Carlsbad Yoga Barre celebrates grand opening with goat yoga

Matthew Asher
Carlsbad Current-Argus

With a smile and sense of humor, Jenny Woods turned on a hands-free microphone to let everyone attending the opening session at Carlsbad Yoga Barre studio off Thomason Street that the goats were likely to poop anywhere.

The Carlsbad Yoga Barre studio celebrated its grand opening on Saturday and began regular classes on Monday. Although most of the exercise classes will take place inside the studio, Woods wanted a fun yoga class to start off her new business in Carlsbad.

Woods, a former detective in Prescott Valley, Arizona discovered yoga while she was on the police force.

Jenny Woods leads a Goat Yoga session while her daughter Hazley plays with a goat held by her husband, Brandon Woods on Oct. 10, 2020. Woods celebrated the grand opening of Carlsbad Yoga Barre with outdoor yoga classes.

"I used to do hot yoga all the time as a way to stay in shape. I loved it," Woods said.

"Hot yoga is a great way to detox, improve your flexibility and boost your immunity. I fell in love with out there and wanted to bring that here when I moved last year."  

Woods was a personal trainer before she became a police officer and spent the last year earning various certifications in yoga. The classes she is certified to teach include Yin, Vinyassa, Buti, and her favorite: Barre.

"Barre is a combination of ballet, plyometrics and yoga," Woods said. "It's a lot of cardio. It's a lot of dance moves and it's a lot of flexibility and stretching as well. Barre is its own version of yoga."

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Woods' favorite style to teach is Buti Yoga due to its stress reduction properties. 

"It's an Indian word that means 'The cure within' so it comes from healing your body through movements," Woods said. "It does a lot of moves that help with your digestion and keeping you healthy in general. You shake off a lot of stress and anxiety with these static movements."

Woods said she hoped the opening goat yoga session would help provide a fun, light-hearted experience for beginners and experts alike. 

Carlsbad Yoga Barre celebrates its grand opening on Oct. 10, 2020 with a session of Goat Yoga which is one part yoga, one part pet therapy.

"It's a basic yoga class so kids can participate the best they can so it's more fun. I tell people if they want fun, come to Goat Yoga," Woods said. "If they want a workout come to a Hot Yoga class. This is a fun flow class where the goats jump around you. If you want pictures (of the goats) you can. The animal therapy also helps because it's always helpful to see cute little goats."

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Izzie Brooks was one of those participants who wanted to see the goats. She turned 10 on Saturday and had her mother Ashley Brooks take her to the first yoga class and enjoyed the experience.

"I never heard of Goat Yoga before," Izzie Brooks said. "I didn't know what to expect but it was pretty cool. The goats kept coming up to everyone. It was really fun. I liked the part afterwards where we could take photos with the goats."

Ashley Brooks has done yoga on and off for more than a decade. Like her daughter she never participated in Goat Yoga before but said she loved the class.

"This was great. It was definitely different," Ashley Brooks said. "I'd have to take a few breaks to move the goats so I could get back into my poses but the goats weren't that troublesome. It was nice to get outside in the fresh air and to get around people."

Carlsbad Yoga Barre celebrates its grand opening on Oct. 10, 2020 with a session of Goat Yoga which is one part yoga, one part pet therapy.

For now, Woods said she would offer one Goat Yoga session every other weekend. Carlsbad Yoga Barre will have six indoor classes a day on weekdays, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Woods added that Stephanie Smith, a CrossFit trainer for a decade, will be doing cross-training courses in the studio. 

Under social distancing guidelines Woods plans to allow six to ten participants for any indoor studio sessions.

Matthew Asher can be reached at 575-628-5524, masher@currentargus.com or @Caveman_Masher on Twitter.  Support award-winning local journalism. Subscribe to the Current-Argus today.