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Dear Helena,
A couple times recently, I have gone to my evening yoga class after having drinks with friends. I admit that I may have been a little buzzed. Is it bad form to go to yoga while under the influence? —Asanas on Ice
Dear Asanas on Ice,
You don’t need to be a Vedic scholar to guess that classical yoga tradition frowns on booze, whether you’re on the mat or off it. But we’re not living in India a thousand years ago. Both social events and yoga classes often happen in the evenings, and if they happen in that order, you may well end up downing a Duvel before doing the downward dog. But is that really a problem? Surely it’s better to do yoga while a little buzzed (or while watching Lost for that matter) than not to do it at all?
Angela Gargano is one of a growing number of yoga instructors who organize yoga and wine retreats. Participants often stay at a winery, and perhaps see the yoga classes as a way to atone for all the wine tasting and gourmet meals. Gargano says that yoga “brings you into the present moment and helps you appreciate the flavors of wine or food much more.” But at such retreats, most of the drinking takes place after yoga is over for the day. If you imbibe beforehand, it’s often in the form of a light lunchtime tasting, and the yoga that takes place afterward is the restorative variety.
Still, drinking anything at all before yoga can be challenging, as I found on one of these retreats. I sampled two or three wines at lunch (just a few sips of each, I swear) and found myself rather giggly during the opening meditation.
It makes sense to save the vino for after your vinyasa class, because while yoga may enhance your drinking, unfortunately the reverse is not true. Standing on one leg takes a lot of concentration, which is why police officers make you do it if they think you’ve been drinking and driving. If you’re even a little woozy, a balancing pose might cause you to topple into someone else. Les Leventhal, a San Francisco yoga teacher, says that though he hasn’t noticed any students who were soused, he has spotted a few stoners: “I asked them to not attend. ... It could be unsafe for other people if they like to do a lot of [upside-down poses].”
Another good reason not to go out for drinks before yoga: When a cocktail guest refuses the offer of a second drink, saying, “I’ve got yoga after this,” it’s a little like when people say, “Oh no, I’m doing a cleanse.” It makes everyone else feel self-indulgent.
So if you’re out at a bar, skip your evening class. You can even tell yourself that socializing is a form of yoga, says Leventhal. “Everything is yoga for me on or off the mat, so if you are out having a good time with friends, let that be your practice.”
Not to mention the odor our bodies excrete while perspiring on the bottle! Why offend people?
wow that was good for a laugh.
no drinking before yoga or any other type of workout, not counting dinner with the inlaws :) you can fall and mess yourself up. you can run increased risk of dehydration and muscle injury. you'll stink. you'll laugh, belch, hiccup, or vomit inappropriately. it's a nasty, ghetto, super-impolite thing to do-- like showing up to church or a funeral drunk-- except that...+READ
wow that was good for a laugh.
no drinking before yoga or any other type of workout, not counting dinner with the inlaws :) you can fall and mess yourself up. you can run increased risk of dehydration and muscle injury. you'll stink. you'll laugh, belch, hiccup, or vomit inappropriately. it's a nasty, ghetto, super-impolite thing to do-- like showing up to church or a funeral drunk-- except that maybe at a funeral people would cut you some slack.
*duh.* friends don't let friends pose drunk. ;-P-COLLAPSE
Now that you've straightened out those miscreant yoga drinkers, could you do something about the people who eat lots of garlic and then workout next to me?
librarygrrl, that make me laugh out loud!
Good god, Helena. Let me just say that it's a damn good thing you're still writing this column weekly, because a lot of the readers / commenters seem to have a severe deficiency in tact, diplomacy, good manners, and kindness. Hopefully they'll pick something up from you along the way.
Couldn't think of a topic this week?
No-brainer really! As Catkid points out, right breathing is critical to yoga practice. Doubt anyone could do that after a couple of drinks.
