A non-profit farm on Lake Talquin that specializes in goat education, Goat House Farm, offers everything from farm stays to tours and has recently added a new interactive activity to its services: goat yoga.
To bring in the first day of spring, Crystal Crowell, the yoga instructor at Goat House Farm, hosted a full house, public goat yoga class at 2 p.m. Saturday. The class takes place every other Saturday at various times.
Melissa Hughes, the director of the farm, says they started goat yoga about four or five months before COVID hit and that this activity was a way to gain exposure to the farm, as well as, to show people how affectionate and friendly the goats really were.
“Since we’ve opened back up it has been amazing because people want to get outside and this is a great way to do it, especially when we have baby goats,” Hughes said. “I think a lot of folks are used to petting zoo goats that come up to you for the food but ours come up to you for hugs and kisses and we really wanted to expose people to that.”
Crowell says she became the yoga instructor in November and has been in love with it ever since, calling her experience “selfishly spectacular.”
“Every time I open the gate and people come in, I am literally getting to watch someone check off an item from their bucket list or fulfill a dream they never thought was possible,” Crowell said. “I really enjoy helping create an environment where everyone feels safe and comfortable to be who they are and express the full amount of joy as they can.”
Payton Trenary, a first timer at goat yoga, says she previously saw a lot of her friends posting cute pictures on Instagram with baby goats and was intrigued. She went to Goat House Farm’s Facebook and registered for the class along with her mom and sisters.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Trenary said. “I love animals and yoga so I’m really excited to interact with the goats today.”
Goat House Farm also offers private classes on request and recommends that interested guests register for classes through Eventbrite or through Facebook @Goat House Farm Inc. Students and campers also receive discounted prices at checkout.
For more information about Goat House Farm, go to their website at https://goathousefarm.com