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Tucked away in a
wooded corner of southern New Hampshire, Jenness Farm is the
latest small U.S. agricultural operation to cash in on the
social media-driven trend, in which yoga enthusiasts practice
moves like the cat pose and bridge pose while goats climb around
and sometimes on them.
Peter Corriveau, who owns the 5-acre (2 hectare) farm in
Nottingham, New Hampshire, about 60 miles (100 km) north of
Boston, said he had toyed with the idea for several months
before launching his first class in April.
"This was really kind of a fluke," said Corriveau, who said that
people who follow the farm on social media had been sending him
videos of goat yoga for more than a year. "We did this dry run,
posted some pictures and really hadn't thought that far ahead.
And it's just exploded. The phone is ringing continuously for
people wanting to sign up for classes."
Corriveau readily admits that his is far from the first farm to
offer goat yoga classes, which can be found from Oregon to
Arizona to Massachusetts.
The farm is home to about 30 goats of different species and its
main business is goat-milk soap, which it sells at wholesale and
through a retail shop on the property, which is open for tours,
said Corriveau, who bought the property in 2001.
Initially, its yoga teachers are conducting their classes in a
side room off the store but Corriveau, 52, said he plans to
renovate the upper floor of the milking barn into a dedicated
studio space. That could allow it to double its class sizes to
16 people from the current cap of eight.
The farm's website advertises yoga classes with goats for $22
per adult.
Instructor Janine Bibeau said the animals never fail to delight
her students.
"It brings a lighter and more joyful energy to a class," Bibeau
said. "They make a nice energy in the room. It brings everyone
together."
(Reporting by Brian Snyder; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by
Alistair Bell)
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