SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Yoga classes featuring animals are pretty old news. You have likely already heard about doing downward dog alongside a puppy or letting a goat scamper up your tabletop pose. You have probably heard about such things on this very network. And yet, we had to bring you one more story because in Portland, Oregon, people are doing yoga with snakes - yes, snakes. Deena Prichep slithered into a class and brought you this story.
DEENA PRICHEP, BYLINE: For some people, having a snake wind its way across your belly in the middle of a relaxing yoga pose is the stuff of literal nightmares. But the people arriving for this yoga class are into it.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #1: I'm a reptile girl, so we're here for the snakes.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #2: I've never hung out with a snake. And I'm super excited to hold one or touch one.
PRICHEP: Kristen Bender (ph) and Julie Connelly (ph) are here for snake yoga at HISSS, a reptile-centered pet store. That's HISSS with three S's. Dru Morales opened the shop last year.
DRU MORALES: We offer beak trimming services for turtles and tortoises, nail clippings, spa packages, shedding assistance, a turtle and tortoise shell wax service.
PRICHEP: And a few months ago, they started clearing out space in their large, light-filled front room for yoga. Like any other yoga studio, they've got mats, soft music, comfy clothes. But then instructor Katy Vanek starts the class, and the snakes come out.
KATY VANEK: Inhale, come up, mountain arms, wave your arms in the air, say, hey, Gemma (ph). Gemma is one of my favorite snakes in snake yoga.
PRICHEP: Pythons up to seven feet long are brought out by staff, one at a time, along with one baby Colombian common boa named Mango (ph). The handlers drape them over students' shoulders or bellies, but snakes also start winding their own way around and climbing up people's bodies.
VANEK: When you're ready, turn, mindfully moving those hands and knees. You never know who's going to be right by your side.
PRICHEP: As people warm up, the cold-blooded reptiles snuggle against them. In addition to the snakes, a tegu lizard the size of a small dog also comes out, and a weirdly fast little gecko and a very slow tortoise named Pebbles (ph).
VANEK: Let's reach our hands up. And we're going to come all the way down, around your back like a turtle. Let's get eye level with Pebbles here.
PRICHEP: HISSS says classes tend to be about 80% snake fans, 20% people coming as a sort of fear factor challenge. I'll admit I started out closer to the second camp, but snake yoga turned out to be surprisingly awesome. Once that sort of primal fear subsides, you're just left with this creature gripping and releasing you and calling your focus to your body in entirely new ways.
UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT #3: It's like a weighted blanket (laughter). I love it.
PRICHEP: After the class, participants like Darren Sussman (ph) hang out with the animals, take some serpent selfies and talk about what just happened. Quinn McManaman (ph), one of two people in the class with a snake tattoo, says it's better than puppy yoga.
QUINN MCMANAMAN: It's just a different vibe. This is, like, super relaxing and calming, especially the big snakes on you.
PRICHEP: Yes, puppies are cuter. But if you want inspiration on fluid movement, flexibility and serving as a source of awe and fear, consider doing yoga with snakes. For NPR News, I'm Deena Prichep in Portland, Oregon.
(SOUNDBITE OF ADRIAN YOUNGE SONG, "SITTING BY THE RADIO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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