After 15 minutes of intense socializing, it’s time to get down to business. Half the participants are dressed in spandex and yoga pants, and the other half wear fur, but they’re all here for an intense workout, and it’s time to get started.

The furry partners are all ages, shapes, sizes and personalities – some large and mellow, some small and hyper, and their body language indicates that they’re happy to be here, sharing time with their favorite people. They’re panting, wagging their tails, eager to get started.

The canines and their owners are attending a "doga" class Sunday at St. Louis Park's Pampered Pooch Playground. Doga is a form of yoga that incorporates ways for dogs to twist, pose and enjoy time with their owners while people get a good workout, too.

The session starts out with breathing exercises for the humans and a light snout massage for the dogs. Instructor Tracey Miller then leads the class through a series of classic yoga poses, incorporating ways for them to include their canine counterparts through touch and body positioning. And yes, they were experts at the downward-facing dog pose.

“A lot of people feel guilty leaving their dogs at home all the time,” said Angie Gwiazdon, founder of the dog-owner social group K-9 Connection, which sponsored the class. “This is a good way to do something beneficial for your body and spend time with your dog at the same time.”

Gwiazdon said doga is beneficial for both dogs and people. For example, she said, dogs often mimic humans' energy, so when people are calm, dogs often follow.

“A lot of dogs start out crazy at the beginning of a doga class, and by the end most are sleeping,” Gwiazdon said. Her dog, Belle, a 12-year-old blue tick hound, is notorious for snoring vigorously during doga.

At the beginning of class, most of the dogs were attentive to their owners and eager to please. Anna the Greyhound posed like a professional, curling up next to owner Steve Schaffel on his mat as he stretched. Doggy cousins Maddie the Springer Spaniel and Harlee the long-haired dachshund wandered between the mats of their owners, sisters Angela and Sarah Greising. Jake the black Lab was immediately mellow, stretching out near his owner, Melissa Goodrich, and keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

Miller, who began teaching doga about two years ago, brought along her Maltese Shih Tzu Chloe, who seemed to enjoy perching on Miller’s lap as she arched upward as well as being stretched upright by her back legs.

As promised, most of the dozen dogs were asleep, or at least calm, by the middle of the hour-long session. Their owners stroked and nuzzled them if they were nearby during a pose, and stretched and twisted them if they were willing.

As owner Mandy Stahre laid on her back for some final stretching, Beagle mix Daisy couldn’t resist covering her face with some sloppy kisses. Then quiet time was over, and it was time for a little more energetic sniffing and socializing before heading home.

Miller said that while the emphasis even in doga is on making sure the human participants get a good workout, having the dogs there has a calming effect.

“Doga is more relaxed, because no one has any great expectations of what their dog is going to do,” she said. “They just enjoy doing something with their dog.”