SUP Yoga In Tulum With Nancy Djoric-Kyd!
By Autumn Feldmeier
I met Nancy Djoric-Kyd about three years ago in Tulum, Mexico at a full moon party and was instantly drawn to her fun, open nature. Nancy previously had a successful 18-year career as a house music DJ, but found next her next calling when she first stepped on a BOGA Yoga Board to take her practice out onto water. Nancy fell in love with the concept of creating a floating Yoga Studio in the Caribbean, and that is how SUP Yoga Tulum, the first and only specialized BOGA Yoga Floating Studio in The Mayan Riviera, was born.
Nancy is an official BOGA YOGA Ambassador for the brand and a certified paddleboard instructor. She and her team put their heart and soul into every single SUP excursion, aiming to give their students an amazing experience on the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean sea, local cenotes and lagoons.
I caught up with Nancy to learn more about the floating studio, what it's like living in Tulum, and how her life as a yoga teacher in Mexico has unfolded.
How did you end up in Tulum?
In my early 20s I was working in film and TV production then become a full time DJ and played around the West Coast. I was also a partner at the SUMMERLOVE festival in Vancouver. In my later 20s, I was rehabilitating my body mind and soul after a near death car accident. After that accident I made a commitment: to live my life with passion.
In 2004, I moved to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and was introduced to Rob Garza from Thievery Corporation and became full time resident for his club, La Santanera, but the night life took a toll on my spirit and body. For me, the water is my happy place, and paddle boarding piqued my interest, so I moved to Tulum for its laid back lifestye and that's where SUP YOGA TULUM was born!
Imagine experiencing a floating Yoga Excursion in our Private Lagoon or Private Cenote—both guaranteed to be the best savasana ever! SUP Yoga Tulum is now in full swing and I couldn’t be happier of how beautifully it was accepted here.
What should travelers know about Tulum from an 'insiders' perspective?
Anyone choosing Tulum as a vacation destination should really try to do the following: Leave big city life behind and all that comes with it. Things run differently here. Come with patience, and have an open mind and heart.
What is new with Sup Yoga Tulum?
SUP Yoga Tulum has been curating thoughtfully designed SUP Yoga Retreats at our newest location on Isla Holbox and has partnered with an amazing host, Fernando, at his boutique hotel CASA Del Viento.
Isla Holbox is 2.5 hours west of Cancun and it's really a step back in time. Holbox has sand streets, the most epic sunrises and sunsets, pink flamingos in season, swimming with whale sharks in season, an amazing, rich ecosystem of birds, fish and wildlife and the friendliest folks around.
We have SUP YOGA retreats each month which includes seven days of yoga, SUP yoga, boat tours, sightseeing, lounging in hammocks perched on the shore and watching sunsets along with exploring and eating great food.
SUP Yoga Tulum also now has its very own private lagoon in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. How i feel about the experience is this: Anyone who comes to the region, who either has wanted to try to paddle and even one who has never taken a yoga class, must come to this sacred lagoon, float their yoga, experience savasana on a BOGA board and take in the wildlife around. It is off the beaten path and many travelers never get to see something like this. We feel so fortunate to have this space to give students on the retreat a memory of lifetime.
What can we expect next from SUP Yoga Tulum and where can we see you DJ?
While you can take the girl out of the country you can’t take the country from the girl! This is what music is like for me: While it is now not my main focus, it will always remain one of the biggest passions of my life and I am glad and so lucky that I get to play once a month at the infamous Casa Jaguar where I can still lay down my old school deep house sound to guests and then leave by 3am to continue my new passion of SUP Yoga and Paddling.
I’m a lucky girl, and almost daily, I feel so grateful that I was able to reinvent myself into another lifestyle that brings me so much joy!
Can you tell me about the recent hotel take-overs and reported violence?
This is such an important point for me to convey in this interview. It is very sad for anyone to see what is happening with the recent hotel take-overs on the Punta Piedra stretch of Tulum Beach. However, the reports that have surfaced and many from reputable reporters, have been riddled with misinformation. The controversy with land ownership in this region is over 25 years old. Mexico coasts have been riddled with many claims of ownership—not just in tulum, but all over the West Coast of Mexico as well. If you dig deep, this is truly something that has been going on for decades. Does it hurt all of us? Yes. Will it stop? Probably not. Are you safe to come visit? Hell yes!
As nomads, we travel to places of unrest, political controversy and for most travelers, it comes with the territory of visiting and exploring countries and regions. What tourists might see when they visit Tulum in the coming season, is some hotels along the stretch that are empty. Some have started construction to remodel and some have been torn down. But it is still my paradise, it is my home and I will forever support groups who are the rightful owners of land and I will not be going anywhere else to live in the near future. You can’t come to paradise and once its not what you thought it was, leave. If you choose to be an ex-pat in a community, you take the good with the bad and I do hope one day soon, that this has the chance to be resolved. We'll see.
For more information on SUP Yoga Tulum, visit www.supyogatulum.com.
