MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Doing yoga with puppies is a surefire way to make working out more fun, but puppy yoga classes at Wicked Fitness in Myrtle Beach are more than just about the cuddles and cuteness.
“How can you not be happy doing yoga with a puppy in your hand,“ Jill Stanley, yoga instructor at Wicked Fitness said.
While yogis posed in the hour-long class, puppies from St. Francis Animal Center in Georgetown played.
“Sometimes (the puppies) just want to be held and relax. Sometimes they like to cuddle up while you’re doing your downward-facing dog, and you never know what’s going to happen,“ Stanley said.
The classes are held to raise money for St. Francis Animal Center and to encourage people to adopt.
The animal shelter keeps around 170 animals on-site, but employee Meta Cooper says during the summer months, that number will grow.
“We will have multiple litters come in. It’s about to be kitten season, so we’ll be swamped pretty soon,“ Cooper said.
Cooper urges people to adopt rather than purchase a pet from a breeder because she says there are already hundreds of animals without homes.
“We have so many (dogs) out here that are not spayed and neutered. Whenever we have unwanted litters come in, there’s so many. Whenever you breed and you go into that industry, it’s just not as fulfilling as it is to buy a shelter puppy. If you adopt, it’s so much more worthwhile,“ Cooper said.
Instructors say the classes also help those new to yoga.
“People who may not try yoga will come out and interact with the dogs and play with the dogs, and they can get a little bit of a workout in, as much as they want to, they can sit on their mat and see what yoga is all about,“ Stanley said.
For dates and times of future puppy yoga classes at Wicked Fitness, click here.
For adoption inquiries, St. Francis Animal Center can be reached by calling 843-546-0780.
