Forget the downward dog and the cat-cow pose – goat yoga has become the latest fitness trend to hit Australia.
Holding a stretch with a goat balancing on your back has proved so popular among yogis in the US and the UK, the activity has been brought to Sydney.
Finding zen outdoors with the curious creatures, yoga enthusiasts get into child pose or plank as the pygmy goats wander on or around them.
Attempting to restore your spiritual balance with an animal perched on your back might not sound that relaxing, but an instructor insists the presence of goats are quite therapeutic.
Forget the downward dog and the cat-cow pose – goat yoga has become the latest fitness trend to hit Australia
Holding a stretch with a goat balancing on your back has proved so popular among yogis in the US and the UK, the activity has been brought to Sydney
‘Yoga has its physical, mental and spiritual benefits,’ Eliit yoga instructor Inge Sildnik told 7 News.
‘And then, obviously the goats have their own heeling properties as well.
‘Goats are very inquisitive, they’re very interactive with people, they have less allergens than say dogs and cats.’
Instructing one of her classes, Ms Sildnik jokingly said: ‘It’s good luck if you get a golden shower.’
As participants work on their core, the four-legged animals help provide therapy to the humans by getting up close to them for cuddles or a head scratch.
‘It’s was absolutely amazing. I’ve done all different types of yoga but never this time, it was brilliant,’ participant Lauren Brash said.
And yogi Kobi Keenan said the experience was ‘surprising relaxing’ because she felt like she was getting a ‘little massage’ on the back from the goats.
Located in Galston in the Hills District of Sydney, Eliit’s studio has been running goat yoga classes to help people unwind – and the trend has become a hit
Finding zen outdoors with the curious creatures, yoga enthusiasts get into a position as the pygmy goat balance on their body
Located in Galston in the Hills District of Sydney, Eliit’s studio has been running goat yoga classes to help people unwind – and the trend has become a hit.
‘Goat Yoga will help you learn the art of “letting go” being present and concentration, all while you have baby goats jumping around you,’ the website said.
The inspiration behind goat yoga stems from the United States after farmer Lainey Morse launched her own business No Regrets Farm in Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Ms Morse 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 exercising with animals generated a double dose of endorphin by combining an hour of oxygen-pumping workout with bouts of side-splitting laughter.