Paris Studio Spotlight: Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche
Even after all these years, Rasa is still one of the prettiest places to practice in all of Paris
Happy 2024! With a new year comes a fresh impetus. We’ve streamlined our name (Do Yoga in Paris, formerly known as Yogateau,) we’ve revamped our logo (see above) and we’re fine-tuning the publishing schedule for both paid and free subscribers. We are grateful for your continuing support and welcome your feedback (Comments are open to all levels of subscribers today!) Do Yoga in Paris/Yogateau wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for you, so thank you.
You know that feeling you get when you enter a room and you suddenly feel serene? That’s what happens when you walk into Rasa Yoga Rive Gauche. The charming courtyard, airy space, neutral tones and warm materials, the muffled sounds from classes… All of these elements contribute to putting you at ease.
Established in 2005 by Daniela Schmid, Rasa is one of Paris’ original multi-style yoga studios. That may not sound earth-shattering today but in the early aughts, Parisian studios were single-lineage like 100% Ashtanga, or 100% Iyengar, or All Sivananda All Day Long (on The Chaise Longue). Rasa’s longevity and success are no small feat given the many challenges facing yoga studios: rising rents, energy costs, insurance, salaries, scheduling… all have an impact on business in normal times, never mind before and after a global pandemic. That a yoga studio could make it through that gantlet, seemingly without a scratch, and continue to (1) be open seven days a week, (2) offer a full schedule of classes with (3) a long-standing staff is impressive.
TLDR: Rasa means essence, flavor or nectar and it’s a Sanskrit term used to describe the human sensory experience. There are eight or nine Rasas—some scholars claim Shanta aka Peace is its own Rasa, others claim Shanta contains the other eight—and they range from comic to gruesome to compassionate, with every nuance in between. A yoga studio named Rasa conveys an openness to offering different flavors for different tastes.
Rasa’s special sauce:
Its teachers, many of whom have been with Rasa since the beginning. When your staff doesn’t change every five minutes, your students can grow step-by-step and with a sense of trust.
Student loyalty (see above)
Design, materials, light, and a clever division of public, practice and private spaces. Daniela is an architect and it shows in the way rooms flow, both in feeling and in usage. The only pinch-point is in the hall between the bathrooms and changing rooms, but it’s easily negotiated. Yogis are nothing if not flexible 😊
Little touches that make all the difference:
Lots of cubbies for shoes
For monthly pass holders, a place to stow your mat
Separate changing rooms for men and women, each one outfitted with hangers and lockers for storing your things (bring your own lock)
Two WCs (doesn’t sound like much but when nature calls, you don’t want to spend a lot of time standing around…)
Plenty of blocks, straps, blankets and bolsters in the practice rooms
Sofa and stools for chilling before/after class
Glasses and pitchers of ginger- or mint-scented water in the reception area
A light hand in the merch area (many of the books written by Rasa’s teachers or visiting ones)
A second, smaller practice room equipped with an Iyengar rope wall
Charles Eames famously said “The details are not the details. They make the design.” At Rasa, the details are precisely the reason the space feels soothing on a cellular level; even before you’ve unfurled your mat under the atrium, your nervous system is calm, your breathing smoother, your shoulders relaxed. The space is pleasing to all the senses, the mind and the body.
Yes please! As soon as I can sort out a long stay in Paris... :)
Lovely!