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Featured Teacher: Franck
A man of many interests, Frank still reserves ultimate passion and respect for yoga - which has taught him to appreciate the slightest things in life and given him a profound moment of clarity.
Where are you originally from?
I was born from a French father and an Italian mother, and grew up in the deep South of France, near an amazing city called Toulouse.
How long have you been teaching?
A year and a half now.
Who was your very first yoga teacher and what was he/she like?
There were three, actually: Carol, Denise and Meg, Ishta yoga instructors at 'Be Yoga Japan' in Tokyo.
They are incredibly generous and fun individuals, but also committed and demanding teachers. Their genuine passion for yoga and dedication to each one of their students helped establish my crazy love for yoga.
How long have you been practising?
I have had a physical practice for 4 years - that's for this lifetime. A great teacher I took some classes with in Bali a few years ago told me that my energetic connection to some asanas suggested that I had been practising in a previous life. I thought this is a rocking idea!
Originally, what attracted you to yoga?
The fact that it was so hard. Also, the fact that it quickly became (and remains) so rewarding.
What motivates you to practise today?
The fact that it is still so hard. To be serious, practising has become such an intrinsic part of my life that I feel incomplete if I spend a day without stepping onto my mat or meditating for a while. I just love how deep yoga has made its way inside me.
Yoga has taught me to love life so very much, that everything in life is now a motivation to practise over and over again each day - the rising sun on an early morning, waking up with the love of my life in my arms, a crazy beautiful flower blossoming on the side of the street, a plate of risotto alla milanese…
How would you describe your personal practice?
Flowy, flowy, flowy and lots of fun.
Before you became a yoga teacher, what did you do?
I was a risk manager in the financial services industry. But I was smiling already
What do you love about teaching?
The energy! Many things amaze me about teaching: the Prana in me that gets unlocked when I teach, how much the students give back through their hard work and playfulness, and the transformation I witness in each student (and me) class after class.
What do you find challenging about teaching?
Making the experience worthwhile for each individual who spared time to come to my class and rightfully deserves a personal benefit from my instruction.
Describe your ideal class (as a teacher).
A class led by the unique energy that the students and I create on that day - a class where the energy is perfectly aligned among everyone in the room, a sequence that flows spontaneously from that energy, and a moment when everyone is going through some serious fun and transformation.
I love it most when things grow organically.
Describe a class that you would find challenging or difficult (as a teacher).
Teaching a class full of people from my life: family, old friends, past lovers, yoga teachers... It would probably go just fine, but there would be so many emotions, feelings, memories and intentions mixed within that it would be VERY intense, and thus VERY challenging.
But you know what, that would be fun!
What teacher has had the biggest impact on your practice?
Shiva Rea. She put words and movements on what was flowing within.
What is your most embarrassing moment in the studio (as a teacher or student)?
Gee, knowing how clumsy and forgetful I am, there were many. The most embarrassing one did not happen at Pure, but back in Tokyo when I realised (too late) that I had packed a pair of (tight) boxer shorts instead of my yoga shorts in my bag and had to practise in the most uncomfortable (and flashy) outfit ever.
Where is the strangest place you've practised yoga?
In a toilet cubicle at my former workplace - Uttanasa is an exquisite release for stressed-out employees of the financial services industry (just mind the toilet bowl in the back of your head when coming back up).
Aside from yoga, what other hobbies or interests do you have?
My better half, my two stupid dogs, people in general, arts, music, acting, nature…
Describe your most profound yoga experience.
One day after an Ishta practice, a unique moment of epiphany. As we were meditating at the end of the class, everything suddenly made sense. What I needed to do, what I needed to get out of, the decisions I had to make, and the necessity to change my life completely. Never have I felt such confidence in the world, such connection with the universe and such eagerness for tomorrow.
If you weren't a yoga teacher, what would you be?
Celebrating life in some other way…
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