Le Yoga Journal Paris S/S 2013 by Le Yoga Journal Paris

Photo kia naddermier / www.naddermier.com

Pro cess ING What you are holding in your hand is the result of an on-going process which began almost 20 years ago in Stockholm. This was the beginning of our creative work – Magnus as an art director and Kia as a photographer – and it was also the time when we first met both Ashtanga yoga and each other… Since then our creative collaborations have been expressed in many and varied ways, from books, photographs, magazines and films, to yoga workshops and classes, Le Yoga Shop Paris and now Le Yoga Shop Journal. This Journal is a window into what is happening in our minds, eyes and conversations right here and right now. Some discussions have been around for many years, other stories just happened to catch our eye last week. We welcome you to share this moment with us and with some of our most talented and creative friends and collaborators on our journey through life, expression and yoga. Namasté Kia & Magnus Naddermier Le Yoga Shop Journal www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

Photo kia naddermier, Agathe Philbé, jan Welters, Hilma af Klint © Stiftelsen Hilma af Klints Verk & Moderna Museet, lord snowdon

Le Yoga SHop Paris

Journal Content ss 2013 Feasting on Freedom – p. 4 The quest for freedom is crucial, without it the answer to the most meaningful of all questions, ’who am I?’ becomes distorted. Perrine du Chaffaut shares a few thoughts with all lovers and seekers of freedom. Radha´s Truth Search – p. 6 Radha was one of our first teachers but it wasn’t until almost two decades together on the mat that Kia finally plucked up courage to ask Radha to tell her fascinating story. This is the result of a 2 hour conversation, after 2 decades of practice, which took 2 years to write...

Meet Hilma Af Klint – p. 9 Tina Magnergård Bjers discovers a pioneer of modern abstraction but also a deeply spiritual human being who dared to take her own path. Free Your Mind – p. 10 A playful look around our latest collections, ideas and visual inspiration at Le Yoga Shop Paris. A Conversation between Jan Welters and Thomas Erber – p. 24 Longtime friends and collaborators Thomas Erber and Jan Welters sit down to talk about photography, youthful naughtiness and recovery – and how yoga gets under your skin.

Freedom – Brick by Track – p. 27 Thomas Erber´s playlist of songs collected along the way in search of freedom. Selfpractice – A Path to Independence – p. 28 Kia Naddermier on the authentic practice of Ashtanga Yoga: Mysore Style. In words and images. A letter from Mysore – p. 30 Chris Ebbe gives us the latest from Ashadayaka Seva Trust Childrens’ home in Mysore, India.

on the Cover Nala´s wearing ’Judy´s Thumb’ t-shirt and ’Slam Pant’ by Superfine Photographed by Kia Naddermier

Editors-in-Chief & creative directiors Kia & Magnus Naddermier Art direction & Design Studio Naddermier contributing Editor Anne Palmer Fashion Editor Annemarie Sheridan

photography Kia Naddermier, Agathe Philbé, Lord Snowdon, Jan Welters Casting Lise de la Brosse Words Perrine du Chaffaut, Chris Ebbe, Thomas Erber, Tina Magnegård-Bjers, Kia Naddermier

Hair & Make Up Artists Muriel van Cauwen/B Agency, Tanya Koch, Julie Nozières/Walter Schupfer Karin Westerlund/B Agency Special thanks Lovisa Burfitt – Anne Palmer – Olivia Varraso Alex Kummerman and the Clicmobile team Kajsa Leandersson at Agent & Artists Alexandre and Marie Thumerelle at OFR Chris Ebbe and Flora Brajot

Elin Mohlander at Filippa K Olivier Lafrontiere at Just WM Frédéric Lefort and everyone at Studio Zero The Welters-Pinter family Agathe, Annemarie, Gwenola, Lise and all the other students at Mysore Yoga Paris Uma & Devi Naddermier – our biggest inspiration! Please follow Le Yoga Shop Paris on Facebook and Instagram

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without permission from the publishers. Published and produced by Studio Naddermier for Le Yoga Shop Paris © Le Yoga Shop Paris, 2013 www.leyogashop.com Printed by Newspaper Club, Glasgow, 2013

Feasting on Freedom

Words by Perrine du Chaffaut / Photography by Agathe Philbé

The quest for freedom is crucial, because with-out freedom, the answer to the fundamental, weighty and most meaningful of all questions, ’who am I?’ becomes distorted. Constantly asking questions about the nature of freedom is an entirely beneficial process. Perrine du Chaffaut shares a few thoughts with all lovers and seekers of freedom...

