Love practicing Vinyasa but don’t fit in with the Lulu-wearing, green smoothie-sipping yogis at the studio? Or maybe you’re not quite digging the music they play at your local classes?
What is Black Yoga?
BLACK Yo)))GA combines a Vinyasa-style asana practice with space doom music, stoner metal, and ambient. The 200 RYT-certified yoga teacher Kimee Massie created it with her husband, Scott Massie. They wanted to create a yoga class for people who didn’t like the upbeat, hippie-like vibe of many yoga studios.
The atmosphere of the BLACK YO )))GA class is not much different from that of traditional yoga classes. You will still be guided through basic poses by a certified teacher, but there’s a darker and heavier feel that many people find comforting.
The website states that the goal of the project is to “spread yoga’s benefits to our local art and music communities.” People who are battling depression, anxiety, or alcoholism/drug addiction. People who feel that they don’t fit in the usual yoga classes.
The classes are also ideal for those who love yoga and dark music and who live in subcultures and find it difficult to reconcile yoga with their lifestyle.
The BLACK YO())GA Meditation Ensemble
The music is a key component of the BLACK YO())GA classes. In 2014, the group moved from playing mix tapes to the BLACK YO())GA Meditation Ensemble produces meditative and heavy tracks.
Kimee and Scott live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kimee does not teach Black Yo)))GA at any studio. They will set up in any venue that can host them and offer private/group classes.