Instructor Carly Hayden rewards students who attend her
YogaMosa class Saturday mornings at Bluewater Organic
Distilling with an extra long savasana, or corpse pose.
Savasana is the final relaxation pose of a typical yoga
practice. After an hour of stretching, breathing, and balancing,
students lie flat on their backs, close their eyes, and scan
their bodies for tension. They embrace stillness and focus on
relaxing each part, feeling the sensation of sinking into the
earth, and experiencing release with every breath.
Hayden described the joy she feels when she watches her
students emerge from savasana. “When my students rise to
a seated position after savasana, it’s wonderful to see their
blissful smiles,” she said. “For me, the most rewarding thing
about teaching yoga is savasana. I almost feel like a mother
putting a room full of toddlers to sleep. It’s amazing that this
is my life’s work — helping people feel more comfortable in
their bodies and find the peace and rest that we all need but
have a hard time giving ourselves.”
On select Saturday mornings you can find Hayden’s
students unfurling their yoga mats on the floor of the
Bluewater Organic Distilling tasting room, located at the
Everett Marina. The beautifully appointed tasting room even
includes a wooden platform for Hayden to demonstrate
postures at the front of the class, making it easy to imagine
yourself at a waterfront yoga studio instead of a tasting room.
The soft lighting and Hayden’s carefully curated playlist offer
a serene, motivating atmosphere.
It was an overcast late spring morning when I attended
YogaMosa at Bluewater Organic Distilling. Taking in the
marina’s views in the chilly morning air before class was as
invigorating as the promise of an inspiring practice and a
refreshing drink. The vinyasa flow class was designed for yoga
students of all levels, including beginners, but also offered
ample challenges, including core work and a series of side
planks that had us all sweating.
“This class tends to be a little bit sweatier than your
typical yoga class,” Hayden said. “We definitely work for our
cocktail, but I try to build in a nice long cool down and a very
long savasana. At the end, you feel as if you’ve really earned
the reward of rest and a cocktail.”
I enjoyed Hayden’s playlist, too, which had the standard
fare you’d expect as well as a few surprises in the form of
well-chosen throwback songs (Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”)
and even an EDM track (by local favorite, Odezsa).
Hayden’s approach to yoga is to help her students develop
joint stability — which helps to reduce injuries during yoga
and other activities — in addition to muscle flexibility and
strength. She owns Catalyst Yoga and teaches a variety
of classes in addition to YogaMosa, including stand-up
paddleboard yoga, corporate classes, and retreats. “A lot of
people come into yoga wanting flexibility, and that’s a very
important part of yoga, of course. But my biggest goal as a
yoga teacher is to help my students create more ease in their
bodies, to make sure that we’re moving in ways that are
sustainable long term. So I try to strike a balance between
joint stabilization and muscle flexibility.”
I attend yoga classes several times a week. By comparison,
YogaMosa offers a kind of camaraderie I haven’t always
experienced. Often, I find that everyone, myself included, is
eager to rush off to work or family obligations after class.
That YogaMosa takes place on a leisurely Saturday morning
and offers a cocktail hour afterward makes for a heightened
sense of connection. Still feeling the warm glow after
savasana, we introduced ourselves and made small talk while
our mimosas were prepared.
Melody Todd first attended YogaMosa six months ago.
She said she enjoys it so much she often brings a friend
with her and is even having a private YogaMosa class for
her upcoming birthday party. “YogaMosa is different from
other yoga classes because it offers a fun networking and
connection aspect after practice unlike a typical gym yoga
session,” Todd said, “Most recently, a group of us capped
off the experience over a delicious lunch at the Bluewater
restaurant. We weren’t ready to leave!”
Bluewater staff members often join in as well, making
the yoga class a unique way to get to know the distillers and
mixologists who work behind the scenes to deliver delicious
sparkling craft cocktails at the end of practice. Never boring,
you can expect more than just orange juice and champagne.
The cocktails are always sparkling, seasonal, and a surprise.
YogaMosa is a fun, friendly way to build a little more
fitness into your weekend. Feel free to bring a friend or family
member to enjoy a cocktail and a workout. Hayden calls the
class a simple pleasure, a little luxury, and an opportunity to
build friendship around fitness.
