EP# 243: Goats, Yoga, and Joy: One Nurse's Pandemic Pivot

What makes Ramona Schwartz with Kidding Around Asheville a good neighbor?

Laughter echoes through a brewery as Nigerian dwarf goats hop playfully onto the backs of yoga practitioners – this is the healing magic of Kidding Around Asheville, created by Ramona Schwartz. After working as a home health nurse during COVID's darkest days, caring for patients who couldn't access ventilators, Ramona found herself desperately needing joy in her life. For her 50th birthday, she got her yoga certification and launched one of Asheville's most unique wellness experiences.

What makes this experience special isn't just the novelty – it's the connection. "Goats have been domesticated longer than dogs," Ramona explains, describing how these animals naturally seek human interaction. Her classes maintain the perfect "goat-to-people ratio" with eight baby Nigerian dwarf goats for classes capped at 20 participants. These playful animals jump from person to person, snuggling in laps and creating spontaneous moments of delight that break through the barriers of everyday stress.

When Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, Ramona pivoted her business to support the recovering River Arts District, relocating to RAD Brewery. The move exemplifies the resilience that defines Asheville's community spirit. Her clever business model includes a free brewery drink ticket after each session – an incentive that's proven particularly successful with male participants, who "love it more than the women do." But the real draw remains those moments of pure, uninhibited joy. As Ramona puts it, "The one thing I am most proud of about this little company is the amount of laughter and connection that happens during these classes." In our increasingly disconnected world, perhaps what we need most is exactly what Kidding Around Asheville provides – breathwork, baby goats, and the healing power of shared laughter.

Ready to experience goat yoga for yourself? Find Ramona at KiddingAroundAsheville.com or on Instagram at KiddingAroundAVL – and remember, no headstands required!

To learn more about Kidding Around Asheville go to:

https://www.kiddingaroundasheville.com/

Kidding Around Asheville

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
So I am I'm super psyched todayto have a very special guest in
the studio with us today andI'm sure you will be too,
especially if you're a fan ofyoga.
Sure, you will be too,especially if you're a fan of
yoga.
And because today I have thepleasure of introducing your
good neighbor, ms RamonaSchwartz, who is the owner
operator of Kidding AroundAsheville.

(00:32):
Ramona, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
Hi, I'm so excited to be here.
Thank you so much for your time.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Well, we appreciate you taking time out to be with
us today and, like I said, we'resuper excited to learn all
about you and Kidding AroundAsheville.
And so, if you don't mind, whydon't you kick us off by telling
us what you do?

Speaker 3 (00:53):
I am a nurse by day and for my 50th birthday I got
my yoga certification and reallyspent a lot of time thinking
about what I wanted to do withit as a nurse.
Of course I love to help people, but coming out of COVID, where
I did home health so I tookcare of people who couldn't get

(01:16):
vents I really needed a littlebit of laughter and joy to
balance out the rest of my life.
So I thought about goat yoga,got online, looked it up here in
Asheville it was already hereand I was really super
disappointed.
But upon more research realizedit was only at farms and I

(01:39):
thought if they were smart theywould be hosting Goat Yoga at
the breweries.
So that's exactly what I did.
My first year I was at WhistleHop in Fairview and they were
wonderful.
Second two years I was atWhistle Hop and New Origin
Brewing Company.
However, new Origin BrewingCompany did not make it through

(02:00):
Helene.
So this year I decided I wouldlove to support River Arts
District.
So now I'm at Rad Brewery andthey have been so wonderful.
I am really excited for thisseason.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Awesome and especially I know the River Arts
District was hammered prettyhard during the flood.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
Yes, they were, but this little brewery made it.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Well, how I'm sure there arelots of myths and misconceptions
about goat yoga.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Would you any come to mind for you?
Well, I did not realize thatgoats have been domesticated
longer than dogs.
They are the longestdomesticated animals that we
have.
They are super attached tohumans and love the interaction
with humans, so it actually is areally beautiful thing to watch

(02:59):
them during goat yoga classes.
They naturally love to jump, sowhether I have someone in
tabletop or down dog, they justjump from person to person and
snuggle up in laps, and theylove it as much as as much as my
customers do.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Wow, now, I did not know that that goats had been
domesticated longer than dogs.
I did not know that.
How many goats do you have?

