Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2016)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016 PARTING SHOT FROM JOSHUA BESSEX A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers Elk sit in a field near Neawanna Creek in Seaside in January. ODDITY Bend with a brew By KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press And they both have a little bit of a social aspect, you know. And it’s a very relaxing place to do yoga. So, you know, very unpretentious,” Ja- son Crafts, 43-year-old IT project manager, said after a recent class at Raleigh Brewing Co. in Raleigh, North Carolina. MIAMI — Call it detox and re- tox: Around the country, yogis are jumping up from savasana and hop- ping onto a barstool as yoga classes are making their way into brewer- ies. While the teaching is traditional, the classes tend to attract newbies, especially men, says Beth Cosi, found of Bendy Brewski in Charles- ton, South Carolina and Memphis. “We get the men in the door mostly because it’s in a brewery and they get a beer afterward. That’s the carrot. A lot of them come with girl- friends, wives, sisters,” Cosi said. Her $15 classes are 45 minutes, compared to a typical 90-minute class. The room isn’t heated to near 100-degree temperature and the partnering breweries typically of- fer a tour of the facility after or the FKDQFH WR GULQN D ÀLJKW RI VHYHUDO beers. “They both lead to relaxation. While traditional yoga tends to encourage a navel-gazing focus on oneself, individual breathing and controlling one’s thoughts, the yoga beer classes are all about communi- ty. “This gives you the opportuni- ty to come to your mat, to connect with yourself ... and then to social- ize after class and get to know peo- ple,” said Mikki Trowbridge, whose free classes in the Salem, Oregon area draw between 75 and 150 peo- ple two or three times a month. Trowbridge’s business plan wasn’t calculated. She and her hus- band just liked a strong, sweaty yoga class and a nice craft beer and ¿JXUHGWKH\ZHUHQ¶WDORQH “(Beer) is part of our culture here. We have breweries every- where and so breweries are where we gather for social time,” she said. Yoga classes and craft breweries blend balance, buzz Socialize after class Tony Dejak/AP Photo Participants practiced yoga in December at the Platform Beer Co. in Cleveland. Craft breweries are partner- ing up with yoga studios around the country as more breweries are hosting classes to attract a new crowd to the bars and yoga studios are using the beer to get more men to try yoga. The trend has caught on quick- ly with yoga-beer partnerships throughout Florida, New York and California. Cosi has been mentoring yoga teachers across the country looking to host beer yoga events. Beer maker Dogfish Head created a Namaste beer, Bel- gian-style white with dried organic orange flesh and fresh-cut lemon- grass; and Lululemon, the athletic apparel line, partnered with Stan- ley Park Brewing on a limited-edi- tion style with Chinook and Le- mondrop hops. Not just namaste The classes also offer a friend- lier environment than yoga studios where many run out after namaste without talking to anyone. “There’s a lot of (single) people that come in with the goal of talking to someone new and they already know they have beer and yoga in common,” said Melissa Klimo-Major, who start- ed teaching yoga classes in breweries around Cleveland in 2014. Trowbridge and Klimt drew no- table crowds after hosting two beer yoga events in New York City over the summer. The duo, who met on Instagram, is taking their business on the road with a west coast tour planned for the spring and several Midwest stops over the summer. Breweries say the collaborations are also offering up a bonus for them. “The majority of our yogis are usually girls and the majority of people in the brewery are men so it’s kind of helped crossed that chasm of getting girls into craft beer,” said Chris Gove president of the SaltWa- ter Brewery in Delray Beach. Tony Dejak/AP Photo Tony Dejak/AP Photo Reed Patterson practices yoga in December while holding onto his beer at the Platform Beer Co., in Cleveland. Lauren Kaluza, center, practices yoga in December at the Platform Beer Co., in Cleve- land.
