NATA : yoga, méditation et cuisine végétale

Breathe some vitality into NATA, a new center for yoga, meditation AND vegetarian cooking classes in Paris!

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13/10/2014

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€4.431

Out of €4.000

111 %

8 september 2014

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NATA : yoga, méditation et cuisine végétale

<img alt="Logo-1408381744" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113737/Logo-1408381744.jpg"> So, what is NATA? NATA is a new center that will open this fall in Paris. On the menu: yoga, meditation, and vegetarian cooking classes, but also films, lectures, discussion and reading groups, workshops... <img alt="Cours_de_yoga" src="https://kkbb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/project_image/image/112766/cours_de_yoga.jpg"> The NATA team practicing together. We start from the basic principle that it's possible to feel better--in your body and in your mind. (Whew, that's good news!) Putting your body in motion, improving your circulation and breathing, revitalizing your spirit: yoga invites us to discover new sensations and new possibilities. Practicing yoga will do for you what NO MEDICINE will ever be able to accomplish. <img alt="Kneeling_twist-1408378601" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113723/Kneeling_Twist-1408378601.jpg"> A restorative variation of supta matsyendrasana to soothe and strengthen the kidneys. <img alt="Paxton_spine-1408379810" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113729/Paxton_Spine-1408379810.jpg"> Anatomy and physiology help yogis understand classic postures better. You will find different styles of yoga at NATA (check out our website <a href="http://www.nataparis.com" target="_blank">www.nataparis.com</a> to learn more!), as well as workshops on the fundamentals of yoga: anatomy and alignment. We will also offer regular meditation classes to improve your concentration and to quiet those spinning voices in your head! <img alt="Brain_w_insula-1408379047" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113725/brain_w_insula-1408379047.jpg"> Meditation can help calm mental stress. <img alt="Heart_spot_opening-1408379666" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113728/Heart_Spot_Opening-1408379666.jpg"> A meditation retreat in 2013. Hatha, vinyasa, yoga for seniors, for children, pre- and post-natal yoga: all will have their slots on our schedule. Our team will help you choose the class that's right for your needs and body type. <img alt="Types_of_yoga-1408378888" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113724/Types_of_Yoga-1408378888.jpg"> <a href="http://www.finerminds.com/health-fitness/yoga-style/" target="_blank">Funny mandala showing paths through the various styles of yoga</a> NATA's promise: our classes will be affordable: only 10 euros/hour with a class card (16 euros/hour without a card at the regular rate), you can even try yoga and meditation in 30-minute classes for 5 euros. Our website (<a href="http://www.nataparis.com">www.nataparis.com</a>) will give you all the details! And the place of vegetarian cooking in all that? Once you've taken care of your body, it's time to think about what you put in it for fuel. We believe that a healthy, plant-based diet is good for everyone and will support your quest for sustainable health. <img alt="Veggies-1408380249" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113730/veggies-1408380249.jpg"> Our table during a photo shoot for our web site. Free from dogmatism, our chefs are excited to teach everyone - vegetarians, vegans, macrobiotics, raw foodies, ayurvedic, gluten-freebies (does that exist? oh well, we're inventing it!), lactose-freebies (while we're at it...), diabetics, flexitarians, even omnivores - to discover the pleasure of cooking, to express their creativity in the kitchen and to make beautiful and balanced plates that beg to be savored...and this without imposing a strict, hard-to-follow dietary regimen. Adieu to the old brown rice-brown lentils-seaweed plates of the hippies of yesterday... They've given way to a new style of energetic cooking, full of vitality, bright colors, organic and fresh ingredients. Our classes are an invitation to travel deeper into a plant-based culinary universe! <img alt="Plate_02-1408380423" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113731/plate_02-1408380423.jpg"> Let your creativity loose in a cooking class! You can choose from demonstration or participation workshops, 1-hour, 2-hour, 3-hour, 4-hour, or (why not, if you're excited to learn!) whole day workshops to fit your interests and schedule. There will be technique-based sessions and more thematic sessions, workshops focused on a single ingredient or those designed to develop an entire menu. Our chefs will take over the kitchen in rotation to share their secrets with you, without ever launching into things too complicated to reproduce at home. We can almost hear you drooling already...so don't forget the best moment of all: the tasting! You can even invite a friend to join you and share in your efforts to discover new and delicious dishes. <img alt="Plate" src="https://kkbb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/project_image/image/112767/plate.jpg"> A vegetal composition designed by Senêt. OK, sounds great. But who's behind all this? After following the renaissance of vegetable-based cooking in the US, we wanted to direct some that wind towards Paris, so... a big life change and we were off for our new adventure! <img alt="Senet_pamela" src="https://kkbb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/project_image/image/112771/Senet_Pamela.jpg"> Pamela and Senêt Weber, the founders of NATA. We met in a yoga class in Paris in 2001. Senêt is Swiss, a graphic designer by training and has worked as a painter for the past forty years. Pamela is American, has a Ph.D. in art history and taught for eight years as a university professor. We both practice yoga and healthy eating; in fact, if you put our lives together, we have over fifty years of experience in these areas! No surprise then that we got married in Paris in 2006... <img alt="Mariage-1408380647" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113732/Mariage-1408380647.jpg"> A surprise kiss for Senêt in city hall! After two yoga teacher trainings, some chef's training and eight years living in Providence, Rhode Island, we decided to chase our dream and move back to Paris to create NATA in 2013. We want to make NATA an integral part of the neighborhood where Senêt has lived for more than 25 years. With a welcoming reception area, places to rest and relax with some vintage touches in the decoration, NATA will be good for you and, we hope, participate in the renewal of the southern 20th arrondissement of Paris, between the Père Lachaise cemetery and the Place de la Nation. We're putting in place a caring and gifted team of certified yoga teachers and chefs who want to share their passion, their know-how, and their humor. Laughter is the best medicine, right? Got it! Where will it all take place? <img alt="Map_28_rue_planchat-1408559867" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/114151/map_28_rue_planchat-1408559867.jpg"> <a href="https://www.google.fr/maps/place/28+Rue+Planchat,+75020+Paris/@48.8521406,2.3962007,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x47e67277b7fce88b:0x86f6d58397b19b45?hl=en" target="_blank">Our location at 28, rue Planchat, 75020 Paris</a> After looking for a suitable space for over a year, and after eight LONG months of negociations (it is France, after all...), the city of Paris has finally assigned an amazing space to us. With 160 square meters surrounded by private gardens, NATA will be an oasis in the midst of a busy neighborhood. But the space needs some work in order to reveal all of its potential... and that's where you come in! <img alt="Espace_vide" src="https://kkbb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/project_image/image/112770/Espace_vide.jpg"> The studio space after the previous renters moved out. <img alt="Travaux" src="https://kkbb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/project_image/image/112812/Travaux.jpg"> We're so excited, we've already started demolitions! Now we're turning to you to give us a helping hand to complete the necessary renovations. With your support, we can make NATA into a true community center, where everyone can discover a new passion!

