Trunk show: How to join a yoga class with the elephants at Roger Williams Park Zoo

PROVIDENCE ? People practice yoga with goats, cats, butterflies and llamas, but who knew elephants made good yoga partners?

Unlike goats and cats, the 5-ton pachyderms aren't allowed to climb onto their partners' backs when Yoga with the Elephants sessions are held at the Roger Williams Park Zoo.

The zoo's three African elephants, Alice, Ginny and Kate, wander their habitat, eating and perhaps tilting their enormous heads in curiosity as yogis on the other side of the fence practice their down dog, cat and camel poses.

Do the elephants join in, perhaps striking an elephant pose, if there is one?

"No, unfortunately," said Kaele Rodriguez, a zoo employee who has participated in the class. "It would be funny to see that."

"They usually like watching us," Rodriguez said. "They'll eat and watch us."

"They're very curious about what we're doing," she said.

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Yoga instructor Tom McGunigal says he's never heard of an elephant yoga pose, although he once took classes at a place called Laughing Elephant Yoga, now closed.

When McGunigal's oldest daughter, Lisa, told a friend that her father teaches yoga with elephants, the friend said, "Sounds dangerous," McGunigal said.

The zoo's Yoga with the Elephants sessions usually attract about 50 people and sell out, as Saturday's session did. McGunigal acknowledges that he's not the draw, and the yoga is only part of the attraction. Alice, Ginny and Kate are the stars.

"It's elephants with a side of yoga," McGunigal said.

What's the appeal of animal-themed yoga?

Some people are drawn to yoga with animals, because they find it more relaxing, according to McGunigal, who also teaches Wednesday mornings at Thrive Wellness Collaborative in East Greenwich.

The class is low-key and tends to attract a lot of novice yogis, McGunigal said. He encourages them to break from their cow or lizard poses whenever they'd like to take photos of the elephants posing side by side, or however they might be posing.

"We generally just try to have fun with it," McGunigal said. "It's yoga light. The elephants may be heavy, but the yoga isn't."

What does yoga with the elephants cost?

The session costs $40, and McGunigal volunteers his time to raise funds for the zoo. He proudly displays a painting that he said one of the elephants painted as a "thank you." It's a colorful abstract.

How can I sign up to attend a class?

Sessions are held at 7:30 a.m., before the zoo opens, and the yogis can hang around afterward for a Q&A with an elephant trainer. Their $40 class fee also allows them to spend the day at the zoo. The next session is scheduled for Sept. 14.

Rodriguez had never done yoga, but she's a "big animal lover," so she signed up for a session. "I was extremely sore afterward," she said, "but I did really enjoy it."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Yoga with the Elephants at Roger Williams Park Zoo: What to know