The story begins in 2013 when Élodie Garamond, a Parisian communications expert, decided to turn her passion into a career. 

With her family she opened the first Tigre Yoga Club (Chaillot) in 2013, offering over 60 disciplines of yoga, Pilates, barre, meditation, consultations, massages etc. The Tigres Rive Gauche, Neuilly, Deauville, Cassis, Marais, Lyon, Monte-Carlo and finally the Tigre Yoga Academy followed, the latter dedicated to training and furthering the knowledge of those in the business and open to all instructors.  

An author passionate about her subject, in 2016 Élodie published Zen, un jeu d’enfant, then Chaos naissent nos Étoiles (from chaos are born stars) in 2019 by Éditions Flammarion. These were also years enriched by her meetings with others and experiences sharing yoga with the disadvantaged and sick people, a sharing which according to her “gives meaning to action”. 

In 2020 and 2021, despite setbacks of closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she was fully engaged with the sector, representing yoga in the Union Sport & Cycle and Ministry of Sports. Publicly committed to defending yoga venues in times of crisis, she was elected President of the Union of Yoga Professionals in January 2021. 

Regards the Tigre brand, closure of the clubs was inevitable but the Tigre energy continues thanks to the online Yogaplay platform in France which has become the go-to platform for lessons on demand for yoga and other disciplines. The Tigre Yogaplay platform welcomes many French and foreign instructors offering subscribers 650 video classes in 35 disciplines. The platform also has a podcast called Les Conversations du Tigre. 

On the never-ending quest to share her way of living with others, Élodie has also produced an original encyclopaedia, Yoga un art de vivre in 2022, published by Flammarion, and now teaches yoga at many festivals and retreats. 

Languages spoken: French, English and Spanish

Photo credit: Pascal Ito © Flammarion