Yoga – an ancient practice that has always combined breathing, movement, and meditation – is receiving a special upgrade recently. After years of yoga with dogs, cats, goats, and even pigs, now it's the chickens' turn. It might sound like a joke, but this yoga, known in the US as Clucksana (cluck is the sound chickens make), represents a genuine and peaceful attempt to integrate a new possibility for finding calm and connection to nature in our crazy and stressful daily routine.
Understanding the chicken yoga experience
First, let's clarify and reassure that classes are not conducted in chicken coops. Sessions take place in pleasant environments, sometimes in open spaces or rural studios with small groups of silky chickens – a special breed that's small and soft, often resembling chicks, characterized by quiet and friendly temperaments.
Participants begin with gentle "meet and greet" sessions, holding small cups containing seeds while inviting chickens to approach and feel comfortable nearby, sometimes even allowing them to settle on arms or knees (though never on heads, something instructors emphasize strongly). All chickens wear tiny diapers to prevent "accidents" and unnecessary mess.
Following brief introductions, participants transition into familiar yoga practice – breathing exercises, stretching, and entering various poses while chickens move freely around the space. When chickens choose to sit beside participants, these moments create unique, intimate connections that enhance enjoyment and relaxation. Their clucking and cooing presence generates feelings of non-judgmental community, where everyone can simply exist without explanations or judgments. This fusion between traditional body movement and natural presence fills classes with distinctive feelings of lightness and release.
The science behind the benefits
Yoga has been proven through numerous studies to provide significant benefits – improving flexibility, balance, and posture, reducing blood pressure in hypertensive groups, lowering blood sugar levels, contributing to pain relief, and naturally reducing stress and anxiety.
Adding chickens to practice, one of the most intriguing characteristics of this phenomenon, amplifies these effects. Research in human-animal interaction fields indicates that animal presence reduces stress hormones like cortisol, enhances serotonin secretion ("the happiness hormone"), decreases loneliness, and strengthens community belonging. Chickens serve special roles – they are social animals with basic intelligence who create unique atmospheres that remain quiet yet vibrant with life. Currently, hundreds of classes operate throughout the US and Britain with increasing demand, particularly among those seeking to diversify classical yoga worlds and add emotional dimensions that connect to nature.
Suitability and precautions
Despite the beauty of these connections, practicing with chickens is not appropriate for everyone. People with sensitivities, allergies, or bird phobias definitely cannot benefit and may suffer during sessions.
Additionally, it's important to remember these are living animals, and exposure and interaction require patience and sensitivity. Some experts note that chickens, being empathetic creatures, may be harmed by intense interactions with stressed or sad people, as studies conducted in France have demonstrated. Therefore, maintaining chicken welfare presents constant challenges accompanying this phenomenon, with diaper usage intended for hygiene maintenance raising questions about animal welfare and whether human comfort is truly prioritized over bird well-being.
Beyond animal welfare concerns, chicken yoga remains far from replacing deep traditional yoga or professional psychological treatments and is more suitable as an integrative experience aimed primarily at instilling calm and innovation.
The bottom line is, if you're seeking new and slightly unconventional ways to connect with your body and nature, combining meditation with movement and adding touches of life (literally) to yoga atmospheres, this represents one trend worth understanding – the question remains who will embrace this challenge here in Israel.
