There are three different types of rage: #rage for when you're mildly annoyed, ~raaaaaage~ when you're at a party, and genuine, actual RAGE when your life is out of control and you've run out of good songs on your "eff this" playlist and you're three seconds away from screaming into a pillow. But spare your poor vocal chords, friends, because a rage yoga class might be exactly the cure you and your inner turmoil need. If you've never heard of such a thing as rage yoga before, don't worry, you're not alone — 24-year-old personal trainer Lindsay Istace coined the term and the practice recently, and despite my complete and utter lack of flexibility, I will attempt to cross all my fingers that it gains popularity fast.
Istace first came up with the idea for rage yoga after a tough breakup. “My [yoga] practice is what got me through it,” Istace told PEOPLE. “But I was hurt, confused and angry. This started to come out in my home practice. There was a lot of swearing and shouting in poses, and I found that it felt great to let it out on the mat!”
And so swear and shout she did, when she introduced rage yoga as a class. The participants convene at a local pub twice a week, often meeting before the class starts to grab a drink, which I imagine eases the temporary awkwardness of yelling at will about all your problems on a mat with a bunch of other strangers.
Although the class is only available in Calgary, Alberta in Canada right now, Istace shared that she has future plans to extend its reach by going on a teaching tour of the program and building online classes.
“The main benefit that is more unique to Rage Yoga is that we create a safe space to deal with negative emotions in a positive way,” said Istace to PEOPLE. “I’ve never been able to will away negative feelings. Rage Yoga is a great way to harness and use them in a constructive way that makes you a stronger and happier person.”
And it turns out Istace is on to something — while it's old news that yoga helps people relax, the rage factor has an additional health benefit. Swearing helps relieve stress and reduces pain, which is pretty much the best effing news ever. Basically Isace has combined these two relaxation super forces and done something that very few yoga classes in the past have managed to do: made it fun.
Here's hoping those online classes will roll out soon — looking forward to low key terrifying everyone in my local gym!
Images: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images; Giphy
