Meet Valentine, #YUJgirl

When and how did this passion for yoga come to you? I took my first yoga class at 17, at the start of my law studies, because I was the stiffest in my dance class, a discipline that I had practiced intensely since I was 4 years old. My goal was to relax. Even though I wondered what I was doing there throughout the session, declaiming "OM" and lying down on the ground without moving a toe while it was scratching me all over, on leaving I had already understood that the yoga would bring me much more than physical flexibility.

Since that first class in 1996, 20 years ago, there has not been a day in my life without yoga.

Over the years, throughout my studies of Letters, I have experienced several types of yoga during countless workshops, retreats and trainings. Transmitting seemed obvious to me. In 2006, I created the Namaste Yoga studio in Dunkirk, where I still teach "Deva Yoga", the Yoga of Light. Today Namaste Yoga followed me to Leucate, which offers me an idyllic setting to diversify Yoga (Paddle Yoga, Acro, Aero, Rando Yoga, …).

Since 2011, to meet the growing demand of my yogis students who wanted to practice at home in addition to the studio, I created myyogaenligne.com . I offer yoga sessions that I guide, to watch in streaming or to download.

Currently I am finishing my training in Yogatherapy with Doctor Coudron and rediscovering again and again the Magic of Yoga applied to health in a clearly affirmed therapeutic perspective.

What does this represent in your daily life? Daily yoga for me is an Art of Living, a Philosophy of Life. It's everywhere, at every micro-moment of the day: in the car, on my bike, while waiting for my lover, while peeling carrots, to fall asleep at night, when I'm under stress, when I am afraid, when I am happy and full of gratitude, during my discussions with my children, my friends...

I'm very sporty and into everything, so it's also on my kitesurf, paddle or surf board, on skis or on my snowboard, or even during walks with my children, on a skateboard, scooter or mountain bike. .

A friend of mine once said of me, “Valentine? She eats yoga, she sleeps yoga, she works yoga, she laughs yoga, in short, she lives yoga”. That's really how I feel: my life has been in Yoga for 20 years! And that is great!

To really tell you everything, in my life I found myself locked up for 15 years in an extremely painful personal situation, manipulated and under psychological influence. Yoga literally saved my life. I am also in the process of writing a book on this subject, in order to show that one can climb the slope, get out of any negative situation, and that Yoga is a precious and invaluable means for this. For me, Yoga truly represents the most beautiful of daily Treasures, and that is why I want to share it with as many people as possible on my site.

Do you find time to practice during your travels? Yes, yes, and again yes! Again and again, any rock welcomes a warrior, any tree a posture on the hands and any beach a well deserved savasana :-) My last yoga session took place at 2300 meters above sea level, last week, on a summit of the Pyrenees, with my children and ski boots on my feet :-) I love it.

What is your favorite YUJ product? The carpet, of course! I like him ! It is soft, pleasant, comfortable, reassuring, beautiful, joyful, and light! A constant comfort. My children also remind me: “Mom, haven't you forgotten your carpet in the colors of Life? ". CQFD

What is your favorite country so far? The one I'm going to visit alone, my bag on my back, sneakers on my feet, and my yoga mat hooked to my backpack, of course! It's one of my projects. This is also why I started a series of reports, “Yoga Etc. », which deals with all the places where I set foot, through a focus on Yoga.

Good addresses to share? In Leucate, I like to have a hot chocolate at Guigui, at Surfood, eat a melted camembert ending with a homemade caramel at Le Buzz, and dance barefoot under the stars during open-air concerts by Wesh and Caro. , at Wesh Center Crew. In Dunkirk, I make a detour to O Carré for a little haircut with Frantz.

For you, is “the place to be”? In my Heart! Especially when it is open, in infinite Faith and Gratitude. It's the foot and I'm crying. It's systematic.

In the cinema, which actors/directors make you dream? Many films directed by Claude Lelouch make me vibrate and reason very strongly in me. For me, these are very spiritual films and there are real yogic values ​​in them. I have also been lately, like many women I think, very seduced by Jean Dujardin in "1+1". The fact that the story takes place in India was not for nothing!

A quote that defines you? Many ! I am so eclectic! If I have to choose one, it's this one, which comes to us from Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor whose wisdom I greatly admire, and who has nothing to envy to the Buddhists. It is within that the Source of Good is, and it can spring up ceaselessly if you are always digging”.

What does a day in the life of Valentine look like? Ideally, a lemon juice in lukewarm water, a practice on the beach in front of the sea of ​​oil and the rising sun, accompanied by an Ayurvedic herbal tea. Morning of work to manage the administration, the newsletter, organize the next courses/internships or shoot/edit videos. Lunch break at the oyster farmers with my lover, at the edge of the pond. In the afternoon, back to work and writing articles, for my blog or for other publications or personal writing on my book projects. If the weather and conditions allow it, a short surf/kitesurf/sup/mountain bike session with friends and children, ending with a hot chocolate (the famous one!) In the evening, head to the studio for my yoga or meditation classes . Happiness, always. Exchanges. Positive energy. Return 10 p.m. A little bit of reading with Eckhart Tollé, Frédérique Lenoir or Neale Donald Walsh, a few lines of personal writing, and sleep!