Little did I know when I started doing "The Last Word" that goats would be one of the most frequent topics of my stories. They are right up there with model railroads. I’m excited to travel to a large barn in Crawford County to do Goat Story #5.

I've arrived at M.J.'s Just Kidding Dairy near the town of Atlantic in southern Crawford County. I'm watching children from a home school group as they participate in a session of goat yoga. I've heard of this kind of yoga practice, but I've never seen it in action. My gosh this looks like fun!

"A lot of times it's not about the yoga, it's about just holding those baby goat kids. They can just make a bad day go to good,” says Judy Weaver.

Judy owns this goat dairy. It's main purpose has always been to to produce goat milk. But, in 2019, Judy decided to use her goat babies to offer yoga classes. It was something she never thought she would do.

"I had a lady mention to me on the phone. She said, 'Have you ever heard of goat yoga?' I said, 'Not really," recalls Judy.

The dairy has been spreading joy through goat yoga ever since. The children are loving it. So are the baby goats. The goats will snuggle up to you while you are stretching on the yoga mat. One or two may climb on your back. It doesn't matter what kind of pose you are in. They will even nibble on your clothes and your hair.

Michelle Unger-Zakostelecky, Judy’s daughter, is a yoga instructor at the barn.

 "You sit down and these animals are drawn to you,” she says. “I don't know if it's just the personality that goats have. They just love people. They do. They're just very interested in people."

Michelle says yoga, in itself, is therapeutic. She says the goats add some fun. Some yoga enthusiasts who want to concentrate on the stretching, breathing, and meditation, may dismiss goat yoga. But, Michelle says there is therapy involved with this.

"You could be having the worst day of your life, sit down in this barn, and walk out so happy. I have had so many people tell me that,” says Michelle. “That when they left this barn after doing the yoga class, that their day had just changed."

Every class concludes with a half hour of just petting the baby goats. It’s a nice reward for everyone. Humans and animals.

The classes are called "Live Simply Goat Yoga." The barn is located at 2649 Kibbler Road in Atlantic. For information on the yoga classes or to schedule a “goat snuggling” session, go to the "Live Simply Goat Yoga" Facebook page.