Mia Sabatino and Lynne Officer, founders of Hoppy Yoga in San Diego, even have a name for that effect of feeling relaxed, blissful and open to meeting new people after a class.
“We like to call those yoga goggles,” Officer says. “It makes people much more open to socialize after they’ve completed their yoga classes.” Sabatino and Officer started Hoppy Yoga a little over a year ago, growing it from a few friends to a loyal following who attend their classes at Green Flash, Mission Brewery, Modern Times Beer and Saint Archer Brewing Co.
It’s also not uncommon to see bartenders and brewery staff join for a class and then get behind the bar afterward, says Sabatino, citing a laid-back like-mindedness shared between the beer and yoga communities.
“The brewers have got to be on board,” agrees Cosi, of Bendy Brewski. “They’ve got to feel and know the benefit of the yoga class. It’s like a tribe.”
Chris Brown, partner and head brewer of Holy City Brewing, met Cosi when they worked together at EVO Pizzeria in North Charleston. She would teach classes there to friends in the food and beverage industry whose lower backs, arms and shoulders often ached. After Holy City Opened, they moved classes to the brewery, where he still joins in weekly.
“We’re on our feet all the time, sometimes nine to 12 hours a day, and we’re lifting lots of things,” he says. “We do the class, stretch it out, have a little bit of beer, and then start the work week.”
Whether it’s yoga after beer, or beer after yoga, the unlikely combination fits together like yin and yang, as Cosi says.
“People who are really into craft beer and things that are locally made, they want to put things that are more fresh and delicious in their body. … With yoga, it’s the same thing. It’s being more mindful and paying attention to your body and feeling a part of something that’s larger than you—being able to come together as a community.”
This story appears in the July issue of All About Beer Magazine. Click here for a free trial of our next issue.
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