Welcome to Mental Health Awareness Month!

We kick start the month at GGA Dwarf Goat Yoga with GG and Sabrina where we discuss the therapeutic benefits of spending time in nature with animals.

From hikes to sound baths. Goat yoga with a glass of wine, to cow cuddling, there’s something for everyone. Discover how GG’s roots from Virginia and Sabrina’s childhood memory from Bangladesh sparked this unique, soulful business.

Understand the magic behind their trauma-free environment and why goats, with their docile yet powerful energy, make such wonderful companions. Perfect for families, kids, and anyone in need of a mental getaway, this episode is sure to leave you smiling and inspired. Don’t miss out on the laughter, the learning, and the love flowing from this charming farm. Tune in and bring a piece of nature’s zen into your life!

• Book a visit to GGA Goat Yoga
• You know The drill, Share us with a friend!

Hey, you. You're tuned in to the Skirts up show with Samantha and Melissa.

Join our mission to normalize failure, but still uncover the positives at every twist and turn.

Skirts up, but keep your panties on. What's up, Skirts Up Squad? It's Samantha and Melissa, and we are back for another episode of Skirts Up. In case you didn't know, Fun fact, maybe?

Fun fact. It's a fun fact.

What is it, May? I'll tell you if it's fun. I'm the decider of fun.

Love it.

Thank you. Thank you for that. May is mental health awareness month.

Oh, it's a good fact.

It's a good fact. Right, because everyone should be aware of it.

Actually, you're right.

We make it fun. And everyone does have mental health issues, whether you want to admit it or not. And if you don't want to admit it, that is a mental health problem.

That is a good point. And you know what? Some of our mental health problems are more fun than others.

Summer Cuckoo.

That's mine. So, yes, it's a fun fact. I'll accept it.

So what you'll get every episode this month has to do with mental health awareness. Mental health. And you'll leave every episode with new knowledge of how to really regulate yourself or tools.

Tools for your. Yeah, for your pocket.

Yeah, in your pocket.

In your pocket. We're going to open up your pockets, listen to the episode, and we're going to slip in those tools. Okay, that was really funny.

I like it, I like it, I like it. But you guys saw we, we have been at the end of every month, we're posting a little heads up of this is what the episode is each week for the month.

So you've already seen kind of what the real out is for for this month. And if you did, you also saw that I'm sharing my mental health through my seizures.

I know that everyone's been wanting to kind of know, like, the conclusion of. Of what was going on with all that from when we started. And Melissa also shares her story with mental health. We have a grief counselor. We have.

We have a type of therapy that kind of teaches us how the subconscious mind kind of locks in a lot of our trauma and really propels us into who we are and how we act.

Yeah.

And today we also have goat yoga, which is you.

Yes.

As a form of mental health clarity.

Yeah. Because it's. What's interesting is not even. Yeah, they use it in mental health and they use it in like, like meditation.

Yeah.

And they also use it, like, for Anyone who's been through an abusive relationship.

Therapeutic.

That's the word.

That's the word we're looking for. It's therapeutic. Or when you have traumatic stuff going on. Absolutely.

Which, funny enough, we decided that we weren't going to do a fail, and we were just going to talk about our experience on the farm.

Yeah.

And what was very interesting to me is that. So we got to go. We got to bottle feed the baby goats. We got to bottle feed the cows. And when we went into the gates with the cows and the big goats.

Yeah.

They all were gravitating towards Melissa. What? They were really? Oh, yes. Like, Sabrina and I kept looking at each other and we were like, oh. And I go, she needed it. Like, dude.

And so the point, like, what we talk about in this whole episode that you're about to hear is how the animals know what you need.

Yeah.

Even if you don't. And it was really fun to witness all the animals just kind of fleeing to you, flocking to you. And in that. That day, you needed it.

I did need it that day. And the truth is, like, if I have any talents in the whole world, like, I like to think that it's, one, making few people feel comfortable around me.

But two, like, I feel like I'm kind of an animal whisperer, and if an animal doesn't come up to me, it hurts my feelings. And I was super, super that day. I was really having some feels about life regardless, not about the animals.

And I was just like, okay, I really hope I go in there and I hope the animals like me. And it was just like, I know that sounds dumb, but if they.

They.

I think they just knew that I needed it.

And if it wasn't even that day, it was that month. Honestly, it's so. Oh, my gosh, you were so much. I mean, I knew.

I don't know if Sam even said, I feel so sad knowing that this was happening now. But, you know, it happened and it is what it is. But she. You had said, you know, every time we got together, you would go home and you would feel it.

Like, you'd feel like a heavy weight.

And it's just like sleep and just.

Yeah.

And I'm really sorry that that was happening.

That's not your problem. That's an empath problem that I have, and I haven't figured out how to turn it off.

And that's something that we can work. Maybe we should have an episode on.

That too, because that's Kelly's offer. Kelly commenter. That was One of the things she was like, you know, there's a way to.

There are.

That wall. There's a way to.

Melissa Walker helped me with it.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah.

She has to do it. She specifically had to do it when she was doing her.

And she's going to talk about this in one of the episodes coming up, but she was doing, like, a suicide hotline therapy for a while, and it was. Yeah. So, yeah, you'd. But anyway, all that to say. We got to go around to the farm.

What was your favorite part?

My favorite part is gonna sound so weird, but I like, okay, two favorite things. It was the actual, like, physical contact with the animals. So they went in and we got to feed the babies. We got to hold the baby goats.

And like, oh, my gosh, it was so messy and so fun. And they said, like, if you get. Sabrina and Gigi said, if you get on your hands and knees, the goats are starting.

They're training the baby goats to, like, jump up on your back. So, like, when you're doing yoga, that they'll do that. And it felt really. It feels really good. It feels like a little massage.

And then I loved, like, when we went in to meet with the cows. One of the cows is still a baby kind of. And, like, like, literally up to, like, my forearm.

He put my whole hand in his mouth and was just suckling on my hand. And I was like. It was so slimy, but I was.

So there for it.

I was like, oh, hey, baby, I'll give you some love.

One of my favorite memories in what has, like, brought me to wanting a cow and just being interested in cows in general was there was a fall festival called Corn Dogs, I think, here in Georgia, and they one day they just had a baby cow at the farm, and it had to get bottle feet fed every so often.

