Last year my team at work gave me a nice yogic birthday present: a voucher for Lola & Fred – now Lola Studio, free to use for classes or related apparel. 9 months later, I decided to finally redeem it, of course for yoga classes 😉

It was not my first time in the shop / yoga studio. My first visit was sponsored by Hallo Yoga Buch #2, but I still considered myself a “first-timer” and went for the trial pass of 3 classes for 70 CHF – pretty fair pricing, right?

Looking at the timetable, I couldn’t help but feel drawn to the Free Spirit Flow class led by Raffaela, a class described as dynamic, mindful, powerful, therapeutic. Can’t wish for much more! And now I have to say: it delivered on the promises. Let me tell you more…

For those who don’t know the location, you’re in for a treat. Lola Studio is a shop located in the Europaallee shopping mall, which sells yoga attire and accessories, and turns into a yoga studio about 2 times a day (at lunchtime and in the evening). The transformation is the part I really love, and that I experienced live on my first visit last year: the floating clothes racks are automatically pulled up, liberating the space for yoga mats (you can see the result in the pics below, it looks pretty cool).

As for the class, it was just as described: started with mindful, seated side stretches, before upgrading to plank and then lunge level for powerful, dynamic poses. We skipped classic sun salutations and balance poses to leave room for intense, lengthening movements centered on the lizard and the pidgeon poses.

It struck me that one of the words most commonly used by Raffaela throughout the class was “energy”: we were encouraged to feel it flow, to push it away in all directions, to channel it. That really emphasized the mindfulness of our practice and helped me experience each movement through a new lens.

As an added advantage, the mindful practice was very good to focus my attention in the room, and block out the background noises – I have to say, one can tell that we’re in the middle of a shopping area, and not a secluded yoga studio, but that’s ok…
Yoga is done on your mat, not in the shop or the studio 😉

I’m glad I went for the trial pass at Lola Studio and am looking forward to experiencing and reviewing my next sessions. Watch this space and in the meantime, feel free to go for the Free Spirit Flow, your body and spirit will thank you! ♥