photos by David' Brian Avis.
Folks on mats commune with cats
BY NICHOLAS ALLISON
Rising up from a bent position, one arm extended before
you, the other behin d, your feet planted in a lunge
position. You breathe, in, out, in, out, and find yourself
relaxing into the Warrior II pose. Then, out of the corner
of your eye, you spot a eat batting away at a toy, ignoring
the yoga warriors who fill'the room.
Purrington’sCat Lounge, located in Notheast Portland,
is a unique place where one can get a bite to eat, play with
the cats and decide to adopt one. It is a way for shelter
cats to interact with humans and for prospective owners
to get a feel for what the cat is like at home.
On Sundays, from 6:30-8:30 p .m ., for $20 per session
or $60 for four sessions, Purrington’s offers a yoga class
surrounded by cats. It is an interesting way to interact
with them , especially if they are feeling friendly that
week.
The yoga class has two instructors, Alicia Johnson and
Heather Klawender, who alternate each week.
8 Clackamas Print FEBRUARY 8.2017 theclackamasprfntcom
Johnson described the class as, “ a relaxing environment
for both beginners and advanced students/’
And she was right. Even someone with no experience
at yoga could go in and still feel like they accomplished
so m ething w hen they left. Even if they didn’ t, the
presence of the cats makes guests smile, and that makes
it worth it.
Experienced yoga enthusiasts can also benefit from
it, according to Eric Cheong, a long-tim e yogi him self.
“ It is very relaxing,” said Cheong. “ [Yoga] w asn’ t
always about these pristine environm ents, and this,
and other more inform al environm ents, offer a new
perspective. ” When asked about the effect the cats had
on the yoga experience, he said, “ It was a very good
class, having the cats around made it feel more natural.”
Husband and wife Sergio and Kristen Castillo are the
owners of Purrington’ s Cat Lounge, and they founded
it after seeing a video o f a cat cafe in France. The
conversation sw iftly switched from ‘W ouldn’t it be
cool to have something like that here in Portland’ to
‘How can we make this happen in Portland?’
After they got the doors open, they approached a friend
of theirs about the idea, as they knew special events
would be the lounge’ s bread and butter. The rest was
history, and shortly thereafter, Purrington’ s Cat Lounge
started hosting yoga classes every Sunday.
If you have insecurities about doing yoga, whether
you are a guy that is told it is not manly or you are a girl
who just isn ’t sure about it, or anything in between,
don’t worry.
“ There are no judgments. If you like cats, or you like
yoga, you should com e. It’s a very accepting place,”
said Cheong.
So show up^try it out, and if it is not for you, well, you
can enjoy the time with the cats. You could even adopt
one, should you desire.