Yogis at the Zoo

We recently had the pleasure of working with the staff of Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, AZ. In addition to giving lectures on breathing and mindfulness techniques, teaching asana classes, we got to meet the elephants and tour the zoo! Lucky us! 

Reid Park Zoo is at the forefront of addressing animal care staff well-being which leads to animal wellness. 

Staff at Reid Park Zoo carefully monitor animal wellness on a regular basis. They look for appropriate behaviors to make sure the animals are acting similarly to the way they would in the wild. 

Under the vision and direction of Sue Tygielski, Reid Park Zoo is incorporating yoga asanas, breathing & meditation to help reduce stress and anxiety in the animal care staff. This in turn, helps the animals. 

These techniques are primarily simple breathing and mindfulness meditation practices which have been shown to reduce stress and burnout. 

For more details, enjoy the short clip below.

Well done to the Reid Park Zoo team for addressing the link between animal care staff well-being and animal wellness! We are so happy to be a part of it.