Be Your Own Way
Be Yourself, everyone else is already taken
I never really looked for discipline, it just happened, and when it did, I seized the opportunity to PRACTICE.
I stopped talking about practising to LIVE the Practice and see what it could do to my physical body, my energy and my life as a whole.
I'm a disciplined player, a joyful warrior, a reckless princess, a persevering curious person and a patient pleasure-seeker. Day after day, I take the time I need to practise, so that my body, heart and spirit can come into harmony.
There's no secret to it: consistency pays off. A seed doesn't become a fruit overnight. It grows with the trials it goes through, and that's what makes it so unique, so rich, so beautiful...
Before trying to understand something intellectually or questioning a practice, I ask myself the question ‘Am I learning regularly?
The meditation adventure began in 2009 during a Vipassana retreat, 10 days of silence in complete immersion with oneself and with the instruction not to interact with others.
It was an experience that made me aware of the infinite potential of our mind and how far I was from knowing it. This discovery fuelled extreme curiosity and a growing enthusiasm to answer the question: ‘Who am I?
I found myself in India experimenting with several techniques for exploring our different spaces of consciousness. At the same time, I began practising Sarbacana, which, by deepening my knowledge of the breath, enabled me to find a quieter, more immobile place for my body and mind. Welcoming and accepting the world as it is. Getting to know myself better to be better in the world.
I've discovered spaces of presence where body and mind are aligned, where everything is in its right place, where the actions to be taken in life come naturally. I understand that everything is already there, and that it's up to me to bring breathing spaces into my life.
I don't have to want to be anything more or anything other than what I am, I simply have to dive deeper into myself and listen to what is right and good at the moment in my journey.
The practice of meditation allows you to :
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to return consciously to this space of the present, which is the only space where I can Live fully (and where I have always been). The past is gone and the future does not exist,
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become aware that breathing is our best companion on the road, an essential support for our development, and so find a balance to harmonise body and mind,
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make concrete, true observations about the person I am at this moment, and stop deluding myself,
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to observe my mind in order to understand it and bring it to produce actions in line with my deepest aspirations.
The more sincere, authentic and benevolent the practice, the more I feel aligned and at peace with my life force.
On that day Marshall Rosenberg (founder of Nonviolent Communication) died, 7 February 2015, in a touching synchronicity, I gave my first public workshop on what I had understood about this practice. Newbie but enthusiastic, fresh and motivated, I shared in a pragmatic way how NVC had given me real tools for communication and conflict resolution, particularly in my relationship as a couple (where relations were strained) and with my family (where I found it hard to express myself authentically), and how the fluidity of my relationships had spread to every situation in my daily life.
Since then, I've never stopped sharing this tool, and I found it powerful to add meditation practice to it. And so Open Up Communication was born.
It's a form of communication that starts from the centre, where I settle into spaces of silence, as well as into spaces where the spoken words are brought into alignment and authenticity, restoring freedom and responsibility.
It's said that you teach what you need most. It hasn't always been easy for me to express myself in a vulnerable way, but it's becoming more and more fluid, and I'm continuing to make progress.
I hope that this tool, or dare I say it, this path to living in authentic, deep and peaceful relationships will :
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give you greater clarity about who you are and what you really want in your relationships with others, and of course with yourself,
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give you a better understanding of what is essential for you, and how to express it in a way that gives you the best chance of entering into a genuine dialogue with the other person,
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give you the keys to deepening your understanding, reminding you that you are the only master of your life,
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allow you to get in touch with that space of silence within yourself where the answers come naturally,
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to (re-)give you confidence that it is possible to communicate with greater joy and lightness.
I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Pascale Molho, who has accompanied me on my NVC journey with generosity, openness and patience.
TOut DOux is an entrepreneurship program that came to life between my brother Bruno and me. As we passionately shared our respective activities, we naturally began to co-create from the richness of our complementarities. As its name suggests, TOut DOux is a program that allows you to move forward and evolve, while listening to your heart and your rhythm. It aims to reconcile DOING and BEING to launch or transform your business with a structured methodology and support. It is designed for all entrepreneurs (people who invent their own tailor-made business) who want to offer the world their uniqueness, their gifts and their skills, and turn them into a viable, sustainable and energetically regenerating business they are passionate about. This entrepreneurial adventure is all about raising awareness of ourselves, of others and of nature, so that we can take action that is aligned, responsible and practical.
