French Yoga Community

Happy parents of 2 boys (7 and 10 years old) Amaury and Isabelle are lovers of the great outdoors, yogis and hummingbirds, painters, poets and great athletes. Moving towards positive parenting, zero waste, voluntary simplicity and veganism. In a word, supporters of more love!

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?

Isabelle: We discovered yoga when our eldest son was sick and hospitalized. Yoga then became essential to our lives: a therapy, a philosophy of life and of course, also a set of movements that keep us fit!

Amaury: I started yoga a few years ago and then I stopped. Except that at 39, I had sciatica which really affected my mobility and also my summer vacations. I told myself "you're only halfway through your life, if you want the second half to go well, take care of your body".

What practice for your well-being?

Amaury : For my well-being, 15 minutes of yoga every morning of the week, when I get up.

Isabelle: I practice 30 minutes every morning of the week and between 45 minutes and an hour on Saturday and Sunday.

What is the ritual of your practice?

Amaury: I have 5 videos of 15 minutes, one per day. And every week I redo them.

Isabelle: At 5:20, I get up, walk through the sleeping house, finish everyone's lunch boxes while the wifi starts up. I roll out my mat, choose my online course and off we go!

What do you get out of it?

Amaury: A routine that meets the needs of my body. For example, on Fridays, I do a session dedicated to the neck and shoulders. After a week sitting in front of a computer, I really need it.

Isabelle: For me, yoga is much more than a sport, it is a philosophy of life. Yoga led me to veganism, positive parenting and non-violent communication, among others.

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

Amaury: My ecoyoga mat from Tayrona. ;-) in coral color

Isabelle: my purple ecoyaga rug , a piece of wood found in the Somme Bay which I use as a brick.

What is your favorite object/accessory?

Amaury: My Eco Yoga Coral mat . It's the one I see every morning when I wake up. It's the one that motivates me for my session. I chose one in a rather bright color to brighten up my start to the day.

Isabelle: My EcoYoga Lavender mat ! I really like the feel of the jute under my hands. I find its grip and size perfect.

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

Amaury: Adopting a 1/4 hour ritual per day is doable. And the well-being in your body is worth this small investment in time. Afterwards, if possible, do a long session on the weekend.

Isabelle: Yoga is a life story. Nothing is impossible.

Where/how do you practice?

Amaury: At home, when I wake up, in the living room, watching a video on my cell phone.

My wife does the same but we don't follow the same videos. When we're traveling, I like to take a few classes at a local yoga studio.

Isabelle: Same! But what I prefer is when we are traveling and we create sessions for each other based on our favorite sequences.

As soon as the temperatures are mild, I like to practice in the garden even at night. I hear the hedgehogs busy, the birds chirping and the trees rustling.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

Amaury: A healthy mind resides in a healthy body.

Isabelle: Be the change you want to see in this world

To follow Isabelle on social networks

blog:https://lathelize.blogspot.fr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lathelize/

Let me introduce you to Maija Airas-Ceri, who was a wonderful encounter during the development of my site. With an engineering degree and an MBA in marketing, she left her native Finland in 1998 to settle in France in 2013. A great traveler, a regular yoga practitioner and with experience in the field of mobile telephony, she launched the concept Gotta Joga! A mobile application that allows you to practice yoga at home. Its goal: to democratize and facilitate access to yoga.

Tayronalife.com is very proud to be a partner and supplier of this great application. And I won't hide from you that I use it every day, in the morning, when I wake up happily and it brightens my day.

Maija created Gotta Joga with her friends Anu Visuri (yoga teacher in Munich, Germany), Claire Reynaud (developer, France) and Blandine Soulage Rocca (yoga teacher and photographer in Lyon, France). Gotta Joga is a Hatha yoga app. It allows you to strengthen and refocus, both mentally and physically. Gotta Joga offers yoga lovers a unique experience inspired by the Scandinavian state of mind. Gotta Joga classes adapt to the rhythm of the day: basic postures in the morning, more dynamic during the day and specifically focused on relaxation in the evening.

