how I feel from the inside out, it’s also very challenging. But steady breathing and focusing on the sensations I feel helps me to listen in and eventually, to let go of tension. Sighing also helps and so does the salty, ocean air. (It smells so good out here!) Shoulders: I love chest and shoulder opening postures that feel accessible. This is nice way to use my light-weight Paiwen paddle to kind of floss away tightness and congestion in my upper back, while watching for bald eagles and herons overhead. Hips: Everything is easier when you’re feeling relaxed and happy, including this spicy and advanced full-body opener. And yes, I have to admit, I dig that it is called “mermaid pose.” Seems fitting for yoga on a floating mat doesn’t it? I think so too! Rest: Sometimes the most radical thing we can do is to do nothing. To just be. To reflect on change. To celebrate everything shifting, moving and transforming. Especially if you’re lucky enough to lie down on your paddleboard, on a gorgeous fall night, on the water, and just be still. Photos care of Daniel O’Sullivan.
Our very own Paiwen founder Alice Shih was featured in StandUp Journal! To celebrate International Women’s Day, Jonaliza D. Misa wrote this excellent article on the female powerhouses on the standup paddling circuit.
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StandupJournal.com Female Powerhouses ![]() It seems like everywhere we turn, new love is blossoming on Paiwen boards! Maybe it’s because paddling brings people closer together, it makes for a great first date, or the boards are just so darn pretty. Which is why so many boyfriends and husbands are gifting them to their girlfriends wives and earning major brownie points. Whatever the reason, Paiwen is spreading the love! Here is a small collection of photos of Paiwen love birds. Congratulations to the beautiful @katelayte and her new hubby for this gorgeous photo. Straight from the Sunshine Coast, we love this beautiful and sexy photo of Lindsey and her new fiance! And here is where it all started, Paiwen Founder, Alice with her main squeeze, Toni, getting cozy in the Paiwen sack. Low and behold, a Paiwen baby is born! Have you got a story of Paiwen romance to tell? Please share it with us! Email your story with photos to info@paiwenpaddleboards.com. Peace, love and Paiwen! We stumbled upon another Caribbean Lake close to Kamloops. These beautifully clear, green lakes keep popping up in BC, Canada. Small, secluded, clean, lakes that not many people know of. Sometimes it's best we keep them a secret;)
![]() We are so fortunate to live in a town that has a beautiful bird sanctuary for many species of birds to call home. The other morning we decided to adventure out on our Paiwen Stand Up Paddle (SUP) Boards and see the wildlife from a different view with the kids. Loaded with one kid on each board, and an extra kayak for our oldest, we made our way over to 'Bird Island'. With the early summer floods in effect we were able to skim over the trail and see all sorts of animals from deer, turtles, huge carp and many birds like eagles, hawks and blue herons! The beauty of being quiet on our Paddleboards allowed us to get super close to so many animals! Such a beautiful day and lovely little adventure! Kate Watson, Paiwen Girl,
Co-owner of NEUmovement Pilates, physiotherapy, yoga, Barre and NEUspine Wellness Here's a trick to help you get your Paiwen PaddleBoard over tricky terrain, like rocks, steep stairs, thick brush and so on.
Strap your paddle onto your board bag, with the built in paddle straps and use your paddle as your carry handle. It will give you higher clearance than the shoulder strap for those really tricky hikes to and from the water. Enjoy your summer. Love Paiwen Today was one of those days where you just wake up and feel that need for fun in your bones! After a full month of dance competition and track and field days, time for family adventure was feeling low. The sun was shining and so we packed up after work and school and headed out for some family fun. Kalamalka lake in the Okanagan has its own kind of magic, every time I head out on the water, a sense of calm washes over me. Being on the SUP makes me feel free and quiet, today though, we stirred things up and it was all about having some fun in the sun! I presume a good chunk of people have heard about Acro or partner yoga?! Well, I have yet to see people trying this on their SUP's, so we thought let's give it a try. Little did we know how hard this little idea would be, two people balancing the board together, each movement effecting the other person in a huge way. Try after try, my husband and I failed, laughed, tried again and failed again. We vow to give this summer our all for some key poses and with our Watson will power, I believe you'll see some amazing things! My daughters Zoe and Tèa on the other hand have got this Acro thing right away. I love watching the kids playing in the sun and water. Eli took our youngest Liam on the front of his board for a sweet little paddle around the shore where beautiful willow trees that line the edge of the water. Liam is 2 and busy as a bee, however today he sat still mesmerized by the feeling of floating on the water with his dad. All of us played until we ended up on a walk out to the point of Kalamalka lake overlooking where we had just paddled in the water. With the sunset glowing on our smiling faces, we remembered the day of fun in the sun before our walk home to shut our eyes By Kate Watson
www.paiwenboards.com #paiwengirl #paiwenfamily #paiwenforlife #watsonadventures #thewatsonclan By Alice Shih, edited by Kate Masri It was a calm night. The only light came from the thin beams of our headlamps, and the only sounds besides our footsteps were frogs and crickets echoing across the dark lake. We’d decided to do a late night photo shoot, so I was carrying my paddle and board through the cool, wet grass to the lake’s edge while my husband Toni stayed back on the hill with his camera. I pointed my headlamp out onto the lake and it sent a single beam of light out onto the still, black mirror of the lake’s surface. I turned back to look at Toni one last time before launching my board into the darkness. I glided further away from the shore, my paddle disappearing into the black water below. I could just make out Toni’s small silhouette on the hill. As I tried to stand still, I saw something small and black move towards me on the board. When I looked down I saw more and more of them and began to panic as they closed in on my feet. I tried to stay still as Toni took the picture, not wanting to cause a blurred photo, but after a short while I couldn't take it anymore so I called to Toni and paddled quickly back to shore. When I got close, he was already at the water’s edge and looking at my board, which was spotted with many creepy creatures. He told me to quickly get off the board, and I climbed back to shore as fast as I could, my heart pounding. Once I was back on land, Toni told me that the slimy creatures on my board were leeches! I looked on with disgust as he pried each one from the board and tossed them back into the dark lake. Unfortunately we didn’t have the right lens to capture the photos we wanted to get, but we did get a good story from the night!
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Fresh News From The Paiwen Women's Paddleboarding Community |