Today I’ve stumbled upon yet another aspect of dog ownership that is new to me – dog yoga, or doga, as some call it. Now, I’m a dog lover (as you know) and I’m a yoga enthusiast so I’m automatically predisposed to having a higher acceptance of the idea of dog yoga. But I gotta admit, even I’m a little skeptical about this one.
I do believe the studies that show that living with a dog is good for your mental health because of their unconditional love, their excellent listening skills (haha) and the joy of getting to look at their adorable faces every day. I also believe that yoga is truly a miracle drug in its own right. So put the two together and you’ve got yourself some kind of supernova of happiness and healthiness for both dog and owner, right? Hmm…
We talk a lot about what we humans get out of the relationship with dogs, which is obviously a lot. But how much do we focus on what the dogs are getting out of the relationship with us…aside from the obvious food, shelter, someone to throw the ball for them, etc.?
In this case, I’m not so sure how much my dog is going to get out of practicing yoga with me. I mean, aren’t dogs kind of yogis already? They’re pretty much practicing yoga every day as it is. Case in point – we learned the downward dog from them and I see them do it often! They’re already centered and in the moment 100% of the time (given that they really don’t have much sense of time at all). They’re not spending hours thinking about how a coworker treated them badly at work today, or about bills piling up, or about needing to get to the gym. Face it, they don’t have a lot of doggie baggage that they need to release. So that’s the skeptical side of me thinking this one through.
On the other hand, dogs do love our attention. And, assuming the dog is even remotely interested in participating in the asanas without too much coercion, it would provide an excellent bonding opportunity, and maybe even a little workout for the pup. Plus, I’m assuming if you go to a doga class that there’s also a chance for the doggies to chit-chat before and after class for a little extra socialization (Hey – cute doga mat! Your downward dog was looking great today! I think my owner tooted during mountain pose – P.U. Not cool!). So maybe there is some value in it for both owner and dog.
Either way, I do have to say that I am curious about it. And yes, once I have a dog of my own, I may revisit the idea. I stumbled across the Yoga 4 Dogs website today where you can purchase a dog yoga dvd so that’s an option.
I was also curious to see if I could get a taste of dog yoga online so I stopped by YouTube and found a series of doga dog yoga videos from Expert Village. Here’s a little taste for you – this one made me smile cause Toby is a cutie! Regardless of what you think about the idea of dog yoga, you won’t be able to deny that Toby rules!
I have to agree with you Heather. I am not sure mixing dogs and yoga is all that great. There are some things that should be left to themselves.
I have often wondered about Doga (I know of a studio in Westlake that offers it). But wasn’t sure how to keep Ginger’s interest or keep her from being distracted by the other dogs.