Yoga aboard Ikigai

Yoga aboard Ikigai is an hour on the deck of a Catana 47 or on a beach in Guna Yala, at sunrise or sunset. Sessions are guided by Luca, a Yoga Alliance certified teacher, adapted to whoever is aboard that week and open to people who have never practised. They are part of the contribution for your stay, not a paid extra.

Returning to the body

For me, yoga is not a sequence of poses. It’s a way to return to the body. In everyday life we’re often stuck in the mind: thoughts, tension, automatic patterns. Yoga is the moment you begin to listen, to the breath, to the sensations, to the limits and the possibilities of your body.

Not “doing the pose well”. Feeling what happens while you’re in it. And something shifts in that feeling. The body softens, the mind slows down, and you reconnect with yourself in a simpler, more honest way.

Why practise yoga on a catamaran?

A catamaran sits flat. Two hulls, 7.5 metres of beam, no heel: the deck is a wide, stable platform that won’t tip you out of a balance the moment a wake rolls through. On a monohull you’d spend half the session bracing. Here you hold the pose and breathe into it. We practise on deck at sunrise or sunset, or on a beach in Guna Yala with no walls, no mirrors and no recorded music, only sea and wind. Mats are aboard, so there’s nothing to carry. The body opens more easily in warm air, the breath comes on its own, and the mind puts up less resistance to letting go. You don’t have to build a state of presence. The place does most of it for you.

Who guides the sessions

Luca does. He’s a Yoga Alliance certified teacher, an AIDA and Apnea Total freediving instructor and an RYA Yachtmaster, and the same attention runs through all three. No previous experience is needed: the practice is adapted to each person’s level and energy, with attention to breath, mobility and listening to the body. Dynamic or restorative, depending on the day.

One honest note. Between 20 August and 20 October, Luca is sometimes ashore between voyages and a relief skipper is aboard. Sailing, snorkelling and island life carry on as usual, but the practices he guides personally, yoga among them, aren’t available in that window. Tell us your dates and we’ll confirm who will be aboard.

How yoga fits into the rest of the day

There’s no timetable. Yoga sits inside the rhythm of the day alongside meditation, breathwork, freediving, swimming and sailing, and each session is optional and shaped by the group, the conditions and the time available.

The practices feed each other. In freediving, a body that has already opened and a breath you can follow make a real difference at the line. In meditation, a stable posture and a less tense body make it easier to stay present. Practised together, each one goes further than it would alone.

What stays with you afterwards

What you build on the mat doesn’t stay on the mat. You become more aware of your body, more attentive to your breath, less reactive to tension. You learn to notice when you’re stressed, and you have something concrete to do about it. Even in ordinary situations, the way you meet them starts to change: more presence, more stability, more clarity. We don’t promise a transformation. We create the conditions for something real to happen, and then we stay out of the way.

Practising yoga during the 2026/27 season

Ikigai is sailing among the islands of Guna Yala for the 2026/27 season, the current chapter of a longer journey. She welcomes up to six guests in three cabins, for stays of at least three nights, from 325 USD per person per night in a shared cabin. Yoga, breathwork and meditation are part of the stay when they’re offered aboard; freediving courses are booked separately. What you pay is a membership contribution to Ikigai Sailing ASD, a non-profit amateur sports association recognised by CONI and affiliated to MSP Italia, which is why a week aboard costs a fraction of a comparable charter. The season page has the dates, the boarding options and the practical details.