Latest fad, goat yoga, finds its way to Glencoe
Eddie Becker, creator of Eddie’s Goat Milk Goods, and his family are teaming up with Shape it Up Fitness from Waconia to offer goat yoga (goga) classes this Saturday at their Glencoe farm.
Eddie Becker, age 17, has been selling goat milk products such as face creams, lotions, soaps and milk baths for the past two years (although Becker feels like it’s been much longer). The award-winning business has grown so much that he has needed to recruit his family to help. He and his family learned about the trend of goga from his mentor, who was in California over Christmas.
Tracy Becker said, “She emailed us and said, ‘Look at this! They’re doing goat yoga out here!’ And we were like, ‘What?!’ But more and more people started doing it and we thought why not? We have so much fun with the goats — although we’ve never done yoga with them before.”
Goat yoga has gained popularity over the past two years because it combines exercise with pet therapy which makes for an entertaining, relaxing experience.
The Becker family interviewed quite a few trainers to find the right fit for their event. “We met with Shape it Up Fitness and they were super excited,” said Tracy Becker. Megan VanEyll, owner and fitness trainer of Shape it Up Fitness, and Cortney Minger, another yoga instructor at SIU, will be teaching the two classes. The event has proved very popular with both the 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. classes already at full capacity with 25 people in each class.
“We’ve never done yoga before so it will be interesting to see how it goes,” said Tracy Becker. “Just a few days ago, we were playing on the yoga mats and it was really funny. We were laughing so hard. We’ll see how much actual yoga gets done.”
She, along with Eddie’s younger brother Sam and younger sister Emma, are planning on trying out the yoga class while Eddie and Jack have decided they’d rather watch and see what happens.
The Beckers are excited to share their goats in this new event. Ed Becker says, “The biggest thing is just being able to help people, whether it’s with their skin conditions, a phobia of animals or an anxiety of some kind. These goats are very calming to be around. They serve many purposes and it’s nice to be able to help other people.”
For those interested, Eddie’s Goat Milk Goods can be found at eight different locations including The Health Nut Pantry in Glencoe, the Hutchinson Farmers Market, the Litchfield Co-op and the Minneapolis Farmers Market.
