May 28, 2008

NEW YORK -- When it comes to your dog interrupting your Yoga routine, if you can’t beat ’em join ’em -- or have them join you.

Doga, or Yoga for dogs, is a new fad that has been offered for months at Bideawee, an animal welfare organization in New York City.

"I do see the benefit of yoga, and I am one that believes in the bonding experience with an animal and the wonderful things that animals can do for people,” said Lina Haimelin of Bideawee.

"You do a lot of traditional yoga moves,” said doga student Grace Yang. “You get a good workout and the dogs enjoy it too.”

Doga is gaining popularity in major cities, but it is stretching to smaller towns too. Among the states offering classes are Washington, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kansas and Florida.

So who invented doga? Kari Harendorf is a doga pioneer. That is, together with her dog, Charlie. Having practiced it for seven years, Harendorf is now a doga instructor at Bideawee.

For her and Charlie, necessity was the mother of this invention, Harendorf says.

"The idea started when I was doing my teacher training to become a certified yoga teacher,” she said. “I had to practice at home.

“When I would roll out my mat, he would lie on it and would put his paw on my hand and I had to step over him and step back. I didn't want move him."

The doga experience is mutually beneficial for dogs and people, Harendorf says.

"Dogs receive benefits through the poses that aid their circulation their digestion,” she said. “There is a lot of massage techniques. It is very relaxing for them.

“And for the humans, the simple act of petting a dog lowers your blood pressure. It is time with your dog, it's a bonding experience."

Aside from being life-enriching, doga can also be life-saving.

"I had several students that found lipomas or tumors on their dogs just from the doga class,” Harendorf said. “Thankfully, they were caught in time or turned out to be nothing.”

Canine doga participants come in all sizes, just like people.

"We have a majority of small to medium size dogs, but we are starting to get more large dogs,” Haimelin said. "We've been attracting younger people like in the lower 20s and middle-aged people as well. It is a great combination."

"Certain breeds, certainly are prone to more injuries,” Harendorf said. Like I always say, if there is a dachshunds in class then there are certain lifts you don't want to do because their backs are more fragile than others."

The classes are beneficial to both Yang and her dog.

"It's social for her,” she said. “She gets a little massage and we get to spend time together. This is just one more venue that we can hang out. It's great quality time to spend with your dog, it's a great bonding experience."

If you are skeptical, or just plain scared of trying doga, participants here encourage you to be more dogged.

"Just do it,” Harendorf urged. “Don't be scared. You can do it at home with your own dog. You don't have to necessarily come to class."

"Just give it a shot, agreed Yang. “It is really like most yoga classes, it is non-judgmental."

Most dogs respond well to doga, Harendorf says, though she suggests slowly introducing it to dogs with anxiety or those that came from abusive situations.

As unique as the classes are, in some ways they are no different than most yoga sessions.

"At the very end, you kind of just lay on the floor together and everyone was just so relaxed,” Haimelin said.

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