Try Yoga With Your Dog

Practising mindfulness is open to interpretation. Being present, in the moment, is a skill dogs are born with. It’s an attribute that’s helped many of us through these unprecedented times.

Training and walking your dog are mindful activities, but what about enjoying a Doga class together? After all, the ancient discipline of Yoga has for centuries embodied mindfulness.

Over 5,000 years ago, the ancient yogis found their inspiration by imitating animals as an enlightening experience for both the body and mind.

Yogic philosophy is about experiencing both a physical and psychological exercise by embodying the

Broadcaster and author Anna Webb has studied at the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies (CIVT).

She lives in London with Prudence and Mr Binks. symbolism of that par ticular animal.

Doga is a yoga hybrid that’s soared in popularity since 2005. Dogs and their owners enjoy a traditional Hatha Flow practice together on the mat.

Pioneered in the UK by yoga teacher Mahny Djahanguiri, Doga is defined in her book Doga, published by Octopus Books.

She explains that when practicing Doga, “there’s a sense of effortlessness and compassion, selfawareness, but never self-consciousness.”

Dogs’ natural playfulness takes the edge off any competitiveness linked to ego, she says.

Science has revealed dogs will mimic us and happily adopt a downward dog with you on the mat.

It’s a shared experience like walking your dog that builds communication and trust – in the moment.

Maybe it’s not a coincidence that Downward Dog is one of yoga’s most widely recognised postures.

Along with Upward Dog, Puppy Pose and ThreeLegged Dog, it suggests that ancient Yogis were inspired by man’s best friend and their ability to embody unconditional love in the present.

If that’s the case, it adds weight to the unique collaborative human/dog bond that’s sealed in Sanskrit. No wonder our pooches enjoy sharing our mats.