Along with family, close friends, and travel, yoga and wine are high on the list of things I love. Just sounding out the two words in the same sentence has me smiling.
Clearly, I’m not the only who feels this way, as a growing number of yoga retreat centers are now offering wine tastings and gourmet cooking classes.
In a recent New York Times article, “When Chocolate and Chakras Collide,” Julie Moskin reports on the trend of spas and retreats catering to an increasing population that seeks the intensity of both fine flavors and the high one gets from deep breathing and yoga poses.
Yoga is an ancient practice that gradually trains your body and mind to be in a state of peace, while wine is most certainly a fleeting remedy, which can raise your spirits and relieve your inhibitions. But, according to an online story in iYoga Life, the two have more in common than you think.
“Yoga teaches you how to age gracefully just like a great bottle of wine ages gracefully,” explains David Romanelli, an instructor at Exhale Santa Monica, who teaches yoga and wine workshops across the country. “Pouring a glass of wine is a celebration of one moment in your day that you want to hone and protect.” Says the posting, Romanelli has risked his reputation with unconventional yoga and wine workshops.
Like anything else, there is controversy on the topic, where some yogis do not agree that food and wine are compatible with the enlightenment one seeks from yoga.
“Yoga purists say that many foods — like wine and meat — are still off limits,” writes Ms. Moskin. “Others say that anything goes, as long as it tastes good. The debate is exposing rich ores of resentment in the yoga world.”
So what do you think–are wine and yoga compatible?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t do yoga, so I have no business commenting about the suitability of yoga/wine, but I do meditate, and I’m a coffee/wine drinker. It’s been my assumption that if you do yoga/mediate, you tend to not drink coffee/wine as stimulants, so I’ve long been out of sync with herbal tea/green tea drinkers who also do yoga and meditate. I think this is a personal choice, and I’d no sooner stop drinking coffee/wine than stop mediate. I can see how there would be a conflict if your goal was to be a purist yogi, but I’m not into extremes. I’m into life balance.
I have done Yoga for over ten years and have never found wine/yoga compatible. Ever. If I drink wine I don’t do yoga, if I am doing yoga I don’t drink wine. I could not possibly stand on my head if I was in any way inebriated. Yoga is about becoming still and strong & clear-headed, whereas wine loosens and relaxes and muddles the head. Meditation, the whole end point of yoga (doing asana practice prepares the body for meditation), requires a clear head. A wine/yoga mix is insane!!