Beer Yoga – Relax, Rejuvenate And Just Chill

Beer Yoga, an oxymoron at best, two words that were never meant to go together and yet it is the latest fad to hit the fitness industry. Is it a new buzz which will fade away soon or is it something which is picking up internationally and is here to stay? Whatever the outcome, it surely is making people fall in love with it because Beer Yoga is a love-marriage between the two lovers from very different backgrounds – Beer and Yoga. First of its kind in India, Uactive at  Verbena Brewpub & Skygarden at Kamala Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai is conducting a workshop on Beer yoga and Team Plattershare, which is always at the forefront of latest trends in the food and beverages industry, began an intoxicating quest to find the yogic truth behind this latest vogue and fad in the food and fitness world. And what better way than to hear the details from the instructor herself. We interviewed Dhara Vachharajani  who is trained in classical yoga and practices hatha-vinyasa style of yoga.

Dhara Says – Beer Yoga is all about mixing the love for two great things, you sip beer while getting in and out of various yoga poses! The beer bottle is used as a visual point of focus, called ‘Drishti’ in yoga. It can also be used as a weighted prop (or improvised dumbbells) to help tone those arms. As yoga helps you rejuvenate and beer helps you relax, mix the two and you will walk out feeling high on alcohol and post-yoga endorphins! It is also a great social activity to go have a good workout and a drink post a busy week of work with your friends and colleagues. A completely new way of hanging out while you tone up your body too. 

Beer Yoga owes its origins to the burning man festival, and moved to Belgium and Australia which are the major beer drinking countries and then to cities like New York, Los Angeles London and now for the first time it is here in Mumbai, India. 

Beer Yoga includes a lot of asanas from the traditional hath yoga practice. A warm up session followed by standing asanas, sitting asanas, lying down ones, forward bends, backward bends, a lot of gravity defying balance-poses which means one can expect a full body semi-intense work out. If you are one of those people who would never see a Yoga workshop then the only way you will move your backside and get to a yoga class is if a beer is thrown in there, then this is for you! 

Get High on healing-frequency music, some chants and commercial music which is soothing, yet inspiring and uplifting.

Beer yoga is indeed very much a Fad. It started in 2014 in the Burning man festival, and has since picked up. It has no basis in Ancient India. Although, using marijuana and other plant based ‘medicines’ to attain a higher-level of awareness is pretty common in all ancient cultures world over, so getting high and doing yoga isn’t new . However, alcohol doesn’t work like that because during this Yoga you don’t get completely drunk and out of your senses. Also, doing it once a week would be harmless and fun.

 Beer Yoga can be performed by people above the age of 21 however it’s not recommended for people with heart problems or diabetics. 

Beer yoga is more of a fun-filled social activity which definitely cannot replace traditional Yoga and would not be able to provide all the benefits of Yoga but it will make you feel toned, stretched, sweaty and happy at the same time. 

Dhara herself says that too much of Caffeine and alcohol should be avoided but anything in moderation isn’t harmful. 1 to 2 pints of beer in a span of 1.5 hrs of a Yoga workshop is safe.

So if you are looking for a change in your weekend schedule and want to work out and hangout together then go for it. 

We thank Dhara for sharing this candid information about Beer Yoga. She is trained in classical yoga and has 2 years of teachers training yoga certifications. She practices hatha-vinyasa style of yoga and teaches at a studio in juhu, called THE SPACE. A nature lover, she left her corporate career to pursue her passion for yoga and all things natural. Personally, she thinks that beer and yoga don’t mix well as yoga is all about building awareness, and alcohol is about losing awareness! But as an endorser of all things fun she sees no harm in having a party with the two! After all yoga is good workout too, besides being a ladder to nirvana