Striking a pose

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This article was published 02/04/2017 (3290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An Anola-area petting farm and farm animal rescue will soon make “downward goat” the newest pose as they begin to offer a different type of yoga.

Tara McKean is the owner of The 10 Acre Woods, a not-for-profit petting farm and farm animal rescue off Highway 15.

A month and a half ago, a man sent McKean a message on Facebook about goat and farm yoga, thinking it was a joke. She thought it was cool idea and decided to pursue it. McKean had never heard about this type of yoga before, but the idea really took off and lots of people wanted to get involved.

Goat and farm yoga allows patrons to do yoga class in a pen, while goats, ducks, pigs, turkeys, chickens, roosters and an alpaca walk around. The classes are taught by certified yoga trainers in a variety of styles for various age groups.

‘‘All the animals are rescues of some sort and all have issues of their own. They make connections with people and they’re very interactive,’’ said McKean.

It’s common that patrons will visit The 10 Acre Woods and bond with the animals. These bonds can help with depression, anxiety and other psychological issues as a form of animal-assisted therapy.

“It’s so hard to explain what the animals do for people, but once you see it, it’s an amazing thing,’’ said McKean.

McKean recently did a test-run of the class, which she said went very well.

‘‘I was so proud of my animals,’’ she said. ‘‘It was phenomenal. They were so interactive. Nobody got head-butted or anything like that. They did very well.’’

Not only does interacting with animals help humans, but interacting with humans also helps the animals.

‘‘The animals come in neglected, abused, and have anxieties themselves. They come in scared of humans. They’re nervous,’’ said McKean. ‘‘The idea of the petting farm is to socialize the animals. Once we can socialize and assess those animals, they tend to find their owners at the same time.’’

McKean said her family moved onto their current property in 2001. The area was all trees and they moved a trailer onto the property. They celebrated her son’s birthday using a Winnie the Pooh 100 Acre Wood theme, which is where The 10 Acre Woods name came from. People began asking if McKean to take in their animals and she’s continued since.

Classes begin April 10. They will run Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times during the day and various styles. Classes will have a maximum of 10 people. There are also classes available geared towards seniors and teens.

To book your spot, call The 10 Acre Woods at 204-866-4341. Class schedules and dates are available online at anola.mb.ca/10acrewoods. Private bookings for a minimum of four people are also accepted.

McKean adds each class will either have half an hour before or half an hour after the class to interact with the animals.

‘‘They can pre-visit with the animals. If anyone is nervous, then we can introduce them to those animals and make sure they have the best experience.’’