Emilie Etoundi

35+ Suffering with #chronicpain, treat yourself with private #yoga and #mobility work. I help you through exercises tailored to your needs to #move better, #age better and #feel better (for as long as possible). DM for more info or book on my website (link in bio)

Does this speak to you? Contact me. #douleurschroniques #neuroscience #somatiqueayoga #automassage #systemenerveux #yogatherapeutique #interoception #bienêtre #somaticyoga #massage #therapeuticyoga #chronicpain

A few spots left before this summer. I'm helping you move despite your stress- and occupational-related chronic pain*, get stronger and move better as you age. Contact me to book your spot (link in bio). *provided you have medical approval. #therapeuticyoga #chronicpain #move #healthyaging

Looking to offer an hour of pure wellness, to move better, feel energized and relaxed? Look at this.

𝐘𝐨𝐠𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 💛 But when it comes to your body, one size doesn’t fit all. (And I plead guilty for giving enough personalisation in my studio classes, but it's hard when in front of 20, 30, even 40 people). Research shows that yoga can help reduce chronic pain and support musculoskeletal health (National Institutes of Health; Crevelario de Mela et al., 2021; Gandolfi et al., 2025). At the same time, studies report: ▫️ 7–30% of practitioners experience injuries ((Matsushita et Oka 2015, Bekhradi et al. 2018, Campo et al. 2018, Cramer et al. 2019) ▫️ up to 62% in more intense practices like Ashtanga (Bekhradi et al., 2018) ▫️ ~20% report acute adverse effects over 6 months, and ~10% chronic effects (Cramer et al., 2019) ▫️ higher risks for people with pre-existing conditions or unsupervised practice 👉 Yoga is powerful—but it needs to be adapted. That’s exactly what I offer in private sessions: ✨ a practice tailored to your body ✨ safe alignment & smart progressions ✨ tools to reduce pain and build strength Think of it as the foundation that allows you to enjoy your studio classes with confidence and safety. ⚠️ If you have pain or a medical condition, always seek professional medical advice before starting or adapting a physical practice.

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝟏𝟓 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 🤍 Get comfy (old sweats), create a space that feels like home, safe and pleasant. Set yourself into the ultimate relaxation pose (savasana): * Lie on your back. * Support your knees with a bolster or pillow. * Add a blanket/pillow under your neck + arms so everything feels held. Having all joints in flexion. * Cover yourself with a blanket (your body cools down as it relaxes). * Place something over your eyes to soften the world. * Relax ✨ Start where you are. Stay as long as you can. Save this for later 💾 PS: If you’re a like me and tend to fall asleep in savasana, you’re chronically sleep-deprived, maybe just sleep, you need it. PPS: You’re a pregnant lady, as you move into your pregnancy, laying down on your back might feel very uncomfortable if not painful. Lay down on your left side, a bolster in between the legs, folded blanket under the head, maybe a small pillow under your belly. Alternatively, you can use bolster/block/pillows to create a 45-degree angle incline for a reclined position.

𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. And yet, one of the most powerful tools to break that cycle is often overlooked: S̳a̳v̳a̳s̳a̳n̳a̳. This is where your body shifts from survival mode to repair mode. When practiced properly, savasana helps to: ✨ Downregulate the "fight and flight" sympathetic nervous system ✨ Lower cortisol (stress hormone) ✨ Reduce inflammation ✨ Improve recovery and tissue repair ✨ Decrease pain perception In chronic pain, the nervous system becomes hypersensitive. Pain feeds stress → stress feeds pain. 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩. But here’s the challenge: 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. Conscious rest is a skill—and it can be learned. Next week, I’ll show you how to set up a truly effective #savasana to help your body release tension and recover. Next Thursday, my newsletter will explore the science behind savasana and its physiological impact on #chronicstress, #chronicpain & ageing. If you’re dealing with chronic pain, suscribe to this newsletter (link in bio) *** I offer private yoga sessions designed to help you: ✔ reduce pain ✔ regain #mobility ✔ age better

