Quick Morning Workout
By Michela | March 10, 2010
Sure, it feels good when you get a chance to exercise first thing when you wake up in the morning, but often many personal obstacles hinder us. I, for one, have trouble getting up, although I’m fine once I take the plunge.
But when I thought about it, doing a few quick exercises that didn’t take much time or didn’t require changing or going anywhere may be possible for me. At least I could get the kinks out of my body in the morning, get my energy flowing, and wake up my brain before going to sit at my desk. So here is a little Dahn Yoga routine I’ve come up with. It’s just a suggestion, but maybe it will give you some ideas for your own morning exercise.
• Basic Stretches get the kinks out of your muscles and joints, reducing stiffness and helping your posture. Inhale as you go into each stretch and then exhale as you release it.
- Clasp your hands and stretch them up above your head, pointing your palms upward. Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. Feel your shoulders, spine, hips, and legs elongate.
- With your hands clasped and stretched above your head, stretch down to your left and then right sides, feeling the sides of your body stretch.
- Keeping your hands clasped and stretched above your head, twist your waist to the left and then to the right.
- Stretch your clasped hands down towards the ground, bending at your waist and keeping your knees straight. Feel your lower back and the back of your legs. Relax your body and then slowly roll your back up.
- With your hands and arms relaxed at your side. Roll your neck to the left and then to the right, breathing naturally.
- Then roll your shoulders backward and forward, making as big a circle as you can and feeling your shoulders all the while. Inhale during the first half of the circle and exhale over the second half.
• Whole Body Patting stimulates the energy meridians of the body through vibration, while increasing blood and lymph circulation.
Stand with you feet parted shoulder-width and knees slightly bent. Extend your left arm ninety degrees from the body with your palm facing upward.- With your right hand slightly cupped, begin to pat the top of your left shoulder, and then pat down your arm toward your palm for ten counts.
- Turn your palm over and pat up the other side of the arm for ten counts. Repeat on your right arm.
- With both hands, pat your chest for 50 counts.
- Move your hands down and pat your lower abdomen for 50 counts.
- Bring your hands to your lower back and pat for 50 counts.
- Then with one hand on each leg, pat down the back of your legs for ten counts, then up the front of the legs, down the sides of the legs, and up the inside of the legs for ten counts each.
- Return to your lower abdomen, patting briskly for 50 counts.
• 
Intestine Exercise helps to circulate energy in the lower abdomen, increasing physical stamina, reducing constipation, and improving digestion.
- Stand with your feet parted shoulder-width and knees slightly bent.
- Place your palms on you lower abdomen below your belly button.
- Pull your lower abdominal muscles in, bringing your navel back toward your spine, and then push your abdomen out, making your belly round. Repeat 100 times, breathing with a comfortable rhythm while exhaling through your mouth.
• Brain Wave Vibration clears your mind, relaxes your whole body, and gets your heart going (depending on how vigorously you do it).
- Stand with your feet parted shoulder-width and knees slightly bent.
- Pushing up from the floor with your feet, bounce your body, keeping it relaxed and loose. Follow your own rhythm and do not put pressure on your knees.
- Let your body just follow along with the rhythm, including your head and neck. After a couple of minutes, when your neck is more relaxed, move your head around—for example, in a circle or a figure eight—using the top of your neck as a pivot point.
- Exhale through your mouth as you do this, and hold a thought in your mind such as a positive mantra or a goal for the day.
- After five minutes, slowly stop bouncing and take three deep settling breaths, expanding your abdomen as you inhale. Feel your lower abdomen and settle your energy there.
Topics: Energy, Dahn Yoga, Exercise | No Comments »
Yeon Dahn Explained: Melting Your Stress
By Michela | January 11, 2010
The other article I wrote for both www.dahnyoga.com and dahnyogavoice.com is about postures that are held for varying lengths of time.
One of the many exercises found in a Dahn Yoga class is Yeon-Dahn. “Yeon” refers to strengthening a sword’s steel blade by hammering it; “Dahn” means vital energy. Accordingly, like other Dahn Yoga techniques, these simple postures cause life energy to accumulate and circulate more freely in the body. Unlike dynamic exercises such as Brain Wave Vibration, however, Yeon-Dahn postures are meant to be held for extended periods of time.
By holding these postures, practitioners not only increase their physical stamina and core strength, but also enhance their mental focus.
When practicing Yeon-Dahn, it’s best to progress from the easiest to the more challenging postures. It also helps to play pleasant music, and to concentrate on the lower abdomen, where the energy center known as the lower dahn-jon (dan tian/dan tien in Chinese) exists.
