I’ve been told that a trip to visit the yoga world in Brighton is not complete without meeting Peter Deadman. And so here I am with the man himself, eager to hear more about his connection with this city.
With a sparkle in his eye, he defines himself as ‘a reformed, rootless hippy’, a term that has described him well through the decades since he was that young man from a high-achieving family with that place at Oxford to go to. And yet he didn’t want to go. He went travelling instead. He saw the world. And he contracted a serious illness. When he returned to the UK, sick and disillusioned, he came across macrobiotics and clung onto this like a drowning man. In 1970, with friend Ian Loeffler, he set up a macrobiotic restaurant at Sussex University serving healthy, affordable food. Customers began to ask where they could buy this kind of food and before long, Infinity Foods was established. Peter was young with plenty of vision and energy and self-belief. He wasn’t afraid of hard work. He wanted to provide an outlet for cheap, natural foods, which led naturally to setting up a shop.
Some of the Infinity community outside the shop in 1978
By 1980, Infinity Foods – now with a growing team of committed partners – had expanded to include the shop, a bakery and a distribution warehouse. Peter was now less involved and by 1979, Infinity Foods had become a co-operative. Still a workers’ co-operative, Infinity Foods remains one of the UK’s leading wholesale distributors of organic and natural foods, also specialising in Fairtrade, Vegetarian, Gluten-free and special dietary ranges. The co-operative has been at the forefront of the campaign against GMO and is a founder member of Genetic Food alert.
The Infinity Foods Shop is an ethical shopper’s paradise. Set in the heart of Brighton’s North Laine, this bustling shop is a testament to Peter and Ian’s vision for affordable, natural foods that they set out in pursuit of over 45 years ago.
The proud builders of Infinity Foods bakery
In 1978, a fire devastated the mostly wooden, rickety warehouse building at the back of Infinity Foods which we had been using as storage and for various small workshops. Luckily, it was properly insured and the subsequent rebuilding offered us the opportunity to realise an ambition that we had held for several years. From Our History by Peter Deadman
From the ashes of this fire, suspected (but never proven) to have been started deliberately by members of the far right, who were an active presence in Brighton at that time, Infinity Foods launched the Brighton Natural Health Centre as a registered charity in 1982. Peter and his fellow co-founders recognised that diet was only one part of a healthy lifestyle and had the vision to open a centre to increase access to disciplines such as yoga, tai chi and meditation, which at that time were hard to find in Brighton. In fact, Peter believes that BNHC was only the third place in Brighton to be offering yoga. Initially, the yoga on offer was exclusively Iyengar Yoga. BNHC embraced the high standards of precision in the Iyengar tradition and still to this day, prides itself on the high level of quality control at the centre. Peter is clear that right from the start, the centre never intended to provide entertainment for the wealthy middle classes, but rather to provide everyone with the tools and education to take charge of their own health.
Soon the Brighton Natural Health Centre became the go to place for quality yoga classes and other natural health and exercise traditions. As Brighton has steadily become the largest yoga community outside of London in the UK, BNHC has had to up its game and fight for its place within the yoga community. Peter believes this has been a good thing. He’s not a fan of complacency. BNHC has retained its position as a beacon, a power for good in a dark world.
Our long experience, our dedication to seeking the best and most qualified teachers, and the vibrant and happy energy of the centre, has meant that we have been able to consistently set the highest standards in the fulfilment of our aims. From Our History by Peter Deadman
In recent years, the centre has been looking to reach out into the wider community and is currently doing so with its Outreach Project for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Emma Knight, who’s worked full time for 4 years at BNHC involved in admin, marketing and social media, is actively involved in the Female Refugee and Migrant Programme. She explains how the project was initially funded by the Big Lottery and is now funded by donations from BNHC community classes, open talks and a donation from Infinity Foods.
Up to 30 people have benefited from the project, mostly complete beginners to yoga. Everyone mixes well together and there’s a real sense of community. Many have said how energised and confident they feel afterwards. In trauma, there’s often a disconnect from the body and yoga brings them back into their bodies. Emma Knight
Peter teaches a weekly class of Qigong at Brighton Natural Health Centre. This traditional Chinese body-mind exercise is based on the qualities of different animals. This ancient tradition is linked closely with environmentalism and learns from nature with a deep respect for the natural world. That’s why Qigong is practised outside in the fresh air and close to nature where possible.
Peter and the Brighton Natural Heath Centre organise free community talks on environmental and lifestyle topics that are then posted to Youtube for everyone to enjoy. The latest talk was delivered by Professor Dave Goulson and addressed the issue of bees, pesticide and the future of farming. You can watch that talk here.
As an experienced Qigong teacher, Peter’s known for carefully explaining the essence and structure of each movement, having spent much of his adult life studying, practising and writing about Chinese medicine. Back in 1979, Peter founded The Journal of Chinese Medicine, which has been published continuously since then, playing a vital role in raising the standards of education and practice in Chinese medicine throughout the English-speaking world. In 2016, Peter published his beautiful book ‘Live Well, Live Long’, a manual for the care of the human, body, mind and spirit. Written in everyday, accessible language, this hardback volume of the last 45 years of Peter’s research and experience covers the whole of human life, from pregnancy and childbirth to ageing and dying, with everything in between – diet, alcohol, sex, sleep, exercise, nature, music and dance, and much, much more.
When Peter Deadman stands up to leave, I feel genuinely disappointed. He has a class to teach, but I have a feeling I could learn so much more from this fascinating man: this reformed, rootless hippy who has spent his whole life seeking to live in an authentic, meaningful, healthy, compassionate way. There’s an honesty and a humility in his very being. He leaves me with a copy of his book and having listened to him enthuse for the last hour about the Chinese tradition, I feel inspired to open it up there and then and dive right in. I sit stroking the cover and musing long after he has left. This is a man who has lived well, that’s plain to see. And living long? Well, that remains to be seen, but it’s looking good from here. Peter Deadman, I wish you well. I hope we meet again.
