In Subiaco, fitness looks a little different… and a lot fluffier.<\/p>\n
For the past year, Little Paws Yoga has been quietly building a devoted following, blending gentle movement with the undeniable joy of young animals.<\/p>\n
The studio is the brainchild of Chloe McStay, 25, who moved to Perth from Scotland last year and turned her lifelong love of animals into a wellness concept that\u2019s as meaningful as it is adorable. She describes it as \u201cthe best job ever\u201d.<\/p>\n
Now firmly settled into the Subiaco community, the studio has become a go-to for locals seeking connection, calm, and a serious dopamine boost.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone knows exercise is good for you, but when we incorporate young animals it kicks in this nurture instinct in your brain which releases dopamine and serotonin, you become at peace,\u201d Ms McStay said.<\/p>\n
While the puppies and kittens may steal the spotlight, the heart of the studio lies in its partnership with local shelters and rescue organisations.<\/p>\n
![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2d68b8bc01bf5c66716ef8c146057aa137fc8af3.jpg\")
Camera IconChloe McStay is a pilates instructor and the founder of Little Paws Yoga in Subiaco. The classes aim to improve the mental and physical health of the participants as well as helping puppies socialize before they are taken in by families. Michael Wilson Credit: Michael Wilson\/The West Australian<\/p>\n
Young animals are brought into classes to help with socialisation, confidence-building, and exposure to people, while also giving shelters a much-needed break.<\/p>\n
For the animals, it\u2019s playtime with purpose, but for participants, it\u2019s a chance to slow down, move mindfully, and reconnect. Often with a kitten asleep on their mat or a puppy attempting Pilates of its own.<\/p>\n
Research also suggests that being around animals \u2014 particularly young ones \u2014 can be especially beneficial for people experiencing grief or emotional distress.<\/p>\n
The playful, present-moment energy of puppies and kittens can help ease feelings of loneliness, providing comfort, distraction, and a natural lift in dopamine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a full dopamine hit,\u201d Ms McStay said. \u201cWe have a community of people, some are dealing with grief, some have really tough jobs, some just need a break away from their families. Doing a class is a reset.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young animals in the studio are allowed to run free with infinite food and water breaks and they are not in the studio for longer than a few hours at a time, and the studio is clinically disinfected between each class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Subiaco, fitness looks a little different… and a lot fluffier. For the past year, Little Paws Yoga…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[501,264,499,103,61,60,166,43,3635],"class_list":["post-280260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-health-fitness","tag-animals","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lifestyle","tag-news","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}