LEWISBURG, Pa. - -Exercise is a good way to de-stress, and one of the most relaxing exercises is yoga. On Monday, a yoga instructor in Lewisburg teamed up with a nonprofit for what she thinks is a "purr-fect" way to do yoga.
While it may look like an ordinary yoga class, it's not typical to have four-legged friends cuddling you while you're in shavasana. But according to Beatriz Benedit, cat yoga is therapeutic.
"Mixing yoga with love of cats is something that I'm really enjoying, and I'm grateful that they asked me to be a part of it," Benedit said.
Benedit owns the Lewisburg Yoga Studio, which is directly behind The Scratching Post cat cafe. The studio teamed up with the nonprofit to bring cat yoga to the Susquehanna Valley.
"We naturally organically allowed the cats to practice when they wanted to practice with us, be on the mat when they wanted to be on the mat," Benedit said.
The class is $15. Half of the proceeds go to care for the cats.
"It was awesome, totally the best way to start a week," Linda Whitmer said.
"Yoga is meant to focus and ground you, and cats make me really happy. Adding that to already a nice experience was great," Amanda Maurer said.
The Scratching Post opened in January as an adoption platform for cats. People are invited to come spend time with the cats in an open atmosphere.
"This is pretty much the most relaxing place I've ever been to. The first time I came here, I walked in with my kid and it was just calming energy. Then they combine yoga? I was like, yeah, I'm going to go do that," Whitmer said.
The Lewisburg Yoga Studio and The Scratching Post hope to make cat yoga a regular thing here in Lewisburg.