Each one of us as individuals has probably already felt or feels the protective urge to take refuge within a circumscribed and pre-determined framework: I am from such and such a country, I belong to such and such a community, or my religion or profession is such and such... This need to belong therefore goes hand in hand with the need to define oneself. Belonging and defining ourselves can be so very reassuring, as they mean existing and establishing logical connections with other human beings who live a life based on the same foundations; they amount to waving a white flag when entering unknown territory; to fore-arming and protecting ourselves and creating a

non-hostile environment in which our own self-definition can exist in harmony with those of others. The path to freedom is far from easy or comfortable, and requires a great deal of courage, clarity and perseverance. Our fears, perceptions, negative experiences, past traumas and failures, habits or social pressures and conditioning, or our ego and pride, all take us further away from our free self; they are everywhere, invading our thoughts and actions and cluttering our dreams. And our economic needs and life’s problems are hard facts of life and constitute barriers which can smother or thwart this quest for freedom. What is more, the lives of human beings have always been structured around a host of limitations, such as social circumstances, competition, the quest for affluence or a lack of authenticity and individuality in the context of mass culture, or religion or age. It is so very normal to be afraid, to have anxieties, to make compromises and to lose ourselves in the crowd.

By being aware of these limitations and obstacles and trying to eradicate them, underused, new or disregarded tools will present themselves naturally: our inspiration, passion or intuition, or our devotion to a given task, our talent or self-confidence, or gentleness, slowness, solitude and silence, to name but a few examples. And the vibrations at the very core of our beings can be listened to. Why do I feel alive or joyful? In what situations do I feel in my element? When am I creative, confident, happy, energetic or sensitive? What makes my heart beat? By cultivating, stimulating and awakening our being at its source and by fanning the flames of our Essence, at the centre of this intimate and so very personal confluence, sincere dialogue with what we are can bear fruit and it becomes possible for us to embrace our unique and pure natures and to be carried forward by the self-replenishing vibrations of clarity, truth and self-evidence. This is a personal quest in which each person alone is capable of intuiting what makes up the Essence of his or her truth. Doubts will always be present but they are healthy. In this quest for inner and outer freedom, supporting, liberating and transforming energy may be found everywhere: within each one of us, of course – the Essence of our individual truth that flows endlessly and replenishes itself and spreads far and wide – and also in everything that surrounds us. In fact, there exists an undeniable, mutual and unifying exchange between a human being – the Micro – and the entirety of his or her surroundings – the Macro. As an illustration, human beings cast their gaze (understood as all of the ways in which it is possible for human beings to commune with their surroundings) on that which surrounds them, and ultimately and ineluctably raise their gaze to the skies,

the sun and the universe. And this mutual exchange thus comes full circle, the light of the skies and the sun being reflected in the irises of human beings to the point that they must blink. In the same manner, by focusing on the quality of the breath, practising Ashtanga Yoga is a means of eradicating our internal obstacles and merging with the Absolute. Each Ujjayi breath fuels the physical body and allows it to move through the practice and to lift or attenuate the Ashtangis’ physical and personal limitations, offering them the invaluable gift of being able to penetrate a dazzling and unlimited realm of freedom. To fuel your thirst for freedom, I would like to share with you this wonderful poem, Gitanjali 35, written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1910. Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habits; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action – Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Perrine du Chaffaut, ashtanga yoga practitoner, teacher and freedom-junkie based in London. Agathe Philbé, photographer, surfer, ashtanga yoga practitioner and teacher based in Paris. See more of her images here: www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

Radha’s truth search Interview by Kia naddermier Before the sun has risen above the mountaintops in Saktoria in Southern Crete, I step into the dark marble-floored shala. The familiar sound of Ujjai breath welcomes me as I unroll my mat. Slowly moving in and out of form, my body is gently awoken, coming alive. Radha enters. She lights an incense stick and walks the room, clearing the energy and gently introducing her presence.

My first years of Ashtanga Yoga were spent in her guided class – I simply couldn’t get enough of hearing her clear English accent counting us through the Vinyasas (breath-movement). No one can take you through the Primary Series with more grace than Radha. I remember a time in Goa in the mid-nineties when she had us do eight Sun Salutations each of A and B, and the whole Primary series with full Vinyasa, six days a week! ’I’m just following orders!’ one man laughed after the twohour practice had ended. But for me it wasn’t like following orders, it was more like being carried on that voice, allowing the mind and body to surrender, to acquiesce, and simply follow her count and the rhythm of my own breath. Even today in my self-practice, I can occasionally hear her voice counting in my mind like a mantra... And here I am, almost two decades later, once again in that little shala in Crete with Radha & Pierre. One evening last summer, Radha and I sat down on the terrace before dinner. I wanted to share some thoughts of hers with my own students and had asked her for a small interview for my blog. But the half hour interview soon turned into a couple of hours and Radha told me some of her fascinating story…

Please tell me a little about your journey, when and how did you first come in contact with Yoga and later on with Ashtanga Yoga? –My first awakening came when I was about 17 years old. I was interested in Marxism and went to Israel to work on a Kibbutz. It was then that I first realized that what had been mapped out for me wasn’t going to work. It was the late sixties, a time when people were soul-searching and I was an adventurous spirit. In Israel I had a profound experience of wild nature and what I thought of as freedom. There I met another English girl and we decided to travel overland to India, a journey which in those days took months and months, and which afforded us many adventures! Finally we ended up at an Ashram in Pondicherry visiting friends we’d met en route. On arrival, we were invited to a Satsang with Swami Gitananda. He talked about truth, about love, about nonviolence and how we could change the world (this was around the time of the war in Vietnam) - he just about covered everything that interested and concerned me. We stayed for three months! Gitananda was a great man, a doctor with deep knowledge of science, the body, the mind and the nervous system. Through the in-depth practice of Meditation, Pranayama, Chanting, Fasting and Asanas, Gitananda was guiding us through a process… ’I will break you down and build you up again.’ I witnessed many marvellous things there and I’m so pleased my introduction to Yoga was through him. So it wasn’t solely through the Asanas that I approached Yoga... This was the very beginning of my truth search. – I realized that Western ways weren’t enough for me. I was very disappointed in Israel – I’d been

