A new way to practice yoga: Snowga

Yoga has been around for hundreds of years if not longer. It is practiced around the world in dozens of variations. You’ve got hot yoga, power yoga, and now we’ve got a new style to practice: Snowga.

A lot of yogis like to practice outdoors. At Yogachelan in Chelan they like to combine yoga with all sorts of outdoor sports events like paddle boarding and hiking. Snowga is a mix between snowshoeing and yoga.

Yogachelan’s Snowga outings begin with a 30-minute yoga warm up and then the class hits the trail.

“This guided trek will last about two and a half hours with stops along the way for Yoga Poses in the snow, hot Yogi tea, and time to enjoy the beautiful views,” says the class description.

KIRO Radio host Don O’Neill says he’s bummed that being a spinning instructor he can’t take his lessons on road like this.

“[Yoga] is an excuse to travel around the world,” says Don. “In indoor cycling, it’s not like, ‘OK I’m going to down to Mexico and study indoor cycling.’ There’s nowhere to go with it. I’m thinking I’ve got to get out of this indoor cycling thing and do some yoga so I can travel.”

All the clever variations are also a big moneymaker, Don notes, coming up with an original idea of his own.

“Pot yoga,” says Don. “That’s a great idea. You smoke a bowl, you do some yoga.”

While we wait for that, Snowga is real possibility. The next Snowga outing on the itinerary for Yogachelan is a trek on the Echo Ridge shoe trail on Jan. 19. Even if you’ve never done yoga or snowshoed, they say it’s a great time to try both. Learn more at yogachelan.com.