Beer yoga is just what it sounds like – the same swither - inducing practice of heavy breathing and postures , except combined with drinking cold , sweaty beer at the same time .
It may go counterproductive if burn calories is your goal , butbeer yoga classesare pay back democratic everywhere from breweries toBurning Man . It seemed only instinctive that a class latterly protrude up near where I live in Berlin , because if there ’s anything Germany ’s cap has slew of , it ’s hippies and cheap , quality brews . So I check out a grade to see if it ’s just a momentaneous vogue , or the next big wellness fad :
Non-yogis are allowed, obviously
BierYogastarted in Berlin about six month ago , and I make it at the first English - speech session to find oneself it overbooked . In typical Berlin fashion , the class was n’t going down at a yoga studio but in a nightclub pimped out with graffiti and disco lump .
I bought two beer at the bar , and went to alter in the dark , dirty toilet – awkwardly render not to touch bare skin anywhere – then find a distance for my mat out on the saltation floor .
The certifiedyogainstructor was a 20 - something Australian named Emily , who threw on a soundtrack ramble from Chet Faker to deep house , and explained a trivial about vinyasa and the grandness of taking breaks if you ever feel woozy or inebriated , which seem like two side effect that would definitely bump in a beer yoga course of study . Then we set in motion right into what she pertain to as " pregame " – giving gratitude to the beer by taking a few sip , feel the bottle ’s coolheaded texture on our finger and the smooth bubble pass away down .
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I found it totally absurd , and the waving of people cracking up around the company room affirm I was n’t alone . But it was a welcome going from all the jittery , crack - serious yoga classes I ’d been to over the age .
Beer + yoga = A great way to get comfortable with strangers!
" When ’s the last meter you had your nous between your legs at a club ? " Emily shouts out from downward weenie , beer bottle strategically sit off to the side .
" Yesterday ! " somebody scream out , and we all start laughing . Everyone ’s eliminate around bottleful opener , and on Emily ’s instruction , clinking glass between affectation with their mat neighbors . For English - speaking fledgeling to the metropolis , beer yoga is clearly a dear way of life to fill newfangled people .
What I found most refreshing was how everyone was work on the same beginner level ; some of us may have been acquainted with mickle pose , but never while raising a Pilsner up to the heavens . And it ’s fairly hard for anyone to be " yogier than thousand " when everybody ’s rolling on their back , grabbing their large toe , and doing the " happy baby at a festival " ( Emily ’s words , not mine ) pose while slightly tipsy .
Bier Yoga
You’ll bereallyrelaxed
" Are you guys [ inebriated ] yet ? "
Yes , Emily , actually I am . My sobriety ’s kryptonite turned out not to be multiple reps of beer salutations , but weight into a guzzle - favorable version of pigeon pose . With one leg bent in front and the other extended behind , I had to adjudge the position with my helping hand on the flat coat and pick up the bottle and take a sip just with my teeth .
swallow in that position was seriously difficult , and I terminate up gulping down more than a quarter of my bottle at once . Emily let us in on the closed book to mastering the drinking version of pigeon dumbfound afterward , which apparently is press your tongue to the roof of your oral cavity to swallow .
Much like the Buddha ’s go - to concentration proficiency , people . Is n’t it ironic ?
Always keep safety first
With all this wander around and squatting next to open bottles , I was impressed when the course terminate with only three spilled beers ( granted , one of them from someone who could n’t quite master Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree pose while balancing a bottle on her head ) and miraculously also with no tattered glass .
evidently , drinking while doing yoga has its danger – that ’s why you sign a expiration form at the beginning of class – so it ’s important to always take it dull and listen to your body .
I would n’t commend doing yoga while drinking wine , vodka , or anything else with a high ABV . Plenty of practitioners swan bysmoking weed during yoga , and I ’d argue the happy , relaxed buzz that beer give you could have sealed similarities – in appropriate amount , of course .
Overall, it’s not a real workout
True Yogi Berra will probably notice this intact account totally blasphemous . I ’ll admit that as far as physical fitness goes , I broke out in a sweat just a duo time , and then only barely .
Was the construct of beer yoga gimmicky ? Absolutely . It was n’t a exercising … more my Friday night pregame . But while it did n’t finish up being an vivid exercise of the mind and body per se , all the laughing and raillery was right for the emotional state . And that ’s just pane enough to believably get me back again sometime .
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