Doga class relaxes dogs and their owners at West Palm Beach studio

By LIZ BALMASEDA

This article first appeared on Palm Beach Post Staff Living  Monday, July 20, 2009

A Yorkie walks into a yoga class and the instructor says “down dog.” The Yorkie looks at the two Malteses stretching on adjacent yoga mats, then looks at the instructor and responds: “Who are you calling dog?”

That Yorkie is Napoleon, the regal little dude scampering between the mats in Elissa Von Poznak’s “doga” class at the Gyrotonic Sat Nam studio in West Palm Beach on a recent Saturday. Doga is yoga one does with one’s dog – if one’s dog weighs less than 30 pounds.

Napoleon, a blue knot on his crown chakra, is 5 pounds wet. His owner, Gemma Koder of Palm Beach Gardens, arches into a cat pose and later curls herself into a child pose, her body draped over her knees on the floor. She glances up and catches the instructor’s dog, a Cavapoo, 14 pounds of chill, passed out on the floor.

“Rest your head on your pup,” says the instructor, snuggling into her pooch, Jinji, an exquisite mix of Cavalier King Charles spaniel and poodle. “Sneak a kiss.”

Napoleon is a bit more generous with his kisses. He darts between the soothing, oatmeal walls of the Zen studio, dispensing love.

“He’s a yogi of the heart,” the instructor says in a voice that keeps the room suspended in calm.

Today’s class is a monthly feature at the studio, which offers complimentary “doga” access with a pet shelter donation. The boutique studio of creamy tones, blond wood floors, aromatic teas and ancient healing modalities, has tapped into a growing national wave of doga practitioners.

Not every doga class has a doggie weight restriction. In fact, many classes across the country welcome large breeds. But at this studio, many of the doga poses involve lifting your dog, so the class is better suited for smaller breeds.

Not play time and not straight-up yoga, doga is a mix of massage, yoga stretches and meditation that pays close attention to breathing – yours and your dog’s. The breath, restorative and mood altering, is the unifying force between practitioners and their pooches.

Dogs are our great mirrors, says Von Poznak, the instructor.

“If your dog is in a calm place, it just reflects where you are,” says the instructor, a former magazine journalist.

The purists may hiss about the puppy-fication of one of the world’s most ancient forms of exercise and meditation. But when The New York Times published a story on doga in April, it became the most e-mailed article on the newspapers Web site for a couple of days.

Topsy didn’t read about doga. Didn’t have to. The 8-pound Maltese is the loyal companion of Oblio Wish, the radiant woman who owns the South Dixie studio. The Palm Beach philanthropist organized the recent class as a special fund-raiser for the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League.

At the mellow and wise age of 13, Topsy is decidedly more doga-disciplined than Ozzie, her young neighbor on the adjacent mat. At first, that is.

Ozzie, a free-spirited, 3-year-old Maltese, came to doga in the arms of his hesitant owner. Speech pathologist Cathy Feld never believed her pooch would behave in such a serene setting.

But after a few stretches and chakra massages, rambunctious little Ozzie drifted into a state of bliss.

“Look at my dog,” said an astonished Feld as the pooch lay perfectly still beside her. “This is the calmest this dog has been in his whole life.”

On the instructor’s cue, she and the other participants picked up their pups and cradled them like babies. They circled the room in a slow, walking meditation, the pooches and the practitioners.

“This is a mindfulness exercise,” explained the instructor. “We hope to be as relaxed as our pups are sometimes, and this is how we get there.”

The circle rocked and dipped in silence before the final relaxation pose brought them to the floor.

“We’re so fortunate to have these beings in our lives, so intimately,” said the instructor, her pooch melted onto her chest. “Just relax, feeling how fortunate we are.”

FOR INFORMATION on doga classes, contact Gyrotonic Sat Nam, 2916 South Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, at (561) 650-0304. Or visit www.gyrotonicsatnam.com

For more about  Liz Balmaseda’s writings and to  check out her book “Sweet Mary“ go to her official website: lizbalmaseda.com

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