If you go
› What: Goat yoga› Where: Mending Arrow Ranch, 627 Red Clay Road SW, Cleveland, Tenn.› When: 2 and 3:15 p.m. Saturday, March 17› Admission: $25› For more information: 423-290-2326
Gizmoe the goat climbs upon the back of Maddie Martin as she and Kelly Martin practice yoga. (Contributed photo)The first yoga fundraiser of its kind for this area will be held Saturday, March 17, at Mending Arrow Ranch in Cleveland, Tenn.
Goat yoga - practicing yoga while baby goats frolic among (and on) yogis - is being offered as a fundraiser for Mending Arrow Ranch, a therapeutic horseback riding center for children. Kayla Davis, Mending Arrow owner, says their purpose is to give children a way to experience healing and personal growth through interaction with horses.
Goat yoga? We wouldn't 'kid' you. It really is a thing.
The idea started in 2014 in Arizona, spread across West Coast states, then began moving east. By last summer, goat yoga was a major fad in Nashville - Trisha Yearwood taped one of her Food Network episodes in a goat yoga class - and now it has trickled down to this area.
Turning baby goats loose among the yogis is a stress buster, a type of animal therapy, says Davis. It's a new kind of zen. Who can't help but laugh over the antics of baby goats scampering around, or crawling beneath your downward dog?
"Sometimes if people are too stressed to deal with horses, or having an overwhelming day, we have them go in the pens to play with the goats," says Davis of this animal therapy.
For this inaugural goat yoga, Davis has partnered with Jennifer Dixon, owner of Yoga East.
Dixon, Kelly Martin and Maddie Martin will lead two Saturday sessions at 2 and 3:15 p.m. Davis is providing the seven baby goats. Participants just need to bring their yoga mat and wear clothes that can get dirty or perhaps nibbled.
Davis says when the first class was posted on Facebook, it sold out in three hours. A second class was added and it sold out quickly as well. So the instructors added a few more spots and are keeping a waiting list.
Admission is a donation of $25 to Mending Arrow Ranch. All participants must register to attend.
Register either on Mending Arrow Ranch's Facebook page or at https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/mainclass?fl=true&tabID=7.
Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.