Goat Yoga has recently become very popular as Lainey Morse of Albany, Oregon started giving classes at her small farm located in a picturesque section of western Oregon. The farm is called "No Regrets.”
Recalling how the idea started, Morse said that when she was hosting a birthday party for children at her farm, a mother, who is also a yoga teacher, approached her with a suggestion that she should give yoga classes at the farm. Morse quickly approved but said that “her goats have to join in.”
She also owns eight goats because, well, she's always wanted to own goats and that is a dream that should not be deferred.
It didn't take much time for the concept to catch fire.
Even now, as sessions fill up and the waitlist grows by dozens -- or hundreds -- every day, Morse marvels at how much people are connecting to her animals.
"The most fun part for me is watching people's faces when a little goat comes up to them while they're doing a yoga pose. It's a distraction, but it's a happy distraction," Morse said.
She says people have come from states away, and for many, there's more to their journey than just curiosity or a yen for quirky concepts.
"It may sound silly, but goat yoga is really helping people," Morse says. "People come in that have anxiety, depression; they're recovering from cancer or illness." Morse also uses her goats in animal assisted therapy for people that suffer from depression or disabilities.
"It's not curing diseases, but it's helping people cope with whatever they're going through."