Two studios. One Mission.
Pilates Studio (The Rebuild)
Small group classes (max 6) using classical Pilates foundations enhanced by corrective principles. This is where you build functional strength, fix misalignments, and learn to trust your body's capabilities again. Our comprehensively-trained instructors use professional-grade Merrithew reformers and classical Gratz towers to ensure proper alignment and safe progression.
Yoga Studio (The Recovery & Embodiment)
Somatic practices and deep rest including restorative, Yin, Wall and Aerial Yoga, sound baths, meditation, and gentle flow. This is where your nervous system down-regulates, your body recovers, and you reconnect with your body's innate wisdom. Our yoga studio is designed for bodies that need support and minds that need space.
Powerful practices separately...
.but together, complete wellness.
They're the complete system for sustainable wellness. One builds strength for decades. One restores your capacity to enjoy those decades. Both are essential for the long, pain-free life you're creating.
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What We Believe:
- Joy in pain-free movement is your birthright - and the foundation for a long, full life
- The purpose of taking care of your body is creating decades of capability and freedom
- Expertise should feel warm, never intimidating
- Small classes aren't a luxury - they're essential for the precision that protects your future mobility
- Your body isn't the enemy. It's the vehicle for everything you want to do in the next 30 years
- Sustainable wellness requires both building and resting - because sprinting doesn't win marathons
- Somatic wisdom - your body knows what it needs to serve you long-term
- Our greatest fulfillment comes from helping you build a body that carries you joyfully through decades, not just days
Your Coastal Sanctuary
Natural light floods our bright, sea-hued studios within our boutique fitness studio. Comfortable lounges invite you to linger after Pilates classes. Professional equipment—Merrithew reformers, classical Gratz towers, aerial hammocks, abundant props—supports proper alignment and safe movement.
This isn't a stark, intimidating gym; it's a home-like retreat designed to help you feel safe, seen, and supported from the moment you walk through the door—because we're building something that lasts decades, and that requires a foundation of trust and care in our yoga studio Easton.
Meet our Founder - Kristi Shaw
Built from Personal Experience
Kristi Shaw began her yoga teaching career in 2006 - teaching anywhere there was space and people who needed support: the local YMCA, community centers, art centers, in people's homes, hospital lunch rooms. You name it, she taught there.
Following the path of yoga therapy as an integrated approach, Kristi completed her RYT 500 and C-IAYT hours with University of Maryland Medical School, Center for Integrative Medicine.
In 2016, she opened Coastal Retreat to fully embrace her love of integrative medicine, therapeutic movement, and complementary practices under one roof.
After opening the studio, Kristi became comprehensively trained in Pilates - driven by her own need to manage Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder that causes loose ligaments, easy joint dislocations, and a constellation of other challenges. The ability to challenge the smaller stabilizing muscles while training the larger ones became her "maintenance plan"—and the foundation of our teaching philosophy.
Kristi is a Ph.D. level scientist, environmental science & renewable energy professional, mother, chronic "challenge patient," and passionate advocate for finding movement that supports rather than breaks down the body. She's been through the medical system as both healer and patient- and that dual perspective shapes everything we do at Coastal Retreat.
Her mission? To extend the same hope, warmth, and expert support to every person looking for their place among the chaos that is life. Because your body deserves better than punishment. It deserves partnership.
Your Expert, Warm, Never-Stuffy Team
We're dual-certified instructors who geek out on biomechanics and nervous system science - but explain it all in ways that feel like a conversation with a trusted friend. Every teacher here is chosen not just for their expertise, but for their ability to make you feel seen, supported, and capable.
Kristin Todd
Yoga Instructor (RYT500), Comprehensively-Trained Pilates Instructor, Aerial Goddess, Studio Manager
Kristin came to teaching through the student door - after years of experiencing firsthand how much Coastal Retreat's practice and community supported her physically and mentally. When the pandemic closed the studio, she realized just how essential her practice and the relationships she'd built truly were. As the studio reopened, she seized the opportunity to become an instructor so she could help others discover the same benefits she'd enjoyed.
