Meet Maricar Cristina Holopainen | Yoga Teacher & Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maricar Cristina Holopainen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maricar Cristina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was always entrepreneurial since I was in college where I made shoes and bags out of passion and creativity, which turned out to be financially lucrative. I was fascinated by making things happen – and I always wanted to work with highly-motivated and skilled people so having a business allowed me to create an environment of both learning and earning, as well as creating products and services that made other people happy and gave people a way to earn a living.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Maruia River Retreat is both a passion project and a business with a sustainability purpose. Both my husband Lasse and I have always respected our relationship and our role as stewards with nature and the environment. Maybe we were a little ahead of our time – we started our foray into eco and wellness tourism first with 3 large format yoga studios in the Philippines called Urban Ashram in 2010 and in 2012, owned and managed an off-grid, eco-glamping surf and yoga resort in the birthplace of surfing in the Philippines, called Easy Adventure.

It was definitely not easy to start and to sustain as both Yoga and nature camping were very foreign concepts to the Filipinos. We recognise that we needed to focus on market development so we spent a lot of time in marketing and building awareness. We spent our energy and resources in educating our target audiences with the benefits of both being in nature and practicing yoga and we believe we succeeded as both businesses were very well-received, some out of curiosity but mostly, because we offered something valuable, unique and helpful.

The lessons we learned is to stay the course and find good people who can help you with your purpose and who will also grow with you. Our guests, students, staff, management – people are the most important asset of the business; their competence and skills and more importantly, their work ethic and subscription to a joint purpose and intention.

We want the world to know that you can heal and be whole naturally. That through nature and through yoga, you can live better lives, find refuge, heal and be present. Maruia River Retreat is a destination for nature and well-being experiences that by being immersed in nature, you will find harmony and health. And through Urban Ashram Yoga, we teach the body – that through this manifestation of our existence in this lifetime, we can live fully and happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I just moved to the South Island after 5 years in Auckland. I now live in sunny Nelson, it’s a beautiful city, top of the South Island of New Zealand so the design of my best friend’s visit to the South Island for a week-long would be my imagined trip with her.

Ease & Release: Day 1 to 4

We would rent an electric convertible and I would pick her up from the Christchurch airport for an overnight stay at the dog-friendly and really comfortable Hotel Montreal in Christchurch. Early dinner would be at KINJI – my favourite Japanese restaurant for sashimi, sushi, chawan mushi, Prawns tempura, steamed rice and sake. Sleep early and leave at 10am for Maruia River Retreat – 3.5 hours away. Simple brunch pitstop at Red Post Cafe at Culverden (electric charging station, if needed). Arrive at Maruia River Retreat at 2pm for 4 days of yoga, fresh delicious food, massages, forest bathing and nature walks and rest in a luxury private villa. Catch-up best friend time.

Eat. Sleep & Nature Walk. : Day 5 to 7

Then we would end up in Nelson for 3 days – an itinerary purely based on a food trip (and some local brewery visits). We would have lunch in Boat Shed by Wakefield Quay, walk and hang out by Tahunanui Beach. Do a day trip to the Abel Tasman National Park, drive to the Marlborough Sounds and eat mussels in Havelock and try the local restaurants and cafes in Nelson. Then it would be a quick 15-minute drive to the Nelson airport for her flight back home.

To meet people, we would go to a local yoga class.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to my yoga teachers Joan Hyman, Annie Carpenter and Lasse Holopainen. They have always guided me personally and professionally and I look up to them for the work they have done in helping others and making their vocation a lifelong profession.

Website: www.maruia.co.nz

Instagram: @maruianz

Linkedin: Maricar Cristina Holopainen

Facebook: Maricar Cristina Holopainen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/UAMCenterForYoga

Image Credits
Emily Raftery Josh Griggs Moochstyle