I headed to the Goga studio close to the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater near downtown Austin at noon. There were a few people already there, with three baby goats roaming about.
Rachael Phillips started Goga back in September 2017 with her boyfriend Trey Kitchen. It started as a fun activity to raise money for Hurricane Harvey victims but has become a flourishing business since.
The yoga session I went to was sponsored by goHappy at SXSW. GoHappy is a startup app that helps people plan group get togethers, assisting with everything from date polls and invites to checklists and photos.
While most goat yoga sessions are guided, the one I went to was a do-it-yourself kind of class — if you can call it that.
There were people of all fitness levels doing whatever poses they pleased. And taking tons of pictures while doing it, of course.
But they were still adorable. This one even nibbled on my cheek while I was trying to get him to pose for a selfie.
The Verdict
Honestly, I'm not a fan of yoga. But adding baby goats into the mix made yoga a lot less boring and and a lot more appealing to me.
But if you're looking for a hardcore workout, this probably isn't the best option for you. Goat yoga was hardly the best yoga class I’ve ever taken. Then again, that's not what this was about.
I was able to stretch, interact with people and play with goats while my stress levels dropped. I walked out feeling happier, especially after the busy week I had.
And there's no doubt it was certainly a very unique experience. If you're an animal lover, you'd probably want to try it out at least once. Maybe not in New York, though, where an event was recently canceled due to health concerns.