Labrador West has a clucking good time doing yoga with chickens
Are chickens good yoga partners? It turns out they are
You've heard about the downward dog pose in yoga, but what about the downward chicken?
Just Breathe Yoga Studio in Labrador City broke new ground with the pose this week, when they hosted a session of chicken yoga with children and their families.
The event, organized by the Labrador Francophone Association, featured local chickens walking around the studio and interacting with the yogis.
Célian Lézer, a volunteer with the association, said the event highlighted the connection between yoga and nature, teaching people that different kinds of animals can serve as pets outside of traditional dogs and cats.
"Yoga has always been inspired by nature and by animals in general. The poses they make … the cat, the downward dog and everything," Lézer told CBC News.
"You can exist and evolve in harmony with many types of pets. We had the obvious with the dogs, but chickens was a first for many people. It was a good experience for them to also see that there are many types of pets and animals you can have with you."
Just Breathe Yoga owner and instructor Cindy Byrne said working with chickens was a first after doing yoga with dogs earlier this year. She said it was interesting and strange at first, but soon everyone — including the chickens — got accustomed to their surroundings.
"It's hard enough with kids, but then get them to settle in to calm down the chickens, that was really fun [and] interesting," Byrne said.
"But it worked, and we had them eating out of the palms of our hands."
Byrne said she's planning more sessions with dogs in the near future but didn't say whether chicken yoga would continue.
Being able to feed the chickens was a highlight for many of the children, said Lézer, who took part in the class for the first time, but he and the chickens haven't reached the feeding stage in their relationship.
"I'm not quite there yet with chickens. We have a complicated relationship," he said with a laugh.
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With files from Darryl Dinn