ABOUT THE NEW SHALA
Hi, I am Eloisa, the founder of The New Shala.
The New Shala is a project that came to life without much planning.
Building it was a spontaneous process, it grew organically and in small steps.
OUR STORY:
The spring of 2018 I came to Maastricht to teach the Ashtanga Mysore program at a local yoga school. I fell in love with the city and its people.
The Ashtanga community started growing and we became a steady group of practitioners.
In May 2021 the studio had to close their doors due to the economic effects of the pandemic in 2020.
Motivated by the wonderful crew of ashtangis, I decided to go solo… and so The New Shala was born.
OUR NAME:
Three weeks after receiving the news that the studio was closing, we were already practicing in a new place. We called it "The New Shala", because well, that is what it was – the new shala. That is how it stayed until today.
Shala in Sanskrit means “home” and it is used among yogis to refer to the room where they practice yoga.
This name came about just like The New Shala itself, organically and from the community of practitioners. Also, the word “New” symbolises how everything is constantly changing and renewing.
OUR LOGO:
Ganesha, the god with elephant head, is the God of beginnings. Ganesha is the archetype people invoke when they embark on a new endeavor since he is the remover of obstacles and the God of success.
I was always drawn to this image, because I like the symbology of this avatar, and I love elephants.
Coming from Venezuela, a country where dictatorship took the possibility of building a safe life for its people, new beginnings have been part of my life ever since I had to leave my country 10 years ago.
The idea that there is an energy that protects those beginnings gives me trust to keep renewing myself and helping those I work with doing the same.
Another thing that that makes this logo so special is that it was created by my very dear and talented friend Andres Eloy Rivera.
OUR PHILOSOPHY:
The New Shala is a small business in a world dominated by the big industry where everything runs so fast that the beauty of simplicity goes unnoticed.
Practicing ashtanga and studying the philosophy of yoga made me notice that beauty through reconnecting with myself, the natural cycles of my body, my mind and the world around me.
That is what I offer at The New Shala. A space to slow down and reconnect so you can feel healthy, invigorated and comfortable in your own skin.