Portrait of a yogi: Flora Brajot, Ashtanga teacher

I met Flora Brajot over a year ago at Yoga Searcher where she was a teacher. Her dancer's look, her smile and her joy of life touched me right away .

Ashtanga teacher (authorized Level 2 by the KPJAYI of Mysore-INDIA), diligent Yogini, in love with India, globetrotter at heart, Flora Brajot Flora followed the aspirations of her heart by teaching Ashtanga around the world (India, Thailand, via New York and Istanbul) and continued, throughout her travels, to train with Ashtanga masters (Maty Ezraty, Chuck Miller, Mark Darby, Louise Ellis, Rolf Naujokat, Brian Cooper…), as well as in Iyengar, in Rishikesh with Usha Devi.

Flora is a teacher as we like them. She is concerned with promoting and perpetuating the teaching of Ashtanga according to tradition and attaches particular importance to postural alignment. She encourages her students to be more present, conscious and humble in their practice and to cultivate this attitude on a daily basis and in their relationships with others.

I grant you that I have a certain cult following for her, being myself a humble student and practitioner of Ashtanga. And like many of her students, I follow her whenever she organizes a Yoga retreat; the next one being on December 8th at Tigre Yoga.

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 come to take care of yourself?

I have always taken more or less care of myself, through my family, my education: a certain hygiene of life (food, physical activities and well-being) but this was regulated, affirmed and refined with the entry of yoga into my life.

There is a logic that comes to you quite naturally: by practicing yoga and meditation and applying their fundamental principles, the body and mind purify themselves, soothe themselves, and tend organically and obviously towards a healthy lifestyle, respect for oneself, others and one's environment.

What practice for your well-being?

Yoga and Meditation

Swimming and forest walks

What is the ritual of your practice?

I practice Ashtanga 6 days/week, in the morning, very early

And Meditation: 30 minutes in the morning, 1 hour in the evening

Then, Pranayama: 1 or 2 times a week, and on moon days

What do you get out of it?

Vitality, strength, lightness, stability and serenity

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

My Manduka ProLite mat. On the go and abroad: my Manduka eKO SuperLite travel mat.

And if I'm in a hot country: a skidless Yogitoes from Manduka

One block, one strap.

What is your favorite object/accessory ?

A small notebook

What would be your advice as a teacher for Tayrona Yoginis?

To impose a certain discipline, rigor and regularity in one's practice, but to do it in full awareness, with sincerity, thirst for learning, humor, self-respect, kindness and humility. And finally, to be patient, open and ready to receive...

“Practice, and everything is coming.” Pattabhi Jois

Where/how do you practice?

When you teach, 3/4 of the time you practice alone.

For me, it's often in the morning, at dawn, before giving my lessons if it's not a Mysore class at 7am.

At home (bedroom or living room) or in the classroom, before or after my classes, when space is available.

When traveling: anywhere I can be alone and quiet in a room, with enough space for my mat

At the Pattabhi Jois Institute in Mysore, India. 3 months, at least once a year.

In guided courses: sporadically or during hand-picked workshops and with teachers I have been following for a long time

What is your mantra/ favourite phrase?

“I still have everything to learn and discover”

 

&

" In the end

These things matter most:

How well did you love?

How fully did you live?

How deeply did you let go?”
― Gautama Buddha