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If you thought you had seen every possible fitness trend, you’re wrong. Today, I want to talk about my most unforgettable yoga class, which was nestled in the hills of Malibu on a ranch.
Goat Yoga was accidentally born on a farm in Oregon in 2016. For more information, visit the website dazeddigital.com, where they do a pretty good in-depth backstory of its origin.
“Caprine vinyasa, or more popularly termed ‘goat yoga’ originated on a farm in Oregon in 2016, and was the wonderful (and entirely accidental) brainchild of farm owner Lainey Morse who found comfort in spending time with her goats after a period of depression following a divorce and an autoimmune disease diagnosis. “ – Dazeddigital.com
The founder of Malibu Goat is Brigitte Kozena. Originally from the Czech Republic, Brigitte lived in London and NY before moving to LA right when the pandemic hit. She told me she liked LA but that she absolutely loved Malibu because it was a completely different atmosphere from LA.
I was surprised to see that there are already a few yoga studios in LA that do yoga with goats. What I liked about Malibu Goats was the vast ranch and all the animals. If you go to their website, you’ll see they have all the animals’ names listed for people to get acquainted prior to visiting.
Also, unless you have a rich friend or you rent an AirBnB, you’re probably never going to have the chance to drive into a private Malibu residential area. It was a completely different world from the busy PCH.
Entering this residential area and leaving the chaos of PCH was a pleasant surprise. I was welcomed by open valley fields, white farm fences, nature and tranquility. The fog made it even more charming and alluring.
The goat classes are held every Sunday at 10 am. Afterwards, I realized the reason that the class was at 10 am and not later in the day was to avoid the blazing sun. Once morning fog had burned off and the sun started peeking through, which was about 11:30 am, it was becoming quite a laborious task to practice yoga with no shade. And because we were near the beach, the air was humid, which made me feel even hotter.
I woke a little bit late, but still managed to arrive at 10 am on the dot, and thankfully, the class had not started yet! Everyone had their mats ready to go and the cute goats were wandering around.
Sondra was our instructor that day and assured us that the yoga class would be a beginner-friendly one. If you’re a beginner or there’s a pose you don’t feel comfortable doing, this is your class. Unless you’re doing a pose that will compromise your joints or your back, she doesn’t micromanage everyone and the overall environment is very welcoming. For being in Malibu, there was zero pretentiousness.
Despite the giggles, we actually ended up getting a nice workout in!! The goats sometimes got in your space, which prevented us from doing some poses, but no one complained because we knew what we signed up for.
During the class, Bridget was minding the goats making sure they stayed in the practice area.
At one point, she approached each of us one by one to see if we wanted the baby goats to stand on our backs.
I cannot emphasize this enough: wear a shirt! You will not have a super sweaty workout, so a regular cotton shirt should be good.
If you only wear a sports bra and they get on your bare back, the hooves may end up causing some minor scratches. At first, it felt weird, but the touch of Ginger’s hooves against my back was like having a nice short massage. If you have a back problem, make sure to communicate it to Brigitte before the class!
I was also impressed by how clean they were. There was no livestock odor whatsoever. One of them peed near us, but you could tell they had been trained because she stepped away from the mats and did her business on the grass. They may also poop of course, but they’re just tiny balls. Still, I made sure to wear socks just in case.
Besides the goats, you will also see the guard dog Snowy running around. She came up to me during the class and was like a giant teddy bear!
After the class, we had plenty of time for photo ops! I completely forgot about rolling out my mat for this picture, but it turned out to be a hilarious photo sequence of the goat jumping off my back looking straight into the camera!
All the goats were the absolute cutest, but the goat that we were all infatuated with the most throughout the class was Ginger, who the youngest one. Just look at her!
Brigitte will sometimes hold a goat and pass it to you. Depending on the day, they may not be in the mood for pictures, so be patient!
Malibu Goats takes full advantage of the beautiful location they’re in, which is why they also offer the following services in order for you to get the maximum benefits of a nature-fueled day trip among their animal family!
-Goat Hikes (Coming soon!)
-Goat Picnics
-Sunsets Cold Baths and Couples’ Massages
Tips:
Take pictures in the beginning so that you can simply enjoy the class and be mindful of the environment you’re in. Remember that there will be plenty of picture time afterwards!
I already said it, but make sure to wear a shirt. I also wore socks.
Leave your valuables in the car! This is not the place to bring your fancy bag or expensive clothing. One of the girls brought a bag with her and the goats sometimes sniffed it. They pace back and forth so be careful of what you bring. I already expected this so I only brought my sneakers, car keys and cell phone.
When we had to close our eyes and breathe, more than once I was jolted out of my mini-meditation by the sound of hooves on the mats.
Get there early!! Because this was a complimentary class, I did not receive an email with the instructions, so it was very tricky to find the right gate among the private residential houses.
My GPS did not register the address I originally put in, so I first went to the wrong place. These are private roads, not regular streets, so pay close attention! Thankfully, a man pointed me in the right direction. It’s very important to plan ahead!
To book your spot and learn more about Malibu Goats, head over to their website and Instagram! You can also book your spot through EventBrite. The class price is $60, kids $40.
I did not want to leave!!
