Goat Yoga Is More Than a Trend

Whether you’re a dedicated yogi or someone who has taken a handful of classes, you’re probably familiar with many forms of yoga. There’s the well-known Vinyasa flow, Heated Power classes, and even Aerial yoga using silks hanging from the ceiling. If you’re not already intrigued, let us tell you about Goat Yoga. Yes, you read that correctly and it is exactly what it sounds like - yoga with goats!

As some of you may have heard goats are one of the best emotional support animals around and they love to jump and climb on anything in which they can find balance. The original idea of goat yoga came from Oregon, when a woman was practicing yoga in her yard while her goats were roaming free. Next thing she knew, there was a goat on her back! She was instantly filled with happiness and joy, sparking the idea to make this a real thing. So while yoga is very much involved, the main focus for practicing goat yoga is to foster happiness and spend quality time outdoors with animals. It may sound a bit crazy, but it’s also good for the soul, right?

Goat Yoga came to Serenbe 3 years ago when Heather Ruth, owner of Serenbe Yoga & Bodyworks and mom to the 5 Nigerian Dwarf Goats that are the stars of goat yoga, decided to bring it on as an extension of the class offerings for her yoga studio. She returned from yoga teacher training and when it came up in conversation, she thought “of all places, why does Serenbe NOT have goat yoga?” It makes sense, as Serenbe is definitely the right environment and perfect space to house the goats and hold outdoor classes. You’ll find the 5 goats (Prana, Asana, Mula, Bandha and Bali) living near the donkeys and zebu’s up at the Animal Village at The Inn at Serenbe.

While goat yoga is becoming wildly popular in many places, classes with Serenbe Yoga can be quite different. In most classes, the goats are roaming freely while you’re enjoying a traditional yoga class. That still sounds very fun and therapeutic but classes at Serenbe are bit more curated. Each class is a bit different, since the goats are the stars of the show!

First, you start off with some gentle warm-up stretches while Bali, who has no interest in jumping on you, walks around and says hello. Then the fun begins when the smallest of the herd, Mula, joins in and jumps from one back to another back to back, bringing about the first round of laughs of smiles. Heather then teaches you a quick sequence and each person moves through that sequence with - you guessed it - a goat on their back! She’ll also teach you some acro yoga to play with, following some cuddle time with the goats while you enjoy a mimosa (if you’re of age, of course!).