This class definitely puts the Om into its yoga sessions. Just not in the way you’d expect.
The almost-trance like sounds of doom metal band Om helps provide the soundtrack to Doom Yoga, a monthly yoga class at Soundgrowler Brewing Co. in Tinley Park.
For the past three years, the restaurant and brewery has been hosting a popular Saturday morning yoga class that’s a bit different. Instead of the new age/ambient music often used in classes while students strike a pose, doom metal — a subgenre of heavy metal that uses slower tempos — accompanies students while they work out.
“The idea for doom metal yoga came when we were still doing our initial build out prior to opening,” said Erica Hough, director of culture at Soundgrowler, via email. “My husband is the brewer and we were at home enjoying some of his handiwork when Om the band came on. I was attending yoga classes regularly at that point and started going into a flow and then it all clicked.
“We decided to incorporate it as soon as we could after opening. We opened in July of 2017, our first class was in August and we have sold out pretty much every month since then,” she said.
The next Doom Yoga session will be held at 10 a.m. May 8. The $19 class includes an hour of yoga led by instructor Ryann Jackson and a Soundgrowler beer and two tacos after class.
When Hough and her husband, Larry, who is head brewer at Soundgrowler, came up with the idea, Hough reached out to Jackson to ask if she’d be interested in teaching.
“I had never heard of it before,” Jackson said of Doom Yoga. “I had heard of breweries doing yoga, but not set to a doom metal playlist.”
Jackson, who has taught the class since its inception, said it has introduced her to some new music and bands. It’s not the type of music one thinks of when hearing the term heavy metal.
“It more like a beat, trance metal,” Jackson said. “It has lyrics but they’re dark and grungy. It’s not screaming. It’s interesting.”
“I think it definitely has some qualities that work well with yoga. It interestingly and oddly enough works out that the playlist and the yoga go together,” Jackson said. “It does flow really nicely when you are doing yoga. You just kind of get lost in the movement and the music. It becomes a moving meditation.”
The class draws both male and female students in a wide range of age and yoga skill level.
“(Many of) the people that come to the class and brewery are into that music and they want to try yoga and it’s just a less intimidating way for them to show up and have a new experience but do it in a familiar territory,” Jackson said.
“We actually have quite a few participants that have been coming all three years,” she said.
“I have been blown away by the love for our yoga classes. We have many monthly regulars and also new faces popping in regularly,” Hough said. “I credit it to the uniqueness of the class and our awesome instructor, Ryann. Everyone loves her and how approachable her classes are.”
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While the class is been popular — both sessions held since reopening following the pandemic-related closure have sold out — Hough said at this point there are no plans to add more sessions.
“We currently do the second Saturday of every month and as the adage goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,'” she said.
Because of social distancing, classes are smaller so pre-purchasing tickets early is highly recommended. Before COVID, Soundgrowler offered a yearlong membership to Doom Yoga, but since the reopening are doing individual classes only, Hough said.
“With the uncertainty of the shut downs we are taking it one month at a time, although all our sessions for the year are available to purchase through Eventbrite,” she said.
Students should bring their own yoga mats, props and water bottles. Although the class may not be the standard yoga crowd, it still embodies all of the qualities of movement-based yoga classes, Jackson said.
“It’s welcome to all different levels,” she said. “You don’t have to be a seasoned yogi. You’re just there to have a good time.”
Doom Yoga
When: 10 a.m. May 8
Where: Soundgrowler Brewing Co., 8201 183rd St., Tinley Park
Tickets: $19
Information: 708-263-0083; soundgrowler.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.