Goat yoga rambles into Saskatoon, with some surprise animal guests

It may not have been the most vigorous and sweaty class, but the first-ever goat yoga session in Saskatoon sure warmed some hearts on Sunday.

About 30 people in two back-to-back classes struck yoga and cellphone selfie poses inside an animal pen in Diefenbaker Park while a gaggle of goats — plus some unadvertised ducks and a turtle — rambled among them.

"It was definitely tough when my mat was crowded but when I had some space I actually did sync into some of the poses and get a good stretch," said participant Jennifer Roberge, while hugging a baby goat.

The peaceful moment was fleeting.

"Oh, there's someone licking my leg!" she exclaimed, and glanced down to find an adult goat doing just that.

"Also, I had a duck kinda chewing my toe. That happened."

Not that Roberge was complaining.

"When I go to class, I like to work hard but yoga is also about enjoying yourself and laughing and just releasing, and if laughter is the way you want to do that, there's nothing wrong with doing [that]."

Not 'the most vigorous yoga class'

Carla Duval-Tyler, an instructor at Moksha Yoga, led the class. 

"It probably wasn't the most vigorous yoga class I've ever taught, but we did have a lot of fun and we were able to get through quite a few poses," she said.

The class was a good lesson in keeping one's focus, said Duval-Tyler.

She had the group do the tree pose — a position requiring people to balance on one leg with their arms raised high above their heads.

But throwing in some cuddly livestock rendered it even more challenging. 

"You're going to want to look down and you're going to want to look around and you're going to have stay in focus and find your balance even though there's lots of stuff around you that's cute and distracting."

The event took place as the Saskatchewan Marathon, also based in the park, was winding down.

• Nearly 4,000 people take part in Saskatchewan Marathon

"We had one girl in the first class who was being licked all over," said Duval-Tyler. "She had run the marathon and was all full of salty goodness. She said it was probably the best part of her day."