Captain Obvious enjoys goat yoga, but you can now enjoy yoga with raptors courtesy of the folks at the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL).
Yoga with raptors, led by gentle hatha yoga instructor Sylvia Smallman, is an opportunity to be in the great outdoors under the watchful eyes of some of OWL’s curious residents.
“I’ve been a volunteer at OWL for about five years,” said Smallman. “I teach in Vancouver. I had seen several yoga with bunnies as a fundraiser and thought it was quite funny so I had the idea of doing raptor yoga as a fundraiser. Not with the raptors flying around between the participants, but we do this outside in the picnic area and the education birds are all around there. I proposed the idea to OWL and they thought it was a great idea.”
After a successful session was held last summer, OWL planned two this year. The first took place last month and the final one is set for this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
“People love it. I think about 15 people were at the session in July,” said Smallman. “Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be experienced. I have a couple of chairs if people don’t want to get on mats. It’s very simple, basic yoga and then I weave basic information about raptors as we do the yoga. I’m on the education team at OWL, so there is a fun educational component to this as well.”
OWL’s Martina Versteeg said the program is starting to gain momentum.
“I thought it was a unique idea. Obviously we’ve heard of cat yoga, bunny yoga and goat yoga, so I guess it was about time we got involved in the yoga trend,” she said. “We have a beautiful picnic area for the outdoor session, which is even more appealing for those who want to come and try it out. And it’s a fundraiser as well. People are really enjoying the experience.”
Cost for the session is $20 per person with all proceeds going to OWL for the care of injured or orphaned raptors. Call 604-946-3171 to reserve your spot.
OWL is located at 3800-72nd St. in East Ladner.