Your level of concentration and physical fitness determines which posture and holding period is most appropriate and beneficial. You can hold a posture from one minute to one hour or more. The more you practice Yeon-Dahn, the more your stamina will increase, and the longer you can hold a particular posture. Or you can move on to holding more difficult postures.
The most common beginner’s posture that’s performed in a regular Dahn Yoga class is known as Sleeping Tiger. Sleeping Tiger is a lying posture done on your back with your arms straight up into the air, elbows bent slightly and wrists bent at right angles so that the palms face the ceiling. The legs are also raised with the hip, knee, and ankle joints at 90-degree angles. This posture is one of the most effective for building energy in the lower abdomen, the body’s power center, without requiring as much physical strength as other postures. It is good for fatigue from poor nutritional habits, sleeping problems, or chronic illness. It has the added benefit of providing an internal buffer against stress, and fostering a positive outlook on life.
Yeon-Dahn can improve your physical, emotional, and mental condition relatively quickly. It is a form of meditation that can teach practitioners a lot about themselves, and can foster a sense of accomplishment that empowes them to take on other challenges in their lives. This exercise is an important part of the Dahn Yoga healing toolkit.
Topics: Body, Energy, Dahn Yoga, Exercise | 9 Comments »
Bowing Meditation: A Short History and Explanation
By Michela | January 9, 2010
This is an article I wrote for dahnyoga.com and dahnyogavoice.com. I feel like it’s time to share it on this blog. I find bowing meditation a deeply fulfilling practice, and I want others to know more about it. Of course, the only way to really know about it is to try it for yourself. Written instructions are in this previous blog post. BEST Life Media, the publishing company I work for, plans on releasing a short book about bowing in Dahn Yoga and Body + Brain Centers late this year.
For thousands of years, Asian cultures, such as that of Korea, have used bow meditation and other prostration exercises as part of their spiritual and physical practices. They were performed both as a preparation for sitting meditation, and as a meditation in their own right. Bow meditation was neither used as a form of worship, nor as a form of self-punishment. Practitioners did not bow down to anything exterior. Rather, they bowed in humble acceptance and deference to their own highest nature.
As Dahn Yoga founder Ilchi Lee wrote in his book Human Technology, “Bowing is one of the most humble and spiritual acts a human can perform. It is an action that simultaneously signifies acceptance and a deep understanding of and feeling toward its object. Moreover, through this action, we cast aside the narrow confines of the self and accept the energy of the universe.”
Japanese Zen master Shunryu Suzuki concurred with this view of bowing in his book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: “By bowing, we are giving up ourselves to the universe. To give up ourselves means to give up our dualistic ideas and become one. When you become one with everything that exists, you find the true meaning of being.”
Even today, many people engage in bow meditation—from Buddhist nuns in mountain temples to ordinary housewives. In one session they may perform anywhere from one bow to ten thousand bows. For instance, in his blog, Sumi Loundon writes about a friend of his in Korea who did 3,000 bows in one night.
On her blog, Sr. Ellie Finlay of the St. John’s Center for Spiritual Formation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, writes that bowing is good for “shifting very deeply ingrained habitual tendencies.” A repetitive full-body movement that involves strength, concentration, and balance, bow meditation is a means through which a person can become more aware of his or her thoughts, emotions, and habits, and through which they can reinforce or change them. It’s also a way through which the emotional heart can open, allowing a person to love and accept his or herself and others.
Besides its mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits, bow meditation also invigorates and strengthens the body. It’s a meridian exercise that strengthens the back and legs, warms the body (especially the lower abdomen), stretches the muscles, oxygenates and circulates the blood, and makes you sweat. As a stress reducer, bow meditation also enhances the immune system and generates a more positive and hopeful outlook on life. The health benefits are similar to those derived from Sun Salutations performed in Indian yoga.
Because of its advantages on multiple levels, many people even in Western countries practice this moving meditation regularly as a way to enrich and enliven their lives. In Dahn Yoga, bow meditation is not taught in the regular classes, but is often a part of special classes such as follow-ups to the Shim Sung workshop. And many Dahn Yoga practitioners do bow meditation as their daily meditation routine because it helps them calm their minds very effectively.
Click here to read testimonials about bowing or to leave your own.
Topics: shim sung, Consciousness, Body | 1 Comment »
Hear Dahn Yoga’s Voice
By Michela | January 7, 2010
Happy New Year everyone!
