It’s not your typical yoga class. There’s no chanting, and the Pixies or Flogging Molly might be pouring from the speakers. Oh, and there’s beer.
“I make jokes; I talk about sex; I cuss a lot,” says Booze Yoga founder Tas Upright. “I allow smoking during class [if the bar allows it]. It’s about finding a balance.”
Now in its fifth run (at Henderson’s CraftHaus Brewery, RSVP by emailing [email protected]), Booze Yoga relies on Upright’s relaxed style to introduce yoga to those who want to try it but might be intimidated by a studio setting.
“I wanted to create a comfortable environment,” she says. “People can have a couple of drinks to take the edge off, and if they like it they can continue practicing in a studio.”
Upright first got the idea while having a drink at Artifice while a dance class was going on, and thought it would be fun to host a yoga session in an unlikely location. With a green-light from the manager, she held her first Booze Yoga there and later brought it to Velveteen Rabbit and Goodtimes. She says it’s about having fun and letting loose, and shuns the stereotype that yogis have to be crunchy.
“People who do yoga are just human,” Upright says. “We all have our vices. We are all imperfectly perfect.”
Booze Yoga August 16, 11 a.m., $20 (includes 12 oz. beer of choice). CraftHaus, 7350 Eastgate Road #110, 702-415-9184.
