My first summer in Paris, I was awed and flabbergasted with the number of restaurants, bakeries, butchers, cheese shops and liquor shops closed the entire month of August.  I even wrote a blog post about it back when I was blogging about food and traveling and back when my wrist was still broken and I couldn't do yoga.  I've since realized that in addition to having to walk a few extra blocks for a good baguette, you really have to search for yoga classes in the summertime in Paris.  If you eventually find a class, you might show up to find it has been cancelled last minute.  It has happened to me, in July!  Since many of my friends are out of town during vacation time, I often find myself idle, and need of some human interaction and what better way to get that than a great yoga class.  Unfortunately, I often find myself S.O.L. (look it up) because like everyone else in Paris, my favorite teachers are also on vacation or having retreats in some sunny beautiful lush local.  I have the option to teach myself a yoga class, but many of you aren't quite familiar enough to do so for yourselves, and I often get requests around this time from students for online classes they can take.  Usually, it's to get them through a week or two, so I've compiled a couple of recommended links for all you Paris yogis who will be around in dire need of yoga this summer, or just anytime you're looking to do some yoga at home.  If you have a favorite online home for yoga classes, free or not, let me know.  I'll check it out and perhaps add it to the list!  

Updated:  I had a couple of websites for free yoga, but they are no longer useable.  

Subscription services (monthly) that are low cost compared to Paris yoga classes and have free trial periods (as of last check):

http://www.yogaglo.com
Has an almost overwhelming selection of well curated well filmed classes in all genres and styles.  I've taken classes with a few of these teachers in real life, and they're quite good.  Jason Crandell is one of my favorites.

 http://www.yogavibes.com
Also has a good selection of well filmed classes.  I've taken many a classes with Pete Guinosso in San Francisco in real life, and he has a few here that are very good.  I also saw a press release that they were now offering prenatal/postnatal classes too.  And it looks like Yoga Journal has snatched them up recently.  They do have a few very short free classes (5 minutes).  

https://movementformodernlife.com
I've never taken a full class with Aiofe, but she's a fantastic spark of a woman, and a kick ass yogi.  And I recognize quite a few of the names of the teachers, so let me know if you enjoy it.

https://yogainternational.com/​
This website is pretty geeky, but they have a good selection of all different kinds of yoga for all different kinds of people.  

I do quite a bit of research looking for studios, teachers, and classes to try in Paris.  I follow Parisians' yoga blogs, have a google Alert, and chat with my classmates and fellow teachers all in an effort to find the best yoga for you, my dear readers!

There are many little and -little known- yoga studios in Paris, but for a reason that I can't recall, I decided to try Casa Yoga before the other smaller ones.  

I was welcomed by a lovely woman who knew my name upon arrival, asked me if I had any injuries (I didn't get a -formerly broken arm lecture!), and requested that I fill out their form.  You have to sign up for a trial class 'cours d'essai, so I guess I was the odd man out, the only one she didn't recognize, or maybe just the only one taking a trial course that night.  Actually, you have to sign up for any class you decide to take as it seems that walk-ins aren't encouraged.  They have an interesting system for class payment and scheduling.  You buy credits and use them depending on the length of the class.  The cours d'essai was only 15€, but it was also only an hour, and it felt like the shortest yoga class I had ever taken.  The minimum 'credit' you can purchase is 10hrs of classes for 160€.  When you think about it in 1hr classes, at 16€ a class, it's not so bad, but most studios offer classes of 1.5 hours, and when you add that up, it makes for a 24€ class, and that's a hefty price tag.    

It turns out, she had good reason to be kind because she was teaching the class that night, and you always want return students.  She welcomed us all kindly, shut the door, and started teaching a nice paced Vinyasa flow.  It was a level 2 class, so there were even some arm balances!  But just when I started to get a little sweaty, the cool down began.  One hour was too short!

The entrance is warm and peaceful, and there is free decaf tea (tisane) waiting for the students in a lovely sitting area.  The dressing room is a large curtained off area, and it's nicely lit and furnished, but there is only one, so prepare to share.  And the actual studio is one really long room where the teacher does her thing from the middle of a line of yogi's.  Not the best setup (in my opinion), but it's doable.  If you live in the hood, have the money, and want that neighborhood feel (reception was nice, but not necessarily the fellow students) it's a really peaceful studio to practice in.  I'm not sure if it was the surroundings, or the teacher, but I had one of the deepest savasanas (corpse pose - final resting pose) I've had in a while there, and that is (almost) priceless.   



