Tucked away in a wooded corner of southern New Hampshire, Jenness Farm is the latest small US 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.
"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."
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.
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."