A.W. Brown’s Pet & Garden will host baby goat Pilates on July 26 from 2-3 p.m.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow’s A.W. Brown’s Pet & Garden is bringing a furry-friend-filled Pilates class for attendees of all skill levels as a part of its “Summer Bash Event Series.”
Beyond Yoga & Wellness’ Ashley Bousquet will instruct baby goat Pilates on July 26 from 2-3 p.m. at A.W. Brown’s, 144 Shaker Road. Tickets are $30, or $50 to take part in a yoga class immediately following goat Pilates from 3:30-4:30 p.m.
The class is designed for all levels, ages 7 and up, and mats are available to rent for $3. Every participant also receives a $10 gift card to A.W. Brown’s.
“Goat yoga and goat Pilates is super fun, it’s all levels and it’s family friendly,” Bousquet said. “Everybody, literally everybody, any mobility, any nerve divergence, any limited disability or limited mobility. Everyone’s able to participate, and I think that’s what makes these classes so unique and so special, because it truly brings the entire community together. There’s no boundaries, wellness without boundaries.”
She said goat yoga is typically a lot more common than goat Pilates, and that this is a low intensity mat class without many standing exercises. East Longmeadow’s Cloverbrook Farm lends the goats, training them to constantly interact with attendees.
“We have maximum contact with the goats,” Bousquet said. “Maximum cuddles and snuggles with goats. They’re constantly climbing on people. We’re in different poses doing different exercises and the goats are constantly involved. They’re jumping on top of us, underneath us, around us.”
She added that this is a good first class for someone who has never done Pilates, and that the animals allow people to relax more than a typical class. While baby goats and other animals are a fun addition to a Pilates routine, there is a science to it.
“The science is, it’s definitely backed,” Bousquet said. “It helps with any type of stress, anxiety disorders, dealing with PTSD, trauma, because it forces you to be present and the animals give you that sense of dopamine or serotonin. There’s all these extra feel good chemicals that go to the brain where there’s animals involved. It’s just endless joy and it’s all about joy … your mood increases, you feel more relaxed, you feel more at ease, you just feel good afterwards. Some people need that, and maybe they don’t even realize they need that until they take the class.”
Bousquet also hosts classes with puppies, pigs, bunnies and horses. She said horses have the ability to match human heart rate and allow people to feel calm.
“It’s really cool, it’s animal therapy,” Bousquet said. “I see firsthand what it does to people, like people with neurodivergence, who sometimes don’t feel included in some of these types of wellness classes. They’re able to take part, there’s a sense of relaxing and a sense of feeling included, and that gives them a sense of peace, a sense of calm that they may not otherwise be able to experience in another wellness class.”
Tickets can be found at awbrown.com under the “events” tab.
