For more than 5,000 years, yoga has served as a practice that promotes spiritual, emotional and physical wellbeing. In the 21st century, its proliferation around the world has caused it to undergo transformations in line with emerging fitness and wellbeing trends, with perhaps the most head-turning one of them being “puppy yoga”. What started out as a way to connect with your dog while engaging in this mindful and physical practice quickly became commercialised into very popular public group classes. Now you can attend classes surrounded by adorable puppies as you (try to) follow the moving and breathing techniques of the teacher.
In Hove, a new puppy yoga business has opened, said to be the first of its kind in Sussex. Founded by Brandon Mojica, 25, and Hayley Bianco, 24, Yogi Paws has recently started hosting yoga sessions with puppies.
As the Yogi Paws owners promote, engaging in the spiritual and physical techniques of yoga while surrounding yourself with canine affection and energy has great benefits. Many advocates support the belief that the presence of puppies is extremely positive for your overall health, from helping with anxiety to maintaining healthy levels of blood pressure, even going as far as encouraging healthy appetite by reducing stress levels in your body.
However, perfect as this may sound, critics have a multitude of reasons for which puppies and yoga should never be combined. Concerns are mainly focused on the dog’s welfare, with popular organisations such as the RSPCA arguing that forcing puppies to socialise with strangers at such a young age is detrimental to their behavioural development. Puppy yoga studios across the country have been put under scrutiny, as an ITV documentary revealed locations they visited undercover failed to care for the canine recruits in a proper manner, depriving them of water to avoid urinating during sessions, and waking them up to interact with people despite uninterrupted sleep being crucial to a young dog’s development. Of even more concern is the risk of instigating unscrupulous puppy breeding, after all, these studios must get their puppies somewhere…
Regarding the practice itself, experts look into how the incorporation of animals strays away from the principles of yoga. To reap the benefits of yoga it is necessary to engage in its three key elements – movement, breathing, and meditation – all of which require deep concentration. How can one achieve such an attentive state of mind when a cute fluffy puppy is licking your cheek or chewing at your mat? Undeniably, this “innovative” proposal compromises the ancient teachings of yoga, and so the question stands – has the western world once again taken it too far?
Nonetheless, It seems Yogi Paws has done a great job at countering these critics and establishing themselves as an ethical business. The owners’ love of dogs shines through their good care and compassion. The puppies come from homes where they are cared for dearly. The puppies are given time to rest and sleep in between sessions, and are not deprived of food or water. Their interesting session layout allows for 20 minutes of pure yoga, 20 minutes of puppy yoga, and the rest of the hour for simply puppy cuddles. This allows for customers to actually achieve successful yoga sessions whilst enjoying the presence of the puppies, who seem to be far from mistreated.
While its ambiguous nature is still of great concern, if you are craving some puppy love during a yoga session, Yogi Paws in Hove might be your best shot at doing it ethically.