Me to my husband: “I signed up for a goat yoga class”
My husband: “Cool.”
Me: “Yeah, I wanted to see what the hype is all about, it’s like a national phenomenon.”
Husband: “Wait. You’re being serious?”
Me: “Yup! They have baby goats, and you do yoga with them, it’s a whole thing.”
Husband: “Can I come and just pet the baby goats?”
Me: ‘No, you’ll distract them from the yoga”
About 30 minutes before my goat yoga class began, I had my usual bout of “why did I do this to myself?” As a result I arrived nearly late and the room was already full with close to 100 people. Luckily I found a good spot by the wall in a corner next to two awesome women that shoved over to make space for me.
The baby goats were provided by Our Five Acre Homestead and we only waited a few minutes before they unleashed them on us. It was total anarchy. The instructor (from TRYoga) gave us five minutes to play with the goats before he attempted to get us to focus on some yoga. That didn’t happen. I did a few poses and the girls next to me said they were just copying me because they didn’t know what they were doing (it was hard to hear over the goat bleating). After about 15 minutes this yoga charade just dissolved into trying to lure over baby goats interspersed with an occasional downward dog. I got the impression the instructor was super unimpressed with us as a whole.
Goat helpers from Our Five Acre Homestead came around and asked if we wanted to try and balance a baby goat on our back. Obviously I said yes, what did they think I’d come here for?! Unfortunately the poor baby goat just fell off. Apparently I am not a very skilled Goat Yogi.
When it was all over, I rolled up my towel (I didn’t dare bring my mat in case of, you know… goat poop) and bid farewell to the baby goat hoard. On the way out I stopped by the little Our Five Acre Homestead stand selling goat milk products. I bought a lavender goat milk soap bar, and Rosemary Mint shampoo bar to bring on a trip to Nashville this spring (suck it TSA liquid restrictions!). On impulse I also purchased a small honey almond lotion which smells like these cookies that my mom makes at Christmas time.
So yeah, goat yoga. I can’t say this did much for my overall yoga practice, but I think the point was really the baby goats.
Action items for you:
Take a class! There’s got to be something in your area to give you an opportunity to try something new.
If you want to do what I did:
This class was hosted by the Broome County Regional Farmers Market as a way to raise funds to keep the market going year round. You can check their website or Facebook page for events they are hosting. You can also visit the Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 9am-1pm, they are open additional days in the summer.
