This article is a synthesis of the Yoga Anatman session of October 9, 2026, a morning bathed in laughter, tears, and a revelation that may well change the way you see living together.
There are mornings when the mat becomes a threshold. 🌅 A quiet threshold, almost ordinary, that you cross in silence, barefoot, with that tiny trust that something, today, is going to be said differently. That morning, the room was filled with the scent of chai with coconut milk and hazelnut, an aroma that warmed you even before the first sip.
And then came the laughter. 🦋 Valérie’s first, then Corinne’s, Marie’s, Anaïs’s, Kévin’s. An epidemic of laughter yoga, as Alexandre would call it, while a leg stretched toward the sky opened the hips and released years of holding back. But beneath the laughter, something deeper was seeking to emerge.
Because that morning, behind the apparent gentleness, a radical teaching was taking shape. A teaching that, in just a few words, overturns 40,000 years of human history. 💫
What if all your needs were, by nature, legitimate?
That is the question that swept through the room like a breath. Asked without emphasis, almost whispered between two inhalations. My needs are all, by nature, legitimate. 🕊️ How many of us were raised — or worse, castrated, to use Alexandre’s blunt word — to believe exactly the opposite?
How many times did we learn to keep quiet, to swallow our tiredness, to downplay our hunger, to push away a need for silence because it wasn’t the right time? That morning, in the surrender of the breath and the warmth of the cup, something cracked open. The tears came. 💞 They had been waiting.
And behind them, a dizzying proposal: to create a new system together, one where the individual comes before the structure. A gentle revolution, almost a family one, which nonetheless begins with a very simple gesture — daring to say, in real time, what you feel. 🌿
The Morning’s Teaching
There are mornings when a single sentence, spoken almost discreetly between two breaths, holds a revolution within it. This was one of those mornings. 🌟 Alexandre, at the heart of the elixir ceremony, offered a proposal of disarming simplicity — and dizzying reach.
“Gratitude for creating a new system together. A system that takes every need into account. And that puts the individual first, before the system.”
Take a moment. Read it again. Because this sentence, so gentle on the surface, overturns what Alexandre names without hesitation: 40,000 years of human civilization. 💫 Since the dawn of the first organized societies, humanity has run on a single principle — the system first, the individual second. Tribes, kingdoms, empires, nations, companies, even families: everywhere, the structure prevails over the person.
“In our society, it’s always the system before the individual. Practically every system for 40,000 years has crushed people and couldn’t care less about them.”
Alexandre doesn’t mince his words. And yet there is no anger in his voice — only a tender clarity. Because this is not about condemning what was, but about daring to invent what comes next. 🕊️ A system in which, for the first time on a large scale, the individual and their needs become the cornerstone.
The morning elixir — that shared cup of chai, warm, fragrant with coconut milk and hazelnut — is the perfect symbol of this teaching. 🌿 Each person prepares their own. Each drinks it at their own pace. And yet, together, we create a ritual. The elixir is the liquid metaphor of a community that honors the individual without sacrificing the collective.
But Alexandre goes further. He specifies: “For it to work, we need to clearly distinguish true needs from false needs.” And this is where the teaching becomes demanding. Because if we want a world where individual needs come first, we still have to learn to discern. 💖
True needs are those of safety, personal territory, tenderness, love, affection, being listened to. Being heard, welcomed, loved, and loving. The primary, essential, non-negotiable needs. False needs, on the other hand, are desires shaped by the system itself — compensations, addictions, needs manufactured to mask the real ones.
And to access this discernment, you need a tool: mindfulness. ✨ It is mindfulness that allows you, in the silence of the morning or in the turmoil of the day, to feel what truly comes from you and what comes from conditioning. It is mindfulness that turns a pious wish (respecting everyone’s needs) into a concrete practice (listening, discerning, expressing).
The teaching ends with an almost childlike invitation, and therein lies all its beauty. Dare to voice your needs in real time. Say when it’s too much. Say when you’re tired. Say when you need silence, space, gentleness. 💞 Not as a whim, but as an act of the sacred toward yourself — and, in turn, toward everyone who will benefit from your rediscovered authenticity.
Because a new system cannot be decreed. It is woven, one expressed need after another, one I love you after another, one shared cup of chai after another. 🦋
Realizations During Yoga Anatman
🎁 This 10-minute excerpt of the session’s realizations (in French) is offered to you by ANATMAN TV.
The session opened with words from Alexandre that already set the frame: “As every morning, a deep inhalation.” 🙏 But that morning, the breath carried a special significance. After the jaw massage — the jaw where nighttime tensions nest, along with unspoken words and swallowed anger — the body was invited to remember itself.
