LANSING, MI — Attention all yoga and animal lovers. This weekend you can stretch it out while enjoying the company of some goats and rescue kittens.
Goat Yoga at Hilltop Views Farm
Pull out our yoga mats, take a deep breath and get ready to let it all "goat" this weekend. Hilltop Views Farmhas two chances for you to enjoy some goat yoga.
"Goat Yoga is an opportunity for happy distractions, especially right now. It's just bringing goats into our yoga classes. And to be honest, a lot of people come just for the goats," said Shawn Cannarile, owner of Hilltop Views Farm.
On Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., you can perfect your table pose with the farm's rescue and adopted goats. The farm has nine goats with different personalities, but only seven of them join the classes.
"One of the first things we do in a goat yoga class is really just do a gentle warm up. And that's without the goats," Cannarile said. "Once we do a gentle warm-up, we bring the goats in. And that is the most fun to see the expressions on people's faces."
After a little goat yoga, they break into the happy hour where you can walk around the farm, enjoy nature and spend quality time with the goats.
Cannarile says they try to do poses that will engage the goats like table pose and boat pose. But the focus is on animal therapy and helping people in the community relieve stress.
The event on Saturday is a little special because it's goat yoga with wine. Tickets range from $25 to $40 dollars. And money from the tickets is distributed to other local farms and foundations to help build up the community.
"We're all vaccinated here at the farm. We encourage that, if people aren't, they're welcome to come with masks, and we can be at safe distances here as well," Cannarile said.
Cat Yoga
And if goat yoga isn't your thing, How about cat yoga? The Constellation Cat Cafe will be hosting cat yoga Saturday on behalf of its rescue partner Happy Feet Pet Rescue.
The event kicks off at 9:30 a.m.
"There'll be a little bit of time to cuddle it with the kitties and set up. And there'll be about an hour-long yoga session led by an instructor, and then a little more time in the end to snuggle up with kittens and play with them, "Kelsey Maccombs, executive director of Constellation Cat Cafe said.
You'll get to see kittens from as young as two months to adult cats playing in the cat room. And all cats in the cafe are up for adoption.
"There's about 15 to 20 cats running around, getting on your mat trying to do yoga with you. So it's pretty cute," Maccombs said.
Tickets are limited and cost $30, and all proceeds go to Happy Feet Pet Rescue.