Giving Yogis in our global community a chance to shine...
Each month we feature a yogi who has shown dedication in integrating his or her yoga practice into a healthy and empowering lifestyle. This month’s featured yogi is Julia Frazier.

JULIA FRAZIER

Last September I simplified my life into two suitcases and one green Bianchi bike, bought a one way ticket to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, and took the leap to a simpler lifestyle.  I was coming off of a year of an intense vinyasa yoga practice, which had taken me to physical, spiritual, and emotional depths I could have never imagined.

Upon arrival in Aix, I roamed the narrow cobble-stoned streets to seek out the half a dozen Hatha and Vinyasa yoga studios in existence, some which had transformed old wine cellars or former 17th century salons into beautiful spaces for yoga. Despite the visual aesthetics, the actual instruction was elementary and not at all challenging. I was disappointed and questioned how I was going to maintain my own yoga practice. 

Fortunately I had a fabulous American friend who also wanted to keep up her practice. So I put a yoga soundtrack together, came up with a general outline for a 90 minute class, and taught my friend on her hard red tile floor once a week. We actually didn’t have yoga mats for a good 4 months – as we were broke and they’re not easy to come by in this small city where yoga is still rather unknown.

My American friend at the time was working at a massage studio in town. The woman who ran the studio casually asked her what she had been up to during the weekend. She mentioned she’d been doing yoga with me. Within the week I was summoned to come and talk with this woman who was very interested in having me teach yoga at her massage studio. At first I was quite apprehensive, as I had never taken an official teacher training and no credentials what so ever to teach yoga.  All I had was a strong dedication to the practice. However, no one in town was teaching the kind of yoga I could offer. So after a lot of reflection and discussion, I decided, why not.

It was at this point that I sought out Yamilee for advice and we spent a great deal of time on the phone talking logistics of starting up a yoga business. I have had the gift of knowing Yamilee since our days in the Peace Corps in Benin, West Africa. Over the past 10 years I have watched her get into yoga, go through teacher training (where I was the fortunate recipient of free yoga classes), take yoga with her abroad, maintain her practice, and start up her own yoga business, all with serenity and confidence.

With Yamilee’s encouragement and pragmatism, along with my cheering crowd of one faithful student, I launched “Le Yoga Vinyasa avec Julia!” As I teach in a place that offers massage during the day, I transform the front room into my yoga studio in the evenings and on the weekend. It only fits 5 yoga mats, which only allows me 4 students at a time. Despite the space being small, the walls are made of beautiful old stones, the ceiling has comforting wooden beams, the physical ambiance is absolutely calming and charming.

The first weeks were a bit tenuous, sometimes only one student showing or none at all. Four months later, and after a lot of advertising by posters and word of mouth, business has taken off. I offer 9 hour-long classes a week in both English and French including level I, II, with Friday nights dedicated to restorative yoga. Tuesday and Thursday nights are so popular that there’s now a waiting list of students anxious to get in.
At this point I’m looking for a new space and have had offers to come to participate in retreats for general well-being and beauty. Teaching yoga is a true gift. Despite having done meaningful work in the Peace Corps and also as a public school teacher, I am continually astounded at how much I love “going to work”, which in fact doesn’t seem like work at all.

If you’re ever in Aix-en-Provence, please do look me up!  E-mail:  soeurjulia@yahoo.com.  And this is the website of the studio where I teach:  www.ma-sage-terrehappy.com 

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