While this blog usually contains Dahn Yoga exercises, tips, and events, a new website has just been created for sharing Dahn Yoga’s voice. At http://dahnyogavoice.com, you will find the real opinions and stories of many Dahn Yoga instructors and members, as well as official documents and timelines from any lawsuits or media attention it’s involved in. Find out the behind-the-scenes information the media can’t or won’t portray. Now you can even share your own story.
Topics: Brain | No Comments »
Acupressure Point for Colds
By Michela | December 3, 2009
In my experience, and based upon advice I have been given from many Dahn Healers, the Dae-choo energy point at the base of the back of the neck is the best acupressure point to stimulate if you have a cold or other upper respiratory illness. The Dae-choo is found between the seventh cervical vertebrae and the first thoracic vertebrae. Stimulating this point with acupressure, acupuncture, moxibustion, or even just a hot pack can release energy stuffed in the head manifesting as the symptoms of a head cold.
Now some Dahn Yoga centers are selling a new healing tool that you can also use to stimulate this point. Called Mago Healing Power, they are four “stones” molded out of the red soil near the vortexes of Sedona, Arizona. This energy infused soil has healing properties on its own. But each stone also has particular symbols that give it additional healing qualities. You can see how they are made in this video:
For colds, it is recommended that you heat up 3 of the Mago Healing Power stones–the largest one with the “Dahn” or “Energy” symbol and the two smallest ones with the “Noe” or “Brain” symbol. You can put them in the microwave for two to three minutes. Then while lying on your stomach, put the Dahn on Dae-choo point and and the Brains on Pung-moon points, which are between the second and third thoracic vertebrae. Relax and breathe for at least 5 minutes to release the stagnant energy from these points.
Do you have any holistic ways in which you heal a cold? Why don’t you share them in the comments?
Topics: Health, Body, Energy | 3 Comments »
Dahn Yoga for Diabetes
By Michela | November 30, 2009
On this last day of the month, I would like to weigh in on diabetes since November is American Diabetes Month. This disease is pretty close to my heart because most of my family has it. Family gatherings almost sound like a diabetes support group.
Diabetes is a disease that is heavily affected by your lifestyle habits. In fact, it can even be prevented by adequate exercise and a healthy diet that is not too high on calories or foods with a high glycemic index. You can click here for recommendations from the American Diabetes Association.
From the perspective of ki energy, which is how Dahn Yoga and other traditional Asian practices look at health, diabetes is about having adequate circulation. Proper energy circulation affects our hormone regulation. Also, people with diabetes have poor blood circulation, which means they also have poor energy circulation.
Jung Sug Hong, director of the Tao Holistic Healing Program at the Sedona Mago Retreat Center, a program that has had a lot of success with helping people overcome diseases such as diabetes without medication, recommends this program of exercise to start treat symptoms of diabetes:
Before beginning the program, create the mindset:
- “I will try to reactivate my natural healing system.”
- Don’t resist any pain or discomfort your body feels, but rather face it and accept it with compassion.
Do this first phase of exercises for three months:
- For 5-10 minutes, several times a day, wiggle your fingers and toes while in a relaxed position. Remember to exhale through your mouth and feel your breath as you do it. This exercise will help recover the natural ki energy flow in your body and increase blood circulation. It’s important for diabetics to recover the blood and energy circulation of the fingers and toes first.
- Next do dahn-jon tapping, starting with 100 times and building up to 1000 times. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other with your knees bent slightly. Keep your back straight and shoulders relaxed. Use the pinky side of both fists, not held tightly, to tap your abdomen two inches below your navel. If you are not able to stand, you can also tap in a sitting position. Exhale with your mouth open slightly.
Topics: Health, Tao Fellowship, Body, Energy, Dahn Yoga, Exercise | 5 Comments »
Gettin’ Down at the Dahn Center
By Michela | November 2, 2009
The Oak Park, CA Dahn Yoga Center jammed and did Brain Wave Vibration outside with Robin DiMaggio before the Brain Art Festival last summer. Groove with them as you watch this video:
YouTube Direkt
Topics: Dahn Yoga | 1 Comment »
Dahn Yoga Instructor Highlight
By Michela | October 22, 2009
This article was posted by blogger Nancy A. Ruhling on The Huffington Post. I posted the whole touching article for your convenience, but you can read the original article by clicking here. It’s a nice little snapshot of what being in a Dahn Yoga Center is like.Astoria Characters: The Yoga GuruDressed in her loose-fitting uniform, Hee Jung Jang goes to the head of the class and bows deeply.The dozen yoga students return her greeting then gather in a circle as Hee Jung leads them in warm-ups. Knees bent, they tap their abdomens 1,000 times to get the blood flowing then pace themselves for the intestinal exercises. At her direction, they move their abdomens in and out. It sounds easy, but it’s tough. Try it 1,000 times. You won’t like it. Neither do they.They grunt and groan, but they know the pain will bring gain. This exercise may help them lose weight and ease constipation.”Do you feel the warmth in your abdomens yet?” an exuberant Hee Jung excitedly asks.”YES!” the sweaty students shout in union and in the hopes that she will proceed to the less strenuous stretches.”CONGRATULATIONS!” she shouts back, beaming.They smile. “Smile with teeth,” she tells them. “Smiling will change your energy, and it will feel easier.”
