This Gives New Meaning To The Pose 'Cat And Cow'

I'm a big fan of Tenth Life Cat Rescue.  One of their outreach programs is a monthly fundraiser called Cats & Mats Yoga Night.  Last night I was there.

Tenth Life is located in a converted storefront in South St. Louis. The instructions said we could show up 30 minutes before the class started to claim a spot on the floor and hang out with the cats.  When I arrived at 5:32 I rang the bell (they have the door locked so the cats don't accidentally escape) and waited for someone to let me in.  That took a minute, because first some cats had to be shoo'd away.

A couple of other women had arrived before me and were already trying to get some quality cat time.  I learned that although there can be as many as 15 cats and kittens there at a time right now there were only five. A couple of them were completely oblivious to all the commotion, but others were more interested. 

In many ways this was just like any other yoga class.  We warmed up, stretched every part of our bodies, and ended with savasana.  However, the cats wandering around gave this class a very unique touch. At the beginning, the instructor mentioned we could take photos as long as we could reach over to our phone without hurting ourselves or a cat.  Every once in a while during the class someone would snicker, a sign that one of the cats was doing something cute. 

All  too soon the hour ended.  Everyone rolled up their mats and got ready to leave, but I noticed I wasn't the only one who tried to get one last bit of cat attention before I headed out the door.

Five years ago today: Mobility Tour