Trap Yoga Class Unleashes Your Inner Ratchet

I’m not usually a fan of yoga classes. I ran out of the room practically in tears at the last one I tried, before discovering Trap Yoga and awakening my inner ratchet. Led by the inspiring and genial Yoga Bae, who hails from Oakland and most often teaches her nationally roaming class in San Francisco, Trap Yoga features vinyasa yoga set to loud and gloriously nasty beats.

You may have heard the word namaste, but did you know that chanting “Percocets, Molly, Percocets” along with Future’s “Mask Off” can be incredibly stress-relieving without having to actually pop any pills? It’s one of many lessons learned here at Trap Yoga, including having the power to say no to “fuckbois” and that the silver tongues of Cardi B and Nicki Minaj can help you hit your perfect downward dog, which is “the favorite pose of all the freak hoes,” according to Yoga Bae.

"Trap Yoga sounds gimmicky, and it kinda is on the surface, but I also have not had so much fun in a group class in eons..."

As you might have gathered, Yoga Bae conducts her classes with a lot of humor (and profanity), but she’s also making sure you put in real work on those asses and titties. The overall pace is quick and assisted by lots of bass, but the poses and flows she teaches are traditional.

Sometimes, but not always, you might get a little bit of extra-credit twerking instruction in the mix. Yoga Bae might also head your way in order to pop her booty in front of you to get you to perk up, laugh, and not take anything too seriously. At the end, she instructs you not to leave before you get three to five hugs from others in the class. This really feels great and bonding after an hour of just worrying about your own frame (and being told to mind your own effing business as far as watching or judging anyone else’s performance).

Trap Yoga sounds gimmicky, and it kinda is on the surface, but I also have not had so much fun in a group class in eons, and I will return. So, it was highly effective. Using popular music is a great way to keep people engaged and pushing past their tired points. Yoga Bae cultivates a safe space that is both size- and background-inclusive, and there are precious too few of those out there in the world.