The key is not to take this whole thing too seriously
Photo by Michael Huard/Unsplash
An intoxicated yogi performing sun salutations in front of an equally drunk group of people trying to pull off the same move is an image to behold. It’s also a growing trend among yoga communities abroad. Beer yoga, as its name plainly suggests, is the incorporation of beer in yoga classes. The premise is simple enough: While performing yoga salutations, each participant downs a bottle or two of ice-cold beer.
Other variations to the practice include balancing beer bottles on one’s head while performing complicated yoga poses. Beer yoga can also just mean practicing yoga in a brewery, and drinking beer after the session, as is normally done in the US. (It’s the Europeans who are insistent on the idea of drinking beer during class.)
Whatever the case, the founders of this trend are convinced that the marriage of beer and yoga is a good idea. The conception of the practice remains unclear, but German yoga teachers Jhula and Emily, founders of BierYoga, are widely regarded as pioneers of the trend. Asked about the logic behind the pairing of beer with yoga, the pair simply claims that “the joy of drinking beer and the mindfulness of yoga complement each other and make for an energizing experience. We take the philosophies of yoga and pair it with the pleasure of beer-drinking to reach your highest level of consciousness. ”
If that’s not vague (and strangely exciting) enough, there’s also an absence of scientific evidence that might suggest any health benefits that come with the practice. So aside from the obvious pleasure of drinking a cold—not to mention, alcoholic—beverage during exercise, what is the point of beer yoga?
Beer yogis claim that they feel calmer and less inhibited. But then again that’s what drinking generally does to a person, regardless of whether or not they’re performing complicated yoga poses. But it’s worth noting that beer yoga became a thing just last year, and only a few countries outside of Germany and the US practice it, so perhaps for now it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. Make of it what you will, but it wouldn’t be such a stretch to say that Filipinos will probably be conducting their own beer yoga classes soon.