The new kid in my yoga class
...no, not the baby goat, but the MoS’s Charlotte Griffiths, who pulled on her lycra to try out the barmiest (and whiffiest) new fitness trend
THE sun is out, the mercury is creeping up to 26 degrees and I should be lazing on a balmy sun deck. Instead I’m indoors – balancing upside down with a goat on my back.
Around me in the stiflingly hot gym, eight of the farmyard animals are freely trotting about, leaving the occasional pile of droppings on the floor.
It is wacky, hilarious and, let me be frank, more than a little pongy.
But this, believe it or not, is the latest exercise craze to hit the UK – goat yoga.
The bizarre classes, dubbed Goga, are much the same as normal yoga apart from the collection of little pygmy goats who leap around – and on top of – those attempting to perfect their downward dogs and other poses.
The miniature creatures are not only sociable but natural mountain climbers, which means they happily scale wobbly humans.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a craze which was invented in the US. But within little more than a year it has become adopted as a genuine healing therapy here in Britain.
Its inventor, farmer Lainey Morse, from Oregon, was going through a difficult time in her life when she decided to cheer herself up with a therapeutic new kind of yoga practice.
She found that exercising with her animals generated a double dose of endorphins by combining an hour of oxygen-pumping exercise with bouts of side-splitting laughter. Scientifically, too, there is a benefit to working out with some adorable wildlife.
Just looking at them is said to encourage the body to release its ‘cuddle chemical’ oxytocin, which produces the same kind of reaction as when a mother looks at her baby.
The pursuit was introduced to Britain by former gymnast Victoria Hobin, 26, after marvelling at YouTube videos of goat yoga from America. She was already a yoga aficionado and decided the new enterprise would fit in well with her full-time job – running a therapeutic mobile farm which takes animals to entertain and inform children at home and in schools all over the south of England.
She teamed up with school friend Alice Glasspool, who owns a martial arts gym in Southampton’s Shamrock Quay Marina, and their £20 per hour Goga classes (goats are admitted free of charge) took off.
Victoria says: ‘Goat yoga has genuine health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving posture and reducing stress. Interaction with the goats helps with depression and anxiety.
‘Goats are natural mountain creatures that enjoy climbing on ledges so when people flex into moves the goats jump and balance on top. ‘It is magical. My clients leave with cramp in their cheeks from constant smiles and laughter.’ And it’s true – the contrast between wobbly humans and the cat-like agility of the goats, who calmly and easily balance on top of us on their deft little feet, is utterly hilarious. But Goga can’t take any old goat. The classes use pygmy goats – a miniature breed native to equatorial Africa that
It’s pumping exercise with laughter that’s side-splitting
only grow up to about 2ft tall and weigh up to 55lb.
They are mostly bred as pets because they are friendly and enjoy human contact. My favourite in the gym is Popeye, who wears a red spotted collar and bounds into my arms as soon as I arrive, wagging his little tail. He and all the others, has had his horns humanely removed so he can’t do any damage to his fellow goats, or, importantly, to intrepid yoga practitioners who wearing only a layer of lycra.
My only other fear was about their hooves, although to my surprise they are quite soft and don’t hurt a bit.
At times, I am more worried for Popeye’s safety than mine, particularly as my downward dog – a stretch where you face downwards and press your palms and feet into the floor while pushing your bottom up to the sky – can be quite wobbly a the best of times.
But my four-legged yoga friend manages to keep his balance, or just jumps off elegantly and lands on his feet like a cat. There is, however, a significant downside – the overpowering smell, which
becomes a real problem when, like today, the temperatures soar. Sadly, goats can’t be house trained and give off a natural musty aroma that requires fresh air to dilute it.
Victoria employs a ‘helper’ to speedily scoop up any little accidents during the course of a class.
‘They are quite messy and smelly,’ she agrees, ‘so we put protective sheeting down.
‘Though they are indoors they are very social creatures and love playing with the class members. Some people take yoga very seriously but having animals bouncing around adds a really fun dimension.’
Interestingly, the animals also act as a barometer for people’s moods.
Victoria says: ‘We’ve found that the animals gravitate to the more calm members of the class. When one curls up in someone’s lap it shows they are very relaxed and comfortable.’
And indeed, after an hour of clambering, stretching and straining, I feel extra calm. Goga has left me with nothing to bleat about.
Goga classes take place in Southampton at NGMA (Next Generation Martial Arts), Shamrock Quay, three days a week. For details, go to muckybucketfarm.co.uk.
Adorable… but they give off a natural musty aroma