Doga (a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsyoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...

with pet

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

s. The yoga hybrid began in America around 2002, came to Britain in 2004, and had spread around the Western world by 2011. Doga teachers have noted the "seemingly enlightened" nature of dogs and the benefits of exercise, bonding and enjoyment that the activity can bring. The Doga teacher Mahny Djahanguiri has stated that while dogs "don't actually do yoga", Doga brings laughter and joy, freeing people from feeling they must be perfect to practice. Doga has however been criticised as a fad and for trivialising

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

History

Doga is a hybrid of yoga as exercise with the use of pet dogs. It began in America; the actress Suzi Teitelman created it around 2002. Teitelman states that "The person takes dog deeper into a stretch, and the dog takes the person deeper", while "if you have a dog on your arm in a standing posture it helps balance and strength." She adds that perhaps Doga's main benefit "for dogs and their owners is the bonding it creates." In 2003, Jennifer Brilliant and William Berloni published their book ''Doga: Yoga for Dogs''; they claimed that "Dogis 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''never_try_to_impress._They_practice_doga_with_effortlessness_and_

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reported that the 30-minute classes that "allow[ed] you to Meditation, meditate with dogs" were "surprisingly orderly". Doga was brought to the United Kingdom in 2004 by a Pet shops, pet shop, the Pet Pavilion of London. In this version, the pets are often held by their owners. Doga was popularised in the UK by the Swiss-British yoga teacher Mahny Djahanguiri; her 2015 book ''Doga: Yoga for you and your dog'' notes that "of course dogs don't actually do yoga", and suggests that "Doga has very little to do with perfection. It brings laughter and joy to people's hearts". The

travel writer The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern per ...

Elizabeth Gowing Elizabeth Gowing is a British-Kosovan educator, story-teller and activist. Education professional She studied at Malvern St James, Malvern Girls’ College and Magdalen College, Oxford, where she was quickly active in the environmental movement ...

tried one of Djahanguiri's classes in Shoreditch, an inner-city district with few dogs; she observed the similarity of the way puppies romped about the class to the wandering of her unruly puppy-mind thoughts when first learning

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

, and noted that city-dwellers without dogs seemed to be longing for dogs to love. The class stepped through the asanas, modified to include dogs: reclining Boat pose, the dogs reclining in their owners' laps; the standing Triangle pose, with dog under an arm "like a handbag"; and the inverted

Downward Dog Downward Dog Pose or Downward-facing Dog Pose, also called Adho Mukha Shvanasana ( sa, अधोमुखश्वानासन; IAST: ''Adho Mukha Śvānāsana''), is an inversion asana, often practised as part of a flowing sequence of pose ...

, one "obliging

spaniel A spaniel is a type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century, spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retrieve water ...

" joining in. Doga arrived in Australia by 2011, where the instructor Hannah Reed stated that "the dogs are massaged gently using pressure points" and that the practice was safe for dogs with arthritis or

hip dysplasia Hip dysplasia is an abnormality of the hip joint where the socket portion does not fully cover the ball portion, resulting in an increased risk for joint dislocation. Hip dysplasia may occur at birth or develop in early life. Regardless, it doe ...

, but she noted that classes could be "quite chaotic". A 2014 Canadian version of Doga claimed to explore and develop the dogs' social learning through imitation and cognition.

Benefits

Bethany Lyttle writing in ''

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'', and Katie Briney writing on the Active website, report claimed advantages of Doga, including that the practice emphasizes yoga's focus on union between beings; helps establish a pack mentality; strengthens the bond between owner and pet; can provide additional weight resistance to intensify a physical practice; can assist injured, obese, or elderly dogs; and is enjoyable. Doga teacher Brenda Bryan writes in her 2009 book ''Barking Buddha'' that "with their innate instincts, joy in simple pleasures, and soulful eyes, dogs also are seemingly enlightened beings—Barking Buddhas, if you will", and can "teach us about life and love". The

occupational therapist Occupational therapists (OTs) are health care professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) use scientific bases and a holistic perspective to promote a person's abi ...

Melissa Y. Winkle describes in her book ''Dogwood Doga'' a wide range of activities shared by owner and dog, selected for their therapeutic value, with precautions to be observed.

Issues

Doga has been criticised as a fad, for trivialising yoga, for lax policies on teacher certification, and for untrained dogs' interference in participants' concentration and relaxation. The UK charity

Dogs Trust Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for ov ...

has warned that unsupervised Doga may harm the dogs' welfare. Australian dog trainer Martin Dominick stated without adducing evidence that doga could worsen the behaviour of disobedient dogs. A pet insurance CEO, Jack Stephens, stated that yoga's therapeutic effects "were never proven on dogs". Analysts at the Swedish merchant bank SEB selected "dog yoga" in 2007 as the most evident sign of " overheating" – an excessive

money supply In macroeconomics, the money supply (or money stock) refers to the total volume of currency held by the public at a particular point in time. There are several ways to define "money", but standard measures usually include currency in circul ...

encouraging people to spend on trivia, possibly predicting a financial crash – in the Swedish economy.

Notes

References

External links

Dogadog
- Doga's founder Suzi Teitelman
"Pets Paws For A Dog Yoga Session"
at ''

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''. {{Yoga as exercise Yoga styles Yoga hybrids