OKEECHOBEE – Goat Yoga was a hit at Okeechobee Music Festival (OMF).

What’s Goat Yoga? Fence off a nice area with plenty of shade. Let festival goers fill it with yoga mats and get into position for yoga. Then hold a guided yoga session – and let a bunch of pygmy goats loose to wander, frolic and jump on those doing yoga.

Yoga instructor Karina Pasarell said Alaska Farms in Orlando has been offering Goat Yoga since 2018. An OMF organizer participated in a Goat Yoga session there and invited them to come to 2026 OMF.

Two Goat Yoga sessions were offered during the four-day camping festival, held at Sunshine Grove in northeastern Okeechobee County. They also offered “cuddle” sessions with the goats.

Pasarell said goats don’t have to be trained to participate in yoga. “They are naturally curious creatures who like to jump on things,” she explained. She said at the farm, they have a playground for the goats because they like to jump and climb.

The little goats have been well socialized and seem to enjoy interacting with people.

During the yoga session, goat handlers circulated among the yoga practitioners, using leafy branches the goats like to nibble to encourage the goats to move through the crowd and climb onto people.

Alaska Farms brought 18 pygmy goats to OMF, including a few babies with their mothers. Pasarell said these goats weigh 30 to 60 pounds when fully grown, but for yoga sessions they use goats that weigh 40 pounds or less.

“We recommend people wear clothing to protect their skin,” she added. Goat hooves could potentially cause a scrape. Some at OMF did not follow that suggestion, but none of the participants complained.

Pasarell said many people who try Goat Yoga have never tried yoga before, and many pay more attention to the goats than the yoga instructions, so they keep the sessions at the beginner level yoga.

In addition to Goat Yoga, Alaska Farms offers farm tours and visits with cows, donkeys, goats, horses and emus.

The farm property also houses the horses of the Orange County Sheriff’s Mounted Department.