Duotone Magazin No.01 2019

I started yoga in 2015 because I was attracted by the positive and kind vibe which was around the people who were practicing it. The way they thought and lived made me become attracted to this world. Reading a lot of yoga books helped me to choose the type of yoga I wanted to practice. In the beginning I went to a lot of yoga classes to learn how to flow. Today I love practicing yoga every late afternoon because it calms my mind after a super busy day. Even if my day is not a great one, yoga helps me to leave all the stress behind and be in a better mood. It’s so easy to combine Kiteboarding and yoga. When it’s windy, I kite all day long and once I’m back home, I roll down my mat and I start practicing yoga. The good thing is that you can do it wherever you want because all you need is just a tiny space which i can find even in the smallest rooms on my journeys. Although I love rolling down my mat in front of the sea at sunset time. This is definitely my happiest place. I feel the benefits of yoga when I’m on the water kiteboarding. My movements are more fluid and it seems to me that rotations get easier. Since I started practicing yoga it has become very rare for me to get out of the water because of a muscle cramp. It helps me be better in both physical and mental ways. Yoga also helps me during competitions. Before doing a trick, I usually take a long breath in and a long one out, I remind myself to enjoy the moment (no matter what happens) and then I focus on the trick I’m going to do. Yoga is so much more than a bunch of movements connected together, it’s a way of life! Yoga means to be here and now. It makes you realize how beautiful the world is and that you are very lucky to live in it. It teaches you how to live in the moment and to not waste any time of it. It helps you to be strong and to get confidence. We all are beautiful souls, we just have to know how to let it come out and how to spread the light that everyone has inside. I really love yoga because it changed my mind a lot. I used to stress so much about things that I couldn’t change. What I do now is try to learn from my mistakes, without stressing too much. When I started yoga there were a lot of things that I didn’t like about myself (physical aspects) and this awesome way of life helped me to accept myself the way I am, because there are no better versions that I can be. You are perfect the way you are! One of my dreams is definitely to go to India to discover all the yoga secrets and become a teacher. Yoga is all about being grateful for each moment, kind with everyone, and it means be proud of ourselves. Yoga is less ego and more human!  “Yoga is so much more than a bunch of movements connected together, it’s a way of life!” FRANCESCA BAGNOL I P RO R I D ER Photos: Toby Bromwich T R U E T R U E S O U R C E S O F P O W E R 38 39