Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in France, in the city of Nancy close to the German border. I grew up in Versailles, France, and then moved to Nice, France close to Italy.
How long have you been practicing Bikram Yoga and what prompted you to take your first Bikram Yoga class?
I started Bikram yoga in 2001 at Bikram Yoga Dallas when I was here in Dallas for one year on an expat assignment (the Richardson studio was not yet open). I just fell in love with it and went every day. I was looking for a Barre On the Floor class, as that was what I was practicing in France with my teacher Lyse Gladieux. But there was none … only in New-York. And someone told me Go try Bikram, you will see it is a similar type of workout – and that is true.
What do you like to do when you are not in the yoga room?
Be with my family, garden, meditate and read yoga books.
What is your favorite pose in the Bikram series and why?
Tree. Vriksasana. Because of the significance of the pose on the energy level.
What advice would you give to any new student?
Two things: One – work on your physical alignments (knee aligned on top of the ankle, arms in straight line, feet position etc) Two – as Joseph Encinia rightly put it “Don’t be self conscious, be self aware”. Meaning don’t think about how you look, what the teacher will think of you, how you compare to other yogi in the room. Go through your own personal checklist instead (for instance: Breathe, weight location in the feet, knee caps lifted, shoulders down, palms together, lengthen, fixed gaze etc … and start again)
