Philippe’s class Saturdays @ 10:00-11:45 Intermediate Ashtanga Yoga
About Philippe
I grew up in Europe and came to California in 1998. I have girl-boy twins born in 2002 and run a web development company in Palo Alto. I began practicing yoga in 1995 by chance – I was invited to a workshop in Oxford, England, taught by John Scott. So the first yoga class I took was a full Ashtanga Yoga Vinyasa primary series (pdf link), and it was one of the hardest things I had ever done. But I felt so good afterwards that I was hooked.
I slowly built up a daily yoga practice, starting with 10 minutes of Sun Salutes. Every year this practice seems to get a little longer. But the more time I spend on yoga the more I get out of it.
I started teaching at YiY soon after it opened in 1999 after meeting Joseph at Yoga Source in Palo Alto. We were practicing together and he told me he was opening a yoga studio and asked me if I wanted to teach. This was a great opportunity and it’s been wonderful.
A few years later with Anne Finstad we established YiY’s Mysore program, which is still thriving today and is a big part of my life, for the practice, the community and let’s not forget the delicious homemade chai!
Philosophy
“Practice and all is coming.” Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
I believe yoga is a path to a better life – a well traveled path on which we have the help of thousands of years of accumulated experimentation. As such it works very well.
In my class I attempt to include many aspects of this path, such as the 8 limbs of yoga (ashtanga yoga). For example we do pranayama (breath control) and meditation. This is different from the usual focus on asana (posture); I think this multi-limbed approach is more effective.
Favorite Posture
That has to be padmasana, the seated lotus posture. This is when I feel most grounded. It did take many years to feel comfortable in padmasana for long periods of time.