Summary The event was the product of a partnership between Groupon Japan and Dog Yoga.
TOKYO (Reuters) - One hundred and thirty six dogs and their owners gathered at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo for Japan’s record breaking dog yoga event on Sunday (Nov 13).
November 13 marks the first day of Japan’s annual family week.
The week encourages family bonding and was created by the Tokyo Government during 2012.
The event was the product of a partnership between Groupon Japan and Dog Yoga.
Noriko Onuma, yoga instructor and head of Japan dog yoga society, said she hoped to spread the bond between humans and dogs through light exercise.
"As I started doing dog yoga, I found the warmth and the weight of lives, and felt this was it," she said. "I thought if people could share this feeling, owners could live with their dogs until the very last minute, so this was how I came up with the dog yoga, and here I am now."
She added that dog yoga not only has the ability to strengthen the bond between dogs and humans, but also between families and partners because of the increase in communication.
Yoga and Dog yoga instructor Etsuko Kumata explained how dog yoga is useful for checking health conditions for both humans and dogs.
"In terms of dogs, we breath slowly having our hand on the dog which enables us to check the speed of breath the dog takes and the speed of the heart beats," Kumata said. "Also, patting the dog will help us recognise if there is something wrong."
Event organisers expressed their hope that Groupon and Dog Yoga will be able to host similar events throughout Japan.
