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    Change Up Your Yoga with Yoga and a Brew

    While the yoga scene in central Ohio is growing, the microbrewery/winery/bar scene is exploding. Some of our favorite yoga places around town are holding events featuring celebratory libations. Some sessions are held right in the microbrewery tank rooms. Lying out with the smell of hops and gurgles of fermenting brews can be very relaxing. We’ve put together a list of where you can enjoy yoga with a brew:

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    Thank Yoga and Seventh Son Brewing team up again this summer for yoga classes which (weather permitting) use Seventh Son’s awesome patio. Sessions are every second Sunday at 10AM thru September. As Thank Yoga’s Josie Schweitzer says, “It is so rad!” Schweitzer or the other fine Thank Yoga teachers lead sessions. If you haven’t had a class with Babajide yet, this is a must do! Classes start at 11 and let out in perfect time to enjoy a tasty lunch from one of the rotating food trucks and try a flight of the very fine brews. My favorite brew: The Scientist. Sign up at the Thank Yoga website. $16.

    Relaxing yoga classes in the Zauber Brewing tank room. Photo by Nancy Alkire.
    Relaxing yoga classes in the Zauber Brewing tank room. Photo by Nancy Alkire.

    Zauber Brewing Company on Fifth Avenue hosts Brewga among the tanks in their brew room at 11:00 on Sunday mornings. Led by enterprising Go-Yoga trained Clarissa Pape, this is a relaxing session that at just $5 it is not only a fun intro to flow yoga but you can afford to stay for the craft beer. This month, Zauber’s brewmaster, Cameron Lloyd, has made special beer, Derby Strong, in collaboration with the Ohio Roller Derby. Also, Zauber has a non-alcoholic food/drink venue within their site called Das Kaffeehaus. The owners travel to Germany a lot, so they know good European roasts. I personally recommend their hot chocolate as the perfect post workout food. More information at Zauber Brewing Company.

    Local microwinery Quail Crossing Cellars in Clintonville has regular Vino + Vinyasa sessions led by the University District’s yoga guru, Burgundie Miceli, of Yoga Happiness. “These are so fun!” says Miceli. Vino + Vinyasa will be starting quarterly in July. The fee ($20) for their Vino + Vinyasa events includes an hour of quality yoga flow and a sample glass of wine. There is also a Yoga, Wine and Art event planned for July. More information at Quail Crossing Cellars or Yoga Happiness.

    May 6th is the next “First Friday – Yoga and Happy Hour” at Bexley Yoga. The first Fridays at 7pm, teacher Michelle Mineo leads an hour of Vinyasa flow to music of a featured band; this month it will be Journey. “We welcome all with ‘Open Arms’”, says co-owner Nikki Bundy with a wink. After yoga, the studio provides snacks and students BYOB for a happy hour. “Sometimes we go for 2 hours,” noted Bundy. $18. For teetotalers, Bexley Yoga is also hosting a Mother-Child Mother’s Day yoga class on May 7th. $30 per couple and $10 for each additional child. More information at Bexley Yoga.

    MatHappy Yoga in Hilliard holds Vino and Vinyasa events at their studio. Often they feature local social enterprises such as Legacy Candles, which funds anti-human trafficking work. MatHappy is having a Mother’s Day Candlelight Flow evening with wine, chocolate and massage (!) on May 7th. Per the co-owner of Mathappy, Kelly Mehring, “This will be a relaxing evening and support a great cause.” With its warm cork floors and pleasant lighting, Mathappy is a very nice place to do yoga. The $30 fee includes massage and all the goodies! More information at MatHappy Yoga.

    A flight at Land Grant Brewery. Photo by Nancy Alkire.
    A flight at Land-Grant Brewing. Photo by Nancy Alkire.

    The co-owners of Modo Yoga, Elizabeth and Chad, have held yoga classes off and on at Land-Grant Brewing since Modo came to Columbus last year. Co-owner Elizabeth Moore moved back here from Cincinnati where she taught large Modo yoga classes at Rhinegeist Brewery. “Sometimes we would have 150 people,” says Moore. Starting classes at a local brewery with fine beers like Land-Grant seemed a natural fit; often Modo has karma yoga events to raise money for charity there, and they had a special University of Dayton “alumni flow” there April 10th. By the way, during the cold months, Land-Grant has outdoor fire pits that are the bomb. Recently, Modo started a Yoga Brunch series with the CD102.5 Big Room Bar. More information at Modo Yoga.

    Balanced Yoga recently formed a relationship with The Crest (gastropub in Clintonville). Balanced also has a regular Friday 5:45 hour-long class often taught by the lithe Katie Hutcheson: “Hot DeTox to ReTox” which says it all. More information at Balanced Yoga.

    For those looking for a nonalcoholic option, The Kitchen in German Village often partners with Native Cold Pressed for a 1-hour power Vinyasa flow (all-levels) led by yoga teacher and Native Cold Pressed co-owner Nicole Salvo. $35 for the session, juice, and brunch. More information at The Kitchen.

    Speaking of toxins, since classic yoga texts say that yoga calms the mind, some people ask if mixing alcohol and yoga is true to the practice. Local yoga practioner and worldwide yoga workshop leader Joey McNamara points out that in India traditional yogis turned away from alcohol as they thought it made one’s mind more easily excited or disturbed.

    “With advancement in the practice you will naturally crave alcohol less,” says McNamara.

    Several advanced yoga practioners have told me this is true; I guess I need to do more yoga! Enjoy the spirit of yoga and spirits but do drink responsibly.

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    Nancy Alkire
    Nancy Alkire
    Nancy Alkire has practiced yoga off and on since WOSU broadcast Lilias, Yoga and You in the 1970’s. She has attended classes with Charlotte Bell, Bryan Kest and Kino MacGregor. Since turning 50, she has become much more interested in fitness and often calls on the expertise of athletic trainer, Jennifer Schiff, and Daniel Snider (almost a) PhD in physical therapy. “I am open to polite suggestions for other yoga or fitness experiences. I love documenting and sharing.” Get in touch with her by email.
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