Photo by Nancy A. RuhlingHee Jung Jang strikes a happy pose at the yoga center.Hee Jung works for Astoria’s Dahn Yoga center, which has nothing to do with ladies in leotards performing pretzel poses. Founded in South Korea by Ilchi Lee some three decades ago, it is a spiritual practice dedicated to the betterment of brain and body; its format is monkey posture meets meditation.Whoever chose the location must have been a practical joker, because it’s between a honky-tonk and a recently deceased funeral home. It certainly wasn’t Hee Jung, because the center just turned 4 and she’s only been here 1½ years, but it suits her sense of humor.Hee Jung, who is a little shy and sly about her age and will only say that she is thirtysomething, has been practicing Dahn Yoga for a dozen years and has been an instructor for a decade. She’s tall and keeps her long black hair rolled in bun topped by a perky bow. The distinctive hair ornament bobs up and down like a downward-facing dog’s wagging tail when she goes through her routine.She didn’t plan this life or this location. The universe took her on this journey to bring her joy.Growing up on a farm in South Korea’s Kyung Sang State, she was an unhappy, unhealthy child. “When I was born, I was sick with a heart problem,” she says. ” And when I was six, I had a stroke that left my face twisted. The doctors gave me medicine and wrote notes to my school saying I couldn’t exercise. And every day I thought I was going to die.”Because she couldn’t help herself, she decided to dedicate her life to others. After earning a degree in social work, she worked with disabled children and then the elderly.”There was only one other person working in the nursing home who was my age,” she says. “The place was at the top of a mountain, and even though it was near a city, there was nothing to do. We decided to do yoga and chose the Dahn center because the person who answered the phone had such a nice voice.”After a month, the yoga made her feel better and within six months, she decided to make it her life’s calling. “It was a turning point in my life,” she says. “It helped me find hope in my heart, and if this didn’t happen, I would have continued to be sad. Suddenly, I wanted to live, and to do that I knew I had to be stronger physically and mentally.”Becoming a Dahn Yoga instructor requires commitment to a disciplined lifestyle. Hee Jung trains for one to two hours a day. In between group classes, she holds private sessions, which means that some of her workdays can start as early as 7 a.m. and others can end as late as 10 p.m.”Because I am focused on my on work right now, I don’t have time for a husband or children,” she says. “Marriage is a very big part of Korean culture. All my brothers and sisters are married, but my parents understand my commitment, and they know that someday I will meet the right person.”Before coming to Astoria, Hee Jung worked at centers in South Korea, Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles. “I have been living away from Korea for 10 years,” she says. “I miss my country and my family sometimes, but we talk on the phone and we are very close and when possible they visit. We connect more than we ever did when I lived there. I also feel that the students and the other instructors are my family.”The transition to American life wasn’t easy. She didn’t speak English and had to learn it on the yoga mat. “I was so scared that instead of speaking I cried,” she says.She’s still concerned about her English. She may not know every word, but her witty jokes prove that she aces the test of the tongue.Hee Jung doesn’t know how long she will be working at the Astoria center, but she’s excited to follow her future. “I want to keep doing this,” she says. “In fact, I see myself teaching Dahn yoga in a city in Europe someday. This is not just a job. I’m connected to it with my heart.”The class over, she hugs each student. Alone, she watches at the front window as everyone else walks off into the night. And she smiles - with teeth.Nancy A. Ruhling may be reached at Nruhling@gmail.com.Follow Nancy Ruhling on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NancyRuhling
Topics: Dahn Yoga | 2 Comments »
Dahn Yoga Energy Accumulation Postures
By Michela | September 26, 2009
Symptoms of dis-ease are often the result of our not having enough energy in our bodies. These symptoms can be physical, but also mental and emotional. So many of our problems can improve merely by accumulating more energy.
