Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Pineau.
Caroline, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born and raised in Kennebunk Maine, I now call Haverhill, MA my home. I was first introduced to yoga when I was 16, after visiting an ashram on a high school trip. My love for the practice deepened at my neighborhood kundalini studio in Charleston, SC across from my college apartment. I settled in Boston for a sports marketing career in 2008 and yoga became my refuge from the high expectations I had of myself to excel as a young professional. I was in a new relationship with my now husband, Adam and with his unwavering support and encouragement, I left the stability and what I had fully expected to be a fulfilling and fun 9 to 5, to become an entrepreneur and open a yoga studio. I shipped off to Bali for my 200-hr. yoga teacher training and returned to Haverhill to open The Yoga Tree in 2010.
We started in a quaint 800 sq. ft. riverside space on the fringe of the historic downtown Haverhill. We spent nights and weekends renovating and had a grand opening complete with giant scissors and ribbon cutting ceremony and a weekend chock full of special yoga classes, a tradition we have kept up for the past 8 years. After just two years on River Street, our bustling and growing community was ready for a new home with more space. We relocated to an old historic mill building built in the early 1900’s. High ceilings, exposed beams, gorgeous windows with vines and views of the Merrimac River, made our move a special one. We have grown to offer 21 weekly classes, including yinyasa, yin, restorative and prenatal yoga, with 17 dedicated and passionate teachers.
My teaching bio: Caroline Pineau’s teaching is infused with deep skill, knowledge and heart. Each student who walks into her class is seen, attended to and appreciated. With this foundation, tremendous growth can occur! Caroline heartily encourages her students to cultivate physical and mental fortitude through yoga, while utilizing her anatomy expertise and personal experience of navigating injury to tailor the practice safely to all levels. Sound alignment, clear instruction, intentional sequencing and mental focus are the pillars of Caroline’s classes; warmth, inclusiveness and skilled hands-on assists complete her signature style. Her intention is for students to develop a treasured awareness of their own unique anatomy, and to gain access to quiet and calm. Drawn to the practice for its holistic healing, physicality, and capacity to cultivate equanimity, Caroline completed her first 200-hour training with Frog Lotus Yoga in 2010. She has been teaching full-time ever since, and graduated from Boston Yoga School’s 500-hour Advanced Teacher Training in 2015. Always a student, she continues to study and work closely with her mentor Ame Wren and other inspiring teachers. Caroline’s personal commitment to teaching and community is reflected in her vibrant studio, The Yoga Tree (www.theyogatreestudio.com) in downtown Haverhill, MA.
Since opening in 2010, The Yoga Tree has twice been awarded “Best Yoga Studio-Readers Choice” by Northshore Magazine and has become a go-to practice space on Boston’s North Shore. The studio offers a full schedule of weekly classes with talented teachers, frequent workshops with some of New England’s most sought-after guest teachers and specialty teacher trainings in children’s and prenatal yoga. In 2019, Caroline will co-host the studio’s second 200-hr. Boston Yoga School Training with Ame Wren. A few times per year, Caroline takes her yoga on the road to lead retreats full of laughter, connection and deep learning in beautiful locations – always a special experience! Off the mat, Caroline is an artist, working with paint and mixed media. She lives in Haverhill, MA with her cat Boots, two dogs Reese and Mango, daughter, Charlie and her wonderful husband Adam. She loves to spend time with family and friends, be in her garden and adventure in nature.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My initial feeling prior to opening was that, the community in Haverhill needed a yoga studio. The growth of The Yoga Tree over the years has provided the opportunity for me to come together with students and teachers to help define what that actually meant. I never set out knowing where this journey would take me but the fact that it has felt so natural and organic makes me feel every day like I have made the right choice. As with any unknown adventure, there have certainly been hurdles at each new turn. One challenge is always to maintain a level of authenticity within my own teaching and offerings at the studio and to make sure that the studio reflects both the beliefs of myself and my instructors. Its been a fun challenge to build awareness of the breath of yoga and its many benefits in a community that had limited exposure previously. I work diligently to supplement that by bringing in some of New Englands most sought after teachers for workshops and trainings. I am always on quest to expose students to a variety of teachers that share the same philosophy and mission I do.
The Yoga Tree – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our robust class schedule offers a variety of classes alignment based vinyasa flow, yin, restorative, pre and post-natal yoga. We have a dynamic events calendar, hosting senior teachers from Boston and New York. It’s important for me to share my teachers with our community and inspire yoga students in Haverhill with high caliber of teachers, who are experts at their craft. In the relatively young landscape of yoga asana, ideas surrounding sound alignment and functional anatomy are constantly evolving. As a teacher and studio owner, I feel a heightened responsibility to continue my studies. Education is a huge pillar of my own teaching journey and I am compelled to offer high quality continuing education opportunities for other yoga teachers at The Yoga Tree, so that northshore yogis have access to high quality opportunities without the commute into Boston.
In 2017, we hosted our first 200-hr. Yoga Teacher training with Boston Yoga School, co-directed with Ame Wren and myself. We look forward to offering our next Boston Yoga School 200-hr. training in January 2019. We also offer some unique weekend and week long yoga retreats to interesting destinations both locally and internationally. I am most proud for the community of yogis from both near and far that call our sweet space on Washington street ‘home’ and for making our studio a welcoming space for people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and levels of experience. It has become a warm, supportive and loving sanctuary, that despite whatever chaos is headlining the news in our world, where people can come to learn, be in their bodies and find connection.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My entire teaching staff for being incredibly committed to their students, their studies and infusing passion into their classes. Without them the studio would not be the special place that it is today. My loving teacher and mentor, Ame Wren, whom has been a pillar for my teaching for the past 8 years. She has been my source for everything I know about teaching and has been one of my biggest supporters as I ride the waves of ups and downs of being a teacher and studio owner. My loving husband, Adam who’s unwavering support and encouragement has kept me on this path.
Pricing:
- Drop- In Class – $17
- 5 Class Pass- $70
- 10 Class Pass – $130
- Community Class-$10
- Monthly Unlimied Yoga $120
- Monthly Unlimited Aut Renew ($110)
Contact Info:
- Address: 90 Washington Street (2nd Floor) Haverhill, MA 01832
- Website: www.theyogatreestudio.com
- Phone: www.theyogatreestudio.com
- Email: info@theyogatreestudio.com
Image Credit:
Tracy Rodriguez Photography
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