Breathe in through your nose and slowly exhale, stretching deeeeeeeeeply into the bridge pose.
Feel that? Are you relaxed? Are you embracing t he moment? No? Why not knock back a glass of chardonnay to speed things up.
You might wiggle into your yoga gear the day after a heavy night of drinking to beat that hangover, but what about drinking while in your Lululemons?
We've seen chocolate yoga, dog yoga, foodie yoga and yes, even ganja yoga (have we forgotten another trendy style? Let us know). Should we be surprised that wine yoga is a thing?
The Toronto Standard writes about yet another fashionable offshoot of the practice, originating from (where else?) California.
Dubbed the practice is taught by instructors David Romanelli and Angela Gargano and meant to "explore the character, terroir, story, climate, and passion that goes into creating a bottle of wine." There aren't yet any seminars planned in Canada this year but you can venture across the border to partake in a 90-minute yoga session followed by a wine tasting.
Mr. Romanelli and Ms. Gargano have been combining chianti with downward dogs since 2006 and have led the way for others to follow the trend. There's Jeff Levin, who runs his own "Detox and Retox" practice in California and Oregon which combines hatha yoga practice with wine tastings, and Sadie Nardini just wrapped up a late-July retreat in Tuscany , where hedonistic yogis indulged in sightseeing, extravagant meals and winery tours...but also daily yoga classes.
There's even In the Spirit, a combination wine lounge and yoga studio in Toronto's east end. You can get your hatha on and then enjoy a glass of wine (the combo of a class + glass will set you back $19.99).
What do you think? As its proponents say, does yoga pair perfectly with wine since both are about aging gracefully? Or does alcohol muddy up the purifying purpose of that sun salutation? We'd need to check but we don't remember seeing references to pinot grigio in the Bhagavad Gita's chapter on yoga. Just saying.
Dakshana Bascaramurty