Portrait of a yogi: Carine Castet - Traveler & blogger

 

Let me introduce you to Carine Castet, Yoga Teacher, Blogger, Traveler, Poet, Passionate,... Lover of life. Carine Castet has been teaching yoga in Toulouse since 2010. She studied yoga with great masters of the discipline in the United States, India, London, Paris... She shares her passion and love of yoga both in her teaching and pedagogy as well as in her blog Yogaventure . The yoga she teaches is full of delicacy. She teaches the precision of alignments and the poetry of movement.

I met Carine at the Yogi Nomad Festival in Biarritz.

It was only natural that I asked him a few personal questions about his yoga practice, which I am sharing with you today.

How did you get into taking care of yourself?

I had been thinking for years about taking care of myself... By leaving the United States, by changing direction to dedicate myself to the practice of YOGA, I had already made a huge step forward in terms of well-being, health... I went to the gym, I practiced yoga, I ate organic at home and as often as possible, I lived the life I had always wanted and very strangely it was my first year of medicine that was like a revelation, a big slap in the face on many levels.

I spent a year getting sick, building up fatigue that I couldn't shake, and my acne came back.

There, I told myself that no matter what positive things we can do for our health: eating, practicing, etc. The most important thing, the basis of health was to slow down, sleep, meditate, reduce all stress factors.

One day I got up and said stop, from now on I was going to regain my health, my happiness, my well-being.

7 years after my first YOGA training, 7 years after the first class I taught, it took me 7 years to understand that to take care of yourself you had to reduce... Really reduce.

What practice for your well-being?

Since this awareness every day, absolutely every day I devote 8 hours to my sleep . I have never slept 4-5 or 6 hours again… Sleep is the basis of our health, people are often surprised but no matter the number of hours of yoga practice or meditation or organic food ingested, if sleep does not regenerate our mind, our body, we die from the inside…

Also every month, absolutely every month, I make an appointment with Kim my masseuse, 1 hour of pure bliss, letting go... I just have an appointment with her on Friday, it's the appointment that never changes in my schedule!

Meditation which has become a big part of my practice now, I love to dedicate 40min to my practice in the morning or just after my lunch, I feel like it is total luxury. It is just amazing nowadays, the moment I sit down for my meditation I feel so so lucky… And yet it has nothing to do with luck, it is a decision that I made and that I implement with dedication.

What is the ritual of your practice?

As for my yoga practice, well when I'm at home, I start with a little tea ceremony. A wonderful teapot that I chose in my favorite shop in Toulouse, wait for the tea to infuse... The magic happens, I sit on the carpet in my living room in silence and when the tea is ready I pour myself a cup.

I start my playlist on Spotify and I start with some sun salutations. I continue with my current practice, often Yin and I savor my tea while taking time between postures. Feel the effect of one posture before moving on to the other. I practice the art of slowing down a lot. Often a breathing exercise like cardiac coherence breathing comes at the end of the class to prepare me for relaxation. I then settle into Savasana with the bolster under my knees and a blanket on me, I set the timer to 5 min, I turn off the light and the music…

What do you get out of it?

It's always a special moment where I feel so much gratitude, I often wonder how people who don't know yoga yet do it...

What do you carry in your yoga bag?

Always my thermos with a good infusion or coffee J

My notebook where I write down all my lessons

My travel mat

The book I am reading

Art of Attention Inspiration Cards

What is your favorite object/accessory?

My bag itself, the one that Renée had made from her drawings, when I take my bag I am already on a journey, I am transported into the magic of yoga

What would be your advice for Tayrona Yoginis?

To slow down of course, to surround yourself with lots of little reminders that life is worth lingering in the moment; that the moment will not come back, not to let it slip away in favor of any worries.

Where/how do you practice?

I practice most often at home in my living room, I generally stay dressed as I am, I just put on leggings and hop I start my little ritual.

What is your mantra/favourite phrase?

A mantra from Louise Hay:

"I am the creative power of my life, I decide to have fun now"