During a yoga class at Release Yoga in Green, 20 people paused in downward dog position.
“Now, we’re going to get ready for cat placement on the buttocks,” Tamera Anich, the yoga instructor, said in a soothing voice as she scooped up Grace the cat and placed her atop a yogi.
Grace and her fellow feline friend Oakley were the center of attention at Sunday’s class, where the Stark County Humane Society brought adoptable cats to mingle among potential adopters and cat lovers.
Throughout the hourlong class, the two meandered between mats, stopping to check out nearly every person in the room. Anich kept the class laid back so people could take breaks to interact with the cats, occasionally picking one up to place on a yogi.
Sugar, a third cat, napped in the lobby while Grace and Oakley entertained the class with their outbursts of meows. While yogis moved through cat-cow positions, Grace assumed catnap position, which looks something like plopping down in the middle of the floor belly-up.
“They’re having a good time,” said Teresa Sholtis-Goss, an employee at the Humane Society.
Yoga classes with animals have been popping up in studios, and even at zoos and farms, across the country the past few years.
Cats, dogs and bunnies are among the milder list of furry participants.
Meanwhile, No Regrets Farm in Oregon offers weekly yoga classes among goats, and at Stowe Mountain Ranch in Vermont, yogis can stretch out on — yes, on top of — horses.
So why practice yoga with animals?
“I don’t know,” Sholtis-Goss admitted. “But it is soothing.”
Human-animal bonds are known to bring a list of benefits to people, everything from stress relief to cancer therapies. Studies show that simply touching a dog lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website says cats provide emotional support, improve moods and contribute to the overall morale of their owners.
The stress relief was apparent just by the stream of giggles during Sunday’s class as the cats wandered the room.
“It’s not goats, but it’s the next best thing,” said Tammy Port of Cuyahoga Falls. “I thought it was a good time.”
Sholtis-Goss brought kittens to the studio around Valentine’s Day last year as well. Some of them were adopted, but they were shy, so she decided on adult cats this time around.
“These guys were wonderful this year,” Sholtis-Goss said.
The three cats, along with other animals, will be available to take home at Monday’s adoption event from 5 to 7 p.m. at the shelter at 5100 Peach St. NE in Louisville.
“This was great,” said Jamie Clapper of New Franklin, who has three cats with her husband, Lee, at home. “I think it feels better knowing the money is going toward a good cause.”
“If I had a little bigger house, we’d have a dozen easily,” Lee Clapper said.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .