21 Rue Saint-Jacques

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I have always been very picky with yoga studios. In order for me to be encouraged to go class, the place has to be cozy, light, and comfortable. I have recently discovered a yoga place in Saint-Michel through the Internet. Surprisingly, I have had no complaints at all since the first time I went. It is located on Rue Saint-Jacques near Notre Dame. I take the metro for 20 minutes, and I am at the Saint-Michel station where a statue of Archangel Michael welcomes me out of the underground tunnels. I have to walk through what is probably one of the most touristy streets in Paris where you find all the tourist French bistros and the gift shops. While I run to yoga class with my mat and see the crowded streets across the river from Notre Dame, a feeling of happiness overwhelms me. I feel the luckiest person in the world to be able to live here and see the beauty of Paris while walking to yoga.

            At 21 Rue Saint-Jacques I open a large wooden door and walk into a small internal garden with trees that are in their first stages of blooming. At the end of the courtyard, there is the studio with large glass windows that let in the atmosphere from the courtyard. On the left, there is a shoe rack with shoes of all colors and sizes. All along the east wall there are books, mats, and all kinds of yoga equipment to sell. On the west wall there is a sofa and a table with books about paradisiacal yoga retreats and a water carafe with two glasses next to it. Still on the west part of the room, there is the front desk where you can find all of the brochures for yoga workshops and classes. 

            The salon then opens a door at the wall in the back to the yoga room where all classes are held. It is a spacious room that can hold up to about 30-50 people in a class. It is equipped with mats, cushions (small and large), eye pillows, wood blocks, blankets, and yoga belts. It has a high glass roof with a small window that can be open in case of overheating, which is generally the case during class. At the front of the room is a small altar with a statue of Tara, and to the left of it, a stereo. There is always incense, candles, and some essential oils for the teachers to use at their convenience.

            There is a small corridor that opens on the west wall of the salon that leads into the changing rooms. From the corridor you can also access a small kitchen, two bathrooms, a massage room, a shower room, the man’s changing room, and the women’s changing room with a few lockers available.

            Overall, it is a cozy, comfortable, clean place that encourages me to wake up before going to school on Tuesday and Thursday to go to a two-hour yoga class. That is not to say that I sometimes hesitate before going but at the end, I end up feeling full on energy after a yoga session.