Goat Yoga
For more animal encounters just head to Cronkshaw Fold Farm, not far from Manchester, for a spot of therapeutic Goat Yoga
Love yoga, but ready to try something a bit different? How about yoga with goats! That’s what you’ll find at Cronkshaw Fold Farm, Rossendale, Lancashire, which is located approximately 40 minutes from Manchester.
Hang out with these furry, farm critters as you get your stretch on in an all-natural, therapeutic, back-to-nature environment. It’s a wonderful way to counter the ordinary stresses of modern, everyday life. Doing yoga alongside animals has been shown to help with stress and depression and foster feel good ‘happy’ hormones.
Plus you’ll be helping a good cause too. Located in the beautiful Alden Valley, Cronkshaw Fold is a traditional hill farm with a passion for environmentally-friendly farming, animal welfare and teaching about the importance of sustainable agriculture. All profits from the Goat Yoga classes go towards paying for renewable power technologies for the farm to help transition to more environmentally-friendly farming and reduce its carbon footprint.
WHAT TO BRING:
- Warm old clothes you don't mind getting a bit grubby (or nibbled!)
- An old bath towel/ blanket you don't mind getting dirty (a towel is easier to put in the wash afterwards than a yoga mat!)
- Hair tie for long hair (you will get nibbled!)
The classes themselves are essentially 80-minutes of yoga and hilarity with some amazing creatures. In fact, you’ll be mixing with some celebrities. The goats have become semi famous after appearing on Zoom calls around the world.
For the bargain price of £5 you can book a goat to appear on your online call anywhere in the world (the goats are also savvy in Microsoft teams, Skype, Google Hangouts, and other platforms!).
The actual classes take place in one of the barns at the farm — the barn is huge so there's plenty of room for social distancing so you can chill out, have a laugh and hang out with the goats.
At the start, your instructor will introduce you to the goats, explain how the session will run, and then release the goats into your yoga class. Once the class is finished there’s some time to feed the goats some treats before it's time to head home.
It’s a fun, laidback and liberating backto-nature yoga experience. You may not get to perfect your downward dog, but you’re guaranteed a great time with some incredible animals…and a right, good old fashioned belly laugh!
£25 per person. Public classes run April-September. Private classes for hen do's / parties available year round: £250 per private class. Buy tickets online at: cronkshaw.com
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