It’s pose before bros!
Beer-guzzling yogis will roll out their mats inside a Gowanus brewery for “Beer and Broga,” a manly yoga session that fuses booze and cardio. The event, held at the Strong Rope Brewery on March 12, is geared toward bros who might prefer lounging to the lotus position. Pairing the poses with beer just adds to the appeal, said the yoga instructor behind the class.
“I was looking for ways to get more men exposed to broga, which is a way for them to chill. And I was thinking, ‘Where do men typically chill? It’s at the brewery with beer,’ ” said Prospect-Lefferts Gardens resident Emma Galland. “So I thought, ‘Why not bring broga to this location?’ So it’s a way for them to connect in a relaxed environment.”
Broga not only combines the words “bro” and “yoga,” but it also fuses core-strength training and cardio with stress-reducing postures for a workout that will leave brew dudes feeling limber and pumped-up, according to Galland. And it is more than just a workout, she said — it is a community building exercise that lets people bond over their shared interest in chakras and chillin’.
“The goal is to have a sense of community,” said Galland. “And it’s really fun. Not to mention — beer!”
Yoga classes in Brooklyn have previously targeted pregnant women and children, Dungeons & Dragons nerds, foodies, and dog owners, but reaching the bro demographic has been a stretch too far for instructors.
Men tend to shy away from yoga and go for more stereotypically masculine exercises such as strength training, according to the president and co-founder of the Broga organization — in part because yoga has been shafted over the years by a marketing campaign from Big Yoga that has positioned the stretchy sport as a Girls Only club.
“Yoga itself had a public relations problem,” said Adam O’Neill. “The yoga industrial marketing machine has perpetuated the idea that women are the beneficiaries of yoga more than men — so we want to change the conversation.”
And that process starts by bringing the exercise out of the studios and into the breweries, said Galland.
“I want to take it out of the office, outside of where people associate it and into places they feel comfortable,” she said.
If this first class goes well, Galland hopes to expand the Beer and Broga program to other breweries throughout the five boroughs.
Beer and Broga at Strong Rope Brewery (574 President St. between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, (929) 337-8699, www.zenbe
