Puppies and yoga don’t mix. Dutch Agriculture Minister Piet Adema believes so in reaction to a social media trend of forcing puppies to watch yogis do the flexing exercise.

Puppy yoga “serves no purpose and makes no sense at all. It needs to stop,” Adema said, Agence France-Presse reported The Dutch official said puppies suffer stress when they are used in yoga sessions and demanded a complete ban on the practice and also a prohibition on using other young animals, such as kittens for the same purpose.

Yoga practitioners themselves may also not be safe at all in doing the exercise. A 73-year-old man recently performed a yoga dance at a yoga camp in Phooti Khoti, Indore City, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Balveer Singh Chhabra was wearing a costume and holding a national flag when he danced to a patriotic song for a cultural program.

The audience, some of whom were recording Chhabra, clapped their hands when he fell down to the floor.

When the old man failed to stand up, people realized he was unconscious. A first aider administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on Chhabra but he remained unresponsive. He was then rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.

A report by Hindustan Times said Chhabra apparently suffered a cardiac arrest while doing the yoga dance.

WJG @tribunephl_wjg