Beer yoga seems like a stretch, but it's good for what ales you
Forget the granola and salads, now you can drink your way through downward dog.
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If yoga would seem to go hand-in-hand with any beverage, it's water, kale smoothies or green tea. But now some classes around the world are mixing downward dog with bottoms up: Beer yoga has arrived.
The practice isn't brand-new, Berlin-based Bier Yoga has been in existence since 2015. But thanks to publicity for events at a pub in Sydney, Australia this weekend, with more planned for Melbourne, it can't be long before more studios pour themselves a glass of this nifty combination.
"Beer Yoga is the marriage of two great loves -- beer and yoga," says the Bier Yoga website. "Both are centuries-old therapies for body, mind and soul. The joy of drinking beer and the mindfulness of yoga compliment each other, and make for an energizing experience."
Sound like a "Saturday Night Live" skit? Bier Yoga founders Emily and Jhula say they are serious.
"BeerYoga is fun but it's no joke -- we take the philosophies of yoga and pair it with the pleasure of beer drinking to reach your highest level of consciousness," the site notes. Photos on the site show practitioners doing familiar yoga poses, but sometimes it's while sipping from a beer bottle or while carefully resting the bottle on a bent knee. And a talented few even manage to take poses while balancing beers on their heads.
Not everyone is a fan. On the Facebook page for the Sydney event, Suma Narayanappa writes, "Doing proper yoga requires (an) empty stomach. That is 4 hours after having a simple meal and 8 hours after having any kind of alcohol." But others are enthused, with one commenter asking the Bier Yoga founders to bring the concept to her home state of Illinois.
If Beer Yoga did ever catch on in the US, it'd be a homecoming of sorts. The German English-language publication Exberliner notes that Jhula was inspired to start classes after seeing beer yoga practiced at -- where else? -- California's Burning Man.
(Via Mashable.)
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