He lost his father (Octave Déchanet) at the age of two and was raised by his mother Marie-Rose Braconnier, with his grandparents, in the Verdun region.
[2] In 1924, at the age of 18, he entered the novice at the abbaye Saint-André near Bruges, Belgium, and made his religious profession in 1927.
His attempts to africanize European monastic culture met with opposition from the ecclesiastical authorities.
There he devoted himself entirely to the practice of yoga, while studying and reflecting on how to integrate this spiritual discipline of Hindu origin into the Christian contemplative life.
From 1970 onwards, Déchanet received visitors, students and disciples who followed his yoga courses, practical exercises and theology teaching.