'Laughter is the best medicine' - Goat yoga offers 'a double dose of feel-good relaxation'

Jackie said they “had always taken part in the Bank of Ireland open farm weekend, but whenever Covid hit, they obviously we couldn’t run the event and they were looking for things they could put out on social media to keep up engagement with people”.

“We were asked if we could do it as a funny gimmicky thing – and we did it literally hiding custard creams in people’s hair during the yoga, filmed it and put it out on social media.

"It wasn’t something I had ever intended to do, but it took off from there.

"After Covid we were asked to do it for a hen party and were contacted by local health trust and asked to do it for children and it grew organically from there.

"So I did a yoga teaching course, (although I had been doing it for years) and started taking the classes myself”.

On Castlescreen Organic Farm website they say: ‘Our Pygmy and Nigerian goats are very friendly and just love taking part in yoga classes.

‘They are very nimble and, if you're happy to experience it, will happily clamber up on your back in the midst of your yoga moves.

‘Goat yoga combines the wonderful benefits of yoga with the joy of interacting with animals – a double dose of feel-good relaxation.

‘Did you know that interacting with animals releases "the love hormone" Oxytocin; known to reduce stress and make us feel happy.

‘Health benefits from goat yoga include enhanced mood, lower blood pressure, and improved flexibility.

‘It doesn't matter if you've never done yoga before. What matters is you come prepared for a wholly unique experience (and this goes for the biggest and burliest of men ... the tougher they are, the harder they fall for that goat that picked their mat to lie on).

‘Our Goat Yoga classes are held indoors in a converted farm building. Please bring your own yoga mat and wear loose casual clothes or gym gear.

‘All Castlescreen Goat Yoga sessions are conducted by a fully qualified instructor.

‘In addition to our scheduled classes, we are very happy to deliver bespoke classes for groups or families. We've been known to lay on prosecco and snacks for the odd Hen Party!’

Jackie says she now “has eight pygmy goats at the minute and some of them are just brilliant”.

"They now walk from then pens and into the yoga studio and then at the end of the class they walk back to their pens.

"At the end of the day it’s great to do yoga, but most people are coming for the experience of the pygmy goats joining in.

"It is the laughter and fun and the madness of it mixed with the anticipation because the goats come from the back.

"People in the class never know when and what they will do, nor do I.

“I always love to have someone in the class who is a giggler especially if the group of people don’t know each other.

"A lot of our classes are open classes where people don’t know each other and it just takes one good giggler to kick it all off”.

She added that “the class has changed over the years” and it is “not hard yoga, it is more about fun, having a laugh, making some noise”.

"It is also about getting people out of their comfort zone,” she added. "We always have a laugh doing it and the interaction with animals releases oxytocin and it makes you feel good. Animals are very good at giving to people who need them.

"We have worked with addiction services too and that was one of the best classes.

"One of the girls said to me at the end that she hadn’t laughed like that in a very long time.

"Laughter is the best medicine and it is an excuse to get down and dirty and get out of your comfort zone.

"People in the classes can get poohed on, pee’ed on and noone knows what will happen. A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do that with animals.

"We also offer equine facilitates learning with miniature horses. Animals are intuitive. Sometimes when you have animals and live on a farm you forget that a lot of people aren’t around animals”.

Jackie said whilst classes tend to be Saturday and Sunday morning at 10am – it is important to keep an eye on their website.

"We do private groups, hen parties, stag parties, Queen’s fresher groups and charity groups.

“On September 12 we are doing an event for the for woman’s Aid and a coffee morning to raise funds, for example.

"So if you are interested keep an eye on our page or contact me directly. You won’t regret it.”