Casa Yoga Paris 
4 rue de Paradis 
 75010 Paris 
06 17 81 64 91 
Metro:  Gare de l'Est (Lignes 4,5,7), Poissonniere (Ligne 7), Chateau d'Eau (Ligne 4) 

Price:  15€ for a cours d'essai (trial course) 16€ per hour with a minimum purchase of 10 hours
Yoga Styles:  Vinyasa, Restorative, Prenatal
Languages:  French
Changing Rooms:  yes co-ed
Secure Lockers:  no
Mats:  included
Toilets:  1
Showers:  nope
Water:  Free herbal tea (tisane).

SUMMARY:
Pros - Really nice warm relaxing comfortable lovely smelling neighborhood-y studio with good flowy classes. 
Cons - Expensive or short classes, no walk-ins -so no spontaneity, just a few teachers teach all the classes at the studio.  

The day after I arrived in France, I decided to skip a movie with friends, and take a juicy yoga class.  Who needs to see a movie in your native tongue after being immersed in 10 different languages in 6 months.  I just wanted to lay down my mat on a clean floor and breathe.  I found a studio in central Paris that was English friendly, and I was on my way!  It happened to be in July, the 15th, so I looked up the schedule online, chose a class and showed up, only to be told that that class was cancelled, there was no replacement teacher, and there was certainly no apology.  It was the summer time.  And though it took me another year to fully comprehend, I now get it (I think).  It was vacation time, and during vacation time, Paris is a wasteland, schedules are reduced, restaurants are closed, flower shops are shuttered possibly all of July and probably all of August.  It's a phenomenon, and I know your French isn't great, but call anyway, just to make sure.  Just say "parlez-vous anglais" they speak English.


Months and months later, after a broken arm, many too many surgeries, and lots of pain, I finally took my first yoga class at Rasa.  It was great, the teacher was kind and understanding, and spoke perfect English and French.  The studio is in a beautiful space, and according to reviews, one of the best in the world.  It's hidden behind a huge old French wooden door that opens to a secluded courtyard.  Tranquility is part of the experience.  But it's also 'one of the best yoga studios in the world' and it knows it.  Once you get buzzed in and make your way to the studio, you're greeted by a serenely decorated space, with antique-y hindu deity statues, a rattan floor, a tastefully integrated yoga gear shop, a no shoe policy (didn't you know) and a Parisian at the front desk.  The 2 yoga rooms are nicely sized, (one being larger than the other) clean, have lovely wooden floors, and lots of natural light.  There are proper bathrooms, large changing rooms with lockers and keys, and even a couple of massage rooms for your after yoga 'detente'.  It is not 'populaire' by any means, and I might expect to see a celebrity one day, if I didn't know they took private classes.  But I'm certainly not complaining that I'm not next to 'that' guy/gal who forgot his/her deodorant (bath) today (this week).  

Rasa Yoga (rive gauche)
21 rue Saint Jacques
Paris 75005
+33 (0)1 43 54 14 59
Metro: St Michel (Ligne 4) or Cluny La Sorbonne (Ligne 10)

Price:  22€ a class (reduced 10 and 20 class passes available)
Yoga Styles:  Hatha, Mysore, Ashtanga, Yin, Vinyasa, Iyengar, Alignment (formerly Anusara), Mommy and Me
Languages:  English and French (check schedule for availability)
Changing Rooms:  2 (not separated by sex)
Secure Lockers:  included in class fee
Mats:  included in class fee
Toilets:  yes
Showers: yes (towels for hire or bring your own)
Water: (bottled, room temp) - $$
Massages available


SUMMARY:
Pros - Two practice rooms, clean, bright, amply sized changing rooms, showers.
Cons - A little musty after a sweaty class, changing rooms not separated by sex, website has teacher first name only with no bio's or links.  