The hands rise, the thumbs hook together, the back stretches backward. And already, in this simple stretch, a truth surfaces: the body doesn’t need to be taught how to open; it is only waiting for permission. The permission we finally give ourselves to breathe wider than usual. ✨
“With love, kindness and benevolence, I deny myself nothing.”
This mantra, repeated like a wave, ran through the entire practice. It is no small thing. In a single sentence, it holds the whole philosophy of the session: kindness toward yourself is not a privilege, it is a foundation. And on that foundation, everything else can be built — respect for others, rightness in relationships, inner peace. 💖
Then came the great vertical stretch, hands toward the ceiling, that sublime image of a body pushing the clouds, leaving planet Earth and pushing all the stars. 🌟 A cosmic metaphor to remind us that the human being, standing upright, is not a fragile little reed — they are sovereign, territorial, immense.
And it was precisely this sovereignty that came into play in the declaration of love to the universe. “To the universe, I love you. To life, I love you. To myself, I love you. I’m crazy about you.” 🦋 These words, spoken with faces hidden behind eye masks, opened a breach. Because daring to say I love you to yourself means overturning an entire upbringing.
The elixir ceremony arrived like a sacred pause. 🌿 Everyone prepared their cup of chai, and Alexandre invited us to surrender to the sound of the bowl. A sound that, repeated, becomes an anchor — an instant gateway to the state of surrender, usable at any moment of the day. This is one of the keys of Yoga Anatman: linking an inner state to a sound trigger so you can return to it, even amid the turmoil of daily life.
Then came the elixir mantras. Gratitude for receiving the initiation of the breath of life, from the sacred mountains. 🕊️ Gratitude for remembering those lives in the Himalayas, in damp caves, the cold, the hot drinks shared. And at the heart of this evocation, a deeply moving reminder: Zari, zari — the word Valérie remembered, like a memory rising from very far away.
“I welcome all my emotions, I welcome.”
Then the heart of the session revealed itself. An avalanche of mantras — love, kindness, benevolence, welcome, surrender — punctuated by sacred permissions: If it laughs, it laughs. If it cries, it cries. If it isn’t happy, it isn’t happy. It’s natural. 💫 This phrase, childlike in its simplicity, is in fact a revolution. It says: you don’t have to filter, censor, or tidy up your emotions to make them presentable.
And this is where Alexandre offered the key of the day. After reminding us that we must dare to express all our needs in real time — the need for space, for silence, for gentleness — he opened the great door: “I release in love everything that would have me believe my needs are not legitimate.” 🙏
Tears flowed abundantly. Alexandre underlined it: “Let a lot of emotions cry out, because it’s often the opposite of what was trained or castrated out of us in childhood.” That sentence resonated for a long time. How many inner children, that morning, finally heard that they had the right to exist? 💞
“My needs are all, by nature, legitimate.”
Then the group mantra came, like a collective offering: “Gratitude for creating a new system together.” A system that takes every need into account. A system where the individual comes before the structure. That was the moment the session’s scope shifted. We were no longer simply in an intimate yoga practice — we were touching a civilizational paradigm. 🌟
The lying-down sequence extended this opening. Right leg stretched toward the sky with the strap, lower back pressed into the floor, and suddenly — laughter. 🦋 Contagious, unpredictable laughter that spread through the whole room. Valérie, Anaïs, Kévin, Marie, Sari, Corinne, Lilit. Alexandre, clear-eyed: “It’s an epidemic of laughter yoga.” And he named this jolting Kundalini — the energy that, when welcomed, shows itself in joyful tremors.
Mindful walking closed the practice. Eyes closed, barefoot, each person silently repeated the mantra walking and let the body move forward on its own. Then came Alexandre’s unlikely encounter with the cosmic clown 💫 — a reminder that even awakening keeps its share of lightness, mischief and play.
The Postures of the Session
🧘 Jaw massage and stretch — Hanumukha mudra
The posture: Seated or standing, the fingers gently massage the jaw muscles, then the jaw moves left, right, up, down, and the tongue comes out freely. The breath stays nasal and relaxed.
Benefits for the body: Releases tension built up overnight, relaxes the masseter muscles, loosens the temporomandibular joint and supports vocal expression.
🧘 Great vertical stretch, hands to the ceiling — Urdhva Hastasana
The posture: Standing, feet rooted in the floor, both hands rise toward the ceiling, palms to the sky, as if pushing the clouds. The lower back lengthens, the upper thighs engage, the breath is deep and nasal.
