Cola Daily: Yoga classes going to the dogs in Columbia

By Allen Wallace

The downward-facing dog is a common yoga pose, but in one yoga class Saturday in Columbia, the dogs were facing every conceivable direction.

Fit Columbia in Five Points hosted Yoga with Puppies, inviting participants to bring their canine friends to join the exercise. It might sound strange, but Fit owner Angela Yong Sellers said there is sound reasoning behind it.

“There’s a lot of mom and dad guilt when you leave your pet at home all week long while you go to work, so this is one less missing opportunity to be with your pet,” she said. “When you’re totally at peace and your dog’s there with you, it’s nice.”

Sellers hosted her first Yoga with Puppies event last month, and with successes then and Saturday, plans to make it a monthly event. She added that she keeps a higher than usual ratio of staff to participants so that staff can handle duties like taking a dog for a walk if needed.

“We haven’t had one problem,” she said, and there were none on Saturday, as humans and dogs alike mingled happily.
Wednesday is International Yoga Day, and Sellers said that annual focus on the practice comes at a time when it is already drawing more attention in Columbia.

“Yoga is becoming extremely popular and there are a lot of studios opening up in Columbia,” she said, adding that she thinks the different studios should be on good terms and at times work together. “We just wanted to vary ourselves because we don’t want to be competition. The way that we can complement other studios is to offer things that they are not.”

“We bring a lot of youthful energy to our yoga,” Sellers said. She added that Fit Columbia offers something for all experience levels, beginner to expert, and instructors who will help people along the way.