And I just happened to be in the pen, like, when it needed to be bottle fed, and I got to sit on the floor with this cow in my lap and bottle feed it. And I just thought it was, like, the coolest thing ever.

And so I actually enjoyed holding the baby goats and holding them like a baby and, like, feeding them.

They were so sweet.

Honestly, that made me. I don't know. No, there's nothing wrong with that, but that made me the happiest.

I just like, baby, that's great.

Babying, like, little things.

Nurturing and loving and giving. Taking care of something.

Yeah.

Oh, that's so sweet. That makes sense with the empath part.

So we did. We're not going to like really do a fail. But collectively we did kind of fail. But this is where you guys get to come in and it's really exciting.

So we have yet to do an actual yoga class at the farm, but we were thinking it'd be better if.

We maybe it's okay that we didn't do it with just us two because we can invite you guys.

Yeah. So look out for a post where we will ask you guys what day works best for you.

We will get in contact with Sabrina and Gigi and let's get a class and let's do it together. I, I, you know, Gigi suggested that we do a skirts up down dog, wine and yoga.

That's right. I forgot about that.

Yep. So maybe that's what we do. Wine, yoga and a good time under the stars. It sounds like fantastic.

It sounds amazing. And sometimes we just need to go somewhere where we're allowed to let go and not think about and be with.

Yes. And be just surrounded with people that are there for the same thing.

And pure love, no judgment.

Yeah. We're there for. I've never done yoga before, so hell if I know how this is going to go.

Oh, shoot. It's going to be so fun. And it won't be the same because you're going to have goats climbing all over you, which is amazing.

So yeah, look out for that. We're gonna do it together. And like we said, this episode is pre recorded.

So this is our meeting with Sabrina and Gigi at Gigi a Goat Yoga here in Tucker, Georgia, Georgia. So take a listen and enjoy. You get to hear the cows in the background.

Moo.

Today we have with us Gigi and Sabrina. They are the owners and operators of this locally owned goat yoga studio in Tucker, Georgia called GGA Goat Yoga, shockingly in Tucker, Georgia.

Like right, it's right here. It's literally a gold mine. Yeah. So thanks for joining us today. We are here to learn about this hidden gem that any one of you can visit at any time.

They even travel.

Oh, absolutely.

I did not know that.

We are, we're a fully mobile company so anything you want happening anywhere within Georgia or even outside of Georgia, we will come to you. We will pack up our goats, get our staff, get everything we need and come to you and host a class anywhere you're at.

I love that.

Really?

Yeah. Schools, birthday parties.

Okay. You can go like into the suburbs and like just in someone's backyard, just have a party.

Absolutely. Absolutely.

A lot of corporate events though.

Or that. Okay.

That is genius.

It's Really a broad spectrum. We've done it all. We've done corporate events. We've done private events, personal events, birthdays. We've done schools, ksu, Georgia Tech.

Our furthest outreach was Florida.

Okay.

We went to sand. Yep. We had. On the go weekend.

We did on the beach.

Are they on leashes?

No, they were doing goat yoga.

Like, the goats can get on leashes for hikes.

Aren't gonna run away.

No, no, they're not gonna run away. They are herd animals too.

Yeah.

Okay.

So it's easy to train them to kind of.

That makes sense.

You can't, like, train them to, like, sit, though, can you? Like, not.

Not. No, not like a dog.

Not too many animals.

Like a dog. That's just gonna take all your.

You know, you can do that with a pig.

Pigs are smart. Apparently they're smarter than dogs.

Pigs are very smart.

Pigs are, like, level 10 on the Smart. But it's all food based, though.

Yes, I'm food based too.

Trainable.

I can be trained.

Oh, my God.

Sam's working on it.

Anyway, so I want to know the story of how this all became. This is not what either of you were originally doing. Gigi, I believe you were in music originally.

Serena, I don't even know what you did before you found this passion.

I worked in tech, so I was in corporate America. I come from a development background, so I was literally on a computer screen typing code all day building stuff.

Wow.

Were you, like, yearning for the outside? I mean. Yeah.

Yeah.

So with music and with tech or with most different worlds and different ways and different professions, you need a balance. So the animals typically become a balance for you. So most people balance stop at a dog.

Our balance took a lot of different things to kind of make it all make sense. So, yeah, that's pretty much your origin in a real quick nutshell right there. Music can get pretty intense. A lot of careers can get really intense.

And you find yourself hiking with goats.

Yeah.

You find yourself hanging out, cuddling cows, and it kind of turns into something you want to share with more people, and that's what you're looking at.

Yeah.

What Gigi was sharing with me before you got here is that, of course, this is like a wellness place, but also for, like, writer's block and in artistic blocks, that this is a great place to come in. Get that worked out. Because you are in nature, you're with animals, and so they can help you.

Release that probably the most natural way to prevent. Prevent all kind of blockage.

Just so happened that the creative Blockage is connected to the earth, and we can go through all the different elements, but the animals are naturally grounded. These things just kind of help you. It just opens you all the way up and.

Yeah.

Yeah, it works.

That's really cool, because I. I didn't. I remember knowing in the past, like, the animals kind of help us with our energy.

They take some from us that they know that they maybe don't want us to be carrying, because this is true.

I don't know.

They're amazing. But, like, wow, now that you say, like, they're grounded, that makes perfect sense.

And then, like kind of like hugging a tree, hugging an animal, it's like just kind of.

But let's not be selfish now. Humans actually help the animals too.

Yeah.

So by hugging them, we're showing them tons of love. That they human parents sometimes can be the best parents for a lot of different animals.

Yeah.

We go over and beyond their natural wild ways of survival, and we spoil them typically. So we gotta kind of balance that sometimes. Sometimes you can overdo it. You got cows that's 500 pounds or 500 pounds overweight.

Yes.

I've seen cats. You have the fat cats just like, oh, that's not healthy for the cat. So when you go to the vets, most time they tell you, hey, your dog is overweight.

Yeah.

We equate that to good in love and spoiling the animals.

Yeah.

So it's always awesome to come and hug on a cow. You're helping yourself. You're helping the cow. Cows and goats and most farm animals are considered flight animals, which mean they run from humans.

