Rasa Yoga - Exhale and Oeuvre la Coeur En Paris - I was in Paris for no good reason...running, lifting weights, practicing yoga, etc after a conference. I went back to Rasa Yoga (was there is 2009) for two Ashtonga classes. The place is beautiful; it is in a beautiful little courtyard on a tourist street near Notre Dame; the inside is a French version of Exhale of UES NYC sans the showers and nice changing rooms; actually, Rasa's main studio actually has better lighting than Exhale. The classes very closely follow the 1st series which I expected for the Ashtonga 1-2 class, but I was surprised the Ashtonga 2 class had no inversions (shoulder stand does not count) and no challenging arm balances (bakasana does not count) especially since the class was quite fit. The ashtonga 2 class did have some students who did great jump backs and jump throughs which were fun to watch. The advantage of the classes following the 1st series is you certainly don't need to know any French to feel comfortable in the class. The instructor for Ashtonga 1 was a very intriguing French girl with a beautiful voice and nice arm muscles who keeps telling you in an authoritative voice "Oeuvre la Coeur" while giving adjustments...very interesting. The instructor for Ashtonga 2 knew his stuff but was not as cute (sorry but in Paris everything should be beautiful); however, his students were quite good which makes yoga more fun. The classes are great but not much of a workout so I recommend running along the Seine, down bvld Entermans, around the Boi du Boulonge, and out to La Defense...a great tour of Paris. After yoga, if you are a frugal vegetarian, I recommend going to La Vie en Fruits for some froyo and salad, but if you are a carnivore on a generous budget (not that there is anything wrong with that) I recommend going to Entrecote for all you can eat steak in pepper sauce with frites. read more