Hindus, Manchester Farm Owners Hope to Get Goat Yoga Ban Reversed

MANCHESTER, CT — Reaction to a cease-and-desist order issued to a Manchester farm that hosts goat yoga sessions has varied this week.

Town officials are keeping quiet on the matter.

Meanwhile, the state's Hindu community is politely protesting and planning an appeal.

The order was recently issued to Aussakita Acres Farm at 555 Lydall St. in Manchester, near the Vernon-Bolton-Manchester triangle. The farm is not zoned for health and recreational use, according to the order.

That is a twisted interpretation, according to one Hindu leader. Aussakita Acres Farm offers hands-on educational farm tours and yogis interact with goats during yoga classes.

In a statement issued over the weekend, Rajan Zed, the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Mayor Jay Moran, Deputy Mayor Margaret H. Hackett and General Manager Scott Shanley, to reconsider the issue and "thus help yoga flourish in Manchester, instead of pushing unnecessary and burdensome regulations."

Zed referred to yoga as “a living fossil”, that is, "a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization."

Zed further said that yoga, "although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all."

According to the National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress.

According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans now practice yoga.

Shanley did not return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday, but farm officials on Wednesday said a meeting with municipal officials went well. Farm officials have said on Facebook they intend to approach the Zoning Board of Appeals on the matter.

"Our meeting with Mayor Jay Moran and Town Attorney Tim O'Neill went well," farm officials said on Facebook. "They where both willing to listen and provided good advice as to what protocols and procedures we need to take."

Farm officials also urged the public to take a civil approach to the protests:

"Let me get something perfectly clear ... We are not here to bash the town or try to make them look bad. We are only interested in the facts and convincing the ZBA that goat yoga is a farm related activity and part of Agritourism and should be allowed to continue as part of our farming business to bring people to our farm, our town, and into the community."

Photo Credit: Aussakita Acres Farm