Berl Falbaum
Like many people my age — I am up there — there is little new in life that can surprise me. Somewhat arrogantly, we believe we have seen it all.
Well, my granddaughter, Jackie, managed to shatter that belief when she told me about a new rage called, “goat yoga.”
When she said “goat yoga,” I thought it was the weird name of one of those rappers she listens to periodically.
No, grandpa, she said, goat yoga is a new therapeutic exercise in which goats walk all over you while you are in yoga positions.
How could I not have understood that in the first place.
I humored her, thinking she was pulling my leg, but when she left, I searched the internet and, lo and behold, goat yoga is “everywhere” — even in Metro Detroit.
Yup, there are goat yoga farms all over the U.S. and the founder, one Lainey (not Looney) Morse, formerly of Muskegon but now living in Albany, Oregon, advises she expects an international market.
She explains in a promotional video that around 2015 she was in the dumps with personal and professional problems, but noticed how happy she was when around goats.
She invited a charitable organization to her farm to enjoy the goats when a yoga instructor suggested sponsoring a yoga class with goats.
And, as they say, the rest is history.
If someone had suggested such an idea to me, I would have called you know who to get that person some help. But then I was never a businessperson.
Morse said after one newspaper picked up the story, others followed, including such elite media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other goat-loving members of the Fourth Estate. She has been interviewed some 40 times and is a frequent guest speaker “everywhere.”
Who would have thought it would go this far, she asks in the video.
Indeed, who would have thought? I sure wouldn’t have.
The goats make you forget your problems and make you laugh, Morse explains.
Silly me, if I were depressed while doing yoga, I would put Adele on my iPad and place the iPad on my back. Or maybe a comedian. I would also feel good knowing the ipad would not soil my clothes when... (Some on the internet advise bringing a change of clothes because there are no potty-trained goats.)
Morse compares goat yoga to other recreational activities like horseback riding. But in horseback riding, I am the one sitting on the horse.
Here is what one website says about the benefits of goat yoga:
“Goat yoga is an excellent practice for improving balance and coordination. The goats, with their nimble and agile movements, can provide unexpected challenges as they roam around the yoga space. You’ll need to find your center of gravity and maintain your balance while accommodating their presence. This constant adjustment helps to improve your proprioception, which is your body’s ability to sense its position and movement in space.”
If it takes goats to improve proprioception, who am I to argue? I intent to discuss proprioception at my next annual physical examination and ask the doctor if I need goat yoga therapy.
If I do, I will also check if my insurance covers the cost which, I learned, can range between $20-70 for an hour or so. I guess for the more expensive sessions you are given goats experienced in proprioception.
Just as I started warming up to goat therapy, I encountered the killjoys who warned that before signing up, we should “think about being a goat.” First, I had to consider my proprioception and now I need to consider being a goat. Specifically, the naysayers said:
“Goats are naturally curious, but they also get scared easily by new or loud things. In a yoga class, you have strangers everywhere, making different shapes, maybe talking loudly or laughing. People want to touch and pick up the goats. This can be very stressful for them.”
I think if I were a goat this would bother me. It also raises the question: I have relieved my stress but what do the goats do to relieve theirs? No, this is not for me.
But I don’t feel bad because one site advised me that if goat yoga sounds odd to me, “you are not alone.” Whew! That made me feel a lot better. I am already alone on quite a number of issues.
Morse is optimistic about her enterprise, stating, “there are enough humans in the world to be successful.”
To be exact, there are 8.2 billion people on the planet so with the growth of goat yoga, there is a big market for goat breeders.
And to think of 8.2 billion people with goats on their backs while doing push-ups and improving their proprioception, yes, that does make me laugh. I already feel less depressed.
Note to my editors: Please don’t assign me to take part in a goat yoga session and write an in-depth piece on the experience.
Well, my granddaughter, Jackie, managed to shatter that belief when she told me about a new rage called, “goat yoga.”
When she said “goat yoga,” I thought it was the weird name of one of those rappers she listens to periodically.
No, grandpa, she said, goat yoga is a new therapeutic exercise in which goats walk all over you while you are in yoga positions.
How could I not have understood that in the first place.
I humored her, thinking she was pulling my leg, but when she left, I searched the internet and, lo and behold, goat yoga is “everywhere” — even in Metro Detroit.
Yup, there are goat yoga farms all over the U.S. and the founder, one Lainey (not Looney) Morse, formerly of Muskegon but now living in Albany, Oregon, advises she expects an international market.
She explains in a promotional video that around 2015 she was in the dumps with personal and professional problems, but noticed how happy she was when around goats.
She invited a charitable organization to her farm to enjoy the goats when a yoga instructor suggested sponsoring a yoga class with goats.
And, as they say, the rest is history.
If someone had suggested such an idea to me, I would have called you know who to get that person some help. But then I was never a businessperson.
Morse said after one newspaper picked up the story, others followed, including such elite media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other goat-loving members of the Fourth Estate. She has been interviewed some 40 times and is a frequent guest speaker “everywhere.”
Who would have thought it would go this far, she asks in the video.
Indeed, who would have thought? I sure wouldn’t have.
The goats make you forget your problems and make you laugh, Morse explains.
Silly me, if I were depressed while doing yoga, I would put Adele on my iPad and place the iPad on my back. Or maybe a comedian. I would also feel good knowing the ipad would not soil my clothes when... (Some on the internet advise bringing a change of clothes because there are no potty-trained goats.)
Morse compares goat yoga to other recreational activities like horseback riding. But in horseback riding, I am the one sitting on the horse.
Here is what one website says about the benefits of goat yoga:
“Goat yoga is an excellent practice for improving balance and coordination. The goats, with their nimble and agile movements, can provide unexpected challenges as they roam around the yoga space. You’ll need to find your center of gravity and maintain your balance while accommodating their presence. This constant adjustment helps to improve your proprioception, which is your body’s ability to sense its position and movement in space.”
If it takes goats to improve proprioception, who am I to argue? I intent to discuss proprioception at my next annual physical examination and ask the doctor if I need goat yoga therapy.
If I do, I will also check if my insurance covers the cost which, I learned, can range between $20-70 for an hour or so. I guess for the more expensive sessions you are given goats experienced in proprioception.
Just as I started warming up to goat therapy, I encountered the killjoys who warned that before signing up, we should “think about being a goat.” First, I had to consider my proprioception and now I need to consider being a goat. Specifically, the naysayers said:
“Goats are naturally curious, but they also get scared easily by new or loud things. In a yoga class, you have strangers everywhere, making different shapes, maybe talking loudly or laughing. People want to touch and pick up the goats. This can be very stressful for them.”
I think if I were a goat this would bother me. It also raises the question: I have relieved my stress but what do the goats do to relieve theirs? No, this is not for me.
But I don’t feel bad because one site advised me that if goat yoga sounds odd to me, “you are not alone.” Whew! That made me feel a lot better. I am already alone on quite a number of issues.
Morse is optimistic about her enterprise, stating, “there are enough humans in the world to be successful.”
To be exact, there are 8.2 billion people on the planet so with the growth of goat yoga, there is a big market for goat breeders.
And to think of 8.2 billion people with goats on their backs while doing push-ups and improving their proprioception, yes, that does make me laugh. I already feel less depressed.
Note to my editors: Please don’t assign me to take part in a goat yoga session and write an in-depth piece on the experience.
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