brought up a strong Christian and I was equally disappointed in the hypocrisy I found there. Back in London I met a wonderful man, Indar Nath, who ran a Hindu Centre where he also taught Yoga. He worked in the post office, and got me a job there. Later I worked as an air hostess. Indar Nath brought over many speakers from India, including Satchidananda and Krishna Dananda, and I was fortunate to go to many talks, courses and satsangs, where all aspects of Yoga were being taught. Later I moved to southern England and here I met a lovely, older woman, Vaiganda, who became my teacher. One evening she was unable to teach a class and asked me to replace her. And so my teaching began. My classes grew steadily over the next five years, with me travelling extensively to teach every evening, as I worked during the day. Slowly Yoga was becoming more and more popular. Eventually I gave up my classes in England and went to Australia with the idea of having my own Yoga school and living closer to nature. I found a beautiful place, but of course I didn’t know anyone and no one knew me. It was totally unrealistic – I was devastated and didn’t know what to do. Still, I had friends in Los Angeles, so there I went. There was no Yoga in LA in those days, only Bikram, and I did actually go to one of his classes but thank God I didn’t go down that route! At this point I’d run out of money, I was working in a health club serving drinks, doing my own Yoga practice, living in a suburb and being very miserable. – But what I did find, on Sunset Boulevard, was the Sivananda Centre – thank God! I joined their Yoga classes and enrolled in their cooking course. However, in order to continue teaching I needed a certificate, and I ended up in the Ashram in the Bahamas, on the founder Swami Vishnudevananda’s Yoga teacher training, in exchange for work. That was where I learned how to run and manage a place like Yoga Plus. There also I came across Swami Shankarananda who, having met someone who had done Yoga with Norman Allen (one of the first Westerners who knew Guruji Pattabhi Jois) showed a few of us the Primary Series. We loved it, and continued practising during the retreat. When Swami Vishnudevananda got to hear of it he said, ’Yes you can do it, but not here!’ Later on, of course, I understood this – different styles of Yoga cannot really be mixed. I ended up staying six years and became one of the co-directors of the place. From the Bahamas I went to New York where I reconnected with Lesley Kaminoff, who I knew from LA. Through him I met a girl who was able to teach me the Primary Series. I read about Guruji in the Yoga Journal and knew I would have to go, eventually, to Mysore. Two of my NY students arrived in Mysore before me and they told Guruji

Radha photographed by Lord Snowdon for British Vogue, April 1991. ’Sleeping Dragon’ in Crete photographed by Kia Naddermier

8 that I was coming. But I went first to Sivananda in Rishikesh so that when I finally arrived in Mysore I was two weeks late. The very first thing that Guruji said to me was ’Where have you been?’ The popularity of Ashtanga Yoga has grown tremendously in the West since you first started. Do you think Westerners have influenced the practice in any way, and if so, how? – Yes I do! First of all, we in the West have certainly taken it on and spread it much more than it has been spread in India. In those days, unless you were willing to spend at least 3 months with Guruji, he wasn’t interested in teaching you. You had to be really determined to follow this path. I was part of perhaps the second group of Westerners who studied with him – such a precious and exciting time! We had all come from different styles of Yoga, but this method seemed older, more rooted somehow. Previously we had practised everything separately – the Pranayama, the Bhakti Yoga, Chanting, Asanas etc, but suddenly here was everything together, integrated into this one practice. Guruji would constantly say: ’Do your practice. All is coming. Do your practice and get on with your daily life.’ And what I understood from this was that all you needed to know, the truth you were searching for, would come to you. It would be revealed to you in your own time, and in the way that you as an individual needed it. The difference I find now, and it breaks my heart, is that for some people Yoga has become a workout, a training, competitive even. So much learned, but also so much lost since we Westerners took it on. And I hold myself and my peers responsible for that. Perhaps we should have kept it more to ourselves, but we were so enthusiastic – we couldn’t help but spread the word! Yoga is Yoga, pure in and of itself, and its essence will endure despite (or because of?) different interpretations. Cultural differences between India and the West will inevitably lead to differences in the way Yoga is taught and practised. Here we have a tendency to question and analyse everything, whilst in India there is a tradition of devotion and unquestioning acceptance. Clearly there is merit in both approaches, neither having a monopoly on any Truth. Guruji always used to say: ’Yoga is for everybody.’ And I believe that if that message of Yoga is out there, its seeds will always grow. Today one can find many books, DVDs etc about ’Yoga for women’. What is your take on that – is there a need for a particular practice for women? – No. Yoga is not a gender thing at all. When you study the philosophy, the Vedas, Vedanta, and if you look at it through the belief in reincarnation, we could reincarnate as either male or female. So Yoga is Yoga, whether you are a man or a woman.

Guidance without interference – the role of the Yoga teacher? – Pierre and I have been greatly influenced by our teachers Guruji and Sharath. As students, we were allowed to go through our own practice with few adjustments, and then only when necessary. With barely any conversation, the Yoga was allowed to unfold, to reveal itself. Our learning then continued through observing how Guruji worked with others – he was always happy for us to come back into the room to watch after we’d finished our own practice. Now, in our classes, we can have new students practising close to others who may have had many years on the mat. Each person is experiencing exactly what they need from that particular practice on that particular day. Our role is not to perform in any way, not to interrupt – except perhaps to take the student a little further into a posture to enable them to experience how the body could feel, where it might go. Or we may ’spot’ you when you need support in a balancing pose. We don’t feel it necessary to run around demonstrating, or having lots of assistants being there for every posture. It was never necessary with Guruji – he left you alone to practise, to be with your own thoughts. You have been practising Ashtanga through many stages of your life. Has your practice changed much through the years? – Yes, very much. I was already 37 years old when I started Ashtanga Yoga, and 40 when I went to India. In six months I completed both the Primary and Intermediate series with Guruji. However, due to injury I was unable to complete the Advanced A series with him – he said I was an old tree..! The hormonal changes of the menopause (around 54 in my case) have reduced my flexibility. I practise Primary now and a little Intermediate. Guruji says from 50 only Primary is necessary. I never thought I’d say it, but you do let go of the asanas as you age. Did your practice change in any way while you had breast cancer? – Having breast cancer was the most profound spiritual experience of my life – being confronted with the reality of my own mortality. As a young woman I had great ideals, wanting to change the world, inquiring about who I was, etc. But I had become too involved with the asanas. I have noticed, with Ashtanga Yoga, that one can begin to feel invincible, on top of the world – we know it all, there is nothing else to learn. Of course, I didn’t realise at the time that this was happening, and my diagnosis came when I was feeling incredibly strong and healthy. So, the discovery of a tumour when I was in Mysore came as a total shock. I remember one Indian nurse telling me that ’this is a blessing for you’ – and so it turned out. During

this journey I noticed that my antenna or telegraphic system, which had perhaps become dulled as the yoga had become very mundane, was reactivated – it began pulsating again. Through this experience I got back to the preparation for death. And letting go. Because life is actually about death. When you have a life threatening disease you have been given a chance to prepare for death and to work through fear, to put into perspective what life is for YOU. And I do think I had gotten away from that. So now I had to move away from the asanas for a while, during surgery and chemotherapy. After the operation I didn’t practise for several months. Instead I turned to reading and studying. Pierre was a great inspiration for me, as he has always been interested in non-duality. The books we read at that time, our discussions, our searching and his researching were life-savers for me. I carried a book around with me, ’I am that’ by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, which just spoke to me all the time. And my whole interest in those early inquiries – Who am I? What am I? What is Yoga? was reawakened. – The week after I’d had the mastectomy I was in London, staying with my family, when Guruji came to teach. So I went to see him and Sharath and his family and it was lovely. They made a fuss of me and asked me to come to the workshop. I sat on the stage with him and when everyone was in sarvasana I looked out and thought: my god how the Yoga has grown! I knew so many of the students because they had come through me. And there I sat, just had my breast off and gone through months and months of chemo. It was a weird experience because I knew I would be judged by that. Some senior teachers did ask me if people questioned why this had happened to me, with my strong Yoga practice. And I said to them: ’Well now my Yoga journey has really just begun!’ It’s no good being able to do all the postures in the world if you are suffering from fear or delusion. And you must never stop asking why do you practise Yoga, what is Yoga for you? It is not enough going into Yoga simply as a career and I know that is what is happening. My practice these days is absolutely adorable and I love it. I am so grateful that I can do it. It does have that wonderful way of making things clear for me. When I finish it, and I’ve had a lot on my mind, I still come out on the other end of the practice with the answer. I’m not going to say I’m grateful for what happened, but there are good sides to everything. Where do you go to find peace? – My home in Saktouria, it’s my sanctuary. Crete in the winter.

More images of Radha and from Crete here: www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

9 Hilma af Klint ’The Swan, No. 18’, 1914-15

HILMA AF KLInT – A Pioneer of Modern Abstraction Words by Tina Magnegård-Bjers Some people are truly ahead of their time. Renaissance man and famed artist Leonardo da Vinci was sketching designs for a helicopter already in 1505, when he was painting Mona Lisa. And Apple’s legendary CEO Steve Jobs actually described the iPad in 1983 – decades before it was launched.

A more sublime rider against the laws of time is Swedish artist Hilma af Klint. Known as a pioneer of abstraction she dared to explore the new spirituality of the late 1800s. She translated the occult, the esoteric and pieces of the Theosophical movement into magnificent visuals. She acted as a medium and many of her pieces are automatic drawings, in where she let spirits paint through her. When Hilma af Klint died in 1944 she stipulated that her abstract art should not be shown publicly until 20 years later, because she didn´t think the world was ready. However her big breakthrough didn’t come until 1986 when her art was shown at

the exhibition The Spiritual in Art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Taking in Hilma af Klints art – as could be done at Moderna Museet in Stockholm earlier this spring – is a physical and spiritual experience, that I cannot imagine leaves anyone untouched. The large, often detailed canvases seem to glow, they speak to you in a number of languages and layers. The world – her world – is presented in bright orange, pale pink, midnight blue and a rainbow of other colors, often juxtaposed. The abstract shapes makes you think of an organic micro- (or macro-) cosmos, but present are also geometric shapes such as the equilateral triangle, the circle, the cross and the six-armed star. Letters and mystic signs or codes can also be found. Hilma af Klint graduated from the Royal Academy of the Fine Arts in 1887. She painted rather traditional, naturalistic portraits and landscapes.

But at the same time she embarked on an inwards journey and attended seances where mediums came in contact with the dead. In 1896 she formed The Five, a group of women that made contact with ’high masters’ from other dimensions – an activity that came to highly influence her work. In the early 1900s she decided to focus fully on abstract imagery, independently paving a way that also Kandinsky, Mondrian and Malevich would take. According to Moderna Museet, she expressed her ambition to execute paintings that could convey the evolution, describe the eternal principles and laws and the immortal side of man in 1904. Tina Magnergård-Bjers, journalist at the Swedish news agency TT, is a dedicated yoga practitioner and art lover based in Stockholm. Read the full story and see more of Hilma af Klints work here: www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal Hilma af Klint at the Venice Biennale, Central Pavillion, June 1 to November 24, 2013

’FREEDOM’ Round-Neck T-Shirt and yoga leggings cut into shorts by Burfitt for mysore yoga paris. Macramé bracelets by Sarita.

Free your mind

Photo Kia Naddermier

sweat cardigan by Burfitt for mysore yoga paris, ’DVE’ yoga top by satya and yoga leggings by Desha. Macramé necklace and bracelets by Sarita.

yoga body by desha worn over ’FREEDOM’ Round-Neck T-Shirt by Burfitt for mysore yoga paris. Macramé bracelets by Sarita.

’i ♥ mysore yoga paris’ tank top by Burfitt for mysore yoga paris. Macramé necklaces by Sarita. cotton yoga rugs by mysore yoga paris.

left – ’star’ tank top in corall over ’star’

tank top in teal blue and ’chill black easy trousers’ all by superfine. Macramé bracelets by Sarita. ’Maharaja’ organic yoga mat by YOGIRAJ and cotton yoga rug by mysore yoga paris

light v-neck t-shirt and ’slam pant’ by superfine. Macramé necklaces by Sarita.

’Double trouble’ one-piece by superfine.

macramĂŠ sweater and low trouser by hope.

indigo wood sweater by hope. MacramĂŠ necklaces by Sarita.

soft knit yoga cardigan and yoga legging in deep navy by FILIPPA K SOFT SPORT. Bikini Halter Top by FILIPPA K. MacramĂŠ bracelets by Sarita.

above – yoga strap top and cropped yoga legging in deep navy by FILIPPA K SOFT SPORT. INDIGO wood sweater by hope worn as scarf. Macramé bracelets by Sarita.

’ekam’ yoga bra top by satya. mens’ sweat trousers by Hope worn over Yoga legging by Filippa K Soft Sport. ’lave’ Sandal by Hope.

Solstice top by superfine worn over black bikini mini top and bottom by Filippa K.

Above – swimsuit by filippa k. ’chill black easy trousers’ by superfine. Macramé bracelets by Sarita. Right – drape top by hope. ’chill black easy trousers’ by superfine. ’Maharaja’ organic yoga mat by YOGIRAJ and cotton yoga rug by mysore yoga paris

Photo Kia Naddermier/www.naddermier.com Styling Annemarie Sheridan Make-Up Julie Nozières/Walter Schupfer Casting Lise de la Brosse Model Nala/JUST WM

Kia NADDERMIER photographed by

JAN Welters For

Le Yoga SHop Paris. READ the conversation between jan and his longtime friend, writer and curator

thomas erber

about photography, life and how yoga gets under your skin...

26 Jan Welters and Thomas Erber became friends in 1997 when doing a portrait of Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri for Jalouse Magazine. 16 years later, they sat down and talked about how they ended up where they did and what happened along the way. Alot was said about photography. But they also talked about being naughty, trying recover from that – and how yoga gets under your skin. Thomas Erber: How did you discover photography? What was the turning point? What made you want to create pictures? Jan Welters: I discovered photography through my Dad. He worked in advertising, and was always taking pictures of my brother and me with his Rolleicord. TE: But what came after your father’s influence? Any particular photographers or mentors? JW: Yeah, Peter Lindbergh, Anton Corbijn… And I assisted a photographer called Frans Van Der Heyden who took me to New York when I was 20. He was my mentor in the true sense of the word. I ended up staying there 5 years. TE: In the 20 years I’ve know you, it seems you’ve always been searching for something personal. But why fashion and portraits? What drives you, and what is this more intimate vision you are searching for within the fields of fashion and portraiture? JW: Fashion and portraits seemed the natural choice. I never really thought about it, just did it. When I take fashion pictures I try, within my own universe, to find something new. With portraits, I try to keep it simple and more timeless. Some people say I find their inner beauty. I like that. TE: Isn’t it a bit confusing, perverse even, to speak of inner beauty in a fashion world so full of distractions? JW: The ‘inner beauty’ thing concerns the portraits not the fashion. When I shoot portraits I’m trying to strip it all down. I think the fashion world is as perverse or confusing as you make it yourself. I like what I do. I’m on the right side of the line. TE: When it comes to portraits, it goes to ‘personality’. I think I encouraged you to shoot one of your first major personalities when we did a cover story with Sharleen Spiteri for an early issue of Jalouse back in ‘97. How do you manage these big personalities? How do you get beyond the art of pretence which is part of THEIR job? JW: I try not to think too much about these things. I just treat them like I treat anyone else. Sometimes there’s somebody who’s a bit crazy but that’s them not me. Sharleen was very cool, no? I have good memories of that shoot! TE: You’ve met with (commercial) success lately. Have you ever lost faith, or had to fight

to not lose your soul doing commercial work which may be very distant from your earlier aspirations? JW: I try to mix the commercial with the more free work. That way I enjoy both. With the advertising jobs I try to be a good craftsman – with my own point of view, of course, but with the editorial I can take more chances. I personally think I’m doing my strongest work now. TE: Often craziness comes with success. Are you able to manage these twin sisters? JW: Since I was diagnosed with a brain tumour I changed my life completely. My diet is really healthy now, no more booze and cigarettes… I had a few crazy years and now I’m on the straight and narrow. It’s good! TE: Somehow, although everything was going well for you and your family, you had to face the disease. May we talk about that? I can talk about my situation too, as in both cases, death may be just around the corner. How do we prepare for the unpredictable? JW: My world was upside down and I was upside down… I received a lot of support from those around me – my wife and kids, my agent and close friends. But in the end you have to do it on your own. It took me a long time but I think I’m seeing the end of it. I’m very, very lucky. The operation to remove my tumour was a success, and there has been practically no re-growth – it is a very slowgrowing tumour. I can even forget about it sometimes! But having treatment two days a month in a German clinic specialising in cancer helps me to stay in touch with my disease. I talk a lot to other cancer patients there, and it’s very good for me – I’m learning loads. The whole thing has been a sort of wake up call. And what’s your story? You’ve also been naughty in the past but have been sober now for quite a while. Does it still itch here and there? TE: Yes, you’re right, I was very naughty! At around 15 years of age I started to feel very bad about myself. I found what seemed like the ideal cure – booze, drugs and parties. Possibly not a classic drug addict, but a serious party animal. Although, to be honest, in the end it amounts to the same thing. Things steadily got worse, but especially in the last two years I realised I was getting really crazy and I wanted to stop it all – but it was a nightmare. I ended up alone, absolutely alone – and deservedly so. I was lucky – my wife was still trying to help, despite feeling hopeless, and one or two friends too, but they were becoming really bored by my behaviour. Then one morning I woke up in hospital for the Xth time and just knew it was over – the end of the road of excess for me and the beginning of a new

one of complete sobriety. I went to a psychiatric institution, and later to a rehab centre to make sure, and to write deep into my mind that I was on a good path. With the help of others, I’ve been sober for three and a half years now. You can‘t make it alone. It is mission impossible. And yes, it’s so much better. I just feel free. And I’ve started to like myself and my failures. No, let’s say I’ve started to accept who I really am. Which is the road to freedom I guess… You’ve passed through this with a lot of humility. Was it natural or more an inner work you’ve started in yourself through all that? JW: I had no idea about any of it so of course there’s been a lot of ‘inner work’. I’ve understood a lot of things. Mortality is one. TE: I remember when you were still in early recovery you didn’t yet have any opinion on this but you were very careful and you listened to people. A few months later you were different. More active, and focussed on spiritual things, like yoga. What is spirituality for you? JW: When we saw each other last year I was still very much recovering from the whole shock. I had good days and bad days. You caught me on a good day but now I’m much further on. One of the things that helped me is that I started yoga with my friend Kia [Naddermier] who is an amazing teacher and person. Me, almost 50 and never really exercised! She gave me the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda, which I’ve just started reading, and I realize that in India they see things really differently. Divine nonattachment – I mean, how is that even possible in the western world? But when you read their wisdom it’s so beautiful and it makes so much sense, we just didn’t grow up that way. Spirituality for me means the search for inner peace. TE: And now, tell us more about your practice of yoga, how it can heal body AND mind – here in the west we try to forget that body and mind are wholly connected. JW: Yeah right, but it all doesn’t happen in one day. I need years and years of practice. I’m doing Ashtanga Yoga, both pranayama and asana. The pranayama makes me quiet, I do it early mornings, on my own at home before the kids are awake. Sometimes Kia gives me a private lesson at her place and sometimes I do it in the shala with her other students. It is also there where, twice a week, I work on the asanas. The combination of the two works well for me. The breathing connects the mental and the physical. TE: Tell us about the concrete effects of this practice on your self or on a shoot. JW: It calms me down and helps me to see the broader picture. On shoots as well. Usually I practise pranayama on days that I work, and it seems that I

