For those who love dogs, the very idea of having puppies around is a heart melting concept. Those bright-eyed, frisky, curious, playful little creatures never fail to gladden the heart and put a smile on the face. So, when I heard about puppy yoga I thought to myself that I’m not a big dog-lover, but this would be a great concept for a lot of people.
What is puppy yoga?
Pet yoga is quite a concept in the west. I had earlier read about goat yoga also and puppy yoga is said to be something of a reaction to this. Debra Furstenberg is credited with thinking up the idea of puppy yoga. What started off as a project for her daughter’s karate class soon became a popular concept.
So, puppy yoga is, as the name suggests, yoga that involves puppies. It isn’t about training the dog to do the downward facing dog pose, but to have puppies in the room when doing yoga. Not only are the puppies allowed free run inside the yoga class, in some cases, they can be a part of the yoga aasans performed. The little fur-babies are allowed to sit on the mat with the yogis, climb into their laps and generally do whatever aasan their little doggie heart desires. This can add a lot of laughter and happiness to the entire proceedings in yoga class.
Lowering stress and having fun
Yoga is something that lowers stress and improves the mood and the feeling of wellbeing. Numerous studies demonstrate this fact. The idea is that adding puppies to that further lowers stress and enhances those feelings of wellbeing and joy. Having puppies be a part of yoga class, running around, playing, interacting with people doing yoga can be fun! It can add laughter and joy to an already beneficial activity.
The sort of continuing contact that humans have had with canines over the course of human history has demonstrated a deep bonding. The rush of joy and affection that so many feel when seeing or spending time with doggies is known to produce certain hormones. Such bonding increases production of oxytocin, the happy hormone. The scientific community is largely in agreement over the stress and anxiety reducing benefits of having a pet. Studies have also demonstrated other benefits of owning a pet: lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels, enhanced mood and decreased feelings of loneliness.
Deep breathing, moving, stretching and concentrating the mind all have beneficial impacts for those who do yoga. Add cute little puppies to the mix and I can think of a lot of people who would simply love this. So in a sense, puppy yoga seems to combine the health and mood enhancing impacts of yoga with similar benefits of being around pets.
Of course for people who fear or dislike dogs, this may sound like a bad idea. Some may also state that puppies would distract and detract from the calm serenity of yoga class. I would agree to a great extent. However, once in a while, for dog lovers, the happy, joyful warm cuddles of puppies may make puppy yoga a great idea!