Why is beer yoga a thing?
SINGAPORE — Here’s the thing: I’m a huge advocate of working hard and playing even harder. Putting in the hours at the gym, so I can hit the bar when I want and not have to feel bad about it — absolutely. Detox to retox later — definitely.
SINGAPORE — Here’s the thing: I’m a huge advocate of working hard and playing even harder. Putting in the hours at the gym, so I can hit the bar when I want and not have to feel bad about it — absolutely. Detox to retox later — definitely.
But here’s where I have to draw the line: When the two are combined together.
I am, of course, referring to beer yoga, a trend that has apparently been gaining some traction across the world in the last couple months, and piquing quite a bit of interest, judging by the excited reposting of articles on Facebook
This, of course, raises the question: Why is this a thing?
The trend started in Berlin in 2015 by certified yoga instructors and co-founders of BierYoga, Emily and Jhula, and apparently takes the “philosophies of yoga” and pairs it with “the pleasure of beer-drinking to reach your highest level of consciousness”.
In each class, participants perform traditional yoga poses, using the beer bottles as props, and — here’s the kicker — take sips out of the bottle.
Now, I don’t want to be a killjoy, and neither am I a purist — heck, I don’t even do yoga myself — and really, I don’t make a big deal out of people doing weird things (hey, your life, your rules).
But I have been trying to come up with reasons why anyone would try to sell this as a good idea.
So far, I have got nothing, beyond “completely blatant marketing gimmick probably designed to attract influencers for some ‘Instagram-worthy’ moments and further corrupt a sacred form of practice”.
Besides, the idea of fusing exercise and alcohol is so counterintuitive that I’m honestly surprised that it has taken off the way it did around the world.
It has already made its way to Singapore. Earlier this year, Trium Fitness started offering its Happy Hour Yoga. I’m genuinely worried that people new to working out would think that this is a thing that you should do.
Because you shouldn’t. There are many, many reasons why alcohol and exercise don’t mix, but you can also take it from the person who once tried to go for her usual workout after two cocktails and nearly passed out from hyperventilation. #NeverAgain.
Honestly, what annoys me the most about this so-called trend is the whole faux-seriousness of it. “Beer yoga is fun, but it is no joke”, say the founders of BierYoga.
Methinks if you have to qualify that, you don’t have a strong case to begin with. Just call a spade a spade — or in this case, a joke — and dispense with the marketing talk already.
Drinking and exercising times are both sacred hours, guys, and never the twain shall meet.
Just go get a beer after you’ve sweat it out in the yoga studio. It’ll taste that much better.
A version of this story first appeared in ELLE.sg