Yoga'Rando in Port-Cros

From Solliès-Pont, where she spent her childhood, to Toulon, where she studied and obtained her first teaching post in 2001, Émilie Pascail followed a well-trodden path...

Until, at the age of 33, she realized that she had often let others decide what was good for her. A burst of awareness, a meeting, and a first yoga class thanks to a friend who had just returned from Asia..

And then something happened. I reconnected deeply with my body. I started practicing often. Very quickly, I felt that this was my vocation, and I immediately felt the urge to share the well-being it brought me.

At the Yama School in Aix-Marseille, Émilie began a training process to become a teacher. She applies for a training leave from the French Ministry of Education and trains in prenatal yoga, yin yoga, aerial yoga and well-being and energy massage.

When I go back into the classroom, I start setting up little rituals with my students to teach them to be more attentive, more focused and to release tension..

A "benevolent and very open" inspector supported her when she decided to take the RYE (Research on Yoga in Education) training approved by her administration. "As I had been working for fifteen years in a REP (Regroupement d'Éducation Prioritaire), I obtained a part-time position as an extra teacher for projects on school climate and well-being, which enabled me to work on this aspect in elementary and middle schools". She helped set up the Yoga Sukha association in Valette-du-Var, where she teaches yoga classes and also works in day hospitals and companies.

Taking charge of her life brings her back to another of her deepest aspirations:"I've always needed nature. I used to spend all my vacations in the Champsaur (05) with my grandparents in the middle of nowhere. We'd pick mushrooms, go and get eggs from the henhouse..."

In April 2022, she proposed a yoga-rando to her students at Port-Cros, where she met the area manager.

He suggested I do a session on the roof of Fort de l'Estissac, told me about the brand and I immediately felt a strong bond with this preserved, calm environment, ideal for settling down and taking care of oneself. And with the people who work and invest in it. So I decided to get involved. This means organizing outings with small groups, sharing information about biodiversity and local resources...

People live next door and aren't necessarily familiar with their environment. By taking part in raising awareness of the richness of this area, I become an active player in its preservation. It's all connected. When you start working with the National Park, you immediately feel part of a network because you share the same concerns. For me, the brand represents a return to basics. In the philosophy of yoga, we say "I am what I feed on": the earth nourishes us, welcomes us, and we must protect it. In this way, the brand brings yoga into line with the parallel idea that taking care of the environment means taking care of oneself. This partnership opens doors for me to develop my practice in the protected space of this territory, it's a great opportunity.

At the same time,my outings allow people to get to know the Esprit Parc Nationalbrand and perhaps inspire them to go further towards this type of proposal and location..