Yoga goes punk for new twist

SEATTLE - The guitarist plugs in his amp, and the yoga instructor strips off her baggy skull-patterned boxers to reveal black biker shorts.

They both warm up for the latest twist on an ancient practice: punk rock yoga.

Power yoga, baby yoga, kickboxing yoga, and now this. Has yoga fusion finally gone too far? After all, yoga is a spiritual discipline aimed at creating a sense of deep quiet and inner peace, while punk rock is all about being undisciplined and loud.

It makes sense to instructor Kimberlee Jensen.

“It’s the whole do-it-yourself ethic,” said Miss Jensen, 34. “Punk is democratic, nonhierarchical — that’s definitely the way I like to approach it.”

Her free, weekly classes are held at an all-ages nightclub and are aimed at teenagers and adults who wouldn’t be caught dead in a health club.

“It shouldn’t be a thing that just skinny people do,” Miss Jensen said. “That’s not what yoga should be.”

Miss Jensen was inspired by the success of Punk Rock Aerobics, the brainchild of two Boston women who turned classic punk moves into a real workout. Blasting the Sex Pistols and Blondie works for aerobics, but Miss Jensen knew she would need something a little mellower.

The live music in her classes doesn’t sound anything like punk. It has ranged from Arabic drumming to a saxophone and flute to the current house band, solo electric guitarist Christopher Hydinger. The music is quiet and peaceful, flowing with the yoga poses — but still “raw and organic” like punk, Miss Jensen says.

A longtime fitness instructor, she has practiced yoga for eight years and began training as a teacher about a year ago. The punk yoga class started last year to satisfy the community outreach requirement of her training, but it was so popular that she has kept it going. She teaches a flowing Hatha-style yoga.

Miss Jensen knows plenty of serious yoga people wouldn’t approve of her methods, but that doesn’t worry her.

“I get new people in off the street every time,” Miss Jensen said. She especially remembers one student who told her, “This is the first physical thing I’ve done where I haven’t felt made a fool of.”