'Broga' Yoga — And Beer — Coming To Park Slope

PARK SLOPE, NY — Park Slope yoga-lovers will soon have another option for taking part in the popular exercise class, with a hoppy twist.

Emma Galland, who teaches yoga at Crunch gym on Flatbush avenue, is combining "Broga" — a strand of yoga geared toward, well, bros — with beer, for what she's calling "Beer and Broga."

The first Beer and Broga class, which she stressed is available to both men and women, will be held March 12 at Strong Rope Brewery, at 4th Avenue and President Street, on the Park Slope-Gowanus border.

The beer and yoga, though, won't be happening at the same time.

"You can drink your beer on your yoga mat," Galland told Patch. "Not while you’re doing it though. I don’t think that would help the balance, although it might in some cases."

Galland said she has seen men have success with Broga, which was designed to take some of the perceived stigma guys may have about yoga. The classes are geared toward men's bodies.

"What we’re seeing with Broga yoga is a different way to teach the class so it makes sense for guys," she told Patch. "Guys don’t have to touch their toes. It’s building in cardio and strength training with super-strong core training, things that guys are really good at."

Galland also said the overall mood of the class is men-focused, including the music selections.

"I mostly attract guys because my way of teaching is not very flowery. It’s very functional," she said. "In Broga, we play bro music. Like Bon Iver, Led Zeppelin, Explosions In The Sky. Music you listen to while you’re waiting to surf or riding your motorcycle down the Pacific Coast Highway."

The idea to have Broga in a brewery, she said, came from extending that thinking and trying to think of another way to help men relax.

"When I’m thinking about taking it to the next level, I thought, where do guys like to chill?" she told Patch. "I’ve been in touch with different breweries, and we’re going to bring Broga to different breweries. Like a pre-bunch Broga yoga. We’re going to start in March and have beer and Broga from 11 to 12 at Strong Rope Brewery in Park Slope-slash-Gowanus before the brewery opens at 12."

Galland announced the new class Tuesday and said one person has already signed up. The class is $25, which includes a flight of beer from Strong Rope Brewery.

Only 25 spots are available. People can sign up through a Facebook page she set up.

"The response is really amazing," she said. "We only have 25 spots available because we want to see how it’s going to work. What we’re hoping to see is to really start getting guys to consider whether yoga can be for them. You don’t have to be flexible and you don’t have to be in tip top shape to do it."

Image courtesy Emma Galland.