Métro tested yoga with cats
At the Chato café in Verdun, you can quietly sip your latte surrounded by cats and their soft purrs. But on Wednesday evenings, it is also possible to come and do yoga, and not just any kind of yoga: yoga-cats! We went to try the experiment and here is what it looks like.
Yes, since 2019, the sporting and relaxing activity on Wednesday evenings has been all the rage in this Verdun café. At the start of each session, places fill up in no time. It’s that every week, for ten weeks, we can follow the one-hour sessions of hatha yoga teacher Stéphanie Grégoire, in the company of a dozen little kitties who walk around us.
Café Chato decorations, Metro
Café Chato decorations, Metro< /em>
When you arrive in the small, warmly decorated cafe, the tables and chairs have been stacked in one corner to make room for about ten people of different age groups and different levels of experience who have already settled on the floor, with their carpets, and who greet each other in a good mood.
Courtesy, Café Chato
Having no yoga experience under our sports sweater and no equipment to participate, we borrowed a mat and stretching ropes. Stéphanie stands in front of the group, a cat lies down next to her and takes up all the space on her carpet. Other small felines run after toys or climb on the ceiling beams… In short, everyone has their starting position.
To help us relieve the stress of the day, Stéphanie speaks to us calmly and invites us to take the time to rest. We stretch, we breathe as two kittens visibly full of energy sprintbetween us. In total, the cafe has about ten cats whose names are all written on a poster on the wall.
Café Chato cats, Metro
Chato Café Cats, Metro
During the pose of the lizard, a small kitten comes very close and looks at us, shy. But we know that cats are not the most disciplined animals and later, during a great silence, two of them start spitting on each other. Yes, a new kid arrived a few days ago and didn't quite have time to get to know the others. More crazy than disturbing, this interruption does not prevent us from quickly finding our center of zenitude.
And it is also thanks to our teacher who, throughout the lesson, reminds us of the importance of respecting our limits and doing our best. A reassuring speech, especially for beginners like us, and which makes you feel good, even when you can't hold the posture for long.
At the end of the session, we are offered herbal tea (courtesy of the cafe!) that we can drink in the company of the group, but also by flattering the kitties, who made the lesson both sweet and fun and who are beginning to be tired. A beautiful moment of sharing and relaxation in a group that we warmly recommend to all cat lovers to try, even if you’re not athletic or follow yoga.
Classes are currently full, but if there are cancellations, you can reserve an à la carte class by informing yourself on site, Wednesday, from 8 p.m.
Otherwise, a spring session will take place from April 12 to June 4, 2023. We recommend it!
@journalmetro
À CHATcun its sport… 🐈⬛🧘♀️ #yoga #yogamontreal #chats #barachats #montreal #mtltiktok #journalmetro
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