And you can think of a million reasons yourself of why typically that happens. So we appreciate you all and other people coming by, spending so much time showing these animals that they don't have to run.

People are loving and they can love you all. And so it's just ying and yang kind of balance.

Sabrina told me that there's people who come to literally just love on the animals. Like, that's their job, so that they become more trusting of humans on a regular basis.

So we have a role of our staff. They're called goat whisperers, but they're not just limited to the goats.

They're, you know, they engage with all the animals here at the farm, but they.

They are here to provide a lot of love, provide a lot of attention and spoil the animals along with, you know, their other staff duties that they have.

But that is a big piece of their job, is to bond with all the animals here and then let the Animals kind of trust them as well because, you know, when we're hosting these classes, the animals, they're going to follow who they know. So I always tell our goat whisperers, if you don't bond with these animals, they're not going to follow follow you.

They are going to be like, who is that? I don't know you.

How often do they come by? Is it like a full time thing?

Oh, wow.

Daily they have their schedule set.

But it's true because animals do like build relationships with you.

Dogs even, like they usually pick their one human and you know, wife is the one that works with them more. Then like the husband's like, you know, do this and that. It doesn't listen. Why is that dog only listen to you? Because I'm home and I feed it.

If you constantly socialize that dog, then it can be everybody's friend.

That's true. Yeah.

So that's kind of the balance because.

We don't want our animals here attached to just me or Gigi. You know, we want them to attach to anybody that comes that's in need.

Or sometimes people don't even know they're in need. They come in just to have fun and do a cool ig picture or something. Then they're starting to realize, hey, this actually really, really works.

It feels good. Then they refer their friends, family. Some people bring moms that don't even like anim and I'm like.

But then they typically 98% leave loving the animals. I want to say 100, but I just stay away from that.

But they typically leave learning something good and understanding that all goats aren't trying to chase you. And chicken, like people got a lot of different.

I'm afraid of chickens stories.

Yeah, stories. So these chickens here, therapeutic as well. They're very human. They love you. They're not going to chase you.

They're not going to bite me.

They're not going to bite you.

Get out of here.

So before we leave, I should try and touch it. Yes.

I'll video it.

We're gonna try to, you know, they like being held. You know, I think one of the coolest things about our farm versus it's like, well, what makes you all different from other farms?

Yeah, our animals here, they are raised in a trauma free environment and that is something that we really do take pride in. Yeah. We are ensuring that our animals never feel any trauma. So they have never been chased, bit scared, slapped, kicked, thrown.

I mean, maybe some, maybe some kids chased them. They pull your dog ears, but no. And we Love them. And. And most animals know kids, so they know what's going on.

But, yes, that's true because they, like, have babies themselves, and they know that.

They have to, like, our dogs have had some, had a litter. We're not breeders at all, but, yeah.

They got pregnant behind my back.

Because of that, they learned to be our boys. Huge. You've seen them kind of.

Yeah.

What kind of dogs do you have?

County Corso.

Yeah.

Oh, you do?

Yeah.

And they're so wrinkly and cute, and.

They'Re good for keeping out coyotes.

Oh, really? Do you have to worry about that here?

Absolutely. Georgia has tons, but Atlanta has more coyotes and things than people really know. I've heard the stories. Downtown. Coyotes.

The coyotes are, like, very.

We've seen them in our neighborhood.

Wow. Yard. They don't care. They're like, hey, what's up, Georgia?

Coyotes, bobcats, foxes.

Okay.

In this particular region right here, we got majority of coyotes, coyotes, and foxes.

Yeah.

They try to get too many bobcats.

Absolutely. That's why we got a. A K Corso. We picked that breed because of their psi on Biden is at 750.

Wait, psi?

It's the pressure.

Oh, of course. Pounds per square inch, same as in a tire.

I only know this because my whole first half of life was in vet medicine.

Yeah.

Yeah. We have our guard dogs here. You know, they guard. They're protectors of this land, and they are the guards of all of these animals that reside here.

And they're awesome.

And they know it, too. I'm sure they do.

So it's really funny because sometimes at night, I'll hear Hannibal barking, and you'll think he's like a mile down the road somewhere, but he'll just be in his room, and he'll do one bark, and it echoes.

Oh, my gosh.

All throughout to where you'll think he's way down over there in some. Like, I'm. I'm over here. Like, oh, my God, Gigi. Like, is he. Did he escape?

Did he ruin his voice? Coyotes.

He's like, the goat guardian. And it's really good with the cows, too. It works.

He's cute. He grew up with the goats.

So it's really funny because he, you know, of course, he grew exponentially in size over the goats, but I even look at the baby pictures of him where he was smaller than the goats, and then he's like, 140 pounds and just wrinkly muscles.

Speaking of growing up, I'm curious because you said that you had, like, a Growing up and a history with animals.

Absolutely.

And then did you, Sabrina?

Yes. So I was actually born in Bangladesh.

Okay.

Which is in the Southeast Asian region. It's a small country located right next to India. It's so funny, because I.

I have this memory, and I told him about this memory, and I swear this is what triggered him to get the cow.

Come on.

So my memory, I. I want to say I was probably like 4 or 5 years old. My mom took me with her to her friend's house to, like, you know, whatever, hang out.

She's hanging out with her friend.

I had a nanny, and my nanny was supposed to be watching me while my mom was hanging out with a friend, and the nanny wasn't watching me for some odd reason. And here I go.

Oh, no.

I start. I apparently left wobbling out of the property. I saw. I went across the street to this open grass field where there were a cow. There was a cow there.

And I was trying to chase the cow. And, like, I was aiming for the cow's tail because it was swinging from side to side. So I'm like, oh.

I was, like, very intrigued by this winging tail of this cow. Trying to walk up behind the cow.

A toddler.

Oh, behind the cow.

That is terrifying for a mother.

Right?

Because I really could have just got kicked and, you know, that could have been the end of that. But thankfully, like, my mom came out right at that moment and was like, sabrina, you know, and like, you, like, ran and grabbed me up.

But yeah, that. That's like a memory I have of, like, me trying. Trying to engage with the cow. And I told him the story.

