“Nerd-maste,” declared yoga instructor Justine “JustiniYogini” Mastin. This is her closing for all of her sessions, after, of course, she asks her students to honor their inner nerd. Mastin is the owner and founder of YogaQuest, a business dedicated to promoting wellness and fun for all. Mastin and YogaQuest work to make yoga accessible to the nerd community by creating an interactive story utilizing yoga poses. No matter the skill level, YogaQuest encourages participants to get silly while hearing the stories of their favorite books, movies, and other media.  

“It’s much more fun to go on an adventure than to simply move your body around,” explained Mastin. “The poses may be the same, but these are not your typical yoga classes.”

At YogaQuest the Warrior Poses are wizard wand fights and the rest pose Savasana is a zombie about to crawl from it’s grave. Mastin and an assistant storyteller assign positions and movements to beloved characters, and call upon participants to change poses every time a new character or plot point is brought into the story. As the story’s rising action develops the poses become more difficult.

Mastin was inspired to start her own quest in the fitness world six years ago after visiting a comic convention and not seeing any health or wellness options for those with a geeky side. YogaQuest has been stationed in their Uptown Minneapolis studio since 2013, and have attended numerous events and conventions throughout the country. Recently, YogaQuest took on spreading nerdy exercise to the patrons of Can Can Wonderland.

“It seems like a bunch of people who love to create art came together to create a space that welcomes people of all ages and inspires them to get their creative juices going,” said Hamline first-year Carmen Danz, who came to the space to attend the YogaQuest class.

Located just over a mile from Hamline’s campus, Can Can Wonderland is equal parts arcade and art exhibit. Can Can features an 18 hole mini golf course with work by various artists’ responses to the prompt: “what mini golf hole have you always wanted to play?”

Beside the course is an arcade boardwalk full of vintage arcade games, some up to 50 years old. But make sure not to spend all your quarters on the machines. Can Can also has no shortage of fair food, sweets, and cocktails. While the space is fun for all ages, no one under 21 years is permitted after 9 p.m. During what venue calls “really fun times,” visitors can enjoy time at one of the two bars with some booze filled milkshakes.

Can Can Wonderland is open Thursday to Sunday, with never a shortage of fun events. Hamline students with all kinds of interests can find something activities on the weekends. From music to craft nights, to karaoke and trivia, Can Can Wonderland does it all. Specific events found on cancanwonderland.com.

YogaQuest holds varying level classes in their studio Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, go to yogaquest.org or connect to @YogaQuestMN on Twitter.