Pet Yoga: A Paws-itive Start to Your Day
Highlights:
- Yoga has a plethora of mental and physical benefits
- Having a furry little companion can decrease your risk of heart attacks and death
- You can combine the benefits of both with pet yoga
Spending time with animals makes you happy. You can't fight this fact. Yoga is linked to better physical and mental health. If you put two and two together, you're left with pet yoga.
Imagine animals spending time with you while you do your favorite yoga poses. Sounds like a dream, right?
What is Pet Yoga?
Pet yoga, or animal yoga, is gaining traction worldwide, and it is exactly what you think it is. This approach combines the pet licks and hugs we all love so much with the mind-body benefits of yoga. What's not to love?‘All you need is a furry friend and a yoga mat, and you�re all set for pet yoga! #petyoga’
Pet yoga classes, as the name implies, involve cute puppies or kittens roaming from one yoga mat to the next, cuddling with participants, and playing with other puppies or kittens while you move, flow, and breathe. The puppies are occasionally involved in some of the yoga poses, but usually, they are free to roam the room.
The puppies or kittens may be obtained from a local animal shelter or the yoga class may cooperate with local breeders, depending on the program. If the puppies come from a shelter, they have a better chance of being adopted.
In many parts of the world, you can even do yoga with goats, butterflies, pigs, or even llamas!
The Benefits of Having a Purr-Fect Yoga Partner
Granted, you won't be able to perfect your poses in this class, but can you really deny yourself the happiness of petting a cute animal? I think not.Science can back this up. Having a dog can decrease your risk of death and increase your lifespan (1✔). While cats can decrease your risk of death from heart disease by 30% (2✔).
Spending time with pets has been linked to decreased stress and anxiety and increased happiness (3✔). Even during the pandemic, people who had pets faced lesser psychological effects of COVID-19 and reported feeling more socially supported (4✔).
So go ahead and book that pet yoga class. You're sure to leave the class happy and energized and maybe you could take a furry friend back home.
References:
- Dog Ownership and Survival: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - (https:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31592726/)
- Cat ownership and the Risk of Fatal Cardiovascular Diseases. Results from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study Mortality Follow-up Study - (https:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22518240/)
- Paws for Thought: A Controlled Study Investigating the Benefits of Interacting with a House-Trained Dog on University Students Mood and Anxiety - (https:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31640244/)
- Depression, anxiety, and happiness in dog owners and potential dog owners during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States - (https:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34910761/)
Source: Medindia
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Dr. Hena Mariam. (2023, June 22). Pet Yoga: A Paws-itive Start to Your Day. Medindia. Retrieved on Dec 27, 2024 from https://www.medindia.net/news/lifestyleandwellness/pet-yoga-a-paws-itive-start-to-your-day-212376-1.htm.
MLA
Dr. Hena Mariam. "Pet Yoga: A Paws-itive Start to Your Day". Medindia. Dec 27, 2024. <https://www.medindia.net/news/lifestyleandwellness/pet-yoga-a-paws-itive-start-to-your-day-212376-1.htm>.
Chicago
Dr. Hena Mariam. "Pet Yoga: A Paws-itive Start to Your Day". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/news/lifestyleandwellness/pet-yoga-a-paws-itive-start-to-your-day-212376-1.htm. (accessed Dec 27, 2024).
Harvard
Dr. Hena Mariam. 2023. Pet Yoga: A Paws-itive Start to Your Day. Medindia, viewed Dec 27, 2024, https://www.medindia.net/news/lifestyleandwellness/pet-yoga-a-paws-itive-start-to-your-day-212376-1.htm.