That moment kind of, like, revealed a common interest.

Oh.

And I was like, okay. She'd definitely be okay with the cow.

Oh, so it was your idea to get a cow originally.

That is so funny. You're like, when should I bring it up? When she brought the story. And you're like, that looks right into my plan.

Oh, my gosh. Well, why did you want a cow then?

I love them. I mean, we got a history of cow host goats my mom couldn't take. She couldn't drink regular milk.

So her mom, you know, it's kind of like a history going back in Virginia. I'm the first born out here outside.

Of a farm, and my brother and.

His mother kind of like channeling the roots of Virginia. I mean, it's a nice, beautiful old state to be from. And I'm first born in Georgia. Don't get me wrong, I'm a real Georgia boy.

I Love it here, but it's pretty cool to have the roots and have the know how and more. So grandma and Mom. Mom just grew up on the farm, but it's.

It's like getting these different words of advice and knowing about farming and loving to touch the dirt and deal with animals kind of made it even more impactful when I heard the story. So it just kind of. I knew she would be in a line.

So then we got our cow. And you know, they're awesome. Both of our cows, Medusa and Hercules. I mean, it's so funny. They do their cow cuddling classes here. So we just had our.

They just had their class this past Saturday.

And who is they?

Medusa and Hercules.

Oh, like, they have their couch. Yes, they do. But who comes and cuddles with them? Like, you're talking about. Okay, clients.

So it's open to the general public now.

Like, you can, like, go register for the class and sign up. We have them bi weekly here at the farm. It's a very intimate class.

We only allow 10 people to come per class, so we can kind of like split them up to keep it.

That's our constant goal for as the company continues to expand and grow, as always, it's more about quality than quantity.

Yeah, for sure.

Big time. Because you can. If we put too many people around, it's not. It just destroys the cows. They start not trusting humans again.

And people don't really get a chance to, you know, engage with the cows and stuff.

Right. It's not really for the higher good of anyone.

Definitely the quality over anything.

I love that. I'm really glad you guys said that, because that's a big truth to anything. You can't. The more you try to do at one time, you can't do it to.

To the full standard.

That's true.

So whose idea was it to open up this business first? Or was that just kind of like a. Hey, we both have this love. Let's.

It just came out of, like, us doing this and sharing. And then people start advising, you know, you don't hear the like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna do that. Cause it's not. It's not driven off of that.

But the Sharon just turned into kind of like what you see here now, if that makes the most sense to you.

It was Gigi that was in my corporate world. So I was like, you know, drowning in my computer, not thinking about anything outside of my screen. And we.

We already had the goats, you know, and I think the goats already were doing what they needed to do for Gigi and I as far as, like, providing that therapeutic aspect. I just remember our very first goat that we had.

They jumped off the thing.

Yeah.

The cows are, like, jumping off of each other. Sorry, guys. I got distracted.

They do like to cuddle.

But.

Yeah, I just remember the very first goat we had. It was, like, cold outside, and we had the goat in. In her little house. We had heat lamps. I mean, she spoiled. Very spoiled pajamas. Yes.

Okay.

I just remember going out there and picking her up and just holding her, and she was just, like, laying on me like a human baby. And I was just like, this is so nice.

Yeah. That is what their babies are called.

So kids came from goats, not humans.

That's a kid. That's a goat terminology. The word kid go out far enough.

In middle America that they would give the wife a baby goat before they have a kid.

Really?

To see how ready they really are.

That's a thing?

Yeah, absolutely.

Oh, I love that. Learning things. I love that too.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Like tradition and myth and not myth, because he said it's real. Tradition is.

It's happening right now in Georgia. Y'all just so much in the city right now. You don't see it.

Oh, that's so sad that I'm not missing that. I'm missing out on that. Why is my husband not giving me a kid?

Brett, Simon, y'all have failed.

Sorry, guys.

They're gonna come after you. They're gonna be like, you did not help.

No.

So, like. Okay, okay. So I'm just imagining you guys meet, you get married, and then you're like, I want a goat. Do you remember, like, how. How did it all start?

It started with our very first goat that we got.

Oh, Hunter.

Gigi. Yes. Gigi was just so intrigued. We were out in the country somewhere. I can't even recall where, but North Georgia.

This all white, beautiful cashmere goat. Like, he had these curly hair, curly beard. Like, he was just, like, so beautiful. And I was like, oh, my God. Like, that goat looks better than me.

Like, my hair.

Walk him in the clock. You get all these compliments. They're like, wow, that's like a holy goat you got.

So Gigi. I just remember. I mean, I still have the picture I took of him with Huncho, and he's, like, holding the goat, you know, by the horn.

And his horns were already very grown. I mean, this is an adult goat, like, not a baby.

Okay.

Fully grown. Not a dwarf size. A regular size goat.

Cashmere.

Yep.

I don't know what that Is. But I guess about other big. Oh, wow.

Not like one of the baby goats.

That we have now, and just like the coats with the cashmere, so their hair comes. Hangs down real long.

Okay, so we got this goat. Gigi was like, we have to get this goat.

And I was like, you know, he's a Gemini and I'm an Aries, and, you know, like, when he gets ideas, instead of my logical sense being like, you know, I don't know, let's talk about that. I'm more like, yeah, we need to just do it. Yeah, whatever you said.

Oh, that's great.

Enable each other. Yes, this is great.

He was like, we're getting this goat. And I was like, okay, we're getting the goat. Let's go.

We got him home, and after we brought him home, I mean, we were like, we were walking him around the neighborhood on a leash, my daughter and I. I just remember we would take late night walks with him, and he's just following behind us. And it was just a whole.

He was the closest goat to doing what you said, sitting and stuff. Like, he was raised by a lady that had a huge farm out of North Georgia, and she was. Got too old, and then it just kind of worked out. Where we can.

Did you guys just ask her like, hey, can we have this goat?

A friend of the. The actual guy that I knew arranged it for us.

And so that was like our very first goat experience. Unfortunately, at that time, we didn't have this much land.

Okay.

So it just didn't really make sense. You know, our. The selfish side of us would have kept him, but honestly, he probably wasn't happy not having any land to really roam.

That's why we were walking him around the neighborhood. But, you know, he needed. He needed grass, he needed land. But it gave us the idea to get dwarf goats. We were like, okay.

