Calgary yoga instructor Lindsay Istace, a 24-year-old professional contortionist and contact juggler, is raising a ruckus among followers of the ancient art of yoga with her new Rage Yoga classes, which combine the focused breathing, stretching and balancing of traditional yoga with the curse-filled, beer-drinking joviality of your average happy hour. Conveniently, classes are held in the back room of a bar.

“I wanted it to be as opposite of a studio as possible,” says Istace, who often has a pint beside her mat and drinks about half of it in the hourlong session.

“One of my mottos is, ‘I’m not your mom.’ Some people have water, some have a beer, some have both. But it’s not like anyone’s getting drunk,” she says. “When you’re doing a lot of inversions and stuff, you probably don’t want to be chugging a beer.”

Her left-of-centered approach is not for everyone, so if you’re not down with throwing up “fist unicorns” during Warrior 2 or exiting a tough pose with a collective “Fuck that!” then Rage Yoga isn’t for you.

What’s your beef with traditional yoga?I love yoga, and some of my experience in traditional yoga studios was really good. But some of it was really awkward. Sometimes the overly calm and serene approach actually has the opposite effect; it feels like it’s being jammed down your throat and not super authentic. Somebody awhile ago described yoga studios as “a library full of gymnasts.” So Rage Yoga offers this really different access point for those who want to try yoga.

What type of shenanigans take place during class?It is a real workout, but we’re very silly. Toward the beginning we do something I like to call Screaming and Giving Up on Life. Everybody inhales up nice and tall, lengthens their spines, lifts their arms above their heads, and then on the exhale everybody collapses and screams their favorite obscenity all together.

And what’s your favorite?I’m a “fuck” girl. I’m pretty classic; I just like the “f” bomb. And that’s probably the word I hear most in class, too.

Does anybody swear at you?Well generally they’re all swearing in my direction, but I feed off that shit; I eat it for breakfast. If we’re doing something like a Pigeon Pose, which for some people is a very intense stretch, I’ll say “All right, we’re gonna stay down here for a couple of breaths, but if at any point this becomes uncomfortable you can feel free to exit early, take a Child’s Pose, or just say, ‘Fuck off, Lindsay.’” And I do have some people who say, “Fuck off, Lindsay.” That’s cool.

Do you finish with “Namaste”?We say “Fuck yeah.” Everybody turns to their neighbor and says, “Fuck yeah!” “Namaste” in yoga culture has a lot of meaning to it, and when I went to traditional classes it always felt weird to hear people say it who don’t really know what it even means. Plus at the end of a really good yoga practice, where I felt like I let go and opened up, all I ever really wanted to say was ”Fuck yeah!”

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