A place to find tranquility within

In this day and age, being fit is no longer simply the concern of celebrities and stars. Everyone has a sport or two to keep healthy. Given such a state of things, a variety of options has become available to everyone, even those who are sport averse like me. What I particularly enjoy doing is yoga. While yoga first came to attention as part of the new wave movement, I think it is now as well accepted and well regarded as the more traditional sports. New wave or not, it is a great way of finding an inner balance, increasing body strength and flexibility. As with all other sports, you leave the class feeling fit and energized.
Having started my yoga practice in the Philippines, it was one of the first things I wanted to re-establish in Paris. Given the previous language barrier, the initial challenge was finding a studio that had classes in English. Happily I found it with Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche studio. Located at rue St. Jacques in the fifth arrondissement and literally a walk away from the Notre Dame, Rasa is a tranquil and beautiful place to start a yoga practice. Behind the first unprepossessing doors, the Rasa studio is a wonderfully sky lit place with white washed walls and polished wooden floors. It has a spacious welcome area where one can peruse various yoga books and mats as well as separate dressing rooms for men and women. The actual practice area is wide enough to accommodate a good number of people and I love the sky lights above that open up so that we always have light and fresh air. In addition to being a yoga studio, they offer spa service and massage therapy. Recently they were included by the Travel and Leisure magazine in their list of the 25 best yoga studios in the world.
What is great about Rasa (aside from all other considerations) is the great variety of yoga styles present. Vinyasa is the main practice taught but there are classes as well on Iyengar , Kundalini, Anusara, Mysore and even children’s yoga. And there are at least two levels taught for each type of yoga. The teachers are wonderfully knowledgeable and always willing to guide and answer questions. Despite the obvious high level of competency of each yoga teacher, there is never any feeling of pressure that one must do all the poses perfectly. In fact they take pains to show a variety of poses that responds to each individual’s capacity. There is always a feeling of encouragement in every practice and one feels the need to take a brave step further in the practice. Whether you are a beginner or a veteran Rasa is the place to find like minded souls in the practice of yoga.