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."Not since Crocodile Dundee and Yahoo Serious has America so eagerly awaited this Australian import. Bend your body and bend your consciousness all at the same time. Multitasking!
Still, it seems that yoga is behind the curve here. Beer has been infiltrating the distance running ranks for decades now. When I was in college, the infamous "beer mile" was something of an underground activity done in the dark of night on campus tracks all across America. For the uninformed, this involves four laps around a track and four beers, each beer being consumed before the start of a lap.
When I moved to Florida in the early 2000s, I discovered that the beer mile wasn't just for moderately off-kilter college runners. Indeed, on one random weekday evening, my local running club held an official/unofficial beer mile. Intrigued, I showed up and discovered that I was, by far, the youngest participant. I felt like I was seeing the future me--age means nothing when it comes to making bad decisions.
Anyway...
Now beer miles are everywhere--out of the shadows, as it were. Runner's World featured an article about it written by none other than NPR's Peter Sagal. And there is actually a "Beer Mile Championship," which you can watch streaming (pun?) online.
If all of this weren't enough, the shoe company Brooks recently announced that they would be making a racing shoe specifically for the beer mile. This particular shoe was made for a
"professional beer miler" that Brooks sponsors. Really.
All of this makes me wonder if the beer mile has, well...
Who knows...
In the meantime, rest assured that in our awesome age, once you finish your yoga or run, you won't need to stop imbibing just because you are cleaning up. That's right, one Swedish brewery has crafted a beer that they claim is specifically designed for the shower. It reportedly has a "sweet, but strong" taste that you can consume "in three sips while standing the shower."
The craft beer explosion in America has no doubt turned this beverage into more than something that will "get ya drunk!" We now look at beer as something to seek out and enjoy, slowly and with purpose. I find all of this to be a noteworthy development. The only problem I have is getting those pesky beer stains off of my yoga mat.
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