The building could have been purpose-built as a yoga and zen centre: bare oak beams, wooden floor, bamboo wallpaper, and plentiful natural light
Zen Yoga teacher, Mark Westmoquette, sings the praises of his specialist strand of the Asian discipline – and of the oasis of calm where he teaches it in Camberwell Green
Back in 2007 when I was still at university a new guy took over teaching the regular yoga class at the university gym I used to go to. When he said he was starting a meditation group I jumped at the chance of exploring this lesser-known side of yoga some more. It took me about six months of travelling over to Earls Court (where the group met at the time) to realise he was actually teaching Zen Buddhism, and “he” was Zen Master Julian Daizan Skinner (the first Englishman to become a Zen Master in the rigorous Rinzai school). Something about the genuine depth and down-to-earth character of Daizan just kept me coming back.
After some time in Earls Court, the group was forced to move and found temporary shelter at the Chinese Community Centre near Euston. Long-time member Chris Owen remembers an encounter he had four years ago with Daizan’s teacher, Shinzan Roshi in Japan. After asking him to bow forwards, Shinzan beat him five times on the head with his fan and told him he must find a new centre for the burgeoning zen group to practise in!
Fearing what he might be hit with next time, Chris miraculously managed to find a building through his contacts at the Butterfly Tennis Club in Camberwell. Although starting its life as the marketing suite for the Camberwell Grove apartment development, the building Chris found could almost have been purpose-built as a yoga and zen centre. The bare oak beams, wooden floor, bamboo wallpaper, and plentiful natural light of what is now the ZenYoga centre create a space that reflects the natural simplicity and Asian origins of the activities that take place within.
One of the studio’s most striking features is the enormous black circle painted on white canvas that hangs at one end. This circle, or Enso as it is known in Zen, was drawn in one stroke by Shinzan Roshi at the opening ceremony of ZenYoga back in 2011. It reminds us that the true nature of the mind is at once dynamic, un-born, all-encompassing, and absolutely empty.
Now just starting its third year, ZenYoga has grown to become a much-needed oasis of calm just off the busy Camberwell Green, and a perfect practice space for both yoga and meditation.
So what is zen yoga? Most of us who have been to a yoga class or two might have heard of styles like Ashtanga or Bikram, but not many people have heard of zen yoga. When I asked Daizan Roshi, himself an experienced yogateacher with over 5000 hours of teaching practice, he said that zen yoga “emphasises physical alignment, the flow of energy in the body and the student’s quality of awareness.” Poses or movements are designed to “bring parts of the body into focus so that we can become aware of any tightness or restriction”, and that the simple awareness of these areas can lead to them shifting and releasing. He went on, saying that “the great Zen master Hakuin taught that Buddhas (enlightened/awakened beings) are like water and ordinary people are like ice. Zen yoga practice melts away the tightness and resistance that prevents us from enjoying the flow of life.”
Having trained with Daizan as a yoga teacher, and more recently with Jonathan Monks, I now teach classes in zen yoga at the studio alongside four other wonderful teachers. And from this September we will also be offering courses in mindfulness. Mindfulness is a central skill in meditation, teaching us how to stay present, aware, yet unjudgemental in every passing moment.