Benefits for the body: Stretches the spine along its entire length, opens the rib cage, improves posture and stimulates lymphatic circulation.
🧘 Standing forward bend — Uttanasana
The posture: From standing, the body folds forward from the lower back, the knees may bend slightly, the hands drop toward the floor. The exhalation accompanies the descent.
Benefits for the body: Stretches the hamstrings and lower back, relaxes the neck, calms the nervous system and supports venous return.
🧘 Half forward fold — Ardha Uttanasana
The posture: From the forward bend, the back rises to horizontal, hands on the knees, gaze forward, legs straight. The inhalation opens the chest.
Benefits for the body: Strengthens the back, stretches the hamstrings, makes the spine more supple and prepares for opening postures.
🧘 Side stretch with bent elbow — Parsva Urdhva Hastasana
The posture: Standing, one arm rises to the sky, the elbow bends, the other hand stays low. The body stretches toward the opposite side. The breath accompanies each stretch.
Benefits for the body: Stretches the sides of the body, the intercostal muscles and the quadratus lumborum, and improves the lateral mobility of the spine.
🧘 Chin and head rotations — Anatman movement
The posture: Standing, the chin draws large, gentle circles, moving left, back, right, forward. The shoulders stay low.
Benefits for the body: Relaxes the cervical spine, loosens the neck and releases tension in the head.
🧘 Hip circles — Anatman movement inspired by Kati Chakrasana
The posture: Standing, feet rooted like a heavy tree, the pelvis draws large circles, right, back, left, forward, then changes direction. The nasal breath is deep.
Benefits for the body: Loosens the hips and lower back, stimulates the digestive organs and strengthens grounding.
🧘 Energy healing, hands on the lower back — Anatman movement
The posture: Standing, the hands rest on the lower back, palms warm, and the spine gently stretches backward. The inhalation is nasal and deep.
Benefits for the body: Relaxes the lumbar area, opens the hips and supports circulation in the sacral region.
🧘 Leg raised to the sky with a strap — Supta Padangusthasana
The posture: Lying on the back, lower back pressed into the floor, one leg rises vertically, the foot held by the strap. The forearms pull gently, the neck stays relaxed, the leg stays straight.
Benefits for the body: Deeply stretches the hamstrings and calves, relieves the lower back, improves hip mobility and stimulates circulation.
🧘 Arms overhead lying down — Supta Baddha Hastasana
The posture: Lying on the back, the arms stretch overhead and back, the shoulders open, the shoulder blades lengthen. The exhalation accompanies the stretch.
Benefits for the body: Opens the rib cage, stretches the shoulders and shoulder blades, and releases tension in the upper back.
🧘 Hands behind the head, shoulder blade stretch — Anatman movement
The posture: Lying on the back, the hands interlace behind the head, the elbows fall to the sides, the shoulder blades stretch naturally.
Benefits for the body: Relaxes the trapezius muscles, stretches the scapular muscles and soothes neck tension.
🧘 Mindful walking — Chankramanam
The posture: Standing, eyes closed, barefoot, the body moves forward slowly while silently repeating the mantra walking. The weight shifts from one foot to the other, the breath is free.
Benefits for the body: Strengthens proprioception, improves balance, stimulates circulation in the soles of the feet and anchors mindfulness in everyday movement.
My needs are all, by nature, legitimate.
In our society, it’s always the system before the individual, and systems crush people.
If it laughs, it laughs. If it cries, it cries. It’s natural.
Voices from the We
Morning Greetings
The chat opened with its usual warmth, each person placing a word like a candle lit in the circle. 🕊️
- “Hi there 😊🙏” — Sandrine
- “hello to all my friends” — francis
- “Hi there 😊 ❤️🔥🌈🎊” — Préma
- “hello Alexandre and everyone 🙏” — valerie
And already, Préma’s playful humor, quipping with obvious mischief:
“So, are we running late? 🤣🤣🤣” — Préma
Closing Gratitudes
At the end of the session, hearts were laid down, simple and full. 💞
- “thank you” — francis
- “Gratitude 💜🙏” — Sandrine
- “gratitude 🙏” — valerie
- “have a lovely day everyone” — valerie
- “Thank you for the choir” — Sandrine
Themes: legitimate needs · new system · individual before system · elixir · laughter yoga · mindfulness · welcoming emotions · sovereignty
This article was originally written in French: Yoga Anatman : L’individu avant le système, un nouveau paradigme
