Why Yoga and Wine belong together:

June 30, 2012

I often have people joke with me about combining yoga and wine.  Maybe the liquid courage is tempting when trying a new arm balance or maybe the thought is that it allows a more free flowing vinyasa.  I have even seen vinyasa classes combined with a tasting after class.  Maybe you are like me and you just love both, so the thought of bringing them together seems logical.

Yoga and wine actually have more in common that you’d think.  I think the two mixed together could be a precarious combination on the mat, but there are indeed similarities.

Whether it’s a sip of wine or an asana on your mat, every moment is different.  Sure, we have all had the same kind of wine before, maybe even from the same vineyard and same blend, but the grapes are never going to be exactly the same bottle to bottle.  Just as Trikonasana is a little different every time you practice, every sip of wine has its own unique flavor and experience. 

Like wise, every bottle and every practice takes you on a new journey.  We sometimes buy the same bottle and practice at a regular studio as part of our daily routine and even though there is familiarity to this practice, we still get a new experience because everyday we are in a different time and space.  We come to the mat and our glass of wine with different emotions, different body aches, different expectations, and different issues each and every time. 

We have wine on vacation and attend retreats to give our selves new experiences, stepping out of our comfort zone to try something new.  Sometimes we like what we find and sometimes we don’t, but the important thing is that we stepped out.

There are those days and those bottles that just don’t suit us and so we take note of what doesn’t work and through practice we learn to move on.  No need to dwell on either, there are plenty more opportunities to find something that works, both on the mat and on the other side of the cork.

Then, there are those days that we find a treasure!  We let go of something in class, we find a new wine label that matches exactly what we love and our hearts soar as we get to experience true freedom and true joy.  What is lovely about both of them is that we get to move with them as part of us.  The yoga evolution becomes part of our everyday practice and the wine becomes part of our memory and both become a part of a lifetime of enjoyment.

I hope you enjoy both!

Namaste,

Jeni