Breathe with the bleat: 8 places to practice goat yoga in Pennsylvania

Find out where you can practice goat yoga across Pennsylvania then get ready for a nuzzle from a goat or two during downward dog.

What’s goat yoga, you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like: yoga with goats!

Like in any yoga class, participants practice traditional yoga led by an instructor — but in goat yoga, goats also roam around the area and may sniff, nuzzle, or even climb on you as you pose! It’s sort of like animal-assisted therapy combined with exercise. What a great combination!

We’ve put together a list of Pa. farms and other places where you can practice goat yoga, sometimes known as “goga.” Make sure a site’s goats are treated well before you make a commitment to a class. Once you find your ideal class, we hope goat yoga will help you become the best (goat-assisted) yogi you can be!

Freedom Farms – Valencia

Located roughly a half hour from Pittsburgh, Valencia’s Freedom Farms hosts goat yoga once each month in the summer. The sessions include one hour of gentle, beginner-friendly yoga instruction in addition to an hour of snacks and drinks accompanied by your new goat friends.

Tickets are $40 and you’ll likely want to purchase in advance.

Returning Home Farm – Verona

Returning Home Farm in Verona, about 20 minutes from Pittsburgh, operates with the belief that goat yoga helps participants feel more relaxed and confident in their yoga practice. The farm, an extension of Penn Forest Natural Burial Park, hosts yoga classes for all skill levels that are one hour long. Following the class, you can mingle with the animals.

Check the schedule for upcoming class dates, which usually occur twice a month on Saturdays. All classes are $20 for adults and $10 for kids 14 and younger, and attendees must register in advance.

Photo courtesy of Penn Forest Natural Burial Park via Facebook.

Hellerick’s Family Farm – Doylestown

Bucks County’s Hellerick’s Family Farm holds yoga with goats on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from April to October. Each class in the goat pasture is one hour of yoga instruction — with possible nibbles and kisses from the goats! You can book by yourself or with a friend, or you can book a yoga class for a birthday party or other group.

Classes are $27 per person and reservations are recommended.

Horse and Goat Yoga – Ambler

Horse and Goat Yoga in Ambler leads yoga classes with rescued animals year-round — during winter, classes are held in a barn! As the name suggests, you can participate in goat yoga or horse yoga (yoga while sitting on horseback). Goat yoga is often held with baby goats that are wearing diapers and need to be bottle-fed; yoga classes are one hour and bottle-feeding time is half an hour.

You can book classes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and classes are $34 per person. Proceeds go to rescued animals, including of course, the goats. 

Photo courtesy of Horse and Goat Yoga via Facebook.

The Amish Farm and House – Lancaster

You have two options for goat yoga at the Amish Farm and House: regular goat yoga for adults or family-friendly yoga classes geared toward kids ages 5 to 11. Regular goat yoga is a typical one-hour yoga class, while the family-friendly goat yoga is 30 minutes of yoga instruction followed by plenty of goat snuggling time.

Classes are $22 for regular goat yoga while family goat yoga costs between $12 and $17. 

Buttinhead Farms – Hunlock Creek

Buttinhead Farms in Northeastern Pa. holds goat yoga events at the farm and around the general NEPA area. For instance, you can participate in goat yoga in the farm’s heated den in Luzerne County, at Paradise Lavender Farm in Monroe County, and at wineries like Setter Ridge Winery and Tolino Vineyards and Winery.

Classes usually cost between $35 and $40 each.

Nittany Meadow Farm – Boalsburg

Goat yoga classes at Central Pa.’s Nittany Meadow Farm are led by yoga instructors from Wellness in Motion Studio. Each class is 30 minutes long, with an additional 30 minutes allotted for playtime with the goats. You don’t even have to do yoga though — you can just sit on your mat and cuddle with the goats!

Classes cost $15 per person.

Photo courtesy of Nittany Meadow Farm via Facebook.

Gettysburg Goat Yoga – Gettysburg

Gettysburg Goat Yoga has planned a number of goat yoga events throughout the spring and summer, including goat yoga classes on the farm as well as traveling goat yoga classes at nearby breweries and wineries.

Most classes are $25 per person, though specialty classes, which may include refreshments or gifts, may cost up to $40.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.