Beers With(out) Beards Beer Yoga Recap

I didn’t invent beer yoga. But as a registered yoga teacher and the founder of a craft beer magazine, it was only a matter of time before I combined two of my favorite hobbies. Beer and yoga. Beer yoga. It makes perfect sense.

Historically, I’ve seen other teachers attempt similar fusions: puppy yoga, bunny yoga, goat yoga. Why not bring my favorite beverage into my favorite physical discipline?

This idea was the beginning of Ales and Oms, a series of yoga classes I taught at different breweries in the Pittsburgh area. To co-host the class, I enlisted the help of Suzanne Nagel, who now owns Pittsburgh’s Om Lounge Yoga Studio. Every month, we hosted Ales and Oms at a new brewery, gathering beer fans for a beginner-level class that saw us incorporating sips into the poses.

When Hop Culture went from hobby to job, I needed to stop teaching. But when it came time to throw our Beers With(out) Beards Digital Craft Beer Festival, we asked Suzanne to teach one of our signature beer yoga classes. She’s not only a good friend but also a female entrepreneur whose success speaks to the mission of Beers With(out) Beards.

What Is Beer Yoga?

Put simply, beer yoga combines beer and yoga. Sometimes this involves getting a beer before the yoga class, or after. Some teachers even work sips into the poses.

Typically, people participate in beer yoga as a fun, social activity. The impetus for a beer yoga class is much different than that of a more serious yoga class, which offers physical, mental, and even spiritual benefits.

What Is Ales and Oms Beer Yoga?

Ales and Oms debuted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a traveling series of beer yoga classes taught by Hop Culture founder Kenny Gould and Om Lounge founder Suzanne Nagel.

Although the monthly series ended in 2018, Kenny and Suzanne occasionally bring back their Ales and Oms classes to one-off festivals and special events.

Why Host Beer Yoga At Festivals?

Special events and festivals are the perfect places for beer yoga, as it’s (most likely) not a discipline that someone would practice every day. Rather, it’s a great way to relax, meet new people, and get a little silly.

Ales and Oms is particularly suited for events like Hop Culture’s Beers With(out) Beards Festival, the world’s largest celebration of women in the beer industry. Not only does it serve as an icebreaker, but it was co-founded by Suzanne Nagel, a female entrepreneur based in Pittsburgh.

The Bottom Line on Beer Yoga

Ales and Oms was created as a fun, social way for people of all skill levels to experience yoga.

To learn more about Ales and Oms and beer yoga, check out the video above, or reach out to the Om Lounge.

Head to beerswithoutbeards.co for a full recap of the Beers With(out) Beards 2020 events.

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