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How Goat Yoga Became A Massive Wellness Trend

Photo: Ken Koons/Baltimore Sun/TNS/Getty Images.
If you watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, you know that Lisa Rinna is always one step ahead of the wellness trends. And on the RHOBH premiere that aired last night, she experimented with a very Instagram-famous workout: goat yoga.
Rinna and her daughters, Delilah and Amelia, went to a goat yoga class as a way to spend more time together. As they move through yoga poses, the goats gently climb on top of their backs and underneath their legs. There were a lot of giggles throughout, and viewers on Twitter said they were in tears watching the family flow amidst farm animals.
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Unlike some of the other wellness fads that Rinna has historically gravitated to — remember the vitamin IV drips a few seasons back, or her "bag of pills"? — goat yoga is surprisingly not as gimmicky as it seems. Goat yoga first became a thing in 2016, when someone named Lainey Morse held a goat yoga class hosted by Heather Davis in Oregon, and photos went viral on social media. Goats might feel incredibly random to have in a Zen setting, but they’re actually very mindful creatures.
According to Morse’s website, goat yoga is a form of animal-assisted therapy. In studies, interacting with therapy animals has been shown to boost feel-good neurotransmitters and lower cortisol levels. In a yoga class, the goats are left free to interact with yoga practicers, which essentially serves as a happy distraction that allows you to take your mind off whatever is stressing you out. The goats are also just really cute, cuddly, and won’t bite or head-butt you — but they may nibble and poop.
Although goat yoga has taken off on Instagram and reality TV, Morse said on her website that "the focus of this class is not just to take pictures for Instagram," the goal is to combine nature, goats, and yoga to de-stress. If you’re a Rinna stan, or just want to experience goat yoga yourself, you can search for an official goat yoga practitioner in your area. Who knows? If there are goats available in Beverly Hills, there are likely some where you live, too.

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