Posted: Aug. 5, 2012 | 2:03 a.m.

Using a soothing tone of voice and the most relaxing music ever recorded, yogi Willow Withy creates a serene atmosphere for her budding yoga students. And then, three dolphins swim by the observation window to wreak a little havoc on the humans. It's not so much disruptive to the class setting - it is yoga with dolphins at The Mirage, after all - but it's outrageously adorable. Which makes it hard to hold that downward-facing dog pose.

Somehow, Withy's seven students manage to resist the urge to run over and press their faces to the glass for the duration of the one-hour class.

"Yoga can sometimes be intimidating," Miami resident Allison Bass, 24, says after class. "This was really cool with the dolphins playing in the background. I really enjoyed it."

About six months ago, the Mirage Spa management was trying to introduce yoga to the spa, Withy says. They don't really have classroom space inside, so they had to think outside the box.

They came up with yoga among the dolphins.

The class is held at 8:30 a.m. Fridays through Sundays in an underground viewing room at the Dolphin Habitat. All yoga skill levels are welcome.

A giant window allows people to view the swimming dolphins.

On this recent Friday, it's the three boy dolphins, Maverick, Cosmo and Lightning, that are visible to the class. Because it's so early in the morning, these yoga students are among the first human faces the dolphins see that day. And the dolphins take full advantage of it.

While Withy instructs students to bend, twist and stretch, the dolphins do laps at high speed. Their graceful movement through the water is hypnotic. They playfully buzz by the window showing their bellies; occasionally, one stops to look into the room, his smiling snout almost touching the glass.

Original post:
Yoga Students, Dolphins Flip Over Each Other