New York, NY (WFN) -- A New York yoga instructor is testing to see whether yoga can work for pound puppies.

Starting in May, Bruce Van Horn will begin a six-week study to determine whether relaxation techniques that work on humans can reduce the stress for shelter dogs and the human volunteers that take care of them.

The study uses dogs and cats with behavioral problems and sits them alongside meditating volunteers.

If Van Horn's theory is correct, the naughty cats and dogs will adopt the serene personality of the meditating humans just by sitting next to them.

Van Horn says scientists can gauge the effect on the animals by measuring their heart rate, respiration and behavior.

It shouldn't be hard for the animals to catch on, because Van Horn claims all animals know how to do yoga naturally. That's why yogis named the positions after animals.

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