Lindsay Riley of Breathe 2 Flow hosted a pig yoga class at Westfarms on May 4, and offers additional programs – with and without animals.

By Ronni Newton

Lindsay Riley is a West Hartford-based yoga teacher, and she’s also an animal lover – and she’s found a way to combine both passions into a unique experience for those who attend her classes.

Pig yoga is a growing wellness trend, said Riley, owner of Breathe 2 Flow. “I’ve had the joy of teaching yoga with pigs to hundreds of adults and children, creating an unforgettable and therapeutic experience that blends mindfulness with the playful energy of these adorable animals,” she said in an email when she first shared her plans to host a pig yoga class at Westfarms.

Riley doesn’t have her own studio, but has rented space at Pip Yoga in West Hartford and also does pop-ups at locations throughout the area. Now that the weather is warmer, she will be holding more events outdoors in parks.

Her mission, according to the Breathe 2 Flow website, “is to create space for movement, mindfulness, and community through yoga, wellness events, and intentional living.” She enjoys making wellness accessible and fun, through unique experience, and is passionate about her deep love for animals. She owns several rabbits, and holds fundraisers for Every Bunny Counts, a rabbit rescue organization.

Riley said she saw a post about Gilbert the Party Pig on Facebook and reached out to Gilbert’s owner, Michelle Burns, and asked if she would consider getting involved with pig yoga. The answer was a resounding yes. “It’s taken off,” said Riley, and both kids and adult pig yoga have been a hit.

On May 4, there were 30 people – and three Juliana pigs – who arrived at Westfarms for pig yoga. All made themselves comfortable, and while the pigs may have been a bit distracting during the more meditative moments of the yoga class – and it may be just a bit difficult to hold a pose while a pig is sniffing your toes or munching cheerios off your back – they were without a doubt an adorable and amusing addition to the morning.

“The event was so popular it sold out in three hours,” said Barbarajean Marshall, the marketing and sponsorship director for Westfarms. It was so successful that Riley is doing another pig yoga class on June 1.

The pigs live indoors, said Burns, who lives in Glastonbury with her husband and son – who also help out with the business, which was launched in 2022 when she took their first pig, Gilbert, to a school appearance with one of her former co-teachers. “I made a post about it and it went viral. I was getting lots of calls, and emails asking us if they to can have a visit from Gilbert. We decided to go with it,” Burns said.

“A year later Meadow joined our family, followed by Sprinkle, then Dot, now Buddy.” Buddy, the youngest pig, is just three months old. Juliana pigs are a miniature pig, averaging 5o pounds when full grown. They are known to be intelligent, trainable, and make good pets.

“We’ve done schools, private parties, libraries, assisted living facilities, disabled adults/children, been on a hit television show, multiple news stories,  two radio shows, and a few podcasts. Not only do I love sharing my pigs with others but I love to educate people of what great animals they are,” Burns said. “Yoga came about this winter and seems to be the new goat yoga. We are very blessed we get to do this for a living.”

The pigs are very clean, and at least when they were at Westfarms, there was no barnyard smell whatsoever.

In addition to the upcoming pig yoga class at Westfarms, Riley’s upcoming schedule includes a kids-only pig yoga class at Pip Yoga in West Hartford on June 21, and a class for adults and kids (and pigs) at a park in Longmeadow, Massachusetts on June 22. If you’d prefer to practice yoga in the company of taller animals that like to hum and likely (hopefully) won’t climb on your back during child’s pose, you may opt for yoga with alpacas, on June 14.

For more information about Breathe 2 Flow, visit their website.

You can register for pig yoga at Westfarms on June 1 through their website, which also includes information about other events coming up at the shopping center which spans the West Hartford and Farmington town line.

[Editor’s Note: I participated in the pig yoga class, and appear in some of the photos below.]

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