Along a road lined with trees and homes in Lyme, a simple red sign stating yoga in block letters welcomes visitors.

Through a red gate, down a gravel road and past a garden with vegetables and sunflowers, a red barn stands on the 15-acre property, open for yoga classes throughout the week.

Joan Fisler, the owner of Red Barn Yoga at 52 Blood St., said the setting evokes a sense of peacefulness, as if one is moving away from rushing and towards slowing down.

“I feel a real sense of community as people come here,” said Fisler in an interview on a sunny September day at the barn. “There’s an openness and a calmness here, and as we welcome people in, we see how they start to take their own breath and relax some into a place where it’s not so much about ‘what do I have to do,’ but more about living in the present moment.”

Fisler opened up the yoga studio Aug. 1, after renovating the barn to serve as a space for yoga practices.

The 25-by-35 foot studio is adorned with lanterns on its pine walls and light bulbs that hang from the ceiling. Large windows look out onto a scene of grassy fields, a stone wall and her home.

The property, owned by herself and her husband, includes their home that dates back to the 18th century. She said the building reportedly housed Revolutionary soldiers and was the home of the late town historian Hiram Maxim.

Last winter, Fisler and her husband began renovating the barn, likely a 50 or-60 year-old structure which she believes was previously rebuilt after being knocked down during a hurricane.

The project entailed installing windows, laying the wooden floor and painting the barn’s walls, among other tasks.

A close friend who is a contractor helped walk them through the process, and about 25 friends and family members pitched in to make the barn ready for yoga classes.

“It was really a very communal project,” said Fisler.

Fisler, a financial advisor, said she opened the yoga barn after envisioning several years ago a farm that offered yoga classes and served as “a place where people could come and feel peace and reconnect to the earth.”

She said she had been drawn to the outdoors and gardening for most of her life. She had always found the idea of owning a small farm appealing, but often listened to naysayers.

But as she began teaching yoga and started a meditation practice, her vision grew. She said she began focusing more and more on her authentic self and finding her place in the world.

The pieces came together to open the studio when she was contacted by one of her yoga teachers who told her that the studio where she had been teaching was about to close. The instructor said she and two other teachers were looking for a place to teach yoga.

The studio offers classes, including Vinyasa, Yoga for Every “Body,” and Peaceful Practice. Grace Osara Erhart, Kate Novack, and Emrys Tetu also teach at Red Barn Yoga, according to its website.

Fisler said all the classes focus on expanding and honoring oneself and encouraging participants to nurture the connection of mind, body and spirit. This connection is one of the foundational principles of yoga, which means unity.

“What distinguishes [the yoga class], whether I’m teaching it or any of the other three teachers are teaching, is really honoring every student who comes here and nurturing their own expression of each pose and also themselves,” she said.

Fisler, who teaches a partner yoga class once a week, said she enjoys seeing people’s reactions to practicing yoga in the barn and the laughter and interaction during class.

In addition to many neighbors, who are among the participants, she has also had other visitors. One evening during a yoga class, Fisler saw a mother deer and her fawn that were standing outside the barn and appeared to be watching the class.

“Teaching here is just blissful,” she said.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich