Happy Tree Yoga

Best. Yoga.

I came to Montréal as a visitor in 2013 and found Happy Tree up the hill from my apartment in St. Henri. When finding a place to practise in it’s important for me to get the right feeling. Happy Tree FEELS right. The colour of the paint or the way it’s set-​up? Good feng shui maybe? Dunno. Really though it’s the people who have made this studio their place to practise in and unwind here in M-​T-​L that make it such a magical place. Melanie Richards is the studio director and is very warm and welcoming. She has really made the studio her life’s focus and you get a sense of that when you meet her. She’s also a total babe:) She’s the kind of person who is out to change the world & is making this happen in a tangible & life-​affirming way using Happy Tree as her primary tool. She has surrounded herself with some of the brightest burning stars in the yoga world of Montréal. Class A instruction — some of it entertaining, all of it down to Earth & accessible. There are pre-​natal classes and free yoga classes for cancer patients as well.
One of my biggest beefs with yoga studios I’ve gone to in the past is the intention behind the instruction comes off as aloof & precious. ‘Cool’ people hob-​nobbing in their Lulu Lemon outfits. These cloud-​headed-​would-​be gurus that want to talk about their trip to India and their sprouted organic twig diet etc. Don’t want to hear it, let’s practise! There is no holier-​than-​thou yogi bullshit here, (even though there is a strong element of spirituality).A wide range of people have made Happy Tree their home studio. After class it’s great to sit & chill in the lounge and have some yogi T and conversation and just let all the asana upload. There is also a massage/​reiki room called The Nest.
In short:
Happy Tree is a world-​class yoga studio — 5 stars baby!

I’ve been doing yoga on and off for about 9 years now and like any sort of physical activity, your experience of yoga depends in large part to the kind of instruction you receive. Bad instructor usually means bad experience, good instructor means good experience.
That said, I’ve been coming to HappyTree yoga now for about 2 months and have nothing to complain about. So having said that, Happytree yoga is a warm, cute studio, flooded in natural light, in the heart of downtown Montréal making it ideally located for after-​work sessions.
The instructors here are great particularly Melanie, Brian, Sonya, Gen and Albert. I like the vibe of the place too, it feels smaller, more intimate and safer. There is a stronger sense of community instead of the sense of anonymity you might encounter in the larger studios, plus having shower and locker facilities for a hot yoga studio is always a plus. Unlike Bikram or Moksha yoga, where it’s the same routine everyday, I like the diversity that Happytree offers.
Yes, it’s a typical, gentrified yoga studio but if you’re here just for the practice and do your own thing, then this is a great place to do yoga on a regular basis.
And the free yogi tea is a nice touch too!