Have you ever been in a yoga class where someone jumps on your back, steps on your fingers and poops on your mat? I have, and I loved every second.
To clarify, the incredibly non-self aware ‘students’ I shared space (a barn) with were goats. As I’m sure you’ve seen in the videos on Facebook, Goat Yoga is a thing and it’s alive and well on the West Coast.
Whatever Floats Your Goat
Last year, on a chilly spring Sunday morning, Alex and I drove an hour north to Snohomish to find some zen while gazing into the horizontal, split-shaped pupils of some precious goats. It was our time to goat yoga.
Yogi or not, this experience is for anyone. Well, anyone okay with the possibility of dodging goat pee during down dog.
Goat yoga is a fad that popped up a few years ago, and as an animal and yoga lover, I’ve been chasing the chance to experience this ever since. When we moved to Seattle and I discovered this unusual yoga class was offered not too far away, I obviously snagged some tickets.
What is Goat Yoga?
Goat yoga is essentially a beginner-friendly yoga class among free-roaming goats.
We breathed, stretched and twisted with hard-headed rescue goats in a hay covered, eclectic homemade barn at The Wobbly Ranch. The Wobbly Ranch is a nonprofit sanctuary, home to 11 rescued goats. The name represents how they offer a home to every goat - even the ones that are physically or mentally wobbly.
There were about 15 people total, one yoga teacher, one owner/photographer, 5 wobbly goats and countless farm puns.
During our hour-long all levels yoga class, the goats wandered, ate snacks, hopped on unsuspecting backs, nibbled on hats, squeezed through legs and triggered non-stop smiles and giggles. One sweet but unexpectedly agile and heavy hooved goat plowed past my neighbor yogi and stepped on my thumb - and i’m not even mad. After the class, we had the opportunity to learn more about all the “kids” at the ranch, take selfies with the goats too large to practice and spend some quality time in the barn with our new four legged friends.
The highlight was clearly having one of the goats jump on your back. The goats aren’t forced to do anything they don’t want to do, but if anyone reached into the milk jug of treats pinned to the wooden wall, they knew what to do. It felt like a medium pressure massage - with smooth bricks edging into your shoulders instead of fingers.
All in all, it was an abso-goat-ely adorable and fun experience. I have a newfound appreciation for these animals - how unique they all are and how familiar and pet-like they are (soft, sweet, smart and full of personality).
A year later, and I'm sure there’s still hay remnants in our car and goat love in my heart. <3
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