EN 'LYKKELIG DISTRAKSJON': TA EN TITT INNI GEITYOGATRENDEN

Over: Lainey Morse koser en geit.

Lainey Morse certainly didn’t expect to become, as she puts it, a Goat Yoga mogul. But a cute idea to host a yoga class at her farm in Albany, Oregon, while baby goats pranced around the mats has turned into a phenomenon with a more than 500-person wait list.

Blown away. I’m blown away. Goat yoga … who knew? Every day, something crazier happens, says Morse, who is stunned that the Goat Yoga classes she hosts on her farm are attracting interest from Alaska to Australia. Morse, 44, a marketing professional who is now pursuing Goat Yoga full-time, says the idea for the class came from a yoga teacher mom who attended a child’s birthday party at her farm. Word got out not long after the first class in July, when Morse sent some cute Goat Yoga photos to Modern Farmer magazine, and from there, it absolutely snowballed, she says, with even The New York Times coming out to the farm to figure out just what’s so special about Goat Yoga (the Times article has yet to be published). I think probably right now everybody is stressed out with politics and everything going on … this is a story that’s a happy distraction, Morse theorizes.

Historien bak geityogafenomenet

Så hva er så spesielt med geityoga? Nei, geitene gjør faktisk ikke positurer, men de strekker seg og noen ganger ser det ut som om de gjør nedadgående vending hund, sier Morse (men de er ikke, legger hun til med en latter). Morse, som bare nylig begynte å praktisere yoga, fikk diagnosen i fjor med Sjogrens syndrom, en autoimmun sykdom som forårsaker ekstrem tretthet og påvirker lungene og hjernen. Geitene hennes var med på å få henne gjennom det. Det var veldig tøft for meg i fjor ... å tilbringe tid på mitt felt med geitene mine var bare en slik terapi for meg. Det er veldig vanskelig å være trist og deprimert når du har babygeiter som hopper rundt deg, sier hun.

Dyreterapi er kjernen i Morses geityogaklasser, som blir undervist av Heather Davis . One lady had stage 4 cancer and said nothing had helped her heal more than Goat Yoga, Morse says. Plus, the classes are fun. We’ve heard of Laughter Yoga … I think it adds to that aspect of it. Yoga connects you with your mind, body, and soul, and if you do it out in the middle of nature in a field, in beautiful surroundings, and you add goats, which are friendly, social, and loving, and sit down next to people on their mats … people are so happy. After class I always say, ‘Was it as cool as you thought it was going to be?’ And almost everyone says, ‘This was magical. It was amazing.’ It’s partnering a great yoga class with nature and cute animals. The class is on trend, too, with Meowga, Doga, Lama’ste og Horseback yoga Nylig å gjøre overskrifter.

Se også 5 dyr som elsker yoga så mye som du gjør

Hva skjer egentlig i geityoga?

Heather Davis, who teaches the all-levels, vinyasa-style Goat Yoga classes, says that like Morse, she had no idea Goat Yoga was going to be such a big hit. What I can guess is that the experience of being with the goats og in this idyllic farm with a beautiful view of the mountains og the sunset … it brings yoga to everybody. People that have said, ‘I would never do yoga’ are willing to try it with goats … it takes the pretense out of it. Even if you’re anxious about not having what you may think of as a yoga body or if you’ve never done yoga before, Davis believes Goat Yoga allows people to experience something new og the joy of being on the farm with the goats. They’re so playful, curious, og fun to be around. It makes it more than a yoga class — it’s an experience, she says.

moderne multe

Og siden det er vanskelig å være for alvorlig når babygeiter blir med deg i Warrior I, innlemmer Davis lekenhet og humor i klassene hennes. Jeg tror ikke det er dumt. Folk sier at det høres ut Portlandia [Skissekomedieserien som forfalsker Portland, Oregon]. Det er ikke klønete eller tullete, men det er absolutt morsomt. Når geitene velger å kose seg ved siden av deg når du ligger i Savasana, er det det beste. Davis legger til at hun og Morse ikke tvinger geitene til å være til stede i løpet av klasser - de velger å bli med utøvere på mattene sine.

Each Goat Yoga class is three hours long: one hour to hang out with the goats, an hour of yoga, and then what Morse calls goat happy hour, where people play with the goats and take selfies. Morse had planned on waiting until springtime to hold the next class (since it’s getting too cold for outdoor yoga), but due to demand, she’s decided to give barn goat yoga a try later this month. She’s also planning Goat Yoga retreats and goat therapy for veterans, people with disabilities, people suffering from depression, people suffering from illness, etc. I didn’t even know I could dream something like this … I’m super excited, she says.

Goat Yoga classes are . To get on the wait list for the next class, e-mail [email protected].

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