It was thanks to Camille Param Devi that the Atelier Nubio team deepened their Kundalini yoga practice and incorporated it into their daily lives. Kundalini yoga combines mantras (chants), meditations, pranayama (breathing exercises), kriya (physical exercises), visualization, and many other powerful tools to strengthen the body and mind. Kundalini yoga is an ancient form of yoga that prepared Gurmukhi warriors for battle—it is invaluable for toughening us and guiding us in our lives as superwomen!
Interview.
Where are your roots?
My father is Breton, from Finistère: the end of the earth… Beyond that lies the ocean, the other continents, the rest of the world, and I naturally feel at home everywhere. I feel a sense of belonging to every journey, every place, every culture. Perhaps this land of sailors gave me both roots and wings. But I have a home port in my heart, a place I've always returned to since my earliest days: Guéthary on the Basque coast. My mother's family settled there 50 years ago, and I have friends there who have seen me through the different stages of my life. And then there are the mountains that border the ocean, giving me a feeling of strength, courage, and stability: it's surely the power of roots.
What makes you feel alive?
Travel, taking the road less traveled, nature and its colors, encounters, surprises, the unexpected, music, instruments, singing, sound, words, books, creation, life. I am a very enthusiastic person by nature; I feel things quickly and intensely.
You live in Paris, what do you like/dislike about this city?
I love Paris because it's beautiful. I love the aesthetics of its monuments, its buildings, its streets, the Seine flowing through it, the lights that shine in certain places and the dark corners that aren't really dark at all. I love its elegant neighborhoods as well as its working-class ones. I love the essence of its history, its culture, its avant-garde spirit as well as its shortcomings and failures. But what it lacks is greenery, nature, the horizon, and, in certain seasons, light. If Paris could embrace all of that more, perhaps I would never leave. But today, I like to get away every month to breathe in the fresh air and rediscover it each time.
Where do you like to hang out in Paris?
Strangely enough, even though I love to travel far and wide, when I'm in Paris I stay true to my neighborhood. I live in the Carreau du Temple district and I mostly hang out near my building. It's the Rue de Bretagne, Rue de Turenne, Rue Dupetit-Thouars, the "healthy," "trendy," or "traditional" cafés; I go wherever my mood takes me. When the weather's nice, I like to read on a bench in the small park in the Carreau du Temple. It's not grand, but it's there, with a few trees and a lawn, its pond, its children, its music sometimes, and early in the morning, its Tai Chi practitioners.
What are your favorite forms of physical and spiritual nourishment?
Physical food is my guilty pleasure, so I have a little rule: at home, no meat, no fish, no eggs, no cow's milk, no gluten—so maybe not a good idea to come over for dinner! It might seem drastic, but it's really a discipline that allows me to maintain a good energy level. On the other hand, when I go out, to a restaurant or to friends' houses, I don't deprive myself of anything. In those moments, food is no longer just physical; it's also social. It's a sharing that goes beyond the energy the body needs, and I then eat with immense pleasure everything that's offered!
For spiritual nourishment, it obviously involves a lot of reading, practice, and teachings from the masters who inspire me. I just returned from a 15-day Yatra in the Himalayas with Yogi Amandeep; it was a very powerful experience. But beyond that, for me, spiritual nourishment is simply living each moment to the best of my ability, with love, joy, kindness, and compassion. By approaching experiences in this way, we draw closer to consciousness. I believe there is no greater spirituality.
How do you recharge when you feel things are going too fast or sounding fake?
I meditate every day, so when things are moving too fast or sounding off, I quickly become aware of it. Which is fortunate, because it's perhaps the least obvious part when you let yourself get carried away. Then it's a matter of making the necessary adjustments, of restoring balance. Sometimes this happens quite quickly (the awareness having allowed me to release what needs to be released), sometimes it takes longer because I resist. In that case, I first show myself understanding and compassion. Then I become more rational and take the necessary steps: a day off, friends—the power of sisterhood is formidable, family—my sister is actually my greatest asset—exhibitions, dancing, guitar, reading, films, writing, etc.
