Doga - Yoga For Dogs

Is your dog stressed? Join a yoga class for dogs. I'm not kidding. This is the latest craze for dog owners. It's called Doga.

You may wonder how your pet can become a doga dog. Have dog owners gone too far in pampering their pets?

Doga classes are mushrooming all over the world for those who want to spend quality time with their pets and help them live in harmony. You can also practice yoga with your dog at home with a doga DVD.

Man interacting with dog

Doga is the practice of yoga with your pet dog. For those who are familiar with yoga, it would seem appropriate to have dogs doing yoga. After all there is the basic yoga position called "downward facing dog". Dog owners hope to develop better harmony with their pet dogs.

Doga is really more fun for both master and dog. I don't think the dog has any real inclination to practice some of those yoga moves. Sometimes the master will help the dog to achieve different yoga postures. At other times the dogs are more of props while they watch their masters perfect the yoga posture.

This is a new way of practicing yoga and it seems to be a great way for dogs and owners to bond. According to doga exponents It is also good for your dog's health too.

Popular yoga position

Some of the yoga poses have names which are closely associated with dogs. For example, the "downward facing dog" is a most widely known yoga posture.

The Sanskrit name for this pose is "Adho Mukha Svanasana". "Adho" means downward, "Mukha" means face and "Svana" means dog.

In this yoga exercise you build up strength in the upper arms and stretched the shoulders, legs, spine and whole body.

What better way to accomplish this posture than with your favorite companion, your dog.

Doga may not quite fit in with your idea of meditation and complicated yoga poses. Doga is all about bonding and connecting with your pet. It must be working since doga classes are increasing in number and popularity and not just in the US.

Doga combines massage and meditation with gentle stretching for the dogs and their human companion. A doga dog will benefit from these yoga exercises and be more relaxed and be in better health generally.

One of the biggest problems faced by dog owners in Hong Kong is the lack of acceptance of dogs by the government. This has resulted in dogs often hardly leaving their homes as they ae banned from many public places.

Many of Hong Kong's dog owners are turning to alternative ways to spend time with their pet dogs. Hence the craze for yoga with dogs reaching the shores of Hong Kong.

Yoga instructor, Suzette Ackermann has her yoga class designed for dogs. Pet owners help their dogs into postures like the cobra with the hind legs stretched out to the rear as soothing music is played.

Her doga class is aimed at toy dogs which are popular in overcrowded Hong Kong.

Dog yoga lessons organized by the Japan Dog Yoga Association at the Nippon Ayurveda School in Tokyo.