Reaching for a beer at the end of a long hard dry week is a customary pursuit for many men. However, there are now a growing number of guys who reach for their bevvy whilst in the trickiest of asanas – thanks to the new concept of beer yoga.
It’s the brainchild of two fully qualified yoga instructors, Jhula and Emily, who simply wanted to combine their two greatest passions by putting on a one-hour session where regular glugs of the good stuff are seamlessly introduced amongst the poses. And before it’s dismissed as gimmick yoga let’s not forget that it was B. K. S. Iyengar who introduced props to help practitioners benefit from the postures, regardless of their experience. Okay, he may not have had Stella Artois in mind but a bottle can serve exactly the same purpose as a block, bolster, blanket or belt to aid and encourage. After all, what better way to motivate yourself to get into Eagle Pose than by knowing there’s a sip of beer waiting for you when you get it right.
“The classes are really accessible for beginners,” explains one of the founders Emily Casey. “Beer yoga isn’t intimidating and is a really light hearted, fun, session. No yoga experience is required just an open mind and a love of beer.”
And as I could claim to possess all three of these qualities, I had a go myself and followed one of Emily’s sessions online. Swapping my beer mat for my yoga mat, I forward folded, inhaled up to half lift before exhaling down to beer bench, where I inhaled for one and exhaled all the way down, inhaling up to beer cobra, then beer warrior one, exhaling out to beer warrior two and finally taking a satisfying slug. A few more asanas and a few more sips and I started to feel more relaxed, whether that was down to the session itself, the effect of the ABV or a combination of the two I’m not sure, but it seemed to me to be the perfect introduction as the hoppy prop in my hand meant that I was less self-conscious, more relaxed and got more out of the session.
Admittedly, I’ve still got a way to go before I can get into tree pose with the bottle balanced on my head so I’ll try a few other poses first – after all, pretzels and beer have always gone hand in hand.
To find out more about Beer Yoga and to find your nearest class, go to: https://bieryoga.de/english/