Goat Yoga: Part Exercise, Part Therapy, and All Fun!

Michelle of Hello Critter along with her goats Koko and Ivy, who were rescued from a ranch that raises goats for consumption, will be hosting betterTogether Forever’s very own Goat Yoga classes on June 25th. All proceeds go directly to bTF and to pets in need. Slots are filling up quickly so sign up now!

Goats are a confident, comical, and gregarious bunch, which makes them perfect therapists for stressed out humans. But combining their fun-loving antics with the meditative and intense practice of Yoga didn’t materialize as a reality until 2016.

Lainey Morse didn’t intend to start a nationwide trend. It was just a conversation between friends.

“You should have a Yoga class here,” her friend, who was also a Yoga instructor, said to her as they stood looking out over the field in Lainey’s farm in Oregon while Lainey’s goats bounced around.

“Okay, but the goats are going to be all over the humans,” Lainey replied.

Her friend nodded. “Cool.”

And thus, it began.

Lainey’s goats were her tried and true companions, and their presence in her life helped her navigate her way through the toughest times: divorce, depression, and a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease. “All I wanted to do was be in the barn or out in the field with the goats. They are calm and loving animals and when you are around them, you take on that energy. They are also very funny animals and so they make you laugh. This combination makes them the perfect therapy animals.”

It was just a simple idea that, once the business was up and running, had 2300 people on a wait list, anxiously awaiting the chance to do yoga in a barn in Oregon while goats meandered and jumped about.

Regular yoga can be intense: it is mindfulness and focus, simultaneously a meditation and a hard workout. Yoga with goats doesn’t take itself quite so seriously. But the benefits are the same. In fact, they can be better than just plain yoga, as you find yourself giggling watching a goat jump on your neighbor or feeling one spring off your back. The weight of a goat can help deepen your stretch and strengthen your core and their hooves give you a little massage.

As with any trend, some people who tried to cash in Lainey’s brilliant idea didn’t do it right. Animal activists took to the streets for mistreatment of goats and the circus acts they were being forced to do. But now, six years later, most of those have shut down. What remains are the dedicated, loving goat guardians who want to share the joy their goats give them, with you. And maybe do some Yoga too.

Photo Credit: Jesse Kuehn

Hello Critter is one of those goat guardians. Michelle loves all animals, but goats have also been at the forefront of her love. Her father fulfilled her pet goat wish when she was a teen in the 1980’s, and Michelle hasn’t been without a goat (for long) since. With the intention of centering her life around animals, she started up her company Hello Critter to help care for animals of all species. But in 2017, her particular passion for goats took the business in an unexpected direction.

When scads of friends posted a video that had gone viral from Lainey Morse's Original Goat Yoga onto Michelle's Facebook page, one friend, Hope Urban, went a step further by offering to help set up the first Goat Yoga session in Los Angeles with Michelle and her two pet goats Horns & Chop Chop. Since Michelle had wanted to get back into Yoga for some time, and it involved sharing her beloved companions with others, she gave it a whirl.

And what a success it was. The second class attracted seven times as many participants. After finding her way through the legalities of goats, Yoga classes, and public venues, she’s found her niche of holding events on private property, often for fundraisers. “We’re proud to be doing something that brings people together, releases stress, creates tolerance, joy and happiness through interaction with these playful, fun-loving creatures.”

Michelle's goats may not be certified therapy animals, but there’s no doubt from anyone who has interacted with them that they have provided some therapy.

In the past few years, Michelle has branched out beyond Yoga. These friendly adventurous goats also accompany people on hikes, model art classes, chew cud at sound baths, and can be included at any number of activities to provide some extra relaxation and joy. They are anytime therapy, as Lainey, Michelle, and all goat-loving people already know.

BetterTogether Forever is honored to have Hello Critter offer their Goat Yoga this June 25th with all proceeds going to bTF. If you’d like to give this amazing therapy session chance all for a good cause, sign up here! We’d love to have you there, and the goats are looking forward to meeting you!

Reference By: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/goat-yoga-come-do-yoga-for-a-good-cause-proceeds-benefit-bettertogether-tickets-330067780617