Victor Dane

Victor Dane (born 1897) was a British naturopath, occultist, physical culturist and yoga writer.

Biography

Dane claimed to be a master of the "systems of Hatha and Raja Yoga" and advertised himself as "the only white yogi" in national newspapers such as the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Graphic. He claimed to have studied under yoga Masters in India where he received the 'Guru Mantra' or "ear-whispered secret". His book Naked Ascetic (1933) is an example of the fakir-yogi genre filled with mysterious stories of bullet proof yogis, mesmeric powers and poison drinking. A review in the Vedanta Kesari magazine praised Dane's narrative skill but doubted how much of the book was fact. Yoga scholar Mark Singleton has noted that Dane's "vision of yoga, while firmly rooted in Asian inspired esoteric, was also deeply influenced by modern physical culture, and his yoga writings exhibit a marked concern for the hygienic perfection of the body". In 1930, he was a physical culture consultant to Arsenal F.C. He was considered an expert on the occult and was invited by Barbara Cartland to give a speech on black magic at Admiralty House. He was not a qualified doctor and never described himself as a doctor. In March 1931, a patient of his Mrs. P. G. Pickett age 35 died during a day in his absence. Dane had diagnosed Pickett with anaemia for which he treated her. His book The Gateway to Prosperity was re-published in 1937 with Charles F. Haanel's book The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi.

Activism

Sunbathing

Dane was an advocate of light therapy and sunbathing to cure disease. He authored The Sunlight Cure which argued that sun tanning was the manifestation of solar energy (ultraviolet radiation) stored in the body. Dane's book contains a photograph of George Bernard Shaw sunbathing.

Vegetarianism

Dane advocated for a vegetarian diet. In 1930, he lectured for the Bromley and District Vegetarian Society.

Selected publications

The Sunlight Cure: How to Use the Ultra-Violet Rays (1929) Grow Old and Stay Young (with an introduction by Edgar J. Saxon, 1930) Naked Ascetic (1933) The Gateway to Prosperity (with a foreword by Major Reginald F. E. Austin, 1933) Modern Fitness; Or, the Five-Minute Plan (with an introduction by Herbert Chapman, 1934) Relaxation: A Practical Handbook for Laymen and Psychologists (1940) How to Hypnotize Yourself and Others (1946)