Allocation of funds

Everyone knows, making your dreams come true can take a big financial investment. Our budget has to cover the complete renovation of the studio space and our savings are stretched to the limit (and even a little bit beyond...) to pay for the security deposit, creating a web site, and bringing the space up to public safety codes. Your support will be vital and will help us make choices in line with our values. <img alt="Not_s_cu_plan_weber-1408380995" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113734/NOT_S_CU_PLAN_WEBER-1408380995.jpg"> Our architect and neighbor, <a href="http://www.barbierbarton.com" target="_blank">Philippe Barbier</a>, prepared this fire-safety plan to file with the city. We didn't think the idea of putting some of your money into the invisible aspects of the project (security deposit, incorporation fees, accounting bills, etc.) would get you very excited. That’s why we’re inviting you to give us a helping hand with the finishing touches that you’ll be able to see, touch, and use if you come pay us a visit! We have set our goal at 4000 euros, which includes: -1600 euros of wood flooring for the yoga studio and reception area; - 800 euros of Portugese "azulejos" style tile for the kitchen; - 500 euros for lockers in the changing room; - 600 euros for 30 eco-friendly yoga mats; - 500 euros for kitchen equipment (small appliances, pots & pans...). For the wood floor, we've chosen European oak in a solid wood veneer. It uses less wood than solid wood planks (let’s keep the environment in mind!), but still has good durability because of its 3mm-thick layer of natural wood (no vinyl photos of wood glued to particle board strips, thank you very much!). With a floating installation, we will avoid using toxic glues, and Senêt will save us some money by doing the installation himself, a nod to his former days on Lake Geneva building sailboats. <img alt="Sen_t_kisskiss-1407922583" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113123/Sen_t_kisskiss-1407922583.jpg"> Senêt on Lake Geneva in a moth he built, circa 1960. For the kitchen walls, we chose a traditional Portugese "azulejos" style ceramic tile. To be honest, we don't really see ourselves in a sleek "laboratory" filled with cold stainless steel. We've shared too many great moments in our friends' and families' kitchens, country kitchens where the true sense of "hearth" spreads the warmth of love and friendship. Have you ever been to a party where everyone hangs out in the kitchen, elbow to elbow, even if there's a big living room available? We want to create a kitchen like that, a veritable "living" room that nourishes its guests in all senses of the word! <img alt="Azulejos" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/112820/azulejos.jpg"> Examples of Portugese "azulejos" ceramic tiles. Cool! So what happens if you get more than the 4000 euros you're asking for? If, thanks to your generosity, we go beyond our goal, we will use the excess funds to hire a landscape designer to advise us on the layout of our two garden spaces. We're so lucky to have them in a big city like Paris, but they could use some improvement after thirty years of benign neglect! <img alt="Jardin" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/112825/jardin.jpg"> The north garden. Estimated garden re-design costs: - between 300-500 euros to work up new plans; - 500-800 euros for plants; - 1000-1200 euros for a deck and outdoor furniture. These needed investments will improve their appearance and offer you real contact with nature. We hope to plant a vegetable garden one day to supply fresh herbs and vegetables for our cooking classes! <img alt="Jardin_sud_02-1408560776" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/114153/jardin_sud_02-1408560776.jpg"> The south side gets more sunlight, so it will be perfect for our vegetable garden. **IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OUR NON-EUROPEAN FRIENDS!** Your donation by credit card to our crowd-funding campaign will be processed by the French web site KissKissBankBank. After you choose what amount in euros you would like to give, your credit card will be charged IN EUROS by their FRENCH BANK. This means that your credit card company will do the math to bill you in U.S. dollars, and they may charge an additional fee to process the foreign transaction. Check with your credit card company if you have any questions or to verify the amount of these charges. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!! <img alt="Buddhas_pruniers-1408473813" src="https://d3v4jsc54141g1.cloudfront.net/uploads/project_image/image/113890/Buddhas_Pruniers-1408473813.jpg"> Field of Buddhas at the Village des Pruniers in the Dordogne region of southwestern France.

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