12/17/2025
Meet Ron Swanson.
My family adopted him a year ago October after some great losses in our world.
He hid behind the deep freezer. He did not come out from under the bed. He was scared.
I would sit next to the bed on the floor and just sit with his scared self. He still wouldn't come out. No meows. No pets.
I eventually began laying my yoga mat next to the bed and practicing yoga or preparing for my classes near the bed. Ron would watch, closer to the edge of the bed, but still under and outside of reach, safe.
My yoga practice continued in this way for weeks, a month or more. He began to make his way out, practice by practice, making sure he had a safe escape back to under the bed when needed.
He found his way to the mat. He began to join my practice. He began to be sure to put himself right in the center of my Warrior, so when I folded down into an Angle pose, he would get pets, which he LOVED to get.
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Every time my yoga mat came out, Ron would come running. Finding a safe place directly where I was planning to be and eventually settling at the edge of the mat. Still shy, yet clearly wanting to be around.
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My family welcomed a new addition of Silver, the 3 legged mouser cat this October. She was friendly right off the bat, letting my kids pick her up and snuggle her, and wanting all the pets and brushings.
The two cats got along well enough, but Ron was still unsure.
Cue the YOGA MAT. Silver on one side, Ron on the other, Me in the center (trying to get a flow on). I couldn't even get the blanket down on my mat before these two took their places.
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Silvy taught Ron to play. How to "Cat", if you will. He still doesn't allow to be picked up, that is a firm boundary for him. But we can pet, snuggle, brush, PLAY! with him. He loves yoga and meditation practices.
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Yoga has healed me in ways that are unimaginable. Yoga has healed my Ron.
How has Yoga healed you?
How do your pets react when you take our your mat?
I would love to hear your story!
This is the story of Ron Swanson... the Yoga Cat.
