It’s early evening in a Lincoln yoga studio and I’m sat watching the instructor intertwine her legs like a pretzel while balancing a tiny dachshund in one hand. Next to me, a woman relaxes, zen-like with eyes closed, as a cockapoo snoozes away in her lap.
This is a new craze taking the UK by storm Dog Yoga. Doga?
Increasing numbers of dog lovers up and down the country appear to believe this may be the ultimate harmony-inducer with classes selling out each week.
“Yoga is a very spiritual practice,” says Jade Canavan, the 37-year-old leading today’s session at the Inner Lifetime studios in Newark Road. “Having puppies that have this really innocent young energy really resonate with that.”
This is a trend that first began in the US with trailblazer Suzi Teitelman in the early 2000s. She began practicing yoga with her cocker spaniel and, so the story goes, found it an effective way to create a relaxing state for both dogs and their owners.
Now, two decades on, it is fully established here in Lincoln. And, while the puppies I worked around were initially more concerned with chasing each other’s tails than the yoga, they did indeed help create a warm environment and eventually settled into it.
Indeed, I can now confidently say, after observing the puppies, that dogs have a talent for falling asleep anywhere and on anyone.
The Inner Lifetime studio itself was founded by Jade in 2024 after she herself had used yoga to help through some tough life changes.
After completing her training in Thailand, she has used her facility to share the benefits of her own experience by creating what she calls an authentic space. Then, eight months ago, she introduced dog yoga, working with Lincoln licenced dog breeders, Duffabulls.
So far, she has had three completely sold-out classes with puppies in a variety of dog breeds: Imperial Shih tzu, Fluffy French bulldogs, Dachshunds and Cockapoos. People, it seems, love doing the downward dog with actual dogs.
“I really want to tap into those people who need yoga and would benefit from yoga but perhaps have never done any kind of movement before in their lives,” says Jade. “When you bring puppies into it, it just makes it a little less scary.”
The sessions, she says, often have an emotional impact on people. “The puppies are so loving. That’s all they want to do and I think everyone needs a bit of that in our lives,” says Jade.
There is evidence that there are reported health benefits too. Studies by the National Institute of Health in the US have found that dog interaction can have a positive impact on blood pressure and heart rate, as well as increasing beta-endorphins and dopamine.
This is certainly something Keziah Wygard appeared to agree with. The 19-year-old was among those enjoying Jade’s session at Inner Lifetime.
She said: “It was nice to be able to relax in an environment where it didn’t feel like you had to 100 per cent know what you were doing. You could sort of lay back cuddle with the dogs and focus on your body if you wanted to.”
Here’s to keeping calm with the canines.
