WASHINGTON 鈥� These days, yoga is anything but boring. There are classes that teach handstands in hammocks and those that mix wheel pose with wine.
You can do bridges in a brewery or practice downward dog next to your own dog. 聽
And now, you can bend to the beat of a drum聽while surrounding yourself with beer.
In February, Northern Virginia yoga instructor Erin Sonn and percussionist Brad Ellsworth are teaming up for an evening of live drumming and yoga at Arlington鈥檚 brewery.
If it sounds gimmicky, it鈥檚 not. Sonn says the combo class is less about teaching what鈥檚 trendy and more about making yoga accessible to the masses.
鈥淚 find that teaching traditional yoga in nontraditional places brings people to the mat who otherwise wouldn鈥檛 normally start a yoga practice,鈥� said Sonn, founder of , a company that teaches yoga anywhere but in a classroom.
鈥淎 lot of people come to the mat because of the lure of the drink or the lure of the entertainment. Some people are brought by their friends or spouses or partners. I鈥檝e never seen anyone leave without a glow about them,鈥� she added.
Ellsworth, an Arlington native who now lives in Richmond, started combining drumming with yoga in 2015 with his concept聽. The merger of the two, he says, taps into yoga鈥檚 鈥減rimal element.鈥�
鈥淚t allows people to really connect their practice to the drums 鈥� both heartbeat and breath,鈥� Ellsworth said. 鈥淚t takes the practice to a much deeper level than playing a soundtrack or playlist.鈥�
Ellsworth adjusts his tempo to match the flow of the class. Higher energy poses are paired with more intense rhythms. As the class slows down, so does the drumming.
Sonn says the blend of music and meditation helps her students to focus.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e using the rhythm to guide [their breath and movement] instead of singing along to a song they might recognize or being offended by a lyric,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 watch the yogis just sort of transform. They get lost in their practice. I get lost in my teaching.鈥�
Sonn and Ellsworth at 5:30 and 7:15 p.m. The cost, which includes a pint after class, is $20. Save 10 percent on admission when you use the code 91欧美激情10 by Dec. 31 at checkout.
Editor’s Note 1/17/2017: The Feb. 6 even has been moved to Mister Days in Clarendon. .听
Watch yoga and live drumming in action:
