Old Moses
Growing up, a local coachman Moses Turner used to be Paul’s faithful companion and guide through the magical landscape of childhood. They were connected not only by their sincere love for music but also by the fact that Moses listened patientlyto Paul’s ideas about the world aroundhim, which he was eager to discover. Moses was an ordinary workingman, but and his popular wisdom and kindness provided Paul with an antipole to his strict home environment. Paul created a colourful mystical aura around Moses. He believed that Moses was at least 120 years old, linked to the biblical figure of age-old Moses and that he could perform miracles - such as forcing frogs to appear in a muddy riverbankor to conjure up bottles of ginger ale out of nowhere. Paul often returned to fond memories of him throughout his life.
Meeting with good spirits
During his studies in St. Petersburg, Paul succumbed to spiritualism and held séances with his friends. The table would rise, chairs fall, and often, random messages appeared - all in the course of aséance. It is said that he sometimes heard music wafting from afar. Paul sought to get in touch with ‘another world’in a more serious way than these, through childish tricks. His interest in spiritualism brought him into the company of a healer who healed his patients with the help of ‘good spirits’ while expelling the ‘evil ones’from sick body. He opened imaginary doors in people, allowing the ‘magic’ to flow through uncontrollable laughter and yawning. Paul was fascinated by these miraculous methods and returned to them regularly in later years.
All in onebreath!
For a short time, Paul practiced as ahealer, living in the Russian rurality. Theilliterate locals were persuaded to undergo treatments by the alleged presence of good spirits, even though his medicaments included mostly disinfectants and ointments. Paul wouldsummon them using ‘magical’ incantations and became a wizard to the villagers. None of them knew that it was actually only an English recitation of the ‘Lord’s Prayer’. Later, Paul shared the experience with his spiritual teacher, prince Ozay. During the debates with prince Ozay, he revealed the secrets of reciting the prayer, during which there should be no stopping, falling, or rising in the tone of voice. It is only this continuous sound which gives the prayer a meaning deeper than the words themselves. He considered its flawless saying to be pure art.
A member of a cult
In 1922, Paul became a member of aclub in the American city of Nyack, which focused on adapting the philosophy of yoga to modern day practical life. The club was led by Dr. Pierre Bernard, but to the press it was known as a ‘sectarian tantric group’, with an ‘open attitude to sex’, led by an eccentric doctor known as “Oom Omnipotent” or “Loving Guru“. Paul considered similar assaults by snobs from Nyack society against the Club as stupid. According to him, they only reflected the grudge of hypocrites and puritans who could not accept an open discussion about the human body. However, Nyack and society’s prejudices were not what made Paul decide to leave the club. The reason was the discovery that Bernard was using the community for hispersonal accumulation of money.
Is there a bigger bore in the world than an eating fad?
Paul’s interest in cleansing the body led him to experiment with diets. He once lived for weeks on sour milk and fruit. But he soon found out that those around him considered him a fool. He concluded that he should do the experiments behind closed doors and not botherhis friends. Therefore, he chose the Swiss Divonne, where he developed hisfasting technique in perfect isolation. Even though he started in good condition, he soon lost twenty kilos in twenty-one days. When he got back to normal, he began to crave food and it was necessary to control the craving. He experimented with placing a plate with a knife on the windowsill which had a view of the mountains. He then would slowly peelan orange with ceremonial reverence. He had a feeling that the orange was smiling triumphantly back at him- just like a woman smiles succumbing to a lover she just seduced.
The night he was reborn
During his stay in Egypt in 1936, an opportunity came Paul’s way - to spend a night completely alone in the interiors of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Thanks to his Bedouin friend Mahomet, he entered the normally inaccessible areas of the King’s Chamber where the mummy case with the pharaoh’s remains was stored. Here Paul gained a powerful mystical experience. He compared it to the music of the spheres - an endless space of sounds and colours far beyond the sun, moon and stars. Inside the thousand-year-old pyramid, embodying the wisdom of forgotten civilizations, he reached a state of blissful oblivion followed byan overwhelming calm and relaxation. This night in the pyramid changed his life forever.
Yawn and be fit
From the late 1940s, Paul Dukes devoted himself to finding new ways to prevent fatigue and stress resulting from the diseases of civilization: sedentary work, insomnia, loss of appetite and obesity. His theory was based on releasing tension through yawning and stretching - which meant just using whatmother nature gave us.
“Yawn man, yawn and stretch, you’re running out of oxygen. Stretch, your body and your mind. Turn the tension into new energy with a yawn!”
Something to laugh about
According to Paul Dukes, yawning and stretching weren’t the only ways to achieve peace of mind. His theory also included laughter, and thus, it was possible to literally laugh your way to a happier life. He believed in the wholesome effect of the body’s natural involuntary actions, which can be practised as deliberate exercises. Their result is an overall improvement in the physical and mental condition and a step towards longevity. The participants in Paul’s TV shows were ordinary people - policemen, stenographers, and housewives.
BBC TV star
A turning point in the popularisation of yoga for the general public was a series of television appearances on the BBC channel, which hit the screens in 1949. The fact that two young and talented ballerinas seconded Paul in the TV studio certainly contributed to enhancing the impression of these unique demonstrations of yoga in practice. The twocharming assistants, Julia Warwick and Pamela Fawn were dressed in Native American costumes during the demonstration of the exercises This highly revealing women’s costume for the time, gavethe audience an excellent opportunity to view and understand their stretching muscles during exercises
Upside down
Theheadstand was one of the essential yoga positions for Paul. Even though it seemed unsettlingly for many people, he emphasised its beneficial effect in achieving physical and mental balance. He considered doing away with the rules of gravity. Proposing the headstand for healing and relaxing of both body and mind. For Paul, the headstand was the best and most logical helper for blood circulation ailments, as the blood can quite naturally flow back from the limbs to the heart in this position, providing immediate relief.
When two do the same thing, it’s never quite the same thing… practice makes perfect
In 1950, a report by journalist Patrick Cambell, who attempted to do a handstand as a complete beginner under the guidance of Paul Dukes, was printed in a newspaper. In this amusing article, we can learn about the journalist’s failed attempt, as well as the damage to the apartment interior.During the practice, atable, a bottle of gin and a vase with flowers, all fell victim to the headstand. Surprisingly, the article also mentions that Paul Dukes used to smoke, which may be contrary to his healthy lifestyle for many. The author does not lose his heart and ends his article by saying that he will surely be able to do a headstand as perfectly as his instructor in three years’ time.
Researching centenarians
Paul was fascinated by longevity since childhood.As a consequence, he included systematic research on this topic throughouthis many activities in adulthood. He would visit people who were over a hundred years old,centenarians, and through interviewswould try to uncoverthe reasons for their vitality and longevity. During the research, he found out that the centenarianslifestyle was close to fulfilling the principlesof yoga. Common features of the respondents were, an optimistic view of life, regular and natural movement, plus mental and physical balance. These conclusions confirmed his belief that yoga is a definite way to prolong life.
The recipe for the elixir of youth
During his lectures, Paul would often talk about the fact that the average life expectancy should be 120 years. The path to longevity for him was yoga practice. He had anindisputable proof for his theory - at the age of seventy-five, he was still actively practising the most demanding yoga exercises and hisvisage corresponded to that of a fifty-year-old man. Perhaps this is also why he, together with his wife Diana, who seconded Paul with success, was the subject of such great interest from journalists. What was behind their unprecedently youthful appearance, and their incredible physical condition has become the subject of much speculation.
