UrbanUpdate

In news that appears to be the happy-accident byproduct of a hipster laboratory experiment gone awry, something called “beer yoga” wants to make your exercise routine of choice a little sloppier. Incredibly, this is exactly what you hoped it was the moment you read those two words together: Participants attend a yoga class that is pretty much like every yoga class, except that each attendee also downs a bottle or two of beer over the course of the experience. Behold, lest you suspect I am lying to you:

Congratulations to those of you who have elected to continue reading this post instead of immediately closing your browser window and Googling “beer yoga near me.” Your self-restraint is genuinely commendable.

The idea apparently originated at Burning Man, because of course something called “beer yoga” originated at Burning Man, but it was a few entrepreneurial and probably extremely cool yoga instructors in Germany who transformed it from the heatstroke-induced pastime of hygiene-phobic sociology graduate students into a legitimate fitness craze. Classes are now available in Australia and in several Southeast Asian countries and soon, God willing, will be coming to a studio near you, too.

NurPhoto

It’s important to note that some events marketed as “beer yoga” actually consist of a regular-ass yoga session followed by the consumption of a beer. This is fine, but this is also “me after every yoga class ever.” What you really want here are the classes that incorporate the booze directly into the class—for example, students are sometimes asked to attempt to balance the bottle on their heads while holding the instructor’s pose of choice. (Beer yoga is, presumably, a decidedly party foul–friendly environment.)

Pacific Press

I’m not a doctor, but all else equal, I would guess that the optimal state in which to perform physical activity is something other than “while actively drinking alcohol,” and that beer yoga is not a physician-recommended substitute for a comprehensive exercise regimen. That said, both yoga and beer bring me joy and relaxation, and if those two activities can occasionally be combined into a single, glorious component of my quest for inner peace, I’m not going to be overly upset about this development.

Watch Now:Brad Pitt Takes Us on a Tour of the National ParksJay Willis is a staff writer at GQ covering news, law, and politics. Previously, he was an associate at law firms in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, where his practice focused on consumer financial services and environmental cleanup litigation. He studied social welfare at Berkeley and graduated from Harvard Law School... Read more