Puppy Yoga Edinburgh: Adorable puppy yoga classes launch in Edinburgh with cuddles and play

Ever tried doing downward dog with a cute puppy playing around beside you? Organisers of new craze puppy yoga say the unique experience is a fun way to boost both your physical and mental health.

Puppy Yoga Edinburgh held its first classes in Edinburgh this month after proving popular down south. The Scottish debut for the classes in the Capital is proving a big hit - with the latest sessions this Saturday and Sunday both fully booked.

Participants in every class are joined by a litter of puppies who are allowed to wander around and even join in with yoga poses. After half an hour of yoga there’s half an hour of cuddle and playtime with the puppies.

People get to cuddle the puppies at Edinburgh Puppy Yoga

So far the classes held at the Crags Centre have had Golden Retriever puppies, Cockapoo and Shihpoos. The breed and location of the sessions are announced before each class. Edinburgh Puppy Yoga said the puppies come from local trusted breeders and owners.

Founded by Psychology students during their final year of studies, the sessions are said to boost the happy hormone serotonin through combining the health benefits of yoga, puppy cuddles and puppy playtime.

And organisers say the relaxed atmosphere of the classes are good for the dogs – an ideal way to introduce puppies to social situations and help their development. On their website it’s stated that the health and wellbeing of the puppies is a priority.

The website says: "Puppy yoga has shown to improve physical and mental well-being of participants through yoga and puppy therapy. It also benefits the puppies as they can learn how to socialise and build more confident personalities before they go to their forever homes.

Strike a pose with a puppy

Lydia Lamont from Edinburgh Puppy Yoga said:

"It’s going great! It’s amazing how much interest there is. It’s only been 3 weeks since I started and classes are selling out within minutes of tickets being online. I’ve had so much positive feedback from participants, everyone is so happy after the class and some message after to say how amazing it was and that they want to come back. I’ve had messages from participants saying it helped their anxiety so much from being at one of our classes. The puppies also love it, it really helps their socialisation and helps them build confidence.”

Sessions are led by a qualified yoga instructor and are for over 16s only.

Classes which cost £24.50 per person are fully booked for January with a donation made to charity for each ticket sale. More will be released soon.

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