Downward dog meets real puppies in Sebastopol

ADORABLE puppies will share a healthy dose of cuteness and wellbeing on Valentine’s Day when they hit the yoga mats in Sebastopol.

Elements Health and Fitness will open its doors to puppy yoga on Saturday 14 February.

The practice is growing in Australia and internationally because of the positive effect it can have on the health of humans as well as canines.

Puppy Yoga VIC owner Caitlin Kent started her business after coming across the exercise while living in Scotland.

 

 

Ms Kent, an occupational therapist, said puppy yoga offers benefits for both mental and physical health.

“The type of yoga I would teach in Scotland was meditative,” she said. “Calming that nervous system, regulating yourself and just kind of carving that hour out of your week for self-care.

“And then teaching puppy yoga and engaging in the classes and seeing how the presence of puppies and yoga complement each other so much.”

 

 

Ms Kent said the puppies had the power to ground participants in a calming way.

“We live in such a fast-paced world,” she said. “We are so just absorbed by distraction and movement and planning and preparing that we forget to take a pause and be in that present moment, and this is a really beautiful experience.”

Participants are asked to remain seated on their mats while the puppies are out, a decision Ms Kent said was important for the dogs’ development.

“We are creating a positive, safe, new experience for these puppies,” she said. “We want these interactions to be something of a calm, nurturing nature, so they can associate that feeling with humans,” she said.

Ms Kent said the sessions were intentionally relaxed, allowing attendees to take part in whatever way felt right.

 

 

“You can do as much yoga as you want,” she said. “If a puppy’s around you while doing the yoga, you can just sit back and let the pups sit on you. It is very flexible, easy going.

“It’s a really beautiful experience to just carve an hour out of your week to be fully present in something that’s so joyful, and what’s more joyful than a puppy?”

Tickets are $60, and the sessions at 2pm and 3pm are for people 15 years and older.

For more information, or to book, head to eventbrite.com/o/120699391583