Ojai Goat Yoga

Yoga

Coming soon to a barn near you; now our Ojai lifestyle is complete.

hayden bean was farming in mendocino – specializing in rich cannabis, regenerative agriculture and animal husbandry – when he discovered a deeply spiritual connection with goats.

“Have you ever looked into a goat’s eyes? They see right through you,” said Bean, 28, who was raised in Ojai and has been working in farming for more than a decade.

“The goats are the real shamans,” he continued. “When you get down on the ground with them, it triggers this kind of prenatal, mother-child, nurturing relationship.” Because Bean was already immersed in a Hatha yoga practice, he began brainstorming ways to integrate goats and yoga. “One day I woke up and said, ‘I want to do goat yoga,’,” recalled Bean. “This is something I want to share with people. I feel like I’m here to introduce people to the magic of goats.” Goat yoga, simply put, is the practice of doing yoga with goats present. As humans do their yoga poses, the goats mingle in various ways, including quietly nuzzling on people and occasionally gently standing upon a person’s back. While no o cial scientifi c studies or research have been specifi cally conducted on the benefi ts of humans doing yoga with goats, proponents claim the therapeutic benefi ts include automatic relaxation, a lifted spirit, diminished sadness or grief, and an improved overall sense of well-being. Additionally, “there’s something humbling about it,” Bean said. “If the goat comes over and takes a poop on your brand new yoga pants, you’ll have to take it in stride. That’s part of the joy and laughter and the dance with the goats and the lessons they can teach you about being humble and not taking yourself too seriously.” Bean, who is currently collaborating with a farm in Meiners Oaks that has baby goats and mild-mannered female goats. He describes his vision for goat yoga as a “balancing of beings” because “the goats are so good at reading people.” This is important, Bean emphasized, because “yoga isn’t always this glamorous thing that’s advertised.” Rather, “the deep parts of yoga are involving shadow work and connection with yourself and source, and sometimes that can be really dark and scary, and sometimes people go to these really intense places within themselves. And these goats are this really nice ally or partner, they help keep things light. They help laughter and joy come out of the experience.” Bean noted that he was fi rst introduced to the magic of nature and the plant kingdom during his time as a gardener at the University of California, Santa Cruz Arboretum, where he worked for fi ve years before graduating. He currently runs his own landscaping and gardening business, in which he integrates his experience from farming, yoga and horticulture to design, install and maintain regenerative and medicinal landscapes in Ojai and the greater Ventura County area. In the lives of his clients, Bean saw the need for cultivating a holistic mother-child nature connection. “Traditional yoga didn’t go far enough in developing this relationship,” said Bean, adding that his desire to launch goat yoga grew out of this need, which he can complement with his unique skill set. “Through farming I discovered animal husbandry and the relationship between human and animal, and how that develops a sense of being able to trust yourself and set boundaries. Things that have real practical applications you can learn from animals.” While goat yoga might seem “arbitrary” and “almost gimmicky,” Bean maintains “there really is something kind of deeper to it that isn’t just a photo op, it’s a connection.”

The craze of goat yoga “is this relatively recent human-animal relationship that we’re trying to cultivate,” Bean said. “And I feel like we’re pioneering a new wave of connection with not just nature, but connection with yourself.” The path that led Bean to discover “the magic” of goats came about serendipitously when he was about 20 years old and thinking about dropping out of college.

“I was really in a dark place, dealing with severe depression, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” he remembered. “So I took some time o school and it was a really amazing experience because I was trying all these di erent things … and going to di erent yoga studios to fi nd something that works.”

In 2010, he was invited to Los Angeles for an event that honored Mata Amritanandamayi, an Indian-born spiritual leader known as the Hugging Saint.

“I was skeptical initially – at that time I was very cynical,” admitted Bean, whose cynicism dissipated as soon as the guru was in his presence, embraced him and whispered a mantra in his ear. “I felt like I was being fi lled up with warm water; I felt like every molecule in my body started vibrating,” Bean recalled. “It was a totally euphoric experience. It blew the lid o my skepticism about the possibilities with yoga – the possibilities with spirituality and the human connection.”

This incident was a turning point in Bean’s life where he discovered the potential that yoga could have as far as healing people, “and opening people back up … to all the good things that people have been missing – now especially.” Through goat yoga, these animals “offer the opportunity to look our primal joy and laughter directly in the eyes,” Bean said. Additionally, “they challenge the students and accentuate an ancient healing modality that is sometimes drained of its true potential by the sterile and materialistic translation to the West and English.” Goat yoga is the best of both worlds, he said, allowing for people to experience a more well-rounded connection to nature and to themselves.

