Portrait of Katia Papet; a yogini passionate about ecology

I met Katia Papet at the Val D'Isère Yoga Festival, we had taken the same classes. Technical sales assistant for a company that markets a mobile e-health application, she now chairs the Yoga Club of Bourg Saint Maurice . She has been practicing yoga for 4 years. It is not by chance that she came to this practice but a real choice that corresponded to a period in her life. A mountaineer, practicing mountaineering, Katia is passionate about the environment and internal ecology. She sums up this passion through an Indian proverb: "do good to your body so that your soul wants to stay there" or the symbiosis of the body and mind in order to be in harmony with your environment and your surroundings.

She is also the lucky winner of the competition organized by Maeva Morin and Tayrona which allowed her to acquire a beautiful Superlite Manduka travel mat .

It was only natural that I asked him a few personal questions about his yoga practice, which I am sharing with you today.

How did you get into taking care of yourself?

As I am very contracted by nature and this exhausted me, 4 years ago I turned to yoga, which I had been thinking about for a long time, although I had some preconceptions.

Because it was the right time and because I had decided it, you don't arrive at your first yoga class by chance...

What practice for your well-being?

Coming home literally and figuratively:

The hygge attitude of the Scandinavians and which lends itself perfectly to life in the mountains: reading, tea, chocolate, coloring, making my jewelry and above all… finding my lover again.

And conversely, I also need to escape: going out to the mountains, swimming, going on trips, experiencing fleeting moments in beautiful places (museums, spas, weekends mixing sport and culture) to capture the present moment.

Finally, a therapeutic shiatsu session per month allows me to maintain balance.

What is the ritual of your practice?

Kapha I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning and so I started a series of stretches and Cat&Cow while I'm still under the covers hoping to one day become a real yogini who gets up before the sun!!!

What do you get out of it?

Keeping my calm in many circumstances, greater self-confidence and above all “being confident” in life in general, greater concentration (in the mountains in particular) and wonderful encounters because yoga transforms and we “give off more positivity”.

And above all the ego calms down, I gradually free myself from the false image that I have of myself and which was the cause of suffering, I accept!

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

A blanket for relaxation that also serves as a cushion when folded, a brick, tissues, lip balm, finger socks because it's definitely too cold in winter, a synergy of relaxing essential oils and...my Manduka Superlite yoga mat.

What is your favorite object/accessory?

I have loads of them but I could mention my traditional Tarentaise earrings (the famous "Savoyard" earrings of the gypsies that you also find in Saintes Marie de la Mer) which have a little ethnic touch and which are part of me, even if I don't wear them all the time.

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

I am happy to have encountered Hatha Yoga before entering the “Vinyasa Flow” because I learned the stable foundations and above all how not to injure myself.

Take the time to discover that yoga is not just postures but a whole way of life that brings well-being even if we cannot apply everything to the letter.

Where/how do you practice?

Twice a week with two different teachers, Charlotte for Vinyasa and Sylvie for Hatha, I can't imagine one without the other!

In rooms that are far from being suitable for practice but I relish the chance to have access to quality lessons in the isolation of a small mountain town.

Summer on a SUP: Shavasana with fingers and toes in the cool water is a delight.

At home without any particular ritual thanks to online courses.

At the office to breathe and stretch, to revitalize myself during the day.

At the top of the mountains and in the heart of the great outdoors.

Yoga accompanies me everywhere.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

“Take only what you need and be on your way”

Chorus of This Green And Pleasant Land by Pendragon