You know, dwarf goats, they're small in size. They don't need a lot of land. And we're like, okay, this is. This makes sense. We can do this.

It sparked a lot of interest. And then one fact I tell everybody, just so you won't think all goats are as cuddly as these guys. A boar. A boar goat, and a cashmere goat.

And quite a few more strong enough to break your kneecap.

Wow.

Like from a kick.

No. Or ramming head button.

Okay.

That's their number one tool. Your dog cannot take out those size goats at all. They just turn around, they aim at your dog, and they're. They're. They're precise with every Hit.

Yeah.

So just to let people know that I know you're seeing, like, people come here to get to see these teddy bear goats. Australian dwarf is the breed. But when you go back out to farms, don't.

Yeah.

Get to playing with goats. That can be extremely dangerous.

Yeah.

No, I love that. Do you guys educate the kids and stuff before they enter?

Even with our cows? I tell them this is not your normal cow. Cows. I explained to people how cows kick from the side.

Most people don't know about the kung fu kick that they have going on.

When you were grabbing the cow's tail, I was like, wait. Hopefully you're right behind his face.

Once again, most. Most animals, unless they just had a bad upbringing themselves, know it's a baby.

Okay.

Yeah.

That's one thing you can always. I'm talking about the vicious, like lions, tigers and bears. They know a baby somehow. They don't mess with it.

I can see that.

My dogs, my. My dog now, like, she really tones herself down when she's playing with the cats.

Yeah.

And I know that sounds different. It's not the same. But they're small, they're fragile, and it's just really interesting watching her. Like, she just knows.

And you raised that dog so, you know, that dog is pretty trauma free. But only reason I wouldn't experiment with the babies and larger breed animals because some of them are raised with trauma.

The larger breed and they will hurt your child.

Yeah.

But it is a higher chance that animals won't try to damage a baby as long as they're raised a good way.

I didn't understand the Jungle Book, you know, when they had Mowgli and how all these animals took to Mowgli, who was a human child.

Yeah.

And really, I mean, I don't know what would happen. I don't think that's.

Since we're talking trauma free, does that mean it limits what you can bring into the farm? Like, you can't just rescue a goat and then start.

That's a really good question.

Integrating it so it depends. So we are in a network of communities and different farms. They reach from Carolina to North Georgia, kind of around.

And it's all about the actual animal first.

Okay.

So if it finds itself loving humans and taking to that and appreciating it, then the home will be here. If it just needs tons of land, it just graze and kind of spend the rest of his days, it'll go to a different property.

That makes sense.

So it's really all about how the animals at their current Mental space.

Where they at if you're also what they need.

Right. There you go.

That makes sense because we've had rescues here. Like for example, I have a rescue actually inside right now.

Oh, I remember you saying you have them roam inside.

They just hang out.

It's kind of new though.

Do they wear diapers?

I think it's cuz I'm pregnant.

You can put them. You can definitely put the kids in diapers.

Yeah, we would put the babies in diapers. But you know, it's funny because a lot of farms will call us and they'll be like, hey, we have this animal. You know, they're kind of sick.

Do you guys want to rescue and try even. Even Medusa? You see my girl right there? Yeah. My red babe. She's a rescue. And we didn't think she was gonna make it, honestly.

But look at her today.

She's happy, healthy, a lot of work.

A lot of work, a lot of love and not giving up on her.

Yeah.

Yep. Because this, they get diseases really early, really fast when they're young.

Basically they don't have an immune system for about the first six weeks of their life. So those six weeks of a cow's life is.

We become their immune system. So interesting.

Are they getting it like from their mother's milk? Even if they were to have your.

Mother, sometimes unpasteurized milk can take the cow all the way out. It can hurt them sometimes. So believe it or not, your mom might not be. I'll give you another example. Somebody contacted us for a raccoon.

The raccoon barely is born and he already somehow had rabies. It comes from the mom's womb.

Whoa.

So sometimes the mom aren't suitable to help, you know, do the right thing. Yep, that's true.

Wow.

That's true.

Well, people don't realize that kittens are actually the highest carrier of rabies. So when you find a kitten, like I always tell the kids, like, do not touch that cat. Do not touch that kitten. Do you want me to have to test it?

Like, let me tell you how we test it. And then so now they're like, kind of like, I see a wild cat, I'm not gonna touch it. I'm like, yeah, yeah.

I didn't even know that. Wow.

Humans catch it and we can't get rid of it.

From my understanding, no, you, if you.

Get bitten by an animal, of course you gotta test the animal that bit you. And you can get the rounds of rabies vaccines. There's like four of them. They' Very, very painful, but it cannot cure it.

That's rabies in a nutshell.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Don't get it.

So where do the classes take place?

So we have quite a few partnerships, actually. We are partnered with several parks and recreations all around. So we have classes that happen at Brook Run Park. We have.

We just acquired the Pinckneyville park. So we're going to be having classes there starting in March. We have classes in Henry county at Heritage Park.

Okay.

We have a partnership with Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore. You do? Yes, actually, they're our first partnership.

I am dying to take you there.

Is that where you've been wanting to take me?

Yeah, it's the most unique and one of a kind store you'll ever. I mean, it's not even just a bookstore. They have so much stuff.

Cats in there.

Yeah, they love cats. And their cats know our goats.

Yes.

That was so funny.

So we, on top of all the partnerships that we do have where we have these monthly classes with them, we also have classes at the farm, and then of course, we travel as well. So we go to people. We'll host classes there. So, yeah, we'll literally just have a class just about anywhere.

Things of that nature. Yeah, yeah.

We have a lot of midtown, a lot of, like, residential places that will, you know, have us come monthly and do a class for their residents.

One of my questions to Sabrina when we did our pre interview was I feel like this is like a golden ticket opportunity for kids that are on the spectrum to be able to have this release because they don't get to have that understanding from a lot of people and their environment. And so animals are really important to them.

Yep. Yeah, we've worked with autistic children, we've worked with deaf children.

It's any and everybody who, you know, we feel is a good participant for engaging with our therapeutic animals. You know, we're all inclusive, we say, so we don't have any barriers on age, race, gender, disabilities, nothing.

