Yoga is popular and well known for its calming value, good exercise and promotes a healthier lifestyle—but goat yoga?

Nevalleynews.org wanted to find out about using goats in combination with yoga and visited AZGoat Yoga to find out.

This business consists of a team of two women, April Gould and Sarah Williams. Gould owns and trains the goats and Sarah is the yoga instructor.

Every class has a different theme and the goats get to play dress up.

They have under the sea goat yoga, Hawaiian goat yoga, shark goat yoga, and the list goes on.

Northeast valley news asked Gould about her personal favorite theme.

“I like unicorn goat yoga because sometimes we get people who ask if their is going to be real unicorns there”. She thinks it’s funny and tells them there is,” Gould said.

The goats have a huge impact on the class.

When you go to a class everyone is cracking up and having a good time.

A lot of people have never really associated with goats.

“Maybe the most they’ve interacted is at the zoo where they get to pet the goats but they’ve never interacted with them in this way,” Gould said.

There is usually around twenty goats per class.

The yoga is for everyone.

“It incorporates the yoga with the therapy of goats. It’s the perfect combination,” Gould said.

Apparently, goat yoga is great for dates.

“A lot of people bring their boyfriends and don’t tell them what they’re going to do and their boyfriend ends up being surprised,” Gould said.

So why goats?

“Goats are full of love. They jump on you naturally because they like to play king of the hill and get to the highest point.”

Gould said that they also incorporate other animals. They have a couple of alpacas that they bring. Sometimes they’ll bring in a little calf and do yoga around the cow.

Northeast Valley news talked to Onica Rice, a participant who attended the goat yoga class at AZ Goat Yoga a couple of weeks ago.

“There was one cow who is pregnant, her name is Maisie and she was there to cuddle with and bring down our heart rates because cow heart rates are much slower than humans and we try to match them,” Rice said.

Rice explains that the class was given an hour before, and an hour after the class to feed and play with the goats.

Aside from the goats, we wanted to know the difference between regular yoga and goat yoga.

“When doing regular yoga it’s very natural to think about ourselves. How we feel how we are breathing how stretches feel what pain we’re in, but when doing goat yoga— we were still getting the same stretches the same breathing, but our focus was outside of our own heads. I was less focused on myself and instead watching innocent and peaceful creatures hop around and eat,” Rice said.

AZ Goat Yoga goes year round and they offer morning and evening classes.