Goat Yoga brings stress relief to students
Lacey Klotz |
What helps relieve the stress of upcoming final exams? Cute baby goats and some simple meditation, of course!
With this semester’s final exams taking place Dec. 8-14, Lipscomb University’s Counseling Center and Student Life Office offered two free Goat Yoga classes, a popular yoga trend that has taking the fitness world by storm, to help alleviate the rising stress levels of students.
During the university-wide study day known as “dead day,” 10 baby goats from Shenanigoats Yoga, Nashville’s local goat yoga team, leapt on the backs and bellies of nearly 50 students as they alternated through a variety of yoga poses.
Andrea Mills, assistant director of Lipscomb’s Counseling Center, says within the days leading up to final exams she sees a great rise in stress levels, so the center decided to make this year’s study day a de-stress day for students by bringing some fury friends to campus.
“Goat Yoga is such a perfect fit for today because it promotes laughter,” said Mills. “Laughter is one of the most amazing stress relievers, because it releases dopamine, which is something that naturally lowers stress levels. And we have seen that today as the goats have walked in, there have been students smiling and experiencing joy.”
Justis Bailey, a junior nursing major from Clarksville, Tennessee, says this was her first time participating in goat yoga and as soon as she laid eyes on the baby goats, her exam nerves were immediately calmed.
“During the yoga session, I wasn’t thinking about my finals at all because I was just paying attention to what the goats were doing,” said Bailey. “It was so much fun, they would put the goats on our backs and by the time the class was over, my face hurt from smiling. I have already recommended it to a lot of people!”
Mills says she is also grateful for Jamie Codispoti, owner of Shenanigoats Yoga, and her team for supporting Lipscomb in this effort.
“This partnership with Lipscomb is so amazing for us because it just makes perfect sense,” said Codispoti. “The end of the semester is totally stressful with exams and this is an hour where students are just able to relax and smile. Goat Yoga originally started in Oregon, and we started Shenanigoats yoga in June after our East Nashville following asked us to and now we give classes on weekends and go out on location and it’s all about making people happy.”
Last spring, the counseling center also brought a group of therapy dogs to campus to help relieve some pre-exam stress before final exams.
“We wanted to give our students the opportunity to spend a little time with these therapy dogs on a day when they were likely feeling stressed and maybe a little overwhelmed with studying for exams,” said Mills, who is also the program director for the university’s Campus Suicide Prevention Grant. “In our surveys and interactions with students, they tell us that they miss their pets and that they would like to see more pets on campus. So, we thought this would be a good way to give students a way to relieve stress in a meaningful and fun way!”
Lipscomb’s Counseling Center is located in the basement of Elam and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center provides private and effective counseling sessions to help individuals overcome a wide range of personal or relational issues for individuals and/or groups. The center also provides various on-campus education programs that cover mental health and encourages student and faculty wellness. For more information, visit: www.lipscomb.edu/counselingcenter.
Naaaaaamaste.
- Photos by Kristi Jones