Chunky guitar chords thrum beneath crashing cymbals before slowing to a quicksand-like drudge. A low male voice growls from somewhere subterranean, indiscernible vowels and bass, as the music fades into a wash of sustain and reverb. It’s an unexpected soundtrack for a yoga class. 

Elk Rock Yoga is located on a quiet street in Portland, Oregon, sandwiched between an industrial taproom and a boutique coffee shop. Inside, instructor April Fox—with her feathered blue mohawk and kind smile—personally greets each student. After a quick hello, my fiancé and I roll out our mats toward the back of the studio and look around.

It’s a small space that quickly fills with maybe 20 students, most of them wearing black. There are a of band tees and a lot of tattoos, which is not uncommon for Portland. Everyone seems friendly and familiar with each other, also not uncommon. It’s a typical yoga class. The only thing different? The music.

What Is Doom Metal Yoga?

Doom metal is a style of metal music characterized by plodding tempos and low-tuned guitars fed through heavy distortion. Black Sabbath is credited as an early pioneer, most notably with tracks like “Electric Funeral” and “Into the Void.” Rather than possessing the speed and intensity typically associated with heavy metal, doom metal unfolds slowly, with a heaviness that creates a rather hypnotic backdrop.

Doom metal yoga is a signature offering of Fox’s, one that’s been going strong for almost 10 years.

Doom metal yoga creator April Fox.

After moving from Detroit to Portland, Fox was teaching yoga full-time and spending her free time practicing in city’s parks. One day, she put on an album by Oregon doom metal band YOB to accompany her. The pairing clicked immediately.

“People would say, ‘Oh, what’s your hobby?’ and I’d jokingly say, ‘I practice yoga to metal,’” she says. “And they were like, ‘Actually, that sounds amazing. Can I come do that with you?'”

What began as an occasional gathering in a rented studio slowly grew into a monthly class, then a weekly one, and eventually into one of the defining offerings of her teaching career, with cross-continental students joining online every week.

The class kicks off with an om. Fox explains its resonant connection to the universe, invoking both Brahma and sci-fi author Douglas Adams. Throughout class, we move slowly, using isometric integration to strengthen foundational poses. Fox’s subtle metalisms made me smile, prompting us not to “spill our guts out” by engaging core muscles. All the while, sludgy metal chords drone in the background.

Why Doom Metal and Yoga Actually Make Sense Together

As the minutes pass, I fall into a deep connection with my body and completely stop noticing the music. Which, as it turns out, is kind of the point.

“The more melodic the music is, the easier it is to get tuned in and connected in the moment,” says Fox. “A lot of people will always say, ‘Oh man, after a while I kind of forget that the music is even happening.'”

Many of the artists Fox chooses to play are actually influenced by Eastern philosophy (perhaps most obviously, the Californian band Om), and she intentionally favors instrumental tracks that support, rather than compete with, the practice.

That was certainly my experience. What felt theatrical at the beginning of class quickly just became part of the practice. I’ve felt more abrasion from hot yoga classes that blast radio pop remixes. (No shade.)

After class, my fiancé pointed out something I had missed: there were far more men than I’d ever seen in any of my other yoga classes. There were experienced practitioners alongside complete beginners. There were people of all shapes and expressions. There was a sense that no one was particularly concerned with looking like a “yogi.”

Come As You Are

Although many people might struggle to see the connection between metal music and yoga, for Fox and her students, it’s quite simple. “For us specifically, in our community with the metal yoga, this is a feeling of, ‘I belong here. This is a place that’s welcoming to me,'” says Fox.

Fox notes that she has a first-time yoga student in nearly every class. She mentions that students discover the class after seeing a local television segment, from partners bringing them for their very first practice, groups of queer and non-binary students, and those who arrive in full corpse paint before happily rolling out their mats.

“What a gift to help anybody feel more okay being in their own skin, because so many of us are not,” says Fox.

Starting in September, the class will relocate to the Hallowed Halls Recording Studio in southeast Portland. “The space is pretty legendary for local musicians to record and produce in,” Fox says. “It’s huge, a great vibe match for our classes, and we’re all pretty stoked to have a new home.”

In a yoga world that can sometimes feel intimidating and increasingly image-conscious, doom metal yoga offers another doorway into the practice. Plus, it’s unconventional and super fun. Why not?

“I only get one run in this meat suit, and you might as well enjoy it,” Fox says. “I don’t know why the hell else we’re here if not to enjoy the time that we are.”