Today is International Yoga Day! And because I love to include my furry loves in as many of my daily activities as possible I thought I would explore the Doga craze.

Many of you may laugh and think how on earth does this happen. There are two main ways you can practice Doga. One, where you take the yoga class and your pup happily watches on, and two, where you and your pup perform the moves together. Now I absolutely love practicing yoga and since my two rascals Oscar and Zara are always around me, the obvious thing would be for me to include them. Without me realising it, we practice option one on a weekly basis so I thought I would try option two and see how things go…

Yoga in itself is a wonderful thing to practice, and the thought of including my pups for extra stress relief and fun is a fantastic idea. I am not sure I would take the two of them to a Doga studio-even though the thought is wonderful. My two would run around and cause complete chaos wanting to play with everyone, Zara would lick everyone to death, and we would all get banned within 5 minutes-haha. So practicing Doga at home where all three of us are comfortable and happy is the perfect choice for us.

Doga offers an extra bonding session between you and your pooch and it should be fun for both of you. If your pup isn’t into it today then leave him be, let him watch! Never force your pups to do anything they don’t want to do.

Benefits of DOGA include:

Extra stress relief

Increases the bond between you and your pooch

Gives you added extra quality time together

You are guaranteed to laugh

Good exercise for you both

Puts you in an instant good mood

It is said to help calm hyper dogs, so lets see if it helps Zara

As with any exercise there is always risk of injury so only do what your body allows and what your pup allows.

Here are a few very simple moves you can do with your pup:

Downward dog:

Get your pup to lay on his tummy or stand up if he wants to, and you do the downward dog move over him. If he looks up at you just gaze into his eyes.

Chaturanga:

Lay your pup on her tummy and just stroke her back in long slow strokes.

Heart-to-hound Mudra:

Have your pup sit in front of you while you sit cross legged behind her. (I sat in front of Zara because she is a little too big for my arms to reach around her-haha). Place your one hand on her heart and the other on your heart; Breathe and enjoy this connection.

Puppy Paw Mudra:

Get your pup to lay on her stomach with her front paws extended outwards. You then kneel down behind her and place your arms over hers and rest your head on her back.

Inner dog Mudra

With your pooch laying or sitting, rest your forehead on his. Just stare at him and enjoy being so close.

Savasana:

Get your pup to lie on her back and stroke her belly with long slow strokes.

Wheelbarrow:

With your pooch standing in front of you, stand behind him and slightly lean forward; gently pick up his back legs, supporting his legs and joints with both hands! Just let him stretch his torso then gently lower his back legs.

Our sessions seem to fall to pieces and we all end up in a chaotic mess on the floor but I have laughed and Oscar and Zara have had fun which makes it a success in my eyes! We hope you have as much fun as we did. Enjoy being in the moment with your furry loves.

Thank you for reading.

by