BrewAsanas: Mixing Yoga and Happy Hour

This mat is lonely without a cold beverage. Photo courtesy Adrienne Rinaldi.

When Denver resident Adrienne Rinaldi, 29, launched her yoga teaching career last summer, she wasn’t expecting to combine her passion for beer with her asana practice. But it just so happened that the outdoor yoga classes she was teaching at City Park got better participation when she marketed them as ending with a beer. “I should have known,” says Rinaldi, an Arizona native. “Everyone in Colorado likes to workout and likes their craft beer.” She was looking for yoga studio space at the time and decided to take the beer concept to the next level. She partnered with Twisted Pine Brewing Company in Boulder and offered the first official Brewasanas class, held inside the brewery, in November. The hour-long class cost $20 and included a pint afterward.

Rinaldi has since expanded to include classes in Denver at Breckenridge Brewery, Strange Brewing Company, Black Shirt Brewing Co. and Wit’s End Brewing Company. Depending on the location, you could be doing downdog beside the barrels, in the taproom or in the restaurant with the tables pushed out of the way. Rinaldi says the breweries make sure to clean the floor in preparation for class and claims that the hops smell is an invigorating addition to any yoga practice. She holds multiple classes at a variety of breweries every month, most starting at 6 p.m., leaving plenty of time to imbibe.

While Rinaldi isn’t ready to decree craft beer as better than shavasana, the yogini admits that she and good beer have a long and storied history. As a younger woman working as a magazine writer and editor, she was so vocal about her opinions on beer that a friend dubbed her the Beer Snob. The title stuck, and three and a half years ago she launched www.beersnobchick.com to blog on the topic. For Rinaldi, beer and yoga are a perfect pairing. She hopes that her special blend of brews and asana will attract people who may not have tried yoga otherwise, or are intimidated by the uber bendy gymnastics scene in many studios. “My classes are a vinyasa flow style, and a good introduction to yoga,” she says. “tell your boyfriend that I’m not going to make anyone do anything crazy, like headstands, and that he’ll get to drink beer after.”

More information and class schedule at brewasanas.com. Bring your own mat.