Paddleboard yoga may sound like the quickest way to end up at the bottom of the harbor, but instructor Amy Squeglia says it’s a great way to commune with nature.

As part of Mattapoisett Recreation’s summer offerings, Squeglia is bringing her floating yoga class to the Town Wharf.

Squeglia, owner of the Mashpee-based Peace Love SUP (SUP stands for stand up paddleboarding), was an avid yoga practitioner and paddleboarder for several years before she combined the two.

“I was out on the water one day and started messing around and doing some yoga,” said Squeglia. “I thought, wow this is stable. Then I took it from there.”

For paddleboarding, rowers stand on a board slightly wider than a surfboard and use a long paddle to push themselves forward. While traditional paddleboarding requires some balance, paddleboard yoga takes the concept to a new level.

“Yoga in itself requires a lot of discipline and mindfulness,” said Squeglia. On the water, “you need to be paying attention to your safety and the weather conditions and the people around you. It requires a lot more focus and probably a little bit more balance.”

Even so, Squeglia, who began teaching paddleboard yoga two years ago, said beginners pick it up quickly.

“You can be a beginner to yoga and to paddleboard,” she said. “I would never ask anybody to do anything that was too difficult for them.”

Squeglia’s began the first of two yoga courses in Mattapoisett Harbor on Wednesday, June 27.

Although students Bonnie Kirchner and Janice Foley both have experience with yoga, they were fairly new to paddleboarding.

“I didn’t get wet,” said Kirchner, who already signed up for the second session. “I loved it. There was a little bit of difficulty in it, but it was nice to be on the water and in the natural surrounding.”

Foley, who took her first paddleboarding class with Squeglia just before the yoga class said, “I’m a yoga teacher, but being on a paddle board was a totally different and unique experiences. It’s complete peace and relaxation out there.”

Foley said she felt free to go at her own pace.

“You can adjust to your own level, make it your own practice,” she said. “I don’t feel like you have to do what the person on the board next to you is doing.”

Squeglia said she prefers practicing downward facing dog on the water to on land any day.

“I feel like the serenity and peacefulness of yoga really goes well with the paddleboard and being on the water. It gives it a whole new dimension with the practice.”

For more information on the classes, contact Mattapoisett Recreation at http://www.mattapoisett.net/Pages/MattapoisettMA_Recreation/index or 508-400-8908.