That's awesome.

As long as you are open to receiving the good energy, we will bring it to you.

Oh, that's beautiful.

When you walk into the yard, you see Buddhist statues. How did that incorporate into the farm?

So a lot of practices.

Ah, hey.

A lot of the practices do favor different areas like Nepal. And Nepal is a big place that's dealing with a lot of different Buddhists and monks and things.

So it's kind of a respectful thing for that to kind of balance that that way. But yeah, you got cow cuddling somewhat comes from that area.

Okay.

Yoga. So even a couple of our goat whisperers are monks. Well, one is, actually. He's in study right now.

No, he's. He's already a monk.

There you go.

Oh, wow.

He's already done all his stuff, and he's a monk.

Wow, that's awesome.

You see a lot of different cultures like that up there. That's India. That's bringing back in.

So we're kind of integrating these things in so that you can get a little bit of different walks of all the spirituality around the world.

Okay, now I understand.

There you go.

So happen that, Ms. Deb, that is a big part of what we're doing. But, yeah, you can see it all throughout everything.

Okay. Now that you pointed out, I do see how it all comes together.

To me, it kind of goes back to how you said, we're equal opportunity. And it's like kind of like giving everyone a little place here. For sure. That was the Japanese lanterns.

When I walked in, I was like.

Oh, I really like that.

Those kind of celebrate. Cheers. So that goes to the tiki bar. And it's a class that I even recommend you all to come down to if you're 21 and over. And like wine.

Check out wine down dog.

Oh, that's so cool.

It's really awesome. And it's an evening event, about an hour and a half roughly. And you get to kind of. And it's nighttime, so it's really nice. Lights are going.

The animals are still up. It's right before their bedtime. No, you get to kind of hang out with them and enjoy yourself with friends.

And believe it or not, even in yoga classes, we got some of the coolest, beautiful people around that come visit these classes. I'm not kidding you. Our guests are, like, the best that I've ever seen.

Their yoga class, the yoga classes, all the classes, cuddling.

Even the kids in summer camp, like, these are the best people. Even y'all come to the interviews. It somehow attracted some of the best people that I've seen. And it flows. I'm very appreciative of that.

And I think more people should come and meet more people. That's in that same energy.

So, yes, my husband, his, like, favorite saying is, show me your friends and I'll show you your future. Because it's who you surround yourself with is gonna kind of tell you what kind of success you're gonna have.

I also really like the idea of just meeting people who aren't like us. Right. Like, it just kind of opened your Mind. And then I think the world today, that's a good thing.

That's it.

Yeah.

You guys are amazing. Thank you.

Really, I'm serious.

I wanted to ask because. So I'm interested in doing a class. Like how do people sign up? Tell me, tell me more.

You just go on our website. The calendar is listed right there. It has all of our goat yoga, Pilates with goats, hiking with goats, meditation with goats.

Wait, where are you guys going hiking around Georgia.

Majority are on Mason Mill, north Drew Hills area.

Okay.

But we've also done hikes at the Bamboo Forest. We've done hikes at Sweetwater Creek Bamboo Forest.

I gotta go.

Oh, yeah, but it's so nice.

There's a little bit of everywhere. You are right about that. They kind of like not station one place, but if you go on a website, you'll see what's going on.

Okay.

And bi weekly, it's always some kind of hike going.

Okay, I'm gonna have to check that out because I actually know quite a few people who. That's their hobby. They hike.

Oh, nice.

And if they love animals, then I don't see how you cannot hike with.

Can I share your guys's on my. I have a quilt shop. Okay. Do you have like a Facebook page?

Yeah. So we have Facebook, we have Instagram, we have TikTok, we have LinkedIn.

Because I know a lot of people that would just love what you're doing.

Awesome.

When you said quilts, did you like, y'all make them?

Yeah. Yeah. So we teach people how to make quilts. We have fabric, we have the notions.

Yeah.

We have classes.

Yeah.

Maybe we could make like some like clothes for the cows and stuff because it's hard to find that size.

Really?

We can talk later.

Let's talk.

I also have another friend I can get you in touch with. They're called cool people. Sew.

Nice.

Okay.

I love that you guys mentioned like, you know, if you love hiking, then like hiking with the goats is something that you should definitely try. What's the difference between taking your dog hiking and hiking with the goats?

I think you know, with the dogs. So, you know, people are always asking and it's not even just hike based. It's like, well, why are you guys not doing puppy yoga or cat yoga?

Kitten yoga? Why goats? That's like the number one question. Right. We like the goats over other animals because of their docile nature.

Okay.

So they are very docile. And you all will see when you go to the nursery and cuddle on the goats, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

But even though they're so docile, their energy is very loud.

Right.

And it's very powerful.

Okay.

Hopping sideways.

They're not afraid to own their space at all.

So because they're herd animals, you don't even have to hold their leash. They will hike right next to you. Oh, if you want you can just pick them up and carry them while you're hiking.

Right.

But they are there to participate in this hike actively with you. It's less about I'm walking a goat on a leash and more about one with the herd and being one with this herd. So you all are traveling.

You're so proud of her.

You're so cute.

You guys are both adorable.

But that is the mentality we want to, we want to promote where you become one with the herd. Because these are herd animals and they, they want you to be a part of their herd. So they want to hike.

And they love expressing their little personalities.

They do.

But it's, it's like almost a night and day kind of thing. It just shocks the, it works. Sort of like what she was saying. It's a different vibe.

Your dogs for instance, that do go out with kids with autism get one response. I come in and bring some dwarf goats. Teachers are like, we've never seen responses like that.

Yeah. So it's not to discredit the other therapeutic animals.

We own dogs.

I'm not discrediting it, but it makes a whole lot more sense. Like when you put it that way as they, you become part of the herd with them. Because like when you do take, I have four dogs.

When you do take the four dogs out, you end up kind of being like behind them and yeah, you're just going where they want to go. And it's like just a one way street.

It's like we know we're getting walked. You know, this is, this is an activity for us. Exactly. The goats are more like, oh no, this is like a group activity.

Do this, they chase behind you things of that nature.

They will chase you. They get the zoobies and sometimes they'll like start sprinting and hopping on rocks and everything especially they do a lot.

