Stacy Squires/Fairfax NZ

GET DOWN: Lisa Hamer tutors a hip-hop yoga class ay Lululemon.

A little bit of twerking never hurt anyone and shaking your butt in yoga pants is bound to put a smile on your dial.

Hip-hop yoga has hit Christchurch and could become a regular weekly event.

New Orleans native Lisa Hamer moved to Christchurch in January and brought with her a new take on yoga.

As a yoga practitioner in a city recovering from a natural disaster, she saw the impact some fun could have on how people were feeling during the recovery.

In New Orleans, most hip-hop yoga classes used hip hop music combined with traditional yoga movements, with the odd twerk or shoulder roll thrown in now and then.

Hamer figures Kiwis can handle more than that and her new yoga style incorporates more dance moves.

"It's not very complicated," she says. "I try to make it really fun."

Hamer takes the class through all the moves slowly at the start, then they gradually speed up and are put to music, and added to normal yoga moves.

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Smiles guaranteed at hip-hop yoga