Sarasota farm welcomes local yogis

In a way, animals have always had a place in yoga. There is downward facing dog, the pigeon pose, the cat to cow stretch.

Goats, however, have been sadly left out of the yoga tradition. Fruitville Grove is moving to remedy that.

The local farm introduced goat yoga in September and is preparing for its second round of classes in November. As for what the class entails, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Between 15 and 20 students participate in a class in a field while goats meander and munch around them.

“You’ve got goats and young people and older people … that can all enjoy the farm and the animals,” Fruitville Grove owner Kim White said. “It’s like a perfect storm.”

Fruitville Grove may be among the newest local farms to offer yoga classes with their four-legged friends, but they’re certainly not alone. Goat yoga has become popular in fitness circles nationwide. It’s a trend made for Instagram. So it’s fitting that’s where class instructor Michelle Leon was first exposed to goat yoga.

“One of my friends who lives up north was at a goat yoga class,” she said. “I was like, ‘That looks so awesome.’ I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

A frequent visitor of Fruitville Grove, Leon thought the classes would be a perfect fit for the farm.

“It just kind of happened on a whim,” Leon said.

As for White, she already had been toying with the idea of introducing her goats to the fun and photogenic fitness fad, but she needed an instructor.

“She was one of our customers and she approached us about it,” White said. “I was like ‘Wow, kismet!’ This was meant to happen.”

They worked out the details and created a Facebook event to advertise Fruitville Grove’s first goat yoga class.

“We kind of had anticipated that we would sell out, because seats were so limited,” Leon said. “But we did it like four weeks before, thinking it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

The class’s 15 seats sold out in less than 48 hours with enough people on its waiting list to host another class. Despite the overwhelming public interest, White and Leon decided to keep the first class small. After all, it was the goat’s first yoga class, too.

White said most of the goats are Nigerian Dwarfs and are naturally gregarious. That said, she was anxious to see how they would react to the class.

“The goats had a great time,” White said. “It’s a hoot.”

White and Leon decided to wait to hold the next round until Nov. 4 and Nov. 18 after the farm’s annual pumpkin festival. All spots have sold out, but White said she hopes to continue offering classes at least twice a month.

Leon concedes the addition of the goats makes for a less-than-serious yoga experience. Yoga practice is typically characterized by intentional focus and the elimination of external distractions. But for the goats of Fruitville Grove, Leon makes an exception.

“You’re not going to come and have a one-hour serious power flow,” she said. “I know everyone is going to get pictures because I know this is exciting. So everyone is encouraged to have their cellphone on their mat, which I will never say in a yoga class that I teach, ever.”

Goats cuddled and crawled on participants. One even took a nap on a yoga mat.

“She literally slept and snored through the entire class,” White said. “That’s just part of the charm.”

It’s a characteristic Leon hopes will invite those perhaps previously hesitant to try yoga. Leon said she become an instructor early in her yoga practice with the hope that she could introduce the discipline to others.

“I really wanted to open up yoga to someone who has never tried yoga before,” Leon said. “Yoga doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s not about doing splits or handstands. It’s really open to anybody. I keep the class very open minded. It’s very beginner-friendly and very casual.”

The trick, Leon said, is not to take it too seriously.

“Feel free to stop, drop and [take a] selfie if you are in a pose and a goat comes up to you,” She said. “We keep it very fun and light hearted.”