Haven Activities Council (HAC) hosted goat yoga on the Lock Haven University commons on Thursday, April 20. With a turnout of over 75 students the event featured opportunities for students to learn yoga positions and of course interact with goats.
The goats were provided by Buttinheads Farm which is located in Hunlock Creek PA. Yoga instructor and farmer Ashley Raspen led students in an hour-long yoga session in which goats were present and participating in the experience. Following yoga, there was an opportunity for students to hold and pet the goats in a goat therapy session.
The therapy time with the goats proved to be a much-needed stress reliever for students, like sophomore communication major Alison Rancont, especially as the semester comes to a close. She said, “It’s that really stressful time right now before finals so it was really nice to just relax and spend time around animals. Huge stress reliever.”
Sophomore physical education major Zach Cole agreed. “My favorite aspect of interacting with the goats was how much it relieved my stress and seeing how happy it made everyone else.” Cole also noted the event’s large turnout and sense of community. “It brought a lot of people together on campus.”
The event indeed brought many students out with a large number of students asking for it to be brought back next semester. When asked students if they had ever done anything like this before, a majority admitted they had never done yoga before let alone with goats.
Freshman health science major Juliana Strickling recalled her experience saying, “I enjoyed doing some yoga poses with them on my back because I liked the feel of their hooves on me” going on to say, “It was very therapeutic and got me out of my day-to-day routine in the midst of a lot of tests.”
Senior nursing major Katie Corbin also shared her favorite memory from the goat yoga event.
“What I loved most was getting to hold the goats afterward and watching one of the younger ones fall asleep in my friend’s arms,” she said.
HAC has more events planned for the month of April and leading into May. More information regarding events on campus hosted by HAC can be found by contacting the Student Activities Office located in the Parson Union Building.