This programme aims to :
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support entrepreneurs in their creative process by combining being with doing,
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propose a virtuous alternative method for entrepreneurial innovation,
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propose a method that brings meaning and generates both individual and collective impact at the heart of the entrepreneurial project,
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transforming innovation into a tool for awareness and positive change for the living world,
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to create a community of conscious entrepreneurs: with their feet firmly on the ground and their heads in the stars.
Be Your Own Way
The breath is there, everywhere... in every practice
Different gateways, a common breath
The breath of life...
In the heart of Shanghai, an unavoidable meeting or rendez vous of souls with KeWen (director of the Chinese Culture Centre Les Temps du Corps in Paris) and Marceau Chesnault (teacher, dancer and anthropologist) plunges me into an art of breath in movement, enveloped in vibrant music. Qi Dance or Breath Dance is the experience of a blended encounter between Asian body wisdom (Qigong, Taiji, Meditation and Martial Arts) and sacred, traditional and contemporary dance.
These teachings led me to develop my artistic side through the subtle body in resonance with the music of life.
On a daily basis, I listen to what my body needs, receptive, vertical, embodied, present between heaven and earth. I nourish myself with the elements of nature, letting myself be transported, dancing well-alive.
I love to share and pass on this path where dancing in communion allows you to :
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meet your body in tranquillity and joy,
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contact and let the breath of life flow gently into the physical body,
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realign body and mind in a light, powerful way,
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become aware of your own vitality and power when the vertical axis of your body is activated,
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to feel the body gradually regenerate as awareness of the physical and energetic body is stimulated.
In sincere and profound gratitude for the evolutionary teachings with KeWen and Marceau Chesnault.
In exaltation of these workshops in co-creation with my soul friends, musicians playing the right notes at the heart of our being. Thank you Laurent Abécassis, Guy Pigeroulet and Renaud Gay.
T A I J I
I never thought I'd become so keen on Taiji with the Snake form, which I've been practising since I met master Chen Ming Liang in Shanghai in 2015.
This form is now an integral part of my life. There isn't a single day when the practice doesn't intrude into my daily life to bring fluidity, power and ease. When I'm carrying a box, climbing stairs, taking the metro or simply walking.
My body becomes straighter and more upright, it becomes longer and more muscular, and the vitality is there.
The master's first disciple was my main teacher in Shanghai, Alice Tran, and I thank her for her generosity and patience. We still train together when she comes to France.
On a more regular basis, I also learn a lot from Jérôme Perrignon (aka Panda Master), my taiji brother. We meet up in a park in Paris or in the beautiful French countryside to practise outdoors.
A passionate and exciting teacher. There's never a dull moment when we're together! Jérôme is a veritable encyclopaedia of the history of Taiji, and of the different techniques and methods that exist, and I love watching my progress under his attentive and benevolent eye.
This practice enables to :
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coordinate and balance body movements (up-down; left-right; inside-out)
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gently strengthen the muscular body,
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create space and flexibility in between each joint,
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revitalise the body by allowing energy - Qi - to circulate in every part of the body,
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get in touch with the natural elements and be supported by the earth (anchoring) and the sky (creativity),
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and of course, to open your heart and expand your mind, to see further and beyond yourself.
QIGONG
A joyful and pragmatic encounter introduced me to this ancestral Chinese practice.
Unexpectedly, I started practising by organising Qigong workshops in Shanghai with KeWen and Marceau Chesnault. I took part myself, and found it so beneficial that I never stopped.
I got to know my physical and energetic body in an invigorating and gentle way. I touched areas of my body that I'd never imagined, and above all I felt the positive effects on my physical and mental health.
With each practice, I feel deeply nourished, a space-time inevitably opens up in contact with the elements of nature, and my body and mind are regenerated. This allows me to fully recharge my batteries, to regain alignment and vitality, and to look at life with an open mind full of possibilities!
Practising Qigong using simple, accessible and gentle movements helps to :
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fluidify the body, allowing energy to recirculate freely in every part of the body (organs, muscles, joints, etc.)
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relax the mind by connecting with the elements of nature, from the infinitely small to the infinitely large, and in this way take a step back from the events of life that can clutter the mind.
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become aware of the alignment of your body and mind, and from this accurate observation, bring about a transformation in your posture and state of mind.
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find your verticality (flexible uprightness) to live between the sky (creativity) and earth (being rooted in this world).
CONSCIOUSNESS
Disciplines of the BEing,
these pratices help us to become aware,
and get in touch with our deepest essence.
The ultimate goal is a conscious union of body and mind...
The breath of life can finally flow naturally and freely.
Re-learn how to fully BE in order to do and act with alignment & rightness.
DOing until your being reveals itself...