Sunshine, exciting whitewater, clear blue rivers, toucans, fresh coffee, morning yoga, Latin dancing, Caribbean style rice and beans!  We LOVE our annual winter whitewater kayaking and yoga trips in beautiful Costa Rica!  This year we had 23 ladies over two trips join us on our adventures.  We had a wonderful mix of international paddling chicas from as far away as France, Germany and…

Do you have trouble ferrying or feel that you get pushed off-line a lot?  If so try paying more attention to the angle you're setting with your kayak before you make your move.  Setting the correct angle can mean the difference between a ferry that feels hard and sloppy and a ferry that feels easy and precise.  It can…

Ladies on the Lower G will be taking over the river again this year on Friday, September 14th to raise money for American Whitewater (AW)!  As usual, …

I really liked the original Mamba. It was stable, forgiving, easy to maneuver and easy to roll. The perfect boat for beginner whitewater kayakers, and a fun boat for river running class III/IV. Because we put all of our beginners in the original Mamba I was nervous about the new design and whether it would be just as good. Now that I’ve had the chance to paddle and teach in the new Mamba this season I am a convert! The new series featuring the Mamba 7.6, 8.1 and 8.6 is awesome. It’s even…

Big wave trains are good for the soul.  They induce smiles, giggles and fun!  I’ve been fortunate enough to paddle some of the bigger rivers in the world including the White Nile in Africa, the Slave River in the Northwest Territories, the Ottawa, the Grand Canyon, the Salmon and I highly recommend the big water experience.  To paddlers who learn to kayak on low volume rivers big…

As kayakers we have the unique ability to spend a lot of time close to water and observe the qualities and energies of her currents firsthand.  The inspiration for this article comes from that intimate proximity to water and the lessons water has taught me throughout my kayaking career.  The word ‘yoga’ means ‘union’ and there are wonderful life lessons to be learned when we allow ourselves to feel ‘united’ with the waters that we paddle. That’s why I like to call what I’ve learned from…

When you work in the paddlesports industry spring represents not only good run off in rivers and lakes for awesome paddling, but also the season of paddlesports shows.  This is the time when retailers have their spring sales and get paddlers excited about new product and about the upcoming season.  Top paddling instructors give talks and seminars providing tips on kayaking technique and slide shows from their adventures.  This year Girls at Play attended both Canoecopia hosted by Rutabaga up…

Mexico has gotten a lot of bad press lately so we’d like to give you some good news about our favorite country south of the border.  Our whitewater kayaking trips in Jalcomulco, Veracruz went off without a hitch this winter!  We experienced the same friendliness, slow-paced lifestyle, delicious fresh food, sunshine and amazing rivers as always.

We started off…

If you’re like me you’ve heard that stretching is good for you. That it reduces stiffness and helps to prevent injury. But it wasn’t until recently, during my training as a yoga teacher, that someone…

Rolling is a big deal in whitewater kayaking because it’s an important self-rescue skill that can skyrocket your confidence, which in turn helps improve your skills.  When you’re confident that you can get yourself back up after flipping over, whitewater doesn’t seem as scary and, mentally, you’re more likely to try new things.

Women have a few advantages when it comes to learning the roll.  In general we’re more flexible which makes it easier to get our bodies into the proper…

We are psyched to bring you the first ever Girls at Play Holiday Gift Guide! Check out our favorite accessories to use on and off the river. {HINT: forward this to your friends and family so they know what

to get you!} Our list starts with gifts from $6.95 so there are plenty

of options for those of you looking for fun and affordable options.

We’ve also included Girls at Play gift packages to help you save

money. Share Girls at Play’s spirit of fun, confidence and…

When was the last time you practiced paddling backwards? If you’re like most paddlers you probably don’t remember or have never worked on your back stroke. That’s because it feels challenging and the benefits

of back paddling aren’t always given the respect that they deserve.

There are many reasons why you should spend time on this stroke and perhaps the most obvious one is that you never know when you’ll end up getting turned around and having to run a rapid backwards. When…

1. Angle = 45 degrees relative to the…

What a summer! The Girls at Play Summer Tour traveled up and down the East Coast visiting retailers and kayak schools in NC, PA, VT, Canada, VA, WI, GA and KY. Over one hundred women treated themselves

to a day, weekend or week of kayaking — some events even included yoga,

massage and wine and cheese! The energy and inspiration we received

from the women we met continues to fuel our passion for paddling and

adventure. Not to mention the personal growth, confidence and joy…

In a recent yoga class the teacher encouraged us to roll up out of a side-bending pose with our heads as the last body part to come up. I had to giggle because she sounded just like a kayak instructor teaching

the roll! As she was giving her instructions she made the comment that

bringing our heads up last can be challenging because we tend to be a

society of 'head yankers.'

I see a lot of head yanking when I teach the roll and most of us have experienced the sensation…

The Iliopsoas is a hip flexor muscle group comprising of three muscles: The psoas minor, the psoas major and the iliacus. This group is one of the strongest of the hip flexor muscles and the psoas major

runs from our lumbar spine across the hip joint to the upper inner

thigh. Very important muscle! The interesting thing about these

muscles, is that they actually need to be stretched to keep their

normal tone. Otherwise they shorten and tighten easily which can…

Our flight to Mexico City took off just before a major snowstorm hit Western North Carolina and buried the area under 15 inches of snow. Talk about good timing! Jalcomulco, Veracruz is one of my favorite places. The town of about 3000 residents is located in the Antigua River Valley surrounded by beautiful hillsides of Mango orchards. The riverís indigenous name is Huitzilpan which means river of the swallows. And there are lots of swallows that fly overhead and around you as you…