Portrait of a yogi: Roland Granottier, yoga teacher and anti-stress coach

I met Roland Granottier during a yoga retreat. He was at a crossroads in his life and his desire was to become an entrepreneur. A dream that he put into music around his passion for yoga. Roland is someone you can count on and who listens to others. And he combined these two great qualities with yoga. He trained to become a "coach" and yoga teacher. Today, he supports companies with his company " Inspire&co " in stress management, professional projects and team cohesion. He makes performance rhyme with balance.

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?

Passionate about sport since my childhood, I have always been attentive to my body: health, diet, energy, balance...

Yoga came at a time in my life when I was under a lot of professional stress. This stress was exhausting me: it was devouring my physical and mental resources. And sport was no longer able to bring me the well-being and balance I needed.

My ^first yoga class was a real revelation: a lot of things happened in my body and mind, perspectives opened up and the course of my life changed. In 1h30 of yoga!!! I entered as a senior executive on the verge of exhaustion, I came out a future yoga teacher! Magical, right?

What practice for your well-being?

On the yoga side: "well-being" rhymes with balance and diversity. I like to put a lot of variety in my personal practice and in my teaching. I try to include in each moment of yoga (whether it is 10 minutes or 2 hours) the largest "color palette".

My special “well-being” posture? Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (the half-bridge). Radical effect on my brain and my stomach!

But my well-being also comes from my diet, the mountains, sport, meditation, my family and my friends.

What is the ritual of your practice?

"I get up every morning at 5:30 to meditate and practice for 1 hour." That's what I would have liked to tell you to fit in with the Epinal image of the perfect yogini! ;-)

But in reality, my yoga practice has to coexist with my life as a father and entrepreneur.

I actually practice very intuitively: I try to listen to my body and give it the postures it needs at the moment.

I don't have very specific schedules either, although I really enjoy practicing around 9 a.m. in the morning and at the end of the day.

What do you get out of it?

From my personal practice: a feeling of appeasement, of returning to the essential, of self-respect.

But the richest and strongest part of yoga is to offer it and share it with others. Giving a class is therefore for me the most extraordinary part of yoga: seeing the faces of the students at the end of Savasana, their looks, their expressions, it is truly magical.

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

My mat of course: a Manduka eKO Lite mat made from natural rubber .

My smartphone and its Deezer app for practicing with music.

My bottle of water and a bag of almonds.

A relaxation book and a yoga book (at the moment, I'm rereading "In the Forests of Siberia" by S. Tesson and the Bhagavad Gita).

What is your favorite object/accessory?

My Moleskine notebook where I write down my thoughts, sequences and lessons.

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

Be curious!

Yoga has a thousand facets: don't lock yourself into a practice or a dogma... experiment, change, share! Yoga is life!

And listen to your body and your desires!

Where/how do you practice?

I am a nomadic yogi! I practice at home, in my office, on my terrace, on a pontoon by the lake or at the foot of a climbing route!

I practice very often before my classes at Satiam Academy or in companies. It is my moment of calm and concentration.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

This is a quote from Gandhi (a great lover of the Bhagavad Gita, by the way). It pushes me to action every day.