Goats and kittens give yoga a delightful twist
Yoga is nothing new in the Tennessee Valley. Different studios and yoga classes have popped up all over town for years. On any given week, you can find hot yoga, power yoga, restorative and flow, each with benefits including increased flexibility, balance, strength, and endurance.
But in the last couple years, incorporating animals in the practice has become popular around the country. Goat yoga and now kitten yoga have found homes in Chattanooga, each practice with the health benefits of the ancient exercise, but going beyond what’s expected by supporting some great causes.
You may have heard of goat yoga by now, but you couldn’t find it in the area until a year ago. Becca Caney started Goat Yoga Chattanooga, the first of its kind in town.
“Chattanooga is animal savvy but they did not have any kind of goat yoga,” she says. “We had a Facebook event last summer that sold out.”
About 30 people signed up for the event, with proceeds going to the new Chattanooga Preparatory School for boys.
“We worked out the kinks with the first event and were able to offer to students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last fall,” she says.
The UTC event was such a success that 1,000 students signed up for the classes.
“We found that millennials not having been around farms enjoyed the element of having goats jump on you,” she laughs. “We also saw some mental health benefits where some students would hold the goats and cry. It’s a full sensory experience.”
Caney follows a business model she picked up in her hometown of Dallas.
“It’s very urbanized there,” she observes. “They come to you instead of you coming to the goats.”
Caney was unable to get her property rezoned for goats but found several studios and open spaces eager to welcome the herd. She started with two goats but now has six.
The goats are kept about 10 miles outside the city, at a facility that also boards sheep, donkeys, and other animals.
“Kids actually play with the goats,” she says. “You have to keep them socialized. They will normally run away from people but once you get them socialized they realize you are going to feed them.”
The goal is for Goat Yoga Chattanooga to have their own facility, like a barn, close to the city.
“We had to cancel our last four events since it’s been so hot and rainy lately,” she says. “It’s not conducive because the goats will cry if conditions are not good.”
Indoors you’ll need more crew for cleanup. And now might be a good time to provide a disclaimer.
“The goats are not potty trained,” she laughs. “No one ever complains even though it happens at least once a class. Most people know what they are getting into.”
Potty problems aside, goat yoga can be funny and more entertaining. You’ve got people taking pictures and petting the animals.
Research indicates interaction with animals lowers blood pressure and can temporarily affect the release of various neurotransmitters in the brain. Oxytocin levels (linked with bonding) and dopamine levels (involved in the reward-motivation system) are increased, while cortisol levels (an immunosuppressant associated with stress) are decreased.
Kitty Yoga is probably not as messy as goat yoga but its mission differs slightly.
“We started last summer and twice a month, and it sold out immediately,” says Taylor Hixson, development director with the Humane Educational Society.
Hixson says it’s been a great success and even remembers one special adoption story.
“There was a girl visiting from Florida who took the class,” she says. “She actually went back home but stayed in touch and ended up driving back up there to adopt.”
Barley Chattanooga hosts the one-hour yoga classes. If yoga is not your thing, you can still hang out and tell the bartender you’re there for the Humane Society.
“People come to spend time with the kittens, have a beer and end up falling in love,” says Hixson. “There are all levels of yoga and kittens. Some are cuddlier and some are more wild. It depends on the personality of the cat.”
Summer is kitten season and cats are procreating. The Humane Society has more than 500 available for adoption now.
“This whole kitten yoga is a fun way to raise awareness,” says Hixson. “Probably tickles while kittens are climbing on you, so you’re going to laugh. Purring is good—you’re [building] your health so it’s a sneaky way to get them adopted.”