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When I came across an advertisement online while I was researching an activity to try for the first time, I immediately knew that the Baby Goat Yoga PJ Party at Lavenderwood Yoga would be the ideal new experience for me. Although I am not an advanced yogi by any means, the advertisement specifically mentioned that the class was open to beginners as well, so I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a shot.
The yoga studio regularly hosts events at Eden Gardens located in Moorpark, and although the drive took forty minutes, the event was definitely worth the distance. After I purchased the tickets at $25/each for myself, my mom, my sister, and her boyfriend, we packed up our yoga mats, towels, and water bottles to prepare for our Sunday morning activity. |
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The morning of the event during the drive there, I received an e-mail that it might drizzle later in the day and that other participants had expressed concerns about cancellation, but our yoga instructor assured us that she would be keeping us updated via phone or e-mail should there be any changes. Fortunately, by the time we arrived, the light rain had cleared up and partly cloudy soon turned into clear skies.
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When we arrived at the outdoors location, we were asked to lay out our yoga mats vertically in a small gated pen. Before the goats arrived in a truck, the yoga instructor advised us to put all of our bags and belonging to the side, since goats tend to nibble on everything in sight.
The four of us set our mats down on the ground side-by-side and waited impatiently until the woman in charge of bringing the animals opened the back of a truck and lured the goats into the gated pen by bribing them with a bucket of food. Our yoga instructor unsuccessfully tried to calm the group of yogis sitting before her and move past the initial excitement of seeing the goats roaming around freely, stating that we will have more than enough time to take pictures afterwards. |
“Shortly after the goats arrived in pink pajamas, we started with sukhasana.”
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Shortly after the goats arrived in pink pajamas, we started with sukhasana. Also called the easy pose, this position opens the hips and strengthens the back to warm up the body before attempting more complex poses that thoroughly stretch and loosen each individual muscle from head to toe. Approximately five minutes into the yoga session, one of the five-day-old baby goats sat on my yoga mat and peacefully fell asleep for the remainder of the hour.
Being a hardcore animal lover, I refused to move her aside and was only able to use one third of my mat. Cautious not to squish her tiny body, I eventually decided to slide over and lay entirely on the ground instead. One week later, and my body is still sore from the more advanced yoga poses that we attempted near the end of the session. Granted, I am an amateur yogi who was desperately trying to keep up with instructions meanwhile reminding myself to breathe in the process. |
Despite being friendly and social towards humans, some adult goats were play-fighting and headbutting after our yoga session...
After the session, we overheard our fellow yogis asking around for local restaurant recommendations based on their dietary preferences and restrictions. Some people were looking for vegetarian restaurants, but most were primarily concerned with having healthy options on the menu. After we took the remaining photos with the goats, I decided to search nearby places using my phone to read aloud the options and make a decision altogether.
We quickly dismissed the places we were not interested in at all and decided to drive to a local Japanese restaurant where they offered a variety of soups, salads, and sushi on the menu. Because we were able to conveniently view the menu on Yelp before we arrived, we had more than enough time to decide what we wanted to order to refuel and make up for lost calories.
A few sushi rolls later, we were ready to hit the road again and head back home. This unique experience is one I would definitely consider incorporating into my weekly schedule, with or without baby goats, because I realized the motivational and therapeutic effects of participating in group activities. In other words, it becomes a lot more difficult to slack off when an instructor is giving direct feedback and instruction during a session; a definite plus for individuals who need the extra push to keep up with daily workouts.
We quickly dismissed the places we were not interested in at all and decided to drive to a local Japanese restaurant where they offered a variety of soups, salads, and sushi on the menu. Because we were able to conveniently view the menu on Yelp before we arrived, we had more than enough time to decide what we wanted to order to refuel and make up for lost calories.
A few sushi rolls later, we were ready to hit the road again and head back home. This unique experience is one I would definitely consider incorporating into my weekly schedule, with or without baby goats, because I realized the motivational and therapeutic effects of participating in group activities. In other words, it becomes a lot more difficult to slack off when an instructor is giving direct feedback and instruction during a session; a definite plus for individuals who need the extra push to keep up with daily workouts.
www.lavenderwoodyoga.com
3900 Brennan Road
Moorpark, CA 93031
3900 Brennan Road
Moorpark, CA 93031
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