How I heal my low back pain: 🌿 Chakravakrasana 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 + 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 🙂 Smooth, controlled movement, Engage the core lightly on the exhale ☹️ Collapsing into the lower back or rushing the movement. 🌿 Bhujangasana 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 🙂 Lengthening the spine rather than pushing high, Drawing shoulders away from ears ☹️ compressing the lower back or locking the elbows. 🌿 Salabhasana 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘, 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠, ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠) 🙂 Engaging glutes and back muscles evenly, Length over height ☹️Crunching the neck or holding your breath. 🌿 Apanasana (Knees-to-Chest) 𝑅𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 🙂 Letting the lower back soften into the ground. Slow, relaxed breathing ☹️ Pulling too hard or creating tension in the shoulders. 🌿 Supta Matsyendrasana 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑡 + 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑥𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 🙂 Relaxing into the twist (don’t force it), Breathing into the ribcage ☹️ Forcing knees down or lifting shoulders aggressively. 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲—𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧.

As you remember, my back gave out and gives out every time I'm stressed and very tired. But I have tools to manage the pain and heal. Evidence-based, simple, accessible tools. And they made all the difference. 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 1: 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 Before anything else, I focused on soft tissue work: ✨ Heat on the lower back ✨ Gentle self-massage (especially glutes) Why? Tight muscles/fascia can compress the spine and limit movement. Releasing them helps restore circulation, mobility, and reduces pain. 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑 2: 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 (even when it hurts — gently and low impact) When pain peaks, rest feels like the obvious answer. But in most cases, movement is what helps you get better. For me, it started with something very simple: WALKING 30 to 60 minutes every other day at my own pace No performance. Just consistency. And slowly, things started to shift. If you’re dealing with low back pain, this might be a place to start 🤍 Next week comes a full yoga-based sequence to improve low back mobility and strength for sustainable improvement of your low back pain. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive tools to manage chronic pain (link in bio). #lowbackpain #movementismedicine #yogatherapy #posture #wellbeing #backpainrelief

𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝟏 𝐢𝐧 𝟐 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 90–95% of low back pain cases are called “non-specific”? That means no single identifiable source of pain can be found. No herniated disc. No visible lesion. Just… pain. And that’s often where people panic — rushing for MRIs, chasing diagnoses, and ending up more confused than before. The common possible culprits: • Chronic stress • Poor sleep • Sedentary lifestyle • Postural habits The good news: this kind of pain can be managed. Next post → Step 1 of my 3-step protocol. To get help before everyone, contact me to book a 1:1 yoga and mobility session. Disclaimer: Always consult a medical professional when feeling any pain. What I offer is additional support and would never replace any medical intervention or advice. #lowbackpain #chronicpain #bodyawareness #yogatherapy #movement

Take care of yourself! ##mentalwellness #wellbeing #selfcare #yogabrussels #chronicfatigue #chronicpain

𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒂 𝒚𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓. WTF! Lately, I have been exhausted and stressed out. Holding it all together — a very stressful 5 to 9 job, teaching yoga, being a mum and a partner — in a world that feels a little frightening right now. And then my back gave out. Which, honestly, felt like the ultimate irony. I help people prevent and manage chronic pain for a living. And there I was — stress through the roof, body saying enough, dragging myself out of bed every morning. Impostor syndrome hit hard. But then I came back to something I know to be true — nobody is immune. Not me, not you. Life hits the body. The difference isn't whether it happens. It's how you meet it when it does. So I showed up. Not perfectly. Not impressively. → Gentle movement every day → Meditation and breathwork, even when I didn't feel like it → Somatic practices to listen — really listen — to my body → Rest without guilt, whenever I could Softly something shifted. Maybe I'm not a fraud after all. I have tools. Tools I've built and tested and taught — and that work, even when I'm the one who needs them most. That's exactly why I want to share them with you. Because you deserve to have them too. Not just for the hard moments — but so your body doesn't have to scream before you listen. 💬 Tell me — what are your tools when life gets heavy? 🔗 If you want to explore this work together — link in bio. #SelfCare #HonestPost #YogaTeacherLife #ChronicPainPrevention #MindBodyConnection #SomaticMovement #Breathwork #MovementHeals #MentalLoad #WomenWellness #YogaBrussels #ImpostorSyndrome #RestIsProductive #AuthenticWellness #ShowingUp