It's yoga bear: Supple Santra has more keep-fit moves than the average bear

By Daily Mail Reporter

Some invigorating early morning stretching exercises make the ideal start to a day of...whatever it is bears do


If you're in a sedentary job, or cooped up in a confined space for some other reason, it's a good idea to do a little stretching now and then to keep the muscles supple.

This 'housebound' creature seems to know that better than most: She's more yoga bear that Yogi Bear.

The flexible brown bear looks like she has taken a few lessons in the traditional meditation exercise as she shows off her skills.


Somewhere between the 'Happy baby' and 'Boat' poses, this excellent workout for extending the hamstrings should probably now be called 'Bear Pose'


The bear, called Santra, had just woken from a nap when she sat down and went into a 15 minute yoga routine, reaching out to bend her legs into painful-looking positions.

She even managed to balance serenely on her bottom and pull her furry legs up around her ears in her spectacular show.

She stretched each leg separately, pulling them skywards with her large paw, before lifting both at the same time to create a V-shape.

And like any good yoga devotee, she kept her eyes calmly focused as she perfected her moves, flexing her toes to make the stretch even more difficult.


..and it's important too for the dedicated yoga practitioner to take a break between stretches


The adult bear entertained crowds at the Ahtari Zoo in Finland, who watched her yoga routine with amazement.

The hilarious display was captured on camera by visitor Meta Penca, a 29-year-old web programmer from Slovenia.

Miss Penca said: 'She seemed as if she was stretching for at least 15 minutes.'
'She held her legs with her hands for a minute or two in a V position and then put them down and relaxed.'



Santra makes it all look so easy, but don't try these exercises at home without taking expert advice first


'Then she put up her left leg and put it straight with her hands and held it with her left hand for a bit.'

'Then she lifted the other leg, straightened it and held it with her right hand for around two minutes and then had a little rest and then all over again.'

'It was exactly the same as when you see people do yoga - easy, slow, focused and calm.'

'She looked pretty into it, a really straight face, no looking around just very serious and calm and kept her eyes slightly opened and focused.'

'She looked like she didn't notice us at all.'

'We were all trying be as quiet as possible. Most looked amazed and were just smiling and not saying anything.'

'My first thought was how very human she looked, and then I thought that maybe they rescued her from a circus or something - it looked so unreal and so rehearsed.'

'But I read on the website of the zoo later that she and her partner are one of the oldest inhabitants there, so I guess she just took her time to do a little stretching.'


source: dailymail