To understand the “Yoga with Animals” fad, you need look no further than Weird Al Yankovic and the Twinkie Wiener Sandwich.
If you’ve never seen his classic movie UHF, then you may have never actually heard of this amazing concoction of the modern culinary era. It is a Twinkie, sliced in two to admit a hot dog which is topped with Cheese Whiz. And then dipped in milk.
Whatever else you might think, at the very least you can acknowledge it is allowing the convergence of three nerd foods… some might say unholy convergence, but it’s there nonetheless.
Of course, it’s pretty gross, as I can say due to first-hand experience: to understand me and my husband, you need only know that we tried it out while watching UHF on one of our first dates.
But unlike the infamous Twinkie Weiner Sandwich, Yoga with Animals takes three separate good things and brings them together in a way that is more than the sum of its parts.
First off, there’s the yoga, which is fun and beneficial and awesome for all the aforementioned reasons.
Second off, there are animals. Also fun and beneficial and awesome, as well as darned cute and just a joy to behold–whether the creatures roaming the studio are fuzzy cats, goofy dogs, or absurd goats. Or maybe lothal cats or targs… it could work.
Third, and maybe most important, is the shared delight in experiencing it together with your fellow yoga students–like seeing the dog do an accidental but nevertheless accurate downward dog. Those of us with pets do yoga with animals a lot, but giggling together at their antics never gets old.
Plus, yoga is all about the connection with all living things–and you have a definitive reminder of that when you see other creatures as you practice. We have a lot we can learn from our animal cousins, some of which is mirrored in yoga: be in the moment, appreciate the small things, try not to poop on the mat. Etc. Granted that that last one is accomplished, naturally, animals can give us an innate sense of peace. Cats are the original zen masters, after all.
Bringing together three great things and making them into one session of simple happiness is something that must be tried–even if it involves Twinkies and Cheese Whiz, but especially if it doesn’t and you replace them with yoga and animals.
Thoughts...?!