My journey
I was born and raised in the beautiful Bugey region of France. Ever since I can remember, I have been in love with the powerful resonance of words and their magical ability to open doors into the unknown and make everything possible. This was accompanied with a passionate desire to explore the world. Strange passions for a shy little French girl! I followed my dream and studied foreign languages at the Catholic University of Lyon, as well as in England and Germany. After writing my final thesis on the poet Rupert Brooke in King's College in Cambridge, I returned to Germany to work in a French corporate bank. I met my life traveling buddy, my husband John, in Frankfurt. We traveled the world with our three children before settling down in Virginia in 1998.
My skills
I am a multilingual translator and have used my skills throughout my travels to volunteer with refugees, teach and tutor all school ages, work as a foreign languages teacher, a Virginia Court interpreter and a freelance translator.
When I discovered yoga in 2006, I found the universal language that would help me on my mission: to empower others to find the magic within them and share it with the world. My trainings include Yoga Fit, the Swami Satchidananda Integral 200-hour training, and Rolf Gates' 500-hour Advanced Vinyasa training.
I have learned Vipassana meditation at our local Theraveda Buddhist temple of Wat Pasantidhamma in Carrolton, Virginia.
I am an ERYT-500, YACEP Yoga teacher. I have taught over 5,000 hours of yoga and I am constantly sharpening my skills with trainings and independent studies.
Truth of Yoga
I am passionate about the Truth of Yoga and have developed those 3 Core beliefs:
- Yoga is much more than a physical exercise, it is a practice of wholeness. In my classes, you will be guided into awareness and transformation of all the parts of your being.
- We don't just practice yoga on the mat, we take it into our lives. It is very important to me to teach my students practical skills that they can USE in their everyday lives
- ANYONE can do Yoga. I am very passionate about making yoga available to everyone and designed my Chair Yoga classes for that purpose.
All my classes reflect and integrate those 3 core beliefs: they are inspirational and provide a safe caring environment, as well as a mindful rejuvenating practice interwoven with yogic principles that empower my students to live the lives they are meant to live.
Teaching
I teach yoga classes and workshops in my community in Virginia, as well as during my travels.
I am a founding faculty member of Zenya Yoga Academy, where I have been training hundreds of teachers since 2011.
My specialties are Vinyasa, Yin and Chair Yoga. I also specialize in Yoga Fundamentals, Yoga Nidra, Chakras philosophy, Methodology of Yoga, Class Sequencing, Mindfulness and Meditation, Lifestyle and Ethical principles of Yoga and Buddhism and how to incorporate them into our lives.
Writing
Yoga has reconnected me with my love of the written word. I have written all my life and have lots of unfinished manuscripts languishing in boxes. But joining my two passions has led me to finish my first book: Yoga with a French Twist; a Journey through the Chakras, weaving stories from my life in France with the wisdom and lessons of the chakras. I am publishing it by the end of 2018.
I am also working on a book of Yoga Poems, a book of weekly Yoga Themes, which will be useful for yoga teachers and, in a distant future, a fantasy novel on the chakras and a novel based in France.
The Yin of Life
I am still traveling the world with a Yin state of mind. I also enjoy running, hiking, reading, talking and learning about spirituality, spending time with good friends and my family, watching British shows, sitting in my meditation garden listening to the sounds of nature. I also deeply believe in Spiritual Activism, taking care of our environment, protecting animals and fighting for justice for our children and those who don't have a voice. Follow your heart!
I am modeling my life to the rhythm of Rumi's quote:
Allow the beauty of what you love to become what you do."