Also, yoga isn't just about physical fitness - it is also meant to help the mind stay focused. During asanas, instructors will tell you to kind the mind focused on the correct posture/breathing etc and not allow it to drift. How would that be possible after...+READ
No-brainer really! As Catkid points out, right breathing is critical to yoga practice. Doubt anyone could do that after a couple of drinks.
Also, yoga isn't just about physical fitness - it is also meant to help the mind stay focused. During asanas, instructors will tell you to kind the mind focused on the correct posture/breathing etc and not allow it to drift. How would that be possible after a few drinks?-COLLAPSE
There are also sound physiological reasons for not attempting Yoga whilst even mildly soused.
Alcohol is a nervous system depressant, which means that your breathing is artificially depressed. Half the fun/practice of Yoga is harnessing your full breath to energise your system. That's almost impossible to do if your body rhythms and awareness are decreased.
Further, your inhibitions are...+READ
There are also sound physiological reasons for not attempting Yoga whilst even mildly soused.
Alcohol is a nervous system depressant, which means that your breathing is artificially depressed. Half the fun/practice of Yoga is harnessing your full breath to energise your system. That's almost impossible to do if your body rhythms and awareness are decreased.
Further, your inhibitions are lowered and reflex response times are significantly slowed with even a small measure of alcohol actively circulating in your system. So you're far more likely to accidentally overdo it and injure yourself without realising it.
Not to mention that alcohol interferes with your ability to lay down new memories so whatever you did in that class you'd have, at best, a hazy recollection of. Sort of defeats the purpose 'eh.-COLLAPSE
helena: why bother entertaining such a question? really?
linguafood: i second that.
mattinnj: actually, my roommate swears by drinks before the gym, heh. i don't get it.
lol this is awesome. More stories like this. I tried to goto the gym once (once!!) after drinking a beer, it was the worst workout ever. I would goto the bar after yoga class.
We starting to make things up, now, huh, Helena? '-D
Ditto to manraysky's comment. Instruction is to impart knowledge and you need to be clear and attentive to participate. Arriving impaired indicates you're not prepared (and likely reveals some much deeper problems if one even considers doing so.)
Going to yoga after drinking is really disrespectful to the instructor and the other students.
I'd be good and POd if somebody next to me was breathing their boozy breath all around me at any kind of exercise class. Anyody who's had even a small amount of alcohol, whether they're drunk or not, smells like alcohol to somebody who hasn't had any. And it smells really horrible, too.
Jeez, if you can't wait until after your exercise class to have a drink, why bother exercising?
I do hot yoga and I think I may throw up if I had any booze in me..and when people start sweating their junk out it smells (smokers are worse, though...)
@ librarygrrl -- snort!
I'm a yoga instructor, and I agree with cuccubear. I try to make my classes as welcoming as possible, and encourage students of all abilities. However, I would draw the line at a student who arrived buzzed. That is disrespectful to the practice, the teacher, and the other students. And very likely to result in injury to yourself or someone else in class!
If I was a teacher or an instructor and someone showed up for class drunk, I would ask them to leave. We all know when the line between lucidity and inebriation has been crossed, and if I was inebriated, I wouldn’t go to class. In this case a polite and honest phone call would suffice with little drama. Have never done yoga, but I can’t imagine someone giggling would be too conducive to...+READ
If I was a teacher or an instructor and someone showed up for class drunk, I would ask them to leave. We all know when the line between lucidity and inebriation has been crossed, and if I was inebriated, I wouldn’t go to class. In this case a polite and honest phone call would suffice with little drama. Have never done yoga, but I can’t imagine someone giggling would be too conducive to meditation.-COLLAPSE
Yoga before beer, you're in the clear!
Beer before yoga, feel like Abe Vigoda.
I did step class once after a going for a drink – major agony.
I can't imagine yoga. I think I'd bust a gut laughing, but the workout -ugh. I really don't understand why anyone would mix these two activities - weird.
The entire yoga studio would reek after a work out. Stay home!
What rot! Attempting yoga after drinking would be too fatiguing -- you'd never do it again if you valued your practice.
Who cares, as long you're not drinking and then driving to yoga class?