Most people know yoga as a meditative exercise that connects the mind and body. There is hot yoga, pilates and several other adaptations to the ancient practice that so many participate in and love today. A relatively recent adaptation, though, is baby goat yoga.
Yoga has been around for 5,000 years, originating in Northern India. In the 2010s, Lainey Morse got the idea to add goats into the equation, thus giving us baby goat yoga, the adult equivalent to the nostalgic joy of a children’s petting zoo.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, Replenished, a Central Valley social wellness company, hosted a day of fun at Balbas-American Winery that included a 5k run, mat pilates, cold plunging, red light therapy and, of course, baby goat yoga. Individual goat yoga tickets were $33.
Baby goat yoga is a normal yoga flow, plus approximately a dozen goats. They climb all over participants, balancing on people’s backs, sleeping on their mats and nesting in their arms.
“Baby” is not an exaggeration either, as one of the goats was only around three days old.
Cole Brincefield is the owner of Replenished and is responsible for putting the event together.
“One of the big reasons why we’re trying to do the baby goat yoga for this event [is that we’re] trying to create that connection with the furry friends, kind of let the worries of life go, and be free for the day, and allow yourself to just be in the moment present here with a lot of good people,” Brincefield said.
In a world where activities and exercise are so often calculated and precise, being able to unwind in the presence of good people and furry friends is just what some souls need.
Macy Boman, a yoga and hot pilates instructor at Blue Moon Yoga, taught the two 30-minute sessions of baby goat yoga.
“It was so much fun to see everyone interacting with the goats, there was even a couple of bunnies as well; we got to do an all-levels flow, so we got a little stretch in, but we mainly got to enjoy the company of having little goats walk around, be on our backs, [we got] to hold them, pet them, all of the fun things,” Boman said.
Balbas-American Winery is surrounded by miles of greenery and quiet country roads; it is just the place one might expect to see tiny goats running around dressed in all sorts of outfits. I have to say, some of them were more stylish than I was.
The sessions were outside in an enclosed space and for the entire duration of the classes, participants were laughing, filming each other, calling for the goats and in between that, getting a good workout in.
“I feel like it brought so much joy to everyone, I would definitely do it again, I hope we have another event like this,” Boman said. “It was a great turnout.”
Everyone has their own way of unwinding, whether it is heavy weight lifting, running or baby goat yoga. However, doing yoga with baby goats and bunnies brings a whole “natural farm vibe,” without the dirt and mess.
McKenna Georges attended one of the baby goat yoga sessions with some friends and enjoyed the serene atmosphere.
“For me, being around the goats while doing yoga gave me a sense of peace, a sense of calmness and made me feel one with the earth, compared to a regular yoga session in an enclosed room,” Georges said. “It was so nice to be able to be outside in the sun, out in the open, on grass and feel the breeze in the air.”
From the pure cuteness factor of the baby goats to the calming act of yoga itself, those who participated in Sunday’s activities seemed to have come out rejuvenated, happy and relaxed.