Well. And I, I, I never, I didn't even think of it until you guys were saying becoming one with the herd.

Like we're in such like an individualized like type of like time of, I don't know, year of our Lord.

Very, very self selfish like you guys. Yeah, very like it's hard to think of the bigger picture of how we come together.

And I think it's a really cool situation in time and opportunity to be able to like, like you said, think of the, like, think outside of yourself.

Yes.

Right.

And be part of something.

That's definitely what this conversation is helping me think because here I am like, okay, but why goats? But like, why. Why the stuff around us? Like, I mean, I need to, I need help seeing the bigger picture.

And I hope that someday I will, you know, be more.

You'll be completely ready when you get your goat.

Girl. You almost brought home a goat.

I did, yeah. Yes. Yeah.

I almost put a goat in my car one time because, like, it was literally just the three of them go in the middle of the street, like, no one around. And so I was like, here, go to go. But then, you know, it ran away.

I think also, you know, a big part of our classes is the fact that everybody comes as individuals.

You know, I mean, of course there's groups that come as well, but an activity like hiking with goats, by the time they're leaving that class, everybody's talking with each other.

Yeah.

Because they, you know, of course we're not able to provide one goat per person because the hikes can get up to like 15, 20 people.

People.

Oh, wow. You know, so they are having to like share the goat in a sense.

Every three to four people sometimes.

Yeah.

Smaller class. Then it can be like every two or one person gets a goat.

Yeah.

But it does, it encourages them to speak with each other and you know, pass the goats around or hey, you want to cuddle the goat, you know, and it does open them up.

So does it bring out personal stories.

And you're out in a trail.

Yeah.

Oh, that's my happy stuff.

People talking. They said it's giving like TV show vibes, like survive, like all kind of.

You're saying I need to follow you guys out with the camera one day.

No, no, seriously, it's very interesting. All our, our whole staff is like hand picked interview. Like that's who you all are engaged with. A lot more than me and my wife.

But you'll see everybody has a great energy. So our hike leads are like great with conversations. They know about the animals.

They come from like some somewhat of a farm background or some kind of veterinarian background. They know their stuff and they're also great conversation pieces.

So before you know it, you done walked three miles and you feel like you just started.

Yeah. Wow.

So that's kind of the thing. It's just, it's like, you know, when you're having fun and you're actually working out and not even knowing it.

Yeah.

And you're done. You're like, oh, I'll be back next week.

That's cool.

My body is buzzing because it just gave me, like, a creative idea of, like. Yeah, you told me. You told me this is the place for creativity. But, yeah, I can feel it all the way up my body. That we need to get our camera guy.

We need to get Case with us.

We need to designate a small group hike with the goats, and then, like, just see what kind of stories come out of people during this hike and see, like, how it brings out each individual so that you can see that when you're done, how everyone's coming.

And our instructors will love that, too. So that.

I love that.

Be so cool.

I'll talk to Katie now.

They do trivias while they're walking, too.

They play goat trivia.

Educational fun.

I love this. Okay, we're onto something.

I'm bringing my family here next time they come visit me.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Amelia wants to come, so whenever we come out to actually do a class, we'll bring a million.

Tell me.

Yeah, okay, I'll be with you.

When we did our pre interview, you were telling me about some of the most special moments that you've gotten to witness on the farm. Can you tell us one of the most special stories that you've gotten to witness on the farm? And just really a testimony to what this farm brings out.

So, you know, the story that I mentioned to you, I mean, it's. It's stuck with me ever since, and it honestly hasn't. I haven't seen anything else top the story.

But we had this family come out, and it was like a family of seven or so, and you could tell that there was something distressing the family as a whole. Something was not aligned with them. You felt the energy.

You felt that the mom had signed them all up for this, and, you know, they didn't want to be there. It was like the grandparents were there, the mom's sibling was there, the kids were there. Didn't seem like anybody really wanted to be there.

They did their class. It was a goat yoga class. And at first, they didn't really want to participate. They were just kind of standoffish.

By the end of the class, they were all hugging the goats, engaging, laughing with each other, having a ball.

And I'm not saying that, you know, our goats fixed whatever misalignment they might have had, but they fixed their family but at moment, they did something to where their entire energy shifted after 50 minutes. And I witnessed it because I was there. I was like, you can feel it.

Yeah.

Like, everybody, like, they walked in, they wouldn't even greet me and say, hi.

Oh, no.

And when they were walking out, they're like, thank you so much. We're gonna be back. This is so fun. Since then, she has brought her family back over and over and over again.

I know exactly what you want now. This kind of energy she's talking about happens weekly.

Yeah, she.

We just doing it happens weekly. You'll see somebody come in, you're like, oh, then they leave. They even tell us like, hey, like, this is really like you. I feel great about this.

And then they. That's what makes them want to share with other loved ones. They don't just go to anybody. People that's close to them, they bring back, they refer.

A lot of times we hear his word. It's. It's been a lot of word of mouth, especially in the original moments. It is.

And I think that story resonated with me the most because I saw it changing in kids and elderly and adult. Like, they were the full spectrum range of ages and genders. I'm like.

And it didn't matter.

It didn't. I mean, by the time they were leaving, they were happy. They were hugging each other. I was like, okay. Something clicked.

Something happened where now they're leaving happier than when they first arrived.

That is awesome.

I'm not saying we fixed whatever they came with, but they left happy.

The negative, bad energy.

And.

And then it leaves.

Exactly. And, you know, it's not just. It's not just the goats. It's also our instructor, you know, our. Our class leads, who can also feel these energies.

You know, they have to engage with all of these clients every single class. So hand picking these instructors is also a big key piece.

Yeah, we love our staff. They're really amazing people.

Yeah, they really are.

It's not one class. You can take them, you know, you'll see each of them are totally different, but they got their ways, and they all communicate together.

Some of our meetings are some of the funnest things when we all get together and kind of grow and build.

Our staff meetings. We have quarterly staff meetings where, you know, it's hard to get the whole staff together at once.

So we have quarterly meetings with them where we get to all get together and, you know, just talk about classes, talk about new ideas, just things like that. But everybody's great.

I call them like superheroes. Because they're out here really helping people and sometimes they don't understand or they don't know and they don't really care.