27 can concentrate better… When I’m away on a trip I do it before the alarm call, even if that’s at 5 a.m. TE: Did you decide in advance to work with Kia – who is also a photographer and a yoga master? Was that a way of making the connections easier, more understandable for you, or just a coincidence? JW: Kia and I always talked about photography and I was always interested in yoga but just had no clue. Until I got sick. Yoga is part of my life now. It all seems a bit too good to be just a coincidence, don’t you think? TE: What is the effect of yoga on your disease and the recovery you’re in ? JW: Having to concentrate on the yoga makes me calm and detaches me from everything else. And it’s good for me to be that way. TE: Photography, like yoga, is something really intimate which can connect intellect and feelings. Has yoga affected your photography? JW: It’s hard to say if there has been a direct impact on my photography. I’m sure it will come out in some way or, if not yet, probably in the future. Simplicity maybe? TE: Do you think your yoga practice could become an essential part of your daily life, something you could not live without?

JW: It’s getting that way. Sometimes it feels that it’s really important to me. The more I learn the more it is important. It gets under your skin. With lots of practice, devotion, and a bit of faith… TE: Have you tried meditation too? Yoga and meditation seem very complementary although I only practise the latter. JW: I’ve not yet meditated. I don’t feel ready for it yet. What about you? How do you meditate? How do you empty your mind? TE: When I started to get sober I taught myself to meditate from books. The programme I was following suggested that to be sober you have to walk a spiritual path. In those days I did not really get it, obviously! But over time, it started to become clearer. And I began to understand that life is not only a material question – far from it. And whether you believe in this or not, life seems much more impassioned if you try to make it work like this. If everything is visible and easy, after all, why be a human being? Better to be a monkey or a rat. Beside this programme, I started to meditate following the advice from the masters of spirituality I was reading. It was very, very helpful because in my early days of sobriety my life was a burnt battlefield, I was broken,

desperate, hopeless… it was total disaster. But you know what, I’ve loved passing through that. I needed it. I think one of our goals is to try to become someone better – and I’m trying to do this. I was lost, and I was lucky. Because when I was lost, I could have died so many times – so now I try to be grateful also. So meditation has been a massive help in this journey. I ended up meditating for 20-30 minutes every day. Strangely enough, 5 months ago I stopped it. I think I had reached as far as I could go by myself. I now need some help to pass to the next stage. Our limit is our loneliness, you know. One last question – which way goes the wind now? JW: If anything the wind is dying down… Next year I’m fifty. It’s a good moment to become calm.

Thomas Erber, consultant, writer and curator is the founder of ’Le Cabinet de Curiosites de Thomas Erber’. The 4th edition of ’Le Cabinet’ is planned to be held in November 2013 at the Kitsuné store and the Nomad Hotel in New York. Photographer Jan Welters is represented by Open Space Paris. Read the full conversation and see more of Jan’s images here: www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

Freedom – Brick by Track A 10-song playlist by Thomas Erber The more I grow, the more I see my earlier ideas about freedom evolve, transform and be blown away, one after the other.

As a child, freedom seemed to me to be a land of dreams – though sadly, this idea lasted for only a few years. Then, as a teenager, I thought freedom was a place I could reach both within myself and in the world outside - a land of opportunities nourished by all the drugs and alcohol I was taking and the art I was looking at. I was sure these were the golden keys to this land of freedom. I ended up in Hell. But for twenty years I yearned, somehow, to remain a teenager – not in a state of childhood innocence, but in the existential angst, the essential pain of the teenager. Then one day I awoke. I understood how wrong I had been. Freedom was not, in fact, ‘another word for

nothing left to lose’. Freedom is but a vibe. Nothing special, at the end of the day. Not even an illusion! It is just a way to be and to believe – or not. A tool that can help transform these beliefs into convictions that will lead to some things you will do – or not – and into some other things you will accept – or not. And for this, yes, for sure, you have to work, to fight. Nothing big in life comes for free. But along this road made of bricks, traps, and tracks, something has always been my constant companion, and that thing was music. Whatever state I was in, music was always there to make me think I was right – or wrong! In a word, freedom is an apprenticeship. Here is a short list of songs I’ve collected along the way, old and new, but made with blue. Listen to Thomas’ Spotify playlist here: www.leyogashop.com/blogs/lejournal

1– Keaton Henson ’Teach Me’ Birthdays (2013) 2 – Swann ’Lovely Girl’ Neverending (2013) 3 – Matthew E. White ’Brazos’ Big Inner (2013) 4 – Chromatics ’In The city’ In The City EP (2010) 5 – Daft Punk ’Get Lucky’ Random Access Memory (2013) 6 – Sam Dees ’Child of the Streets’ The Show Must Go On (1975) 7 – Chris Knox ’My Only Friend’ Beat (2000) 8 – Damien Jurado ’Sheets’ Caught In Trees (2008) 9 – Johnny Cash ’I See A Darkness’ American III (2000) 10 – Leonard Cohen ’The Partisan’ Songs From A Room (1969)

