Why Årra?

There are many reasons why Årra called out to me, but I’ll start with the most obvious: the word aura. Defined as “a quality or feeling that seems to surround or come from a person, or place”. The meaning of this word resonates with me as yoga is more than just a physical and mental practice, it is a way of being, an attitude towards life. I currently live in Denmark and wanted to have a link to the country where Årra was created, hence the use of a Danish letter. The Danish å is pronounced [o] meaning that “aura” and “Årra” are pronounced the same way.

I first came up with the name by thinking of my parent’s dog, Orla, but there are a couple of other “easter eggs” associated to this word. Firstly, I come from a small countryside village in France, in the department of the Corrèze. The two R’s in Corrèze are mirrored in the department’s logo, which is why I chose to mirror them in Årra’s logo. Being a huge lover of order and cleanliness, I also adore the symmetry that this creates. Finally, the shape of the “R” vaguely resembles a human body, and all of the beautiful shapes we can create in yoga. The shape of the “A” reminds me of mountains, a place of great meaning to me as I have spent a lot of time in the Alps and Rockies.

The logo is an abstraction of the Danish letter å, made to look like a person sitting in a cross-legged position.

Lastly, I would like to thank my partner Jake, who is the creative mind behind Årra. He is a talented artist and 3D animator, and has helped me tremendously with the design aspects of Årra.