NEW YORK, June 22 — How about working out with your pet? The idea may sound like a joke, but for several months it’s been taking shape in the form of ‘doga’, ‘dog yoga’, ‘cat yoga’ and ‘puppy yoga’ classes. These names essentially describe yoga sessions surrounded by animals, a variation on the discipline that has multiple virtues, and serves a reminder that this ancestral practice is constantly modernising to attract ever more followers, even if that means embracing highly unusual variations. Here’s a look at three unusual ways to practice yoga this International Yoga Day.

Yoga with animals: Relaxation and bonding

The practice isn’t new, but it’s gradually gaining ground all around the world, and is slowly but surely opening its doors to new kinds of pets. Whether with a goat, a dog, a cat or a rabbit, yoga can now be practised with our favourite four-legged companions. It’s a playful and unusual variation on yoga, but that’s not all. Practising this physical activity with your pet offers total relaxation, with boosted anti-stress virtues, while improving complicity and trust with your faithful companion, and playing on some of its behaviours. For sessions with goats, it’s a little different, since the aim is essentially to alleviate stress and anxiety, improve mood and leave feeling totally at peace. In short, it’s a combination of yoga and animal-based therapy, without forgetting the beneficial work on breathing, flexibility and tone that comes with practicing yoga.

Yoga with beer: Relaxation with a festive slant

Drinking alcohol while exercising might seem like another far-fetched, or even dangerous, idea, but it’s becoming increasingly popular around the world, from the USA, where the concept of ‘drunk yoga‘ was born, to Germany and Denmark, where beer is big. The idea is to bust out yoga poses and reap multiple benefits for flexibility, muscle strengthening and well-being, while drinking a pint of beer or a glass of wine, depending on the session you sign up for. It’s a type of yoga that allows you to relax and feel more at ease with the movements, but also to share in a social experience combining fun and relaxation. The idea is to take a sip between each exercise or during a break, and not while you’re actually doing the movements. And there’s one other thing to keep in mind: the idea is to drink a pint of beer or a glass of wine — two at the most — and not to down drinks as quickly as you change poses. It’s all about moderation.

Naked yoga: Flexibility and self-acceptance

Naked yoga is a centuries-old practice, although it has been revived and modernised in recent decades, making a fresh comeback under the impetus of a number of influencers. The concept is simple, and involves doing yoga but ditching the clothes. Is it a fad, or even a fantasy? Not according to the discipline’s many followers, who see it as a way of enjoying the benefits of yoga while reclaiming their bodies, in other words, boosting their self-confidence and self-esteem. And contrary to what you might think, this kind of yoga is very popular: The hashtag #nakedyoga already has almost two million views on the TikTok social network, and one of the discipline’s modern-day advocates, Nude Yoga Girl, counts no fewer than 1.4 million followers on Instagram. — ETX Studio