Yoga, A Family Tradition
By Rebecca Rozario, with Marguerite DelachartreMy first and most inspirational Yoga Teacher is my grandmother, Marguerite. I visited my grandmother during the summers on her farm in the South of France. Marguerite is now 92, and one of her key successes to living a life of vibrancy and vitality is Yoga.
During my summers in France, I was amazed by Marguerite’s constant boundless energy, strength and good cheer. Taking care of multiple grandkids for two months at a time was no easy feat. Yet I could barely keep up with her despite my youth. Nor could I get into many of the yoga poses that she so gracefully practiced.
I wondered what she was doing right and what I could learn from her. I would leave each summer with a series of Yoga poses “prescribed” by my grandmother for my various ailments. She was consistent with her instruction but I struggled to remember the poses until one day I documented each step and made this practice a part of my life.
I am humbled to walk in the footsteps of Marguerite (my grandmother) and Eve (my mother) as a third generation Yoga Teacher.
This article is dedicated to my first and ever-present Yoga teacher, Marguerite. Here is my grandmother Marguerite’s views on Yoga in her own words (translated and paraphrased from conversations in French to English in 2020):
“I started practicing Yoga at age 42. I was old but young. I was suffering from sciatica, poor digestion and had a lot of anxiety and stress around the finances of the farm. There were droughts and a year where we lost acres of vineyards due to frost; having to pull them out and replant them. My daughter Eve was introduced to Yoga during a dance seminar and told me that Yoga may help my condition.
I started taking lessons with the only Yoga teacher in town (it was not popular back then). Wanting to learn more, I went to a weekend winter retreat in a very cold village behind Montpellier, France. The room was very cold and there was a special visiting teacher. I could barely do anything, even more so with the cold. From there I decided to do a week-long Yoga retreat. I could barely do the postures. I would just laugh and laugh! How funny it was that they wanted me to do these postures!
But Yoga healed. I felt like I was shedding one body and another into the cosmos. One of the first benefits I felt ~ I slept well for a change! I believe that if I didn’t do this Yoga, I would not have survived past the age of 50. All the anxiety and worry shed away by doing the postures. I love holding the postures. First you think it is too hard, but then you see that you can do it. Slowly and surely there is a progression. It took 3 years of dedicated practice (2 hours daily) for me to be able to do the postures well. I learned about introspection, looking within. I used to swallow anger and take it in. This would eventually cause pain and stiffness.
Yoga is good for the mind, heart and body. I have seen Yoga help and heal people, including myself. Yoga has saved my life. After the birth of my first daughter, I suffered from hip pain for many years. Then one day my Yoga teacher adjusted it and the pain was gone. I practiced Yoga for two hours each evening. When I would come down for dinner, I had a glow on my face. When we practice Yoga, we are calm, happy, don’t get angry and sleep well. We can feel young, joyful, laughing, jumping and dancing.
There are many other benefits to Yoga. Some shed weight releasing water retention. Some who are under weight regain weight. Some who suffer from grief start smiling again. Their complexion changes and lightens up. Some who have no energy start becoming more active and regain the motivation to engage in life. Some who suffer from jammed joints regain mobility. Some who have mood swings rebalance their energy. The students who benefit the most are the ones who are consistent and progress slowly. The ones that have humility.”
Marguerite’s farm in the South of France, prior to downsizing a few years ago.
