When you hear the term “yoga,” what words come to mind? Calm? Peacefulness? Silence? Me too. I imagine a flexible and fit person transitioning from move to move, perhaps on a beach listening to nothing but the sound of the ocean waves. Or maybe you think of hot yoga where you’re dripping sweat all over your mat each time you downward dog.
Photo courtesy of @yogainspiration on Instagram
Okay… now what about yoga while you sip on a beer, listen to hard rock music, and scream as loud as you can? Is that even yoga?
Introducing rage yoga. Instead of a darkened room or that scene on the beach, Rage Yoga takes place in the basement of a bar located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Key features of a session include cursing, lots of laughter, and heavy metal and rock music. You’re assured to be feeling beyond zen after a class.
Photo courtesy of rageyoga.com
Lindsay Istace, the founder, was going through a rough breakup at the time and would get angry and curse while doing yoga. She actually claimed to feel much better and more at peace after doing so. This led to her imaginative creation of Rage Yoga. In these sessions, you vent your anger, frustrations, or whatever’s bothering you through stretching with the unusual addition of allowing swear words to slip or flipping the bird amidst heavy rock music in the background.
Photo courtesy of rageyoga.com
Since the class takes place in a bar, can you drink? Yes. Absolutely. Lindsay allows her class to drink whenever they want – before the class, during the class, or after. Or maybe at all three times.
Although Lindsay notes that alcohol and yoga are not a great mix and adverse health effects can surface, she claims that Rage Yoga has helped her with her own drinking habits, proposing that as people get into multiple sequences in yoga, they start to drink more slowly.
Photo courtesy of mensxp.com
If this sounds good to you and you’re free Monday and Wednesday nights, let it all out with Rage Yoga. Each class is $12 for an hour including a beer ticket. And if you’re not in Calgary, don’t worry – Lindsay is planning to launch online classes for those across the globe.