I've been doing a lot of yoga at home lately.  It's hot out there, the studios usually don't have air conditioning  ( and I'm not that into Bikram -hot- Yoga), and, oh, right, it's the summertime so lots of studios have reduced hours and substitute teachers. Plus, I can wear a wifebeater and boxer shorts and no one in my house cares. But I had heard great things about a particular teacher in Paris, so I decided to check out one of her classes, and low and behold, she was still teaching, at Yoga Village (in July).  The studio is in the central and chic Madeleine / Opera area, and it is a beauty.  Wood floors, white walls, an entire window facing lovely trees, super clean, sparsely but tastefully decorated.  Seriously top notch.  

It's hidden behind the entrance to an apparent shopping area and is on one of the larger boulevards in Paris.  I passed it up the first time, as the photo above is the only signage at ground level and the numbering on the street is a bit wacky.  Once I found the right stairs (B) and made it up to the first floor, the guy at the front desk was so smiley and kind and helpful and not at all Parisian that I had already blissfully forgotten that feeling of not belonging that comes with having to be buzzed in (or remembering the door code).  The studio is well set up, with immediately recognizable seating to remove and store shoes, and clean bright dressing rooms separated by sex.  I took a beginner Vinyasa class, and I felt right at home.  Despite the heat, it was pleasant in the classroom with the windows open and a few fans going.  The only complaint I have is that the room is not well made for sound absorption.  Though it looks as if they purposefully built a dropped ceiling, being on a larger boulevard with the fans and a bit of background music, I still found it hard to understand from time to time.  -Disclaimer, it was in French.-  I'll try another class, maybe a more advanced one and let you know if my impressions change, but for now I can certainly say, if you can stomach the 23€ (30USD) individual class price (first 'intro' class is 10€) and have good hearing, it's a really lovely place to practice.  

Yoga Village
39 Boulevard des Capucines
75002 Paris
escalier B, 1 er étage
code 7205
T. +33 (0)1 72 34 58 47

Metro: Madeleine (Ligne 8, 12, 14) or Opera (Ligne 3, 7, 8)

Price:  23€ a class (reduced 5 and 10 class passes available with time restraints)
Yoga Styles:  Hatha, Ashtanga, Yin, Vinyasa, Iyengar, Prana Flow, Jivamukti
Languages:  English and French (check schedule for availability)
Changing Rooms:  2 (separated by sex)
Secure Lockers:  included in class fee, locks available at the front desk or bring your own
Mats:  included in class fee
Toilets:  yes
Water: nope

SUMMARY:
Pros - Bright beautiful everything, central location, teacher bio's on website, excellent reception and welcome.  
Cons - Background noise makes it hard to hear, 23€ a single class (wow!).

Living in San Francisco, I had a wealth of options when looking for yoga classes.  Not just in teacher choice, but in time slots too.  I was super spoiled by my favorites, Pete Guinosso, Darcy Lyon (horrible website, great teacher), Jody Hahn and the woman who had me fall in love with yoga, Kate Schox, not one of the 'bigger names' in the yoga world in SF, and one of the reasons I loved her teaching.  In fact, I'm not even sure she's still teaching.  Yoga was just something you did in San Francisco, it wasn't for the elite and I preferred the teachers I frequented not because they had the best sequences, or were the strongest ones, but because I felt like I belonged, no matter how strong my arms were, or how flexible my legs were.  There was no ego, and that's how I liked it.  

After we moved to Paris, I was in search of yoga classes and the closest thing I found to a summary was from David Lebovitz, it was short and vague and originally written in 2006.  He has updated it this year (2013), and done quite a lovely comprehensive job of it.  


Paris, unlike San Francisco, doesn't have a yoga studio on every (other) corner, single classes start at a whopping 20€(around 26 USD), and could range from traditional Hatha (SF speak for 'Restorative') to a Vinyasa.  Note, though, that I have tried a 'power yoga' class in Paris and it wasn't as tough as I remember a vigorous Vinyasa being back in SF.  And, this being Paris, there are very few studios which have multiple rooms and/or locations to choose from.  Now that my French is a little better, I've started to uncover the world of Yoga in Paris, so, stay tuned, while I demystify Paris yoga with reviews of the studios, the teachers, and up to date events here in the city of lights.