Not many people realize that a distinctly French form of yoga, known as Yogeaux Francais, developed during the colonial period, mixing gothic European traditions with yogic poses. These poses include the perched gargoyle, the englassed mime, the smoking aestheste, and of coure the downward cafe lingerer. While they tend to be more advanced and complex than ordinary yogic positions, they can easily be integrated into any routine of intermediate level or higher.

That said, several Yogueax Francais poses are deprecated for their reliance on outdated social and cultural norms, and should not be performed. These include the upward pied-noir colonizer, the Pondicherry plunderer, the sugarcane harvester, and of course the Sykes-Picot stretch.

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