WHITING, IN— Peanut, Sammy and Darby joined 30 Calumet College of St. Joseph students on Wednesday for the college’s inaugural session of goat yoga.

An increasingly popular fitness trend, goat yoga combines stretching and mental exercises with hooved barnyard animals that mingle among, nuzzle next to and climb atop participants.

“Smiles, giggles and laughter are guaranteed,” said JoAnn Shults, owner of Deer Creek Farm, which provided the goats. She explained that “animal-assisted therapy helps to lower blood pressure and allows a person to enjoy all the physical benefits of exercise and nature.”

CCSJ student Aaliyah Edwards, who participated in Wednesday’s event, agreed. “This was refreshing. It was nice to clear my mind by enjoying an experience I’ve never had before,” she said.

Goat yoga is part of an overall mental, physical and spiritual wellness program offered by the school.

Kerry Knowles, the college’s Mental Health Counselor, was instrumental in bringing the program to campus. “We are seeing college students with higher stress levels than ever before,” she said, “and this kind of activity lets them connect with animals, which helps them connect to themselves. It lets them become the best students they can be.”

Goat yoga began in the western United States and has become a worldwide phenomenon over the past 10 years. Yoga instructor Mary Marchetti, a 2013 Calumet College of St. Joseph graduate, led the session on Wednesday.

“I would never have believed, when I graduated CCSJ with a degree in business management, that I would be back here over a decade later teaching yoga with goats. But I find it wonderful that my business is to get outside and make people happy.”

The next session of goat yoga will be hosted at 3:30pm on October 9^th at Calumet College of St. Joseph’s Alumni Park. The event is free of charge. Registration is required.

Calumet College of St. Joseph is a graduate and undergraduate degree granting institution sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

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For additional media inquiries, please contact:

Brian Lowry
Director of Communications and Public Relations
(219) 473-4217
blowry@ccsj.edu