Kristin draws constant inspiration from her students. Whether they come with an injury to work around or an Instagram move they'd like to try, she learns from them just as they learn from her. Watching them achieve victories and seeing their practice grow and evolve keeps her passionate about showing up.
Previously a preschool teacher for 21 years, Kristin brings curiosity, patience, and joy-seeking to everything she does—qualities that shine through in her classes.
What Kristin loves most: Making inversions accessible to people who've struggled with them in traditional yoga—and watching their eyes light up when they make breakthroughs in their practice.
Kristin's approach: Meeting people exactly where they are and offering manageable challenges, not punishment. "Pick your spice level" is one of her go-to phrases—bringing enthusiasm, curiosity, flexibility, and a healthy sense of humor to every class.
Deanna Van Skiver
Comprehensively-Trained Pilates & Barre Instructor
Deanna transplanted to the Eastern Shore of Maryland from the midwest in 1999, and knew she had arrived at her true home. She never considered herself an athletic person and always had a sporadic, frustrating relationship with exercise—until she wandered into a Group Exercise class that changed everything.
The instructor guidance, the music, and the energy of working in a group with a common cause shifted her entire perception of exercise and of her own capability. After years of attending classes as a member and building confidence she never thought possible, Deanna became a certified fitness instructor in 2017 so she could help others experience that same transformation.
What Deanna loves most: Helping people who never considered themselves "athletic" discover their own strength, grace, and capability—because she's been exactly where they are.
Deanna's approach: Creating uniquely joyful movement through classes that focus on grace and stability. She helps members improve their strength, posture, balance, and confidence in an atmosphere that celebrates progress over perfection.
Gina Schwickrath
Yoga Instructor (RYT500), Mat Pilates Instructor
Gina has a passion for creating supportive spaces for students of all levels. With a focus on hatha, vinyasa, and restorative styles, Gina creates inclusive and grounding classes that meet students exactly where they are. Whether you're stepping onto the mat for the first time or deepening an existing practice, Gina guides with presence, compassion, and authenticity.
What Gina loves most: Watching students discover their own body's wisdom and learn to trust its signals.
Gina's approach: Grounding, inclusive instruction that honors where you are while gently inviting you toward where you want to be.
Karen Knauss
Yoga Instructor (RYT 200++), Comprehensively-Trained Pilates Instructor, Physical Therapy Assistant, Certified Ashaya Yoga Instructor, Radiant Child Yoga Teacher
Karen blends her physical therapy background with alignment-based yoga instruction, creating a uniquely supportive experience for bodies that need expert attention. Trained at Willow Street Yoga Center and continuing studies in children's yoga through Radiant Child, Karen is also a Pilates mat and equipment teacher, certified stand-up paddle board instructor, and certified Yoga of 12-Step Recovery (Y12SR) leader.
What Karen loves most: Helping students discover that gentle, precise movement can be more transformative than intensity ever was.
Karen's approach: Expert guidance with a warm heart—meeting you exactly where you are and helping you build strength that lasts.
Christina Bowman
Yoga Instructor (RYT-200), Psychiatrist
Christina has been practicing yoga for nearly 20 years and completed her 200-hour training at Red Lila School of Yoga in Baltimore. As a psychiatrist in private practice with 8 years of experience, she brings a unique understanding of the intersection of mental and physical wellbeing. Christina grew up in Easton and returned in 2021, bringing with her a deep appreciation for how yoga creates strength and grounding through life's many seasons.
What Christina loves most: Sharing how yoga can be both physically strengthening and emotionally centering—especially for busy minds that rarely get permission to rest.
Christina's approach: Creating welcoming, inclusive spaces where all skill levels feel seen and supported.
Caitlyn Poole
