Goat yoga is a real thing (and it’s really cute)

There are many studies out there that show how much humans benefit from having animals in their lives. They calm us and make us happy. There's even evidence that people with pets live longer lives.

There are also many studies showing the benefits of regular exercise and meditation. Yoga is an activity that puts together pieces of both of these things. Lots of people love yoga because it is both a really good workout and is peaceful.

Now, just because certain things are good on their own, it's not a guarantee that they'll be great together. Take nachos and waterskiing...ummm, maybe not. But yoga and animals?

Believe it or not, this matchup is getting rave reviews. Especially when the animals are wee goats.

A happy feeling

Look! I'm doing yoga, too! (Goat Yoga/Facebook)

Lainey Morse owns No Regrets Farm in Albany, Oregon in the United States. In an interview with CBC recently, she said that she was hosting a kid's birthday party there. A parent of one of the kids is a yoga instructor. As people were playing with the goats on Morse's farm, that parent told her that she would love to have a yoga class out there. So they put it together. And now, it seems, there's no looking baaaaack.

The Goat Yoga Facebook page is full of adorable pictures of people doing yoga while goats wander around them, nuzzle up to them, and sometimes even climb on their backs. Though this could easily be seen as distracting, people find the animals extremely enjoyable to be around. Everyone leaves feeling happy and relaxed. And according to Morse, there is a wait list 500 people long of folks hoping to get into a class.

No grass mats!

Sorry, yogis. This mat is taken! (Goat Yoga/Facebook)

How does it work? For starters, yoga itself is an exercise led by an instructor. The instructor asks the class to position themselves in a series of body poses that are designed to stretch and build strength in certain muscles. Each body position is held for a long time and can get really challenging. People doing yoga are called yogis. A yogi always does these exercises on a mat.

Out in the fields of Goat Yoga, things are just as they would be in a normal class...but with curious goats everywhere. Because yoga moves at a slow pace, the goats themselves are pretty relaxed (which is a good thing because an excited goat can get really bouncy!). Even when goats come by to sit on someone's mat, nothing really disrupts the calm flow of the class.

The only problem? The yoga mats are on the ground... right next to the grass that the goats graze upon. A few times, yogis have brought mats with patterns of leaves and flowers on them, only to have the goats mistake them for food!