Dahn Yoga Boston

What do you know! I chose the same letter again today…Mu– Nothingness, Never, No, None, Zero

But the saying was different this time:

Empty fullness. When your heart is pierced deeply by an earnest desire to seek the Truth, your mind empties itself, and the infinite life of the cosmos reveals and realizes itself through you.

 At least I’m consistent

Most Dahn Centers in the Boston area have an open set of Wisdom of the Chun Bu Kyung meditation cards in their lobby or member rooms. I’ve always loved picking cards from the deck for a bit of wisdom to meditate on for the day. So I thought I’d share my picks with everyone to send a little bit of chunjikiun your way

Today’s choice is: Mu– Nothingness, Never, No, None, Zero– Creation arises from an empty mind. You can encounter the source of life within when you have an empty mind. When you encounter that source, all limits created by the false self vanish, and infinite creativity springs forth.

Ah, perfect. That’s just what Genia nim was reminding me of yesterday. The source of all creation is in the moment. To stay in the moment release the clutter from your mind and focus on your dahn-jon– basics from the Initial Awakening Workshop

Last year a Boston College researcher asked Dahn Yoga members in Boston (among members of other practices) if they would take a survey about their mind-body-spirit (MBS) practice. The results of the  study was recently published in the International Journal of Mental Health Promotion in the August 2007 issue (Volume 9, Issue 3). The study addresses how MBS practices “affect psychological wellbeing, health, and spirituality and altruistic behaviors”. The Dahn Healing Research Center is mentioned in the article!

In other news…one of the members who touched his toes last week can now make a half-lotus posture with at least one leg on top. He’s working on the other one now. He’s very diligent and comes almost everyday and has only been coming for about 2.5 weeks. Now that’s progress!

Today two male Jamaica Plain members touched their toes! They had not been able to before and they were so happy! We took pictures

The Young Earth Human Alliance (YEHA) is gearing up again in MA! That means members who are young at heart and of able body will be able to experience strong, inspiring training at their centers and as a region. They will learn what it means to be an earth human and be inspired to share that joyous feeling of deep connection to everyone on earth with everyone they meet. Stay tuned for information from your center staff about upcoming activities. Alana from the Beacon Hill center is now the Dahn Instructor in charge of YEHA and she’s very excited to be charing it up!

Master healer Chun Shim nim offered her group healing program for several years. After taking