Goat yoga has been on my list of “must try activities” for a long time. When Grady Goat Yoga invited me out to try one of their classes, I couldn’t RSVP “yes” fast enough. Grady Goat Yoga is located in Tampa, Florida. The Grady Goat Foundation helps support animals and kids that face physical, mental, and economic challenges in their every day life. The inspiration behind it all? A little goat named Grady. When Grady was born he could hardly walk due to muscular deficiencies. As if that wasn’t enough, it was later discovered that Grady was both deaf and blind. Despite it all he was able to live a full life (thanks to Debbie Canton, co-owner at Grady Goat Farm – previously known as the Hat Trick Ranch).
Grady the goat serves as an inspiration that you can truly overcome the cards you are dealt in life. The full story is pretty incredible. You can read more about it here.
If I’m being honest, it had been a hot minute since I’d taken a yoga class. The last one I took was years ago at a hot yoga studio with my friend Shannon. I child posed for most of that class because I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself into. Not one of my prouder moments, but that’s besides the point.
On a cool Saturday morning in December, Ben and I arrived at Grady Goat Farm. We walked up the long driveway and into their barn where we’d lay down our mats to get our yoga on. Usually a weekend yoga class at the farm would take place outside, but due to weather from the day before (and the mud that came with it) our class was hosted inside.
A Saturday morning yoga class was a great way to start the day. I wasn’t oblivious to the real reason that I was there though: the goats. My excitement was through the literal barn roof when we walked in and saw the baby goats already frolicking around. Our yoga instructor took her place at the front of the class, the barn doors opened, and even MORE goats flooded the room. I literally squealed.
The nice thing about Grady Goat Yoga is that it’s for yogis and non yogis alike. You can easily follow along with the yoga instructor at the front of the class, or do a few poses and pause for some baby goat cuddles. Our instructor that day was Melissa Vogt of Kodawari Studios in Tampa.
I love that you can control how much yoga you do and how much you pause to play with the goats. At times the two become combined when you’re mid-pose and a goat happily hops on top of you. The free flow of the class makes it way less intimidating for someone like me who only knows like two yoga poses.
If you’re looking for something unique to try in 2019, give goat yoga a try. I think you should just goat for it. 😉
Grady Goat Yoga is located at: 12551 Franklin Rd., Thonotosassa FL 33592.
A special thank you to Grady Goat Farm for having us out for some goat yoga! All opinions and good times expressed here are my own.