Yoga teacher and students meditating on paddle boards swept into the ocean, rescued by canoer

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Netizens were unanimous in thinking “yoga on the ocean” was a bad idea.

There are lots of interesting ways to do yoga these days, like in a cat cafe or outside at a farm with goats, but as one yoga instructor and her students learned, you probably shouldn’t do yoga on an untethered paddleboat on the ocean.

On October 9, at about 3:55 in the afternoon, the Shonan Coast Guard Station in Kanagawa received communication from a group paddleboarding in the ocean off the coast of the Chigasaki Fishing Port, just southeast of Tokyo. “We’ve drifted off into the ocean and can’t get back,” the message said.

The group was composed of a 50-year-old yoga instructor and four female students who had left the manmade cape known as Headland Beach, part of Chigasaki Beach, at around 3 p.m. The group began to practice yoga, and after meditating atop their paddleboards, found they had been swept 500 meters (0.3 miles) out to sea.

The instructor attempted to call Chigasaki City’s operating company on her cell phone, but could not get through, so instead she dialed 118 to reach the Japanese coast guard for help. Shortly afterward, at 4:00 p.m., a passerby in a canoe spotted the five stranded women and towed them back to shore.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the group must have certainly experienced a scare. “I’d like the instructor to be more thorough about managing safety,” said a representative of the Coast Guard Station. Japanese netizens were inclined to agree.

“Of course you would stray off course while meditating on top of the board on the ocean with no one to stop you. I hope this was an enlightening experience.”
“Even though they were on boards and not boats, they still should’ve used a parachute anchor or something. If there’s even a little wind, they’re going to drift.”
“It’s fine if it’s your hobby but you have to be careful not to put others in danger. Meditation on the ocean could be fatal.”
“Chigasaki has some pretty strong currents between the beach and Uba Island. Depending on the time of day they can switch directions suddenly and become super dangerous. Locals know this.”
“They were lucky that five minutes after calling it in someone in a canoe found them.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t meditate on the ocean?”

Though perhaps next time the instructor should consider bringing anchors or hiring someone to accompany them in a boat, we’re glad no one was hurt and everyone was safely returned to shore. Still, this was a lesson that the instructor will probably never forget. Never underestimate the power of the ocean!

Source: Kanaloco via Yahoo! News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
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