Kids — both goats and children — take part in goat yoga.
Once during a class at Goat Yoga Texas, Annie Goatley got so comfortable lying on the back of a student that she fell asleep. The yogi, on all fours in a tabletop pose, held the position for as long as possible so as not to wake the miniature goat.
Named for outlaws and country crooners, the herd at Goat Yoga Texas is not shy. During weekend yoga classes that are held outdoors in a corral, the goats wander between human legs and arms and sometimes plop down in the center of a mat, preventing a pose but causing giggles.
Along with Annie Goatley, Lefty — the 3-year-old is the largest of the herd, clocking in at 30 pounds — Poncho, Butch Cassidy, Johnny Cash, The Sundance “Kid” and the rest of the herd is happy to get Zen again, says Goat Yoga Texas co-owner and certified yoga instructor Kimberly Brooke.
Classes were canceled during lockdown and re-launched this month at a new location in Tomball. About 90 percent of participants have never before taken a yoga class, Brooke says.
Kids 12 and older can join their parents for the 45-minute yoga session, which is followed by 30 minutes of photo and cuddle time. If younger kids watch the class with a parent from outside the corral, they can come inside afterward to meet the animals.
During class, goats wander, hopping and investigating.
“We make the joke that the goat chooses you,” says Brooke. “They want to … get that love and give the love the people are looking for.”
Because they’ve been bottle fed since birth, the goats are socialized and crave human interaction, she says.
There’s never been a better time for outdoor exercise that allows for hugs and cuddles, says Brooke, who was flooded with inquiries when her class was featured as a date spot on Netflix’s “Indian Matchmaking.”
“We’ve just come out of one of the most stressful times in modern human history,” she says. “Being outside, being in the sun and breathing, your blood pressure is going down,” she says, adding that the benefits of animal therapy are well-documented.
“The companionship and the love that these animals provide. … It’s soul-nurturing.”
Child’s pose, with a side of cuddles
Certified yoga instructor Rachel Henson, who launched Goat Yoga Houston in 2017, resumed her weekly classes at 50 percent capacity this month at a new location — her own 1.5-acre property in Pearland.
At her Ashtanga-style classes set to music by George Strait and George Jones, all of the goats are babies, which delights children, she says.
“There’s a lot of squealing and screaming,” when kids hold the tiny goats, some of which are less than two weeks old and weigh about 2 pounds, she says. “Some kids get so excited, they start crying.”
When time allows, students get to bottle-feed the pygmy kids.
Because goats naturally jump on flat surfaces to reach vegetation and escape predators, Henson tells students that the more they pose, the more likely the animals will come near.
“Right now, especially since you can’t hug anybody … when you feel them breathe against you, it’s calming, it’s peaceful.”
“Some people just choose to cradle a goat the whole time,” she continues. “If that’s what you need, that’s 100 percent fine with me because everybody’s going through it right now.”
Llamas, alpacas and lots of love
And at Figment Ranch in Cypress, a nonprofit entity that rescues animals, a family can book a private tour to meet the resident alpacas and llamas.
Encounters might include walking an animal by a lead rope, helping with feeding and bathing, or watching the herd splash in baby pools.
There’s always time for hugs and selfies, says Figment Ranch’s Ruby Herron, who teaches guests the difference between alpacas and llamas.
“They’re mystical,” Herron says. “They’re like a unicorn … so peaceful. They just calm you.”
On their tour, families might spot the farm’s giant tortoises, goats, sheep, turkeys, chickens and rabbits — many of which are rescues.
After months of isolation, “people like the freedom” to explore nature on the staff-led tours, she says. Especially for children who aren’t often in a rural setting, “to experience animals on a one-on-one basis” is magical.