DECHANET, J.M. La Voie du Silence: L’Experience d’un Moine. Suive de note sur la priere du coeur.

(Paris): Desclee de Brouwer, 1960.  Fourth edition.  Softcover.  18.7cm by 10.6cm.  232 pages. A key early work by Déchanet the Benedictine monk often referred to as the “Father of Christian Yoga.” La Voie du Silence sets out his synthesis of Christian monastic spirituality with methods of breath discipline, interior quietude, bodily stillness, and contemplative concentration. Déchanet positions “silence” not merely as the absence of sound but as an active spiritual practice leading toward inner unification and the direct experience of God. Déchanet’s writings were foundational in the emergence of Christian contemplative yoga, a movement that sought to integrate traditional yogic techniques with Western monastic asceticism. His works — scarce in early printings — influenced later figures in Christian meditation and interreligious dialogue.  A good copy, some foxing, in printed wrappers.