Moselle. This week, followers of ancestral yoga are meeting with luminaries in Peltre.

"It's a conference that attracts people from all over the world. In Peltre, in the tranquility of the Couvent de la Providence, the international conference of the French-Indian Cultural Relations Center (CRCFI) is being held. It's an ideal place to meditate, practice yoga, and listen to renowned speakers ." The local linchpin of the conference, Christiane Gasser, a yoga teacher from Messina, sheds light on this annual event that began on Sunday and continues until Friday, July 25.

It's been over forty years since the CRCFI, a recognized public utility organization, chose Moselle—the town of Bitche hosted it for thirty-six years. "It's indeed traditional yoga, based on the classical texts of ancient India. Without any esoteric or mystical connotations," explains Christiane Gasser. It all started with the Indian Shri Mahesh. The man was an authority in his country, and had introduced yoga to Europe in the 1950s. Welcomed by Françoise Dolto's family, he moved in intellectual circles, became close to Robert Schuman, and met André Malraux. Yoga then took off in France and Europe.

Upon his death in 2007, his daughter Mira-Baï Mahesh followed in his footsteps and became president of the French-Indian Cultural Relations Center, and created a training school to teach yoga. "Contrary to popular belief, it's not about mastering certain contortions and acrobatic postures," explains Christiane Gasser, who was a student of Shri Mahesh, who repeated that "Everyone is their own master." No, it's based on the simplicity and repetition of movements." Moreover, the yoga workshops and the conference are open to all, subject to registration and financial participation.

Among the guests, in addition to Mira-Baï Mahesh , were Swami Suddhananda, a master scholar and researcher who has written books on self-knowledge; Cécile Becker, a doctor in Buddhist art history at Paris-IV Sorbonne; Jacques Scheuer, professor emeritus of the history of religions and philosophies of Asia at the University of Louvain in Belgium; and Rajalakshmi Chellappan, a qualified specialist in Ayurvedic medicine. The theme of the conference is balance. The very essence of yoga, where "postural practices bring about a peaceful body and mind."

Information: 06 82 82 00 00.