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Tell us about your encounter with Kundalini yoga
Ten years ago, I moved to Los Angeles to follow a boyfriend who was working in film. Upon arriving, I realized I was in the land of green juice, yoga, and the New Age movement that had so fascinated me. My first practice was Hatha, but only for a very short time because the YMCA instructor was moving to Bali. A real blow for Hollywood, which was thriving with her! Luckily for me, I had to fall back on THE historic yoga center of Los Angeles: the Golden Bridge. Just a block from my apartment, I went there seemingly by chance. Entering the light-filled studio, I saw a curvy instructor with glasses, a female version of Coluche, wearing a turban, and a large, diverse crowd sitting cross-legged on sheepskins. It was nothing like the yoga I had experienced in Paris, but I immediately felt at home. I sat in the back and Tej (I would later learn that she was the one who translated Yogi Bhajan's teachings) asked who was there for the first time. I raised my hand and she told me I was right to come that day, that it was my path. I felt like laughing, thinking to myself that this city definitely had a flair for the dramatic, and then the practice began… I came back every day.
It's always difficult to put this kind of experience into words. At that moment, I felt as though I had always practiced Kundalini; I knew the mantras without knowing them, the sensations felt through the movements without ever having practiced them, and the teachings I discovered through reading revealed everything I already knew but had never named. This encounter simply illuminated who I am.
What was the trigger that made you decide to become a teacher?
My parents were teachers, and I'd always promised myself I'd never become one! Yet, in Los Angeles, I quickly felt the urge to do Teacher Training: I wanted to learn more. But then I had to rush back to Paris. At that time—ten years ago—it wasn't easy to find a course. I considered training for the second time: I wanted to be independent in my practice. But then, by chance, I joined a weekly class. I attended regularly for several years. Again, I questioned the training, but my resistance made me give up. Even though I didn't make the connection right away, in retrospect I realized that at the same time my life collapsed. I explored my darkest corners until I no longer had the strength.
And again, seemingly by chance, a girl I met in a bar suggested we meditate together. I found myself in a Kundalini Yoga class. Leaving that class, I knew, far beyond what my mind could tell me, that I wanted to commit to this practice. And I knew it was now or never. Two weeks later, I was in Fontainebleau, at the Ik Saran Dhian school for the first level of teacher training. I immediately started teaching classes to my friends, then to friends of friends. When I received my diploma, I wanted to go to a studio and teach a class. It was a challenge, and I was excited to take it on. The class was a success, so we opened a second one, then a third. Then other studios called me. Very quickly, I found myself teaching classes every day. I didn't really feel like I'd ever decided to do it, but I was surprised to find I enjoyed it so much. So I kept going…
How did you train in kundalini (and are you continuing to train)?
I trained in a very structured way, following the training levels offered by the international organization of Yogi Bhajan's teachings, 3HO. This path includes a first level that qualifies you to teach, followed by a series of second levels in which we delve deeper into the foundations and concepts previously presented. This can take several years; I am still in training. In parallel, I participate in other trainings that aren't necessarily part of the aforementioned curriculum. Not out of dissent, but simply to follow my intuition, which always leads me to the right place. There are subjects that call to me and teachers who have mastered them, so I seek them out. This is something I particularly enjoy about teaching: learning. In practical terms, I've made it a habit to dedicate at least one training session to myself each year.
How does kundalini help to strengthen areas where we have weaknesses?
Kundalini Yoga is the teaching of awareness. The practice helps us to be in the present moment. The first step to healing, to transforming, and to experiencing our full potential is to be with what is. But if I ask you to be in the present moment, it's not easy… If I then ask you to extend your arms at a 60-degree angle for 31 minutes while chanting a mantra, suddenly you will truly be in the present moment! The point is not so much to master the posture as to experience presence to oneself. By keeping my arms extended for 31 minutes—this is just an example, of course—I give myself the opportunity to welcome what is, with its share of resistance and discomfort (which we might even call a weakness).
Most of the time, we don't welcome what confronts us; we even flee from it. This forgetting of our overall nature can lead us to be nothing more than our fantasy. In other words, if, through spiritual idealism, we reject the shadow, we lose the light. Yet it is precisely in the shadow that the liberation from our fears resides. By choosing to keep our arms outstretched, by remaining in the present moment, resistance dissolves, fear vanishes, and Love grows. Kundalini Yoga is a tantric practice, "a mad dash along the razor's edge," as Daniel Odier emphasizes, "a quest where one does not seek to abstract oneself from the human fabric but, on the contrary, to allow it to emerge as an awareness of the expansive." When we integrate this mechanism, every challenge becomes an opportunity for growth.
