yoga with Granville

how I came to yoga

by Granville Cousins

My first experience with Yoga was at school at the age of sixteen. I remember one of my classmates trying to place the palms of his hands together in between his shoulder blades in the posture of Namaste. He was the only person who could do it and I wondered where he learned something like that. "Yoga" he said. And I never gave it another thought. Coming from an athletic and Catholic background, I was looking for a form of exercise that would stay with me for the whole of my life that also encompassed a spiritual element. In my late teens I again came into the field of yoga when I saw a television programme called "Yoga for Health" introduced by Richard Hittleman and assisted by such a notable yoga practitioner as Lynne Marshall. The postures were challenging for me as I felt I possessed no natural flexibility. However my appetite had been wetted so I then pursued my quest on the path of Yoga. The first major breakthrough came when I practiced from a book called "Yoga and Health" by Selverajin Ysudian and Elizabeth Haigh. I remember the bliss and the ecstasy of my first sessions. One eye on the book while trying to execute the postures and breathing exercises. This made me keener to learn, so I was glad when I came across "Light on Yoga" by Mr. B.K.S. Iyengar. His excellent performance of the postures and in-depth detail contained in the text were very inspiring for me. I used to practice for 3 - 4 hours daily using the tables provided at the back of the book. However after 6 months of this intense practice, I guess I just felt overwhelmed with it all, and went on to investigate Tai Chi, a gentle form of Martial Arts that incorporates meditation in movement. I Stayed with Martial Arts for about 10 years, during which time I achieved a 1st dan (Black - Belt) in Kung Fu and then later studied Aikido. My appetite for meditation had been wheted from the early times when I was working on the yoga alongside Selverajin Ysudian's book when I became acquainted with Buddhism. I attended a 10-day retreat with the Venerable Archarn Sumedho, a monk of immense stature and knowledge in the way of the Buddha. This was very different from what I had been used to, and I felt that this stiff body of mine needed more opening and flexibility if I was going to attend many more of these retreat sessions. I also became involved in Zen Buddhism and by this time I knew that this was more the way that I wanted to go, so after obtaining my 1st dan in Kung Fu I left the Martial arts and in 1982 went up to Throssel Hole Priory, a Zen training monastery, for a 3 month Lay Training Programme but was very pleased when they permitted me to stay longer, a total of 6 months in all. This I regard as one of the richest times of my life with regard to training. My role at the monastery was to do with the joinery work, and as that was my trade I put my skills to good use. But monastic training is more about giving yourself to what you are doing in your daily life, which isn't always what we want to do.

After leaving the monastery I again taken up my trade as a self-employed joiner. I really missed the Yoga Practice though, and I was very glad when a friend of mine introduced me to a yoga teacher in Manchester called Jeanne Maslen, a lady with whom I hold the utmost regard, and from here I felt that I became firmly set on the path of yoga. Whilst in her classes I decided that I wanted to learn more about yoga and to attend an Iyengar Teachers Training Course.

The course was very involved and I obtained my Introductory Level and Intermediate Junior Teacher Training Certificates. I also took up the martial arts again. This time I studied Aikido with Wassel Koleznikov and became one of his assistants in the class. As there were only two assistants we had to show the techniques to the students that had been demonstrated on us by the Sensei (teacher). After four years with Wassel, I again left the martial arts and focused on my Zen training and yoga with a Japanese Zen Master called Hogen. His practice is very inspiring and we used to go running and practice yoga along with the Zazen (seated meditation). This was quite an intense period of my life and on top of all that was going on I started to build my own house. This took about 18 months and after selling it bought Higher Pot Oven Farm, which is where I live now. In 1990 I went with my teacher and other students to Pune in India where we practiced with Mr. Iyengar on a three-week Teachers intensive. This was quite hard going but so rewarding to be in the presence of one of the great Yogis of this modern age. Being in the presence of such a man and in the romantic atmosphere of India made lasting impressions on my life. On my return to England, and having every intention of carrying on with my joinery work, something had changed within me, and the course of my life was to take another turn. Continued....... next