Speaker 3 (03:28):
So I have goat owners and so this year there's eight
babies and my classes cap out at20.
So it's a really great goat topeople ratio, because I didn't
know what would happen withtourism.
This year I only have one setof goat owners it's Kate and

(03:51):
Alexandra and they live inMarshall and they have a little
homestead and I get to supportthem and help their little farm.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
Very good Goat to people ratio.
That's a new term for me.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Exactly.
You don't hear that very often.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
And there is nothing cuter than a baby goat, I mean
they're just the sweetest things.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
And these are Nigerian dwarf goats, so they
don't get very big.
So my season ends at the end ofOctober.
So they get bigger, but notlike a normal size goat.
They stay little.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
They stay little, very good, very good.
Well, ramona, outside of work,which sounds like work is fun,
but what do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:37):
Oh well, what everyone likes to say.
That lives in Asheville.
I love to hike, I love to read,we kayak.
I have my day job as a nurse,which I love Outdoor stuff, like
you, probably in Tennessee youprobably in Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Absolutely you.
You live in a, we, we live in abeautiful place for all of that
and I'm an avid fly fishermantoo that love to hike.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
And Blue Ridge Parkway is coming back.
They've done a great jobclearing off the trails so that
people can, you know, enjoy themountains.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
It's amazing to me how quickly I mean it's been a
while but it's amazing to me howresilient, uh, western north
carolina asheville area, uh, hotsprings I mentioned earlier.
You know all the how resilientwe are and what good neighbors
people are to.
You know to do the things thatthey're doing to help each other
.
Exactly, the community hasreally come together.

(05:42):
It's amazing to me.

Speaker 3 (05:44):
After the hurricane it was a few weeks River Arts
District was open and they werefeeding people and providing
water and I remember going inand having a beer and just for a
second it almost felt normal.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
And it was just such a good feeling.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
It was packed, there were a lot of people there,
everyone's checking up on eachother.
You're right, it's an amazingcommunity, this little mountain
town.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Absolutely, absolutely and this may relate
to what you just said.
Can you describe a hardship ora life challenge you've overcome
, whether professional orpersonal, and how it made you
stronger in the end?

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Well, I will tell you , during COVID, doing home
health and taking care of peoplewho could not get vents was
heart-wrenching.
That was a really terrible timeas a nurse because there's just
not a lot that I could do.
That's probably as an adult.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
In the last several years that's probably been the
hardest oh, I'm sure, I'm sureobstacle I've faced but you made
, I did yes, and you're on theother side and stronger for it.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
I would imagine yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Absolutely Awesome.
Well, Ramona, if you couldthink of one thing that you
would like for our listeners toremember about getting around
Asheville, what would that be?

Speaker 3 (07:19):
The one thing I am most proud of about this little
company is the amount oflaughter and joy and connection
that happens during theseclasses.
I'm able to get a lot of themale population to come in
because you get a free drinkticket into the brewery after

(07:39):
the class and they love it morethan the women do.
It is silly and fun and it isan amazing connection and we're
really lacking that right now inour world.
So, yeah, it's just.
It's just joyful and fun and Ihighly encourage you to come.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
It's just joyful and fun, and I highly encourage you
to come Awesome.
Now, what breweries do youfrequent?

Speaker 3 (08:04):
I'm at River Arts District, rad Brewery.
It's off of Mystery Street.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Gotcha mystery street .
Well, you caught my attentionwith that free drink ticket.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
Oh my gosh, you come for free, Paul Come for free.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
Oh, oh, bless your heart, bless your heart, thank
you, thank you.
I would love to do that and I Iwould.
I think I would enjoy it.
I love goats too, so go to somebeer.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
I'm not even kidding, just come I will get you in.

Speaker 2 (08:37):
All, I'm not even kidding, just come, I will get
you in, all, right.
Well, thank you so much, ramona.
Now for those like me that arelistening, that are interested
in learning more about you andKidding Around Asheville how can
they learn more?

Speaker 3 (08:46):
They can go to my website,
KiddingAroundAshevillecom.
They can find me on Instagramat KiddingAroundAVL.
And, side note, it's verybeginner-friendly yoga.
It's just about connectingbreath to movement so we get out
of our heads and come home toour body.
We are not trying to land aheadstand.

(09:09):
It's very it's doable foreveryone.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Awesome.
That's especially for me, Foran old guy like me, that that
would be great.
Well, Ramona, I can't tell youhow much I appreciate you taking
time out of your busy scheduleto to spend some time with me
and with our listeners andmoving forward.
Wish you and kidding aroundAsheville all the best.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
Thank you so much for your time.
I'm super grateful.

Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, thank you, and maybe we can have you back again
sometime when you got a bigevent coming up.
Okay, all right, thanks so much.

Speaker 1 (09:45):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnptry-citiescom.
That's gnptry-Citiescom.
That's GNPtry-Citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.