Humane Society of Jefferson County offers yoga classes with cats
Downward dog may be a well-known pose in the yoga world, but one yoga class created a new pose that involves another household pet — cats.
The Humane Society of Jefferson County offers cat yoga classes, almost every Sunday, where the cats up for adoption roam freely while people do yoga.
The hour-long classes were created after a longtime volunteer became a certified yoga instructor, but a lot of the inspiration came from videos seen online of yoga classes involving goats.
"Believe it or not, we saw videos of goat yoga," Sara Lastusky, the community outreach coordinator, said laughing. "Now we don't have any goats, but we do have plenty of cats."
Lastusky said they house about 75 to 100 cats, but only six to 10 are allowed in the yoga class.
"A lot of our volunteers know their personalities," Lastusky said. "So we grab the ones that are friendly and social and love the interaction."
And it appears that people love that interaction, too; 63 people showed up to the first yoga class.
Due to the overload of cuteness and popularity, sessions are now limited to 30 participants who must sign up beforehand.
Lastusky said the reception has been great and that word of mouth and social media have played a huge role in the popularity of the classes. The classes have become so popular that a woman even drove 70 miles from northern Illinois to attend.
The "Yoga with Cats" classes are free, but people can make donations, which Lastusky said have been helpful.
"We're a nonprofit so any monetary donation is great," Lastusky said. "People have been very generous. We average over $100 a class."
The classes not only help the human participants exercise, they also give the furry ones a chance to stretch.
"It's a great benefit for cats," Lastusky said. "Since they're in cages most of the time, they'll get the opportunity to socialize, be played with and receive a lot of extra attention."
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