ORLAND PARK, IL — Michelle Apps certainly understands the misconception that those unaware of goat yoga might have at first, but that doesn’t keep her from giggling every time the idea surfaces.
Apps, the owner of Nature’s Trail Goat Yoga in Orland Park, says that for those who have never heard of the phenomenon her business is based around, the idea people would show up to her studio surrounded by serene forests and a waterfall expecting goats to pull off a downward facing dog isn’t perhaps the most outlandish thing she’s ever heard.
But she is happy to introduce yoga enthusiasts and newbies to goat yoga — a traditional yoga class conducted in the company of goats that was started in 2016 by Lainey Morse, an Oregon resident who was searching for a new way to relax and burn off stress after she endured an illness and a divorce. Morse opened the original studio about 70 miles outside of Portland, kicking off what has become a unique fitness phenomenon.
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Since then, goat yoga studios have popped up around the country and across the greater Chicago area. Nature’s Trail, which is located at 14655 S. 82nd Ave. in Orland Park, opened in 2019 and was the brainchild of App’s daughter, Devin, who discovered goat yoga while serving in the U.S. military during a deployment to Iraq.
Devin Apps, an Army sergeant who is a veterinarian technician who helped to take care of the Army dogs in Iraq, implored her mother to use the family farm to open a goat yoga studio because she was unable to because of her deployment. App said that while she prayed daily for her daughter’s safety and Iraq, she took the business idea and ran with it.
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App’s family has always loved animals and being out in nature. So, when the idea of blending her appreciation for animals and yoga into a full-fledged business, App knew she could potentially have a hit on her hands.
“I would just say it’s animal therapy mixed with yoga,” Apps told Patch on Friday. “Animals bring a calming energy, and they’re always in the present moment and so they’re just there meditating with everybody and helping to calm people.”
She added: “Everybody leaves with a smile on their face — that’s for sure.”
For Morse, the founder of Goat Yoga, seeing her creation from seven years ago take off like it has in places like Orland Park, makes her realize she was on the right track of introducing the unique class to the world. She estimates that there are now more than 500 goat yoga studios around the country all aimed at helping people improve their mental health.
“What everyone thought would last for 15 minutes is now a health and wellness experience that is happening all over the world,” Morse told Patch in an email. “At first, seeing copycats spring up all over the world was a bit shocking, but now I’m so proud of it.
“There are enough humans in the world and everyone needs more experiences that help improve mental health. I love that I’ve started a new wellness industry.”
The reaction to seeing people enjoy themselves is, for Apps, the best part of doing what she is doing. She said many people show up feeling stressed or dealing with anxiety. But between the calm that comes with going through a 90-minute yoga class to the peace that comes from the goats themselves, Apps — a certified yoga instructor with multiple certifications — said that the fact she knows she is helping people deal with what they may bring with them to class remains an added benefit to her as the studio’s owner.
“It makes you feel really good to make other people feel good,” she said. “You feel like I’m doing this to help other people as well, while also helping the animals and helping myself. It’s a win for everybody.”
Each class begins with meditation and beginning yoga movements to allow participants to ease into the 90-minute experience they are about to embark on. About 15 goats are milling around at the time, which allows participants to warm up to the idea of being surrounded by the animals who are known to have a calming effect on people, Apps said.
With it comes a definite sense of “Baa-maste”, goat yoga enthusiasts insist.
Once the yoga mats come out, that becomes the cue for the goats to find a place to lie down and become one with the class. Depending on the weather, classes take place in the serenity of an outdoor space surrounded by nature and nearby horses. Classes will be held outdoors as long as the temperature is above 50 degrees, but even in the winter, if conditions allow, Apps holds her classes in nature, allowing participants to soak in their surroundings — goats and all.
“I think people think at first that they’re going to come to this crazy class and that goats will be jumping all over them, which isn’t the case,” Apps said.
“Most of the time, they’re just laying around on people’s mats and people can interact with them or pet them,” Apps said. “If they don’t feel like participating in the class, I’ve had plenty of people just take naps with the goats.”
After every class, Apps introduces the “goat fun” portion of the experience, which allows participants to take photos with the goats or to allow some of the smaller animals to walk across their backs. She said that there is one goat in particular who likes to jump up onto class members’ backs while they are in the midst of a yoga movement. But for the most part, the environment remains completely zen, which allows for a traditional yoga experience — while surrounded by the collection of goats.
Apps said that she purchased the goats in 2019 specifically for her business. It started with borrowing two goats from a cousin before Apps added 13 goats that have grown up with the business.
Classes at Nature’s Trail are offered mostly on weekends, with a pair of classes sometimes being offered on Saturdays before another class takes place on Sunday and weekday classes on Monday mornings and Wednesday evenings. The business just introduced goat yoga pajama parties, which allow participants to come in their pajamas on Wednesday nights and to take a class surrounded by — you guessed it — goats in their pajamas.
The studio provides everything class members will need, from yoga mats to any props that may be used during the class. Class sizes range from 5-30 people and include a wide range of ages of participants from age 5 to 85. The studio also features an indoor space that also provides a window to the peaceful surroundings and that looks out at the barn, woods and a waterfall as well as any seasonal magic that may be happening outdoors at the time.
While yoga studios tend to be a dime a dozen in a time at which people take their fitness seriously, offering goat yoga helps to differentiate Nature’s Trail from other studios.
“Even an experienced yoga person can come here and enjoy the class, but we’ve had people come who don’t know anything about yoga,” Apps told Patch. “You can still participate and have fun and do what you can, but I always tell people you don’t need to. You can just sit and hold the animals and pet the animals if you’d rather do that.”
“I think if people are coming to a goat yoga class, they have an open mind.”
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