Have you ever procrastinated exercising? Dreaded it? Well you no longer need to! Meet Yoga, with a new twist—Yoga! Don’t believe me, well it is truly beneficial for you.
According to the American Heart Association, having a dog as a pet enhances life expectancy and decreases loneliness. According to the Minnesota Stroke Institute, cat owners have a 30% decreased risk of heart disease. According to News in Health, interacting with animals has been shown to decrease blood pressure and levels of cortisol. Furthermore, animals such as horses have helped patients heal from trauma during treatment sessions. Improving health in the United States should be a top priority for our society. Animals can undoubtedly provide their help.
Yoga has become an increasingly popular type of physical activity in the twenty-first century. Everyone today is familiar with yoga poses such as downward dog, tree pose, warrior pose, and bridge pose. Despite this, not everyone is aware of all the benefits of yoga. Yoga is designed to assist with both physical and emotional conditions such as stress and pain. This essentially promotes a better lifestyle, self-care, and overall well-being.
The addition of animals to yoga has increased the benefits that yoga can provide to an individual. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended animal yoga as a healthy technique to maintain and balance one’s health. Yoga practices have included goats, dogs, cats, llamas, and even butterflies. Participants in yoga courses with such animals have reported feeling optimistic and being able to obtain an uplifted mindset and mood.
Goat yoga, for example, may be out of many people’s comfort zones because we don’t often come into contact with goats. During goat yoga, participants follow the instructor’s yoga sequence while being accompanied by adorable baby goats. This appears to be an unusual event, but one you will never forget, as the goats move around, next to you, beneath you, or even standing on you!