New yoga is all the rage
FINDING balance, quieting your mind, aligning your chakras and taking a pause from the busy rigmarole of daily life are all some of the commonly touted benefits of taking up a weekly yoga class.
However, a new group overseas is quite literally smashing that stereotype and bringing a new type of yoga class to the American and Canadian markets, Whimn reports.
Dubbed “Rage Yoga”, the idea of the sessions is that you can find calm (and get fit) by letting off steam — whether that’s swearing, shouting, or sipping wine between poses.
Sounds stressful? While Rage Yoga may not be for everyone, those who teach the classes say they draw on traditional yoga practices — while helping people find calm in an “alternative” way.
Ashley Duzich, a Rage Yoga instructor at Brash Brewery in Houston, Texas, explained to CBS DFW that Rage Yoga is “a practice that involves breathing, stretching, mood draws, yoga postures and a lot of bad humour”.
“Yoga itself actually means union … so union with yourself,” Ashley continued. “And that’s not always just super-calm, breathing, practising quiet time, like a lot of yoga places are.”
“We are all angry about something, and we all have been holding on to an ‘F’-bomb for a little bit too long. So that’s what this does — it allows you to have a safe space to let go of your frustration and rage in a healthy way.”
All Rage Yoga instructors are qualified and must have completed a minimum of 200 hours of yoga instructor certification in order to teach with the brand.
Rage Yoga founder Lindsay Istace came up with the concept after feeling “really out of place” in regular yoga classes.
“The super serene and ultra calm environment works well for a lot of people, but it made me feel like I was standing in a library full of gymnasts,” she says on her website.
“On and off the mat, Rage Yoga is an attitude. Centred, confident and giving zero f---s.”
There are three centres offering Rage Yoga — two in Canada and one in the US.
And judging from the response online, people are loving it. “This was made for me,” one excited fan wrote.
We don’t know how long it will take for the classes to catch on Down Under, but we know that we’ll be signing up to try one when they do.
www.whimn.com.au