Cause that's not their focus to be praised about it. But they're actually like really helping tons of people all the time. And.

And you know, our company has garnered over 200 and I don't even know how many reviews, all five stars. And these are people, all of our clients, naming our staff by name.

That's what they.

I came to this person's class and this person is so.

And you know, they have to be good to have their name remembered.

Exactly. Remembers names.

No.

So these, these are all like the pieces that happened for us. That's gratifying where we're like, okay, this is why we keep doing this.

This is why we keep moving forward and we keep growing and expanding and having these classes and getting, you know, more and more partnerships. We want to continue spreading this energy.

Validates everything you're doing.

Exactly. It really does. And it's a good feeling to know, you know, everything that's done at the farm is a pure intentions.

You know, we're not here like, hey, we're trying to become multi millionaires from this farm. You know, we're.

We're more like, this wouldn't be the way to do.

No.

Have like a million glasses. But.

Well, I mean, clearly, because you even said earlier, like, we're not going to have too many people here or we're not going to have the wrong kind. Like.

Yeah, because it is like, it is a. At the end of the day, you know, no matter how many classes we host, we only have so many goats. We can only have so many instructors.

We only have so many hours in the day to host classes. Yeah. And we're not going to overload. Exactly.

Jeopardize the quality for the quality.

Like, we're not going.

It's an experience. So when you come here, you need to get the full experience. If not, then we're not happy about it.

Yeah. And I'm all about quality. Like for me, being a chief marketing officer, I'm more like, okay, we have to provide quality.

We have to continue getting five star ratings. That means, hey, this year we're doubling up on our goat whisperer staff.

When, you know, class exceeds this number or however it may be, because that is our focus. Our focus is our clients and our goats.

That's awesome.

And our cows and the chicken too.

Love that. Well, before we go, is there anything new coming that we can get A little sneak peek of or get a little first. First know of.

Well, this year we have two summer camps happening. That's what I was thinking. Last year we did one summer camp, and it was an epic success. So this year we were like, well, let's do two summer camps.

We haven't even been able to promote it yet. Our first camp is already full.

Oh, my gosh. Nice.

We have not even been able to promote. So I'm like, okay, great. We might have to have three camps.

I'm just kidding. And it's really good, like, for kids to learn. You want? It is. I've seen a few private schools that have these kind of similar experiences.

Not the same, but kids don't even know where chicken eggs come from anymore.

Oh, wow.

To see a different color and to see the chicken in the hand and to go pick it and then bring it back and, you know, to grow corn and get to see it sprout out.

And you guys have a vegetable too.

Absolutely. We did a garden brush, a cow, and learned that they're all not that bad. And hang out with baby Go.

I mean, well, so the other thing is that we are in a city, essentially, and they're all glued to their phones, so.

And Atlanta, out of all of that.

Yeah.

So by the time the kids are telling their moms, like, I love the camp, I want to go back. And the mom is like, my kid just told me that they love you.

Want to go back outside.

Coming back, you know, like, it's just so rare for.

Not till there is a TV in the nursery, though. All right, whatever. Cartoon Wilder hanging out with the goats.

That's fair.

Yeah.

Cuz I'll tell you, we live on five acres, and the thought was, okay, we got five acres. The kids will just go play in the woods. It'll be great.

Oh, yeah.

If those kids were born in the.

80S, you still can't get them outside. Like, go play in the creek. Go. Like, whatever.

But yeah, so summer camp is happening. So the July one still has spots open. Our camp spots are very limited. Again, going back to quality, we only allow 10 slots per camp.

Nice.

I'm gonna definitely hook you up with cool people. So because they do a lot of kids classes.

Nice.

Nice.

I think you guys could like nice.

Yeah, That'll be awesome. Yeah. Over the summer, we also have kids only goat yoga classes where it's just the kids. We have a instructor who teaches that class, and he's.

He's perfect for the kids.

And I would say, wind down, dog. This is like, the first one year that it'll be running, just the first four years. So Wind down. Those classes are gonna be really cool.

And, yeah, I mean, it's gonna be some awesome people there.

And I think Wind Down Dog is more geared towards, like, being more of a social activity. You know, it's. It's on a Friday evening, you get up.

Yoga.

Is it Down Dog, like, yoga as well.

So we serve complimentary wine. Or you can bring your own bottle of wine.

Hands with the yoga.

Thank you.

And then we finished with the yoga class. Okay, you come.

That is genius. Because I found you guys because of one of your members of the team. And what's that group that we found each other in?

There's constantly women, like, hey, I need new friends, or I'm not connecting with people. Like, how can I meet new friends?

And it's always this, like, running joke of, well, there's friend apps, but really, you should find something you like doing and then just try and find people organic. But, like. But this is genius. Like, hey, if you like wine and like yoga, just show up here and then you'll organically leave with.

That's true.

Can you just show up or do you need to buy in advance?

Yeah. So typically, we always want everybody to book in advance. And like I said, it is on the website, it's on the homepage. It's also on the booking page.

Just go click the class that you want to book and, you know, it lets you pay for the class right there then and there. And then you're registered. And then you got to have any.

Trouble, call the 1-800number.

Yeah.

You know, if you missed the calendar on the front, I was going to.

Refer to that myself, but thank you. Thank you.

Yes.

You're welcome.

Call the number. We'll get you all the way through the process.

Yeah.

Okay.

A lot of times people are like, I don't know what's happening. Don't worry. We'll. We'll get you booked. Just call us. Our phone number is 844-ggagoat. Okay. Super easy.

I like it.

I like it smart.

So, yeah, just dial 844GGA goat and you'll get Right. And yeah, we're on social media. Our link tree is listed on our Instagram. I love that we have a link. That's so much fun.

The easiest way, if you don't remember the name, just Google Goat Yoga near me.

Yeah.

We are the first facility that pops up in the Atlanta region. So awesome.

Nice. So nice. Well, thank you so much. For taking the time to speak with us and show us the farm. And congratulations on the newest member of.

The family, a human kid joining the goat kids.

A real one? Yes.

Another kid.

Oh, yeah.

And this is.

This is number three.

Y. That's correct.

Y.

Excited?

A.

Thank you.

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