Bends, Beers, Bliss
A little over a year ago I started teaching at local breweries. After going through my yoga teacher training, I yearned to share my interpretation of yoga with everyone possible. I wanted people that were hesitant to try yoga to have an enticement. What better way than to work hard and then sip (or chug) a beer? When I started this I was oblivious that Beer Yoga was a world-wide thing. I had no idea that this all started in Germany (Bier Yoga). But it makes sense, as I am of German-descent. It obviously must be in the genes :)
My beer and yoga events are slightly different than those in Germany. Through the articles I have recently viewed, the breweries give out bottles of beers as opposed to glass pints. They then incorporate beer throughout the yoga class. Even though I think it would be interesting to try and balance in Warrior 3 while sipping a beer, I feel as though there might be some spillage and the loss of beer makes me cringe. At my events, I make my students work hard before they are able to quench their thirst. I like to remind my students that we need to warm up our bellies for the delicious beer that will be touching our lips soon...then I hit them with some core work :) Work hard, play hard!
Even though beer yoga is becoming a big (and in my opinion successful) trend, there are some in the yoga world that look down on this. Some feel as though it cheapens and disrespects a spiritual practice. In my opinion, if it helps people get out of their comfort zone and try yoga, why does it matter? I’ve had many people try yoga with me at the breweries for their first yoga experience. They loved it! Some of these people even began to take up a regular daily/weekly yoga practice. Life is all about balance, is it not? :)
