Yoga at Yolo Brewing Co.

Break a sweat and then raise a glass. Sabrina Lockhart, director of communications for the California Independent Petroleum Assn., has discovered a perfect pairing: yoga and beer. She teaches a free yoga class at Yolo Brewing Co. in West Sacramento on Sundays at 11 a.m. Lockhart leads the one-hour, Vinyasa yoga class inside the brewery right next to its large, stainless steel vats of beer. “People ask what’s the connection between yoga and beer, and there is a connection,” Lockhart said. “Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘to bring together,’ and what better way to bring people together than over a pint of beer?” Lockhart, who is a certified yoga instructor and lives near the brewery, has been teaching classes there since June when a former employee at the brewery came up with the idea to launch a yoga program there. Lockhart says the class is for yogis of all practice levels. Lockhart first turned to yoga about five years ago when an injury forced her to take a break from her usual boot camp workouts and kick boxing classes. She started by taking Bikram, as well as power vinyasa classes at Zuda Yoga in Sacramento. She was working at the Capitol at the time and says yoga was a way for her to de-stress after busy days. “It really helped me develop stress management techniques; working at the Capitol is so stressful and you internalize a lot of that stress, so yoga is a good escape from that,” she said. Lockhart also teaches a yoga class for kids ages 5-12 at Zuda and teaches a free class for veterans and staff at the Sacramento VA Medical Center. Lockhart says she appreciates how in this fast-paced world, yoga can help slow things down, at least for an hour. “I love how yoga is a workout for your mind, body and spirit.” Click here to sign up for the yoga class at Yolo Brewing Co. Contact: Lockhart, sabrina@westsacyoga.com or 916 838 0144.