Doggie Yoga
From Sanskrit toys to full-blown practices, yoga is helping some dogs find the path to inner peace
by
Nicole Feliciano 
DogaDog logo, © DogaDog
Perhaps you're one of the nearly 20 million people in North America practicing yoga. Maybe Ashtanga yoga helps you stay
limber or you vibe off the serenity of an intense Hatha practice. Even if you've never attempted a single headstand, you may
want to explore yoga once you realize you can get your dog involved.
Combining yoga with dogs isn't as far-fetched as you might think. After all, we run with our dogs and swim with our dogs.
Why not bring them to the yoga mat?
For Suzi Teitelman, an experienced yoga instructor, yoga is a natural extension of her love for her dog. Soon after Teitelman
adopted Coali, a jet-black cocker spaniel, she discovered Coali's innate interest in yoga.
Teitelman experimented with putting Coali in different poses and she says, "He loved it! When I started sharing my yoga
practice with him, it seemed so natural and we fit perfectly together." The next step for Teitelman was bringing this new
concept in canine wellness to the masses.
Her first doggie yoga classes took place in New York City where Teitelman served as Director of Yoga for Crunch Fitness.
During her time at Crunch, Teitelman coined the term "Doga": a yoga class where owner and dog get on the mat together to practice
poses, perform breathing exercises - and most importantly - bond. Six years later, Teitelman and Coali have indoctrinated
hundreds of new four-legged yoga practitioners.
Doga: Yoga for Dogs
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In addition to having a howling good time with their owners, Teitelman says dogs that practice yoga sleep better and are
stronger than their couch-potato counterparts. Teitelman believes the very same reasons we humans gravitate towards yoga -
to release the physical body, to feel blissful and to elevate energy levels - holds true for our canines. And there's an added
bonus for pups: it's a chance for our four-legged friends to get one-on-one attention. As Teitelman tells it, "Doga is all
about enjoyment, smiles and happiness."
Teitelman likes to start her classes with dog and owner sitting on a mat. Teitelman instructs the humans and canines to
align spines. Then the pairs start to connect through breathing: inhaling and exhaling at the same pace.
From there, the group joins in chants. According to Teitelman, dogs are natural chanters and love to make "om" sounds (om
is the universal sound many practitioners invoke to start a yoga session). After vocalizing, dogs might receive mini massages
to release tension. With this brief warm up finished, it's time to move into sun salutations (a yogi version of calisthenics)
with the dogs.
Advanced dogis (dogs who practice yoga) may be ready for balancing postures such as the "tree pose." To get into the tree
pose, Teitelman has the owners assist their dogis as they balance on a single leg. After a few more poses, class wraps up
with a relaxation period. The results: Doga practitioners report having calmer, better-behaved dogs.
Teitelman recently relocated to Florida and reports that southern dog lovers are equally keen on doga. If you're interested
in learning more, Teitelman is running a 4-week doga series in Florida this August (see www.dogadog.com for more details). For those outside of Florida in want of Teitelman's expertise, you'll have to wait until the release of
her much-anticipated doga DVD.
Downward dog pose
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