Phenomenological qualitative program evaluation of Goat Yoga: “the best belly laugh”

ABSTRACT

There is evidence that animal-assisted interventions are helpful for anxiety and depression and that yoga helps with trauma symptoms. “Goat Yoga” has been popularized but has not been studied for its influence on mental wellbeing. This interpretative phenomenological analysis of experiences of “Goat Yoga” focused on its influence on participants’ joy and shift in perspective. Four core themes were: Fun, Inducing Calm, Shifting Focus, and Removing Barriers. The findings suggest that “Goat Yoga” is beneficial as complementary therapy for depression and anxiety, especially for treatment-resistant conditions, but further research is needed to determine relevance across various populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal-assisted interventions
• animal-assisted therapies
• Goat Yoga
• yoga for mental well-being
• yoga for stress relief

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).