Self Practice Words and Photography by Kia Naddermier Ashtanga Yoga as a physical practice was methodized in the ancient text ’The Yoga Korunta’ approximately 4000 years ago by the Vedic seer Rishi Vamana. These texts were rediscovered by the Indian yoga master Shri T Krishnamacharya and passed on to several of his students, including Shri K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. Ashtanga Yoga is traditionally practised early in the morning with the rising of the sun. It is beneficial to practise at this time as the Prana (life energy) is at its highest. In a Mysore class students do their own practice while being given personalized instructions and adjustments from the teacher. How far you go in the sequence is particular to your body, and the pace is determined by your breathing pattern. Over time, postures are added according to your constitution, readiness and ability. It is an individual practice done in a group setting. Practitioners with all different levels of experience, age and background practise side by side. The feeling I have is that there is compassion cultivated in the room for whatever life might have thrown your way. So although it is an individual practice and journey, there is a possibility to tap into the energy and strength of the group. It is only by self practice that you will progress deeper into the system of Ashtanga Yoga. By learning to listen to, and move in synchronicity with, your breath, the senses begin to draw within, bringing about a deeper awareness. It is a way of practising that creates independence for the student, and allows space to listen internally rather than following the voice of a teacher. For more information about Kia´s Workshops and Mysore Classes: www.mysoreyogaparis.com

AnnemaRIE, AGAthe, LISe AND Gwenola photgraphed a morning in april at Mysore Yoga Paris.

Photo kia naddermier / www.naddermier.com

– A path to independence

’It (repeated practice) becomes firm only when done for a long time, continuously and with sincerity’. Patanjali ’Yoga Sutra’ 1:14

A letter from

It was Chris Ebbe and Flora Brajot who brought to our attention to a small, underfunded childrens’ home, the Ashadayaka Seva Trust, in Mysore, India. It was our desire to support this amazing project which inspired us, together with Lovisa Burfitt, to create yoga clothes, then to open Le Yoga Shop Paris, and now produce Le Journal. Read about their work and this important cause in Chris’ letter from Mysore. Summer holiday! After 3 weeks of memorising material for exams, the AST kids faced two super exciting moments: getting the final evaluations from teachers and then starting summer holiday or as we say here: ”full raja.” Flora and I were very tense about the report cards from the teachers because this was their first year of attending private school taught in English. But, our kids came through like shining stars. Thanks to generous donations through the year, we had had tutors coming daily to help with the studies, and it really paid off! We even had two students make the coveted ”A” grade, which none

of us had predicted. Congratulations small Harsha and Nagaraj! We were also super pleased with two other students in particular: Manjunath completed the year with excellent comments from his teacher. He will be our first student to start English school as a kindergartener and next year will enter 1st standard with a solid foundation. Also K. Kavya, who struggled through the year until her final exams. English doesn’t come easy to this 5th grader, but to know that she was willing to work hard not only in school, but also in her daily tuition and then in special tutoring sessions with Flora and Nea… Well, it’s just humbling and inspiring to see this transformation. She’s no longer scared to speak English and while she still has lots of work to go, her attitude is great and she is willing to put the hours in!

And now, the fun part: RAJA! This two-month gap in studies coincides with the hot season so most of our activities are in the morning, then lunch is followed by a necessary nap to escape the heat. But, thanks again to donations from Le Yoga

Shop, we are well stocked with inside games like puzzles, toys, books, coloring books, and activities… But also outdoor activities from jump ropes to badminton to frisbees and cricket sets. We even bought some paint for the older boys to decorate their bikes and a small scooter for Manjunath as a reward for finishing Kindergarten. But it’s not all fun and games this summer raja. We have ongoing tutoring two hours a day, and we’ve added a computer camp of five days and an hour of tutoring in Hindi, the national language here in India. Speaking Hindi in some ways is as important as both the local language (Kannada) and English… mastering Hindi and English gives each child access to jobs all over the country. The kids look forward to summer all winter and I am sure there are a million benefits to these days that are stuffed full of activities and learning and growth! Chris Ebbe Mysore, India, May 2013 Part of all profit from Le Yoga Shop Paris is donated to the Ashadayaka Seva Trust. Read more about it here: www.leyogashop.com/pages/the-cause

Photo kia naddermier / www.naddermier.com

Mysore

Ashtanga yoga shala

dedicated to the authentic practice of ashtanga yoga – mysore style Mysore Style & Introduction for beginners Open every morning Monday to Friday Visit our website for full schedule and information www.mysoreyogaparis.com

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Mysore Yoga Paris Ashtanga Yoga Shala c/0 Le Centre Shambhala de Paris, 17, rue Eugene Varlin, 75010 Paris Metro: Gare de l’Est/Château-Landon www.mysoreyogaparis.com

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