Not too long ago, a generation of women would make a cup of tea every weekday afternoon, settle in front of the TV, and spend 30 to 45 minutes watching a soapie. No claims were made about its mental-health benefits, and no wellness influencers were telling them to make time for it. They did it simply because they enjoyed it.

These days, switching off during daylight hours seems almost impossible. But we could all use a little time to do something purely for the fun of it. Enter goat yoga, because what could be more frivolous, feel-good and fun than stretching alongside a bunch of mischievous goats?

For Chané Gambold, the idea was hatched while spending time with her goats.

Gambold and her family live on a smallholding in Roodeplaat near Pretoria, where they run The Goat Patch, a family-owned farming and agri-tourism business offering everything from farm visits and school trips to mobile goat experiences, photoshoots and, of course, goat yoga.

“We love spending time with our goats,” she says. “They are incredibly entertaining animals and always seem to find a way to make us laugh.”

It was the baby goats, in particular, that gave her the idea.

“They are incredibly cuddly and absolutely love climbing all over us. They are constantly jumping onto us and using us almost like a jungle gym,” she says.

And so the obvious question arose: If the goats already enjoy climbing on people while they’re sitting around, why not combine that with yoga? The result is, in Gambold’s words, ‘chaotic’.

“There are goats doing zoomies, goats launching themselves into the air, goats treating guests like bouncy castles, and then there are those who decide that yoga time is actually the perfect opportunity for a nap. Every goat has its own agenda,” says Gambold.

Some want to climb. Some want cuddles. Others simply want to lie on a yoga mat and be left alone.

One of the current crowd favourites is Saartjie, who apparently has a slightly different understanding of what a yoga class is. “She sees a group of people doing yoga and doesn’t see a yoga class at all; she sees a giant, incredibly fun playground built specifically for her,” says Gambold.

For many people, the yoga is almost beside the point. They arrive expecting a class with a few goats wandering around and leave remembering the particular goat that climbed onto them, fell asleep beside them or completely derailed their carefully attempted yoga pose.

And that, says Gambold, is part of the magic. “You can see people’s faces completely light up,” she says. “The goats don’t really have to do anything extraordinary. They are just being goats, and people can’t help but laugh, smile and get caught up in the moment with them.”

There are, of course, a few things to know before stepping onto the mat.

Most importantly, the goats are in charge. So don’t arrive expecting a perfectly serene yoga session. Instead, expect an hour of stretching, cuddling, laughing and surrendering to whatever chaos a bunch of kids has in mind.

In a world that constantly tells us we should make the most of every minute, there is something wonderfully refreshing about doing something simply because it is fun.

And if a goat happens to climb onto your back while you’re doing it, well, consider that a bonus.

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