Julianne Hough Starts Every Morning Playing with Her New Puppy in Bed: 'Changes Your Energy' (Exclusive)

"I'll wake her up and she'll come and get into bed and we will play for a good, solid 15 minutes," Hough tells PEOPLE of her new morning routine with dog Sunny

Julianne Hough is loving the perks of being a dog mom.

At the launch of her new venture, the Kinrgy Fitness Studio, in West Hollywood, California, on Friday, Hough, 35, told PEOPLE that spending her mornings with her new puppy, Sunny, has improved her mental health.

"Our morning ritual is we'll play in bed. I'll wake her up and she'll come and get into bed and we will play for a good, solid 15 minutes," the Dancing with the Stars co-host says.

"You'll be surprised when you're laughing and playing and totally present with a dog — how much that changes your energy," she adds of the positive impact that spending quality time with her dog has had on her mental health.

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After they play in bed for a little bit, the dancer takes the puppy out for a walk, during which she does "breath work" or tries to clear her mind as much as possible in a practice she calls "movement meditation."

"Some people think that you have to sit and meditate and be still, and I find that when I'm walking I can actually clear my head more," Hough notes, adding that she was "bored" of her mornings by herself before Sunny came along.

"Nothing better than a dog," she declares.

The Safe Haven star introduced her new canine companion to her followers with a video post on Instagram in February.

Related: Derek Hough Reveals Sister Julianne Moved to D.C. for 2 Weeks to Help amid Wife Hayley's Health Crisis (Exclusive)

"A little bit of Sunny sunshine for your Monday scrolls 🐶☀️," she captioned a video that featured a man pulling down a curtain to reveal an image of the dog.

"Me showing everyone the love of my life," read text over the video.

As for her new venture, Hough tells PEOPLE she decided to start Kinrgy Fitness Studio because she kept hearing people say that being on DWTS was a "transformative" experience for them beyond just learning to dance.

She says she feels like she can help others develop a deeper connection with their bodies by sharing her knowledge of dance, mental health and meditation.

Related: Julianne Hough Shares She's Holding Her Family ‘Extra Tight’ After Sister-in-Law Hayley Erbert’s Emergency Craniectomy

Hough, who has a background in ballet dancing, tells PEOPLE the approach she wants to share with patrons "took away my ... identity of needing to be perfect."

"It's it truly is like a fun, inviting space for people to just get weird," she says of her new studio.

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