Yoga in Paris

I’m a lackadaisical yogini. I probably took my first yoga class ten years ago and have been dabbling in it since, but never too seriously. I loved it but preferred my workouts more hardcore: Radu, bootcamp, boxing…

But now that I’m older (ahem), I’m just not that interested in punishing my body so much and since my various accidents (surfing, motorcycle), I’ve been nursing a neck injury and really can’t take the rough stuff as much. So, back to yoga.

New York, of course, is filled with every type of yoga anyone could ever want or dream of. Paris, on the other hand, seems to have embraced it a little more slowly.

I took a couple yoga classes at L’Usine, but found the teacher to be more interested in showing off how strong and flexible she was than actually helping out her stiffer and less-fit students. Granted, it’s a gym so you can’t expect the whole mind-body connection thing to happen there, but you also can’t expect newbie French yogis to do flying crow the first time they come to class!

I did a little online research, though, and recently found two yoga studios which were very nice in their own ways.

The first is the Centre de Yoga du Marais. It has the advantage of being right near my hood and the teacher is also American, a New Yorker, in fact! I arrived for class in a small, cozy studio with two other students and Michelle, the instructor, was very welcoming. Especially when she turned to me and asked, “So when’s your baby due?” Yep, I’d stumbled into a prenatal yoga class—the class schedule hadn’t yet been updated online. But I stayed and the class was plenty challenging and the vibe was intimate and friendly. Michelle also sold me a yoga mat that she’d brought back from the States (of course) and promised me it’d be the last yoga mat I’d ever need. She’s right, the mat is awesome.

I then went to Rasa on the Left Bank, right by Notre Dame. This place is like a Zen retreat: white, peaceful and minimal with a large studio that has a huge skylight. It’s honestly a beautiful place. The first class I tried there was in the Anusara style which isn’t necessarily my favorite. But the teacher was intense (yet patient) and I wound up feeling amazing at the end of class. I decided to try another class, this time a Vinyasa class, with an incredible teacher called Mika. He’s one of those very generous and shimmery yogis that make you feel good just being around them. (Oh, and for non-French speakers, it seems like all the teachers are bilingual.)

So Rasa is where I’m laying my mat down, for the next month, anyway. There’s also an Ashtanga yoga place I want to try near Bastille, but for now, I’m a perfectly content yogini.

P.S. One thing I’ve noticed is that here in Paris, the majority of teachers seem to be male (at Rasa, anyway), which is such a change from NYC, where 85% of my yoga teachers were women. Just something I noticed…

ADDRESSES:

Centre de Yoga du Marais
72 rue du Vertbois
Paris 75003
Tel +33 01.42.74.24.92

Rasa
21 rue Saint Jacques
Paris 75005
Tel +33 01.43.54.14.59