“This is the ultimate goal of yoga; to connect, to strengthen the prenatal ties to our true self that we may have forgotten in our rush to grow up.” For more information, contact Hayden Bean at hbean603@gmail.com.

KHABIR SOUTHWICK

Naturopath, Ayurvedic Herbalist/Practitioner. Herbal & dietary treatments for weight-loss, HBP, high cholesterol, inflammation, pain, high blood sugar, colon cleansing, liver detoxification, IBS, menopause, anxiety, insomnia, asthma, acidity, allergies, fatigue & more

805-308-3480 www.KSouthwick.com JOHN R. GALASKA, PSYD, BCIA, CHT

Biofeedback, Neurofeedback, & Hypnosis Mind-body work to lift your spirit, clear trauma. Effective remote sessions for individuals & couples.

805-705-5175 galaska77@gmail.com www.BeCalmofOjai.com

LAUREL FELICE, L.M.T.

Offering Swedish, Deep Tissue, Esalen, PreNatal and Oncology Massage, also Reiki and Cranial Sacral therapy. It is time to revive and thrive!

805-886-3674 laurelfelice54@gmail.com

LESLIE BOUCHÉ, C.HT.

Certified Hypnotherapist . Find your calm center. Release negative thinking, emotional reactivity, anxiety, fear, and unhelpful behaviors. Improve sleep and comfort. Let go of the past.

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mindfullness&healing

JACALYN BOOTH STARBORN HEALING NUTMEG’S OJAI HOUSE KROTONA

OJAI DIGESTIVE HEALTH

Certified Colon Hydrotherapist with 30+ years experience in healing modalities & 16 years in colon hydrotherapy, bringing a deep level of care to the art of colon hydrotherapy. Professional~Gentle~Effective

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Ojai’s metaphysical shop Starborn Healing offers you a supportive space centered around community. Crystals, Crystal Jewelry, Meditation Pyramids, Orgone Creations, Energy Healings, Meditations & more.

109 El Roblar Dr, Ojai 93023 (in Hamsa Studio) 323-898-4143 www.starbornhealing.com

Crystals, Sage, Candles and tools for Transformation. Psychic Readers here Everyday. Astrologer Sunday or by appt. 805.640.1656 Open Daily 11 to 6

304 North Montgomery Street, Ojai. mgojai62@gmail.com www.NutmegsOjaiHouse.com INSTITUTE OF THEOSOPHY LIBRARY AND RESEARCH CENTER

Metaphysical Bookshop and School of Theosophy 2 Krotona Hill, Ojai.

805-646-1139 info@krotonainstitute.org

LANI KIDMAN, HHT, LMT

Guided Imagery and Acupressure Flower Essence Therapy

805.701.0367 www.lanikidman.com THE LITTLE GARDEN DAY SPA

ANGELLA W. WINSPEAR, CMT, CLDT

A range of healing treatments that include Lymphatic Drainage therapy and Infrared.

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Unearthing

“From the fi rst human handprint on a cave wall, we’re part of something continuous. So, we…don’t really die.” — Basil Brown from ‘The Dig’

In the new Netfl ix fi lm, The Dig, amateur archeologist Basil Brown excavates an Anglo-Saxon burial ship on the property of Edith Pretty in Su olk, England. The discovery—the Sutton Hoo Treasure— was a momentous one. It would transform our understanding of the so-called “Dark Ages,” when waves of Anglo-Saxon invaders conquered England after the fall of the Roman Empire. “The Dark Ages are no longer dark!” exclaims one of Brown’s assistants, referring to the wealth of art, culture, and treasure discovered in the ship’s burial chamber. As I watched The Dig, I was fascinated by the character of Basil Brown. In the fi lm, as in real life, Brown is respected as an excavator but discounted as an archeologist and scholar. Brown recognizes his limitations, but he more than makes up for them with his passion for learning, attention to detail, and investigative instincts. He tells Edith’s young son Robert that the most important part of an archeologist’s body is his nose. “If there’s something there, he’ll know it by the smell.” While watching the fi lm, I was reminded of my visit to the British Museum’s Sutton Hoo exhibit in 1959. Then a tenyear-old boy from Ojai, I was amazed at what treasures could be found in a back yard or a plowed fi eld. But what would an archeological dig possibly uncover in Ojai? What buried secrets would be revealed?

Right: Bob Browne. Ojai’s own amateur archeologist, Browne, made history in 1961 when he unearthed two ancient stone effi gies in his backyard dig. At the time, they were the oldest works of art ever discovered in the Western Hemisphere.

The 1939 discovery of Sutton Hoo by archeologist Basil Brown, recently celebrated in the Netflix movie “The Dig,” was mirrored in 1957 when Ojai archeologist Robert Browne uncovered a hoard of stone-age treasures in Mira Monte.