There are a number of Dahn Yoga postures you can use for accumulating energy. When you hold these postures, energy enters your body through acupressure points, especially major ones such as the ones in your palms (jang-shim), the balls of your feet (yong-chun), your lower back (myung-moon), your lower abdomen, and the top of your head (baek-hoe). The fresh energy coming in pushes out and replaces stagnant, blocked energy in the meridian channels and chakras of your body. If you focus your mind on your lower abdomen, where you lower dahn-jon (energy center) is located, then the fresh energy will gather there, centering and empowering you.
Some energy accumulation postures are:
1) Dahn Yoga Energy Breathing Posture 2
Keep your feet parallel with your heels pushed out and your heels and knees aligned. Keep your knees about fist-width apart, closer together than your heels. Make your spine as straight as you can, with your hips tucked in. Keep your shoulders and chest relaxed.
2) Dahn Yoga Energy Breathing Posture 5
1. Bring your feet down to the floor with knees bent. Let the sides of your knees rest against each other.
2. Place your middle fingers lightly on the Dahn-jon
3. Curl your tailbone, pushing your lower back comfortably to the ground.
4. Release tension from the shoulders and chest.
5. Breathe deeply and naturally. Notice your breath going down to your lower abdomen. Feel energy accumulating in your Dahn-jon.
Alternate Posture:
Fold legs in half or full lotus posture and lower your legs to the floor. Or, put the soles of the feet together and relax your legs.
3) Legs Up the Wall Posture
1. Lie on your back with your buttocks close to a wall and your legs elevated and resting against the wall.
2. Place your hands on your Dahn-jon.
3. If this pose causes discomfort due to tighthamstrings, move your buttocks a few more inches away from the wall.
4. Stretch and straighten both legs up to the best of your ability. Flex your feet and push out your heels.
5. Keep your head on the floor and your lower back as close to the floor as possible.
6. your eyes and focus on the energy flow inside your body.
4) Chair Accumulation Posture
1. Sit on a chair comfortably with your legs shoulder-width apart.
2. Place your hands on your Dahn-jon.
3. Relax your chest, shoulders, and arms completely.
4. You may close your eyes or leave them open.
5. Open your mouth slightly and keep focusing on exhalation. Focus on the energy flow inside your body.
5) Chuk-ki-gong
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel. Make sure that your weight is distributed evenly so that it rests firmly over the soles of both feet.
2. Gently tuck in your tailbone.
3. Relaxing your upper body, raise your hands to chest height, and spread them apart about one foot.
4. Imagine that you have a ball of energy between your hands and your chest.
5. Concentrate on your Dahn-jon and maintain this posture for about 5 to 10 minutes.
There are many other postures you can try, and any one of these will help you accumulate energy. If you try them, report back here what they do for you.
Topics: Body, Dahn Yoga | 3 Comments »
New DahnMuDo 3-DVD Set
By Michela | September 17, 2009
I’m very sorry I haven’t posted to this blog recently. I hope everyone has been enjoying a deepening of their Dahn Yoga practice.
If you are a Dahn Yoga member, you have heard about and probably taken some basic classes in DahnMuDo, a non-combative, healing martial art developed by Ilchi Lee. Before his enlightenment, Ilchi Lee was actually a black belt in Tae Kwon Do from a young age. As an adult, he ran a physical health training center for a little while that included martial arts. After his enlightenment, DahnMuDo was one of the training methods he developed to help people feel the universal principles to which he had been enlightened for themselves. DahnMuDo, like Dahn Yoga, establishes the proper, healthy flow of ki energy in the body, which leads to optimal health of body, mind, and spirit.
Students of DahnMuDo develop lower bodies that are both physically and energetically strong. Their upper bodies feel unburdened and relaxed, with energy that feels diffuse and merged with universal energy. Their posture becomes straighter as their bones and muscles become aligned. Their dahn-jon, or core, becomes very strong and supportive of their hearts and brain.
There has been great demand for a training aid that DahnMuDo students can use to learn and study at home. Now the publisher of Ilchi Lee’s products, BEST Life Media, has created a 3-DVD set to supply that demand. The trainer on the DVD is Master Owoon, the leading DahnMuDo trainer who developed the DahnMuDo School curriculum and who manages DahnMuDo training around the world. In the DVDs, Master Owoon not only teaches students the proper DahnMuDo forms, but gives profound insight and instruction into energy principles not often heard elsewhere.
The DVD set will be available on September 30, 2009, but BEST Life Media is offering pre-shipping for pre-orders on their website. In the meantime, you can get a brief taste from this trailer:
Topics: Body, Energy, Exercise | 1 Comment »