Noelle Perez-Christiaens was a young yoga instructor in Paris when she began to study with B.K.S.Iyengar in India in 1959. The practice of yoga made her aware of physical limitations she observed in herself and other Western students, but not in their Indian counterparts. This difference set her on a path of investigation that continues to this day.

First in India and then in Africa and Portugal she began to observe daily activities of rural people with traditional lifestyles. A consistent pattern of body mechanics revealed itself, a characteristic gait and ease of movement. Often posture was graceful, especially among people who carried on the head: they were tireless and walked with regal bearing. It was from these observations and years of experimentation that she began to articulate the efficiency of posture that had the verticality of a plumb line (a plomb), in harmony with gravity.

Today Noelle continues the research she began in 1959. She travels all over the world to observe quickly disappearing methods of "primitive" carrying: on the head, shoulders or back and with the use of simple devices.

Her teaching continues to reflect insights learned from Mr. Iyengar. But it is coupled with her belief that we Westerners can learn from rural cultures, where physically active people have preserved an astute sense of functional efficiency that urban and sedentary cultures have lost.

Noelle has published some 25 books about Aplomb (Balance) and Yoga. Two books are available in English:

• Thus Spake B.K.S.Iyengar, Paris 1979
• Sparks of Divinity, Paris 1976