It appears that practicing yoga with animals is a thing. Some practice with cats, dogs, goats, or pigs. And some even practice with chickens. That’s right, some practice with those clucking birds that lay eggs, make messes, and sometimes end up on your plate. In an old hotel in Tampa, Florida, people can practice yoga amid the wild chickens that live there. How the chickens got there is a story in itself. The chickens are descendants of birds who came to the area with their owners in the 1880s. They were brought by a Cuban cigar manufacturer who moved his plant there. They are protected by a city law. “Sometimes it’s just so much silly fun that, yeah, people completely forget that they’re doing yoga — me, too,” Colleen McHenry told The Washington Post. She leads yoga classes at the Hotel Haya. “Yoga can be so ridiculously serious. And then, all of a sudden, here we are doing it with chickens who are wearing overalls.” The overalls are actually brightly-colored diapers the chickens wear so they won’t drop their scat, or an egg, on and around the mats. The birds are rescues taken in by volunteers with a group called Ybor Misfits Microsanctuary when they become ill or injured. The experience is also helpful for the yogis. Studies have long shown that being with animals reduces stress hormones in humans. It can also decrease feelings of loneliness. And it can strengthen bonds with others. Adding yoga to the experience gives people a double dose of Ananda. McHenry’s class is very popular. She has a waiting list of people eager to join. The class, she said, serves a larger purpose. “This is part of our city, and we’re protecting (chickens),” McHenry told the Post. “That’s the message here.” Thought Question: If you could do an everyday activity alongside any animal what would you choose and why? Photo of chicken yoga from Instagram courtesy of @yogalofttampa.
