Ep15 Yoga Unveiled - Godfrey Devereux
In this episode I interview Godfrey Devereux, yoga and meditation teacher of over 45 years experience, and author of several books – including ‘Dynamic Yoga’ and ‘Yoga Unveiled’, a translation and commentary of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
In this conversation Godfrey recounts how watching his uncle, an Anglican minster, pray in tree-pose sparked an overwhelming sense of reverence, how Godfrey’s teenage attempts at learning from books produced surprising results, why meeting his Indian yoga guru heroes left him unimpressed, and how the rigorous discipline of Zen – and the insight of a particular Zen Roshi – changed Godfrey’s life forever.
This interview was particularly enjoyable for me because Godfrey is the man who trained me in the practice and teaching of yoga in my mid-twenties.
Topics include:
Godfrey’s first encounter with yoga
The power of reverence
Early days learning from books
Meeting an Iyengar yoga teacher
Yoga in England in the 70s
Travelling to Italy and training as a Montessori teacher
Clashes with the school management
Experimentation with vast amounts of LSD
Insights gained from psychedelics
Moving to America and working in the natural food movement
Encountering Ashtanga vinyasa yoga in Hawaii
Contacting a deep internal awareness
Testing what you’re taught; does it work, is it valid?
Are some people more suited to self enquiry?
Realising yoga wasn’t really working
Travelling to India
Disappointment when meeting the great yoga gurus
Activation of anandamayakosha, the bliss body
India’s special geology and culture
Was BKS Iyengar a sadomasochist?
Meeting the advaita teacher Ramesh Balsekar
Turning to Zen
Godfrey’s first sesshin
Sitting in full lotus
Why does it have to hurt so much?!
Becoming one with pain
Studying with Genpo Roshi
Koan study
Commenting on Genpo Roshi’s sexual scandal
A guru-chela relationship with Kali
Godfrey’s tantric encounters
Self improvement vs self enquiry
4 most common mistakes in yoga
Effortless yoga posture practice
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Godfrey’s take on the 5 Yamas
Godfrey’s experiments with pranayama
Medieval pranayama vs Patanjali’s approach
What is spiritual practice?
The issue of authority
Knowledge vs experience
Steve’s training with Godfrey
Why Godfrey has decided to stop training yoga teachers
Advice for those facing catastrophe
To find our more about Godfrey, visit: www.dynamicyoga.com
Godfrey on Yogavinyasakrama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkU5k03runI
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James