Gotta Joga is available for iPhone and iPad: www.gottajoga.com

The app can be downloaded for free and contains 7 yoga sessions and 4 postures to try. Access to all sessions and postures is via a subscription (1 month, 6 months and 1 year). Gotta Joga is available in 4 languages: French, German, English and Finnish.

So I naturally asked him a few questions about his personal yoga practice.

How did you get into taking care of yourself?

I had my children at 36 and 38. I did fitness and group aerobics classes to stay in shape. With the children and working full time, I needed something different, with a fitness side and an anti-stress side. Thanks to Anu Visuri who started giving yoga classes to a group of Finnish women in our mother tongue, I finally tried yoga, simple and effective, without the Indian "religious" side that didn't interest me. After a while I also added running, to have my half hour of peace outside (and an aerobic exercise).

What practice for your well-being?

I started with Anu Visuri , still in Germany, with the hatha yoga style (sivananda, then anusara), the one we offer in Gotta Joga today.

In Lyon, I love the girls from OYoga Studio : Vanessa De Haas (the yoga teacher from our Gotta Joga Prenatal app), and Julia Barnes, with their Anglo-Saxon vinyasa yoga classes, and the male instructors Stéphane and Max with their ashtanga-inspired vinyasa. I also recommend the Onlyoga studio in Lyon, which specializes in Iyengar, which is great for finding your alignment.

What is the ritual of your practice?

During the week, as soon as the family has left the house, and before I start work, I roll out my yoga mat on the floor and do a yoga session, between 20 minutes and an hour. Often I do Gotta Joga sessions: "Self-Confidence" or "Flexibility and Strength". I combine this with the 5-20 minute meditations by Sally Kempton or Rod Stryker (and soon Gotta Joga with meditation and pranayama classes). On the weekends, I do some running. In the winter, we spend every weekend in the mountains, where I do a stretching yoga, "Runners' Morning", after the ski day.

What do you get out of it?

It helps me warm up in the morning, open my chest, find my posture and center myself before sitting down at my computer. In the evening it allows me to relax and stretch before going to bed.

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

I travel with my Manduka Superlite Travel Mat, which I use everywhere (tayronalife)! It's lightweight, foldable, and easy to use on top of another mat.

I use the Soothing Roll-on with Pure lavender essential oil which I put on at night to sleep well or before my savasana for relaxation!

I also have a Manduka blanket made of recycled wool (tayronalife), two wooden yoga blocks from Gotta Joga and a Tayrona strap. A mat, 2 blocks and a strap are the essentials to be able to practice anywhere.

I love having my Manduka round bolster with me, I take it when I travel by car!

Finally I have a yoga outfit from Lululemon. I wash it carefully so that it lasts a long time. Sometimes when I travel I practice in pajamas ;-).

What is your favorite object/accessory?

My Ouraring connected ring that measures my activity, my heart rate, my temperature and every morning gives me an analysis of my sleep. I pay attention to sleeping well because it gives me energy, a good mood and a clear head for my day.

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

Yoga brings something different to each of us. Listen to your inner intention. Why do you want to practice yoga?

Everything you do starts with an intention. This intention keeps you motivated and passionate about your practice. Then, by keeping a beginner's mindset, even with an intermediate or advanced level, you will have the opportunity to learn more about yourself, and grow as a conscious human being.

To practice in good conditions, you will first need comfortable clothing and a yoga mat that does not slip.

At home, you can develop a practice with a support like Gotta Joga. It is still better to go from time to time to practice with a real teacher who can correct your posture and with whom you can exchange.

Where/how do you practice?

I practice at home in a quiet and closed space. In the mountains, in hotels, in the garden, in nature, on a ski slope… With my Gotta Joga app. When I come back to Lyon I always go to O Yoga Studio.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

And that's what you're looking for

(Don't Lie Down Under Fire), by Tuntematon Sotilas (Väinö Linna, a Finnish writer)

What this means to me is that you always have to keep moving and learning without being afraid.

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.

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