Cat Yoga Is the Newest Exercise Trend — And It Is Raising Awareness for the Plight of Shelter Pets

Forget about downward dog, in this yoga class, it is all about the cats.

Thanks to Good Mews, a cage-free cat shelter in Georgia, a bunch of cats are finding brand new homes. The shelter is currently offering cat yoga sessions as a way to attract customers to their shelter.

The classes are a major hit and have quickly become the latest exercise class to try. Currently, the classes are sold out until January.

“Our mission is ‘finding good homes for good kitties,’ and the volunteer marketing committee, which I lead, does all we can to help carry out this mission by thinking of new ways to introduce our cats to potential adopters,” Nancy Riley, marketing chair and on the Good Mews Animal Foundation board of directors, said to People. “We’ve had a kitten shower, a Meows & Meowmosas brunch, and we regularly bring school kids into the shelter to read aloud to the cats.”

The classes cost about $20 each, with all of the funds going straight to the shelter to help care for the kittens.

“We have about 100 cats in the shelter, and at least half usually wander through a yoga class and choose a mat to call their own,” Riley told People. “It’s a great nap spot. They love the soft music, dim lighting and the fact that the people are down on their level. It really is fun to watch how much some of the cats get into it.”

She continued, “Our classes sell out very quickly, so it must be a hit.”

According to Katie Misencik, a volunteer and regular yoga practitioner, having the cats around the yoga class makes it “more relaxing.”

“I really like the class and really like hanging out with all the cats,” Misencik told CNN. “It’s all about fun and is a little more relaxing. There’s not as much pressure to make my form perfect.”

While the class is a good health benefit, it also gives some much needed attention to cats at the shelter.

“You’re not just doing something healthy for yourself,” Lisa Johns, manager of the shelter, said to CNN. “You are doing a bit of good too for these shelter cats that will only get even more adoptable with the extra time and attention.”

See the class in action below.