What aspects of your daily life have been transformed by the practice?
Practice has allowed me to develop discipline, which was initially very difficult for me. For a long time, I ran from discipline, just as I ran from the responsibility of becoming an adult. But by experiencing it, I realized that it is the first step towards self-commitment, the unconditional mantra for all creation, the first step towards happiness.
As I mentioned earlier, I've adopted a diet that provides me with all the energy I need (no animal products, no cow's milk, and no gluten). I've also slightly modified my wardrobe, incorporating more colors and white or beige clothing. This allows me to better utilize my energy. I've also become familiar with the practice of Ishnan: a cold shower in the morning. This cleanses the organs and maintains youthful and healthy blood composition, balances the glandular system, and helps me keep my skin radiant, smooth, and soft.
I incorporated a daily practice upon waking, primarily meditative: a vital cleansing for the unconscious, a mental shower necessary to be able to hear and speak one's Truth. By integrating these simple yogic tools into my daily life, I found myself accomplishing things I didn't think I was capable of. I saw myself grow and flourish. Clearly, the metamorphosis lies not so much in the repetition of these small daily gestures as in the experience of Self they provide. And while I struggled to let go of the carefree nature of my childhood, I was surprised to discover the joy of being an adult. An adult is simply a child who gives their dreams the discipline necessary to make them a reality.
How do you find inspiration for each workshop (which are all very different!)?
90% of the Universe is made of dark matter, which we struggle to comprehend humanly and to grasp scientifically. Yet we know that without this dark matter, the tangible world as we know it would not stand, or even exist. What we understand, therefore, is that there is a link between the visible and invisible worlds; between the finite Self and the infinite Self. And it is this link that we forge through the practice of yoga and meditation. The word Yoga translates as "the yoke," "union." For me, yoga is the technology (a coherent set of knowledge and technical practices) that allows us to experience the relationship between these two worlds, ether and matter. And while these two worlds may appear to have very different laws, the fact remains that in both cases, it is a matter of energy. Everything is vibration; even the smallest atom is a vibration, that is, information in flux.
If I can decode the information circulating within me, and in turn transmit clear information, I am no longer merely the object of this creation but also its subject. By establishing a relationship with this invisible world that underlies and sustains all creation, I free myself from what blocks my ability to give form to my dreams and desires; I experience my divine nature. There are forms of knowledge and practices that allow us to better understand how energy is structured and how it flows. Therefore, I became interested in astrology, Kabbalah, and Tantric numerology, for example, to be better able to receive the energy of the moment and offer tools that can best serve it. In this sense, I have organized my classes around the movement of the moon, waxing and waning, and the position they occupy in the astrological chart at the time of practice. I also explore how the other planets evolve. When preparing a workshop, I take care to incorporate the season we're in, the energy of the month, of the week we're in. Generally speaking, I use tools that allow me to capture the vibration of the present moment to open a discussion and then offer the most appropriate kriyas and meditations on that topic. Of course, long before and long beyond these mental prompts, I am present with myself, listening, to intuitively welcome the directions to take. In this sense, daily meditation allows me to be very receptive to all of this and to simply let things flow.
What is your most exciting project at the moment?
The last two years have flown by. I've poured so much energy into developing my Kundalini Yoga classes, retreats, and consultations, and now I'd like to find some balance. Building my own equilibrium is my most exciting project right now! In 2020, I'd like to continue teaching, but with a slightly lighter schedule. In February, I'll be in Costa Rica leading a mother/daughter retreat, which I'm incredibly excited about. I'll also be giving my first workshop in English there! Other retreats are planned: in southwest France to celebrate the changing seasons, and in Sardinia and Morocco for self-care. This year, I also want to volunteer and dedicate my time to the children at the Beninese orphanage run by the Atoké association (Instagram: @association_atoké), which is very dear to my heart. To that end, I'll continue my training, including a "Kundalini for Kidz" course! I'd also like to carve out more creative space for making music and writing. I have a project and a budding collaboration in mind that I'm eager to develop. Last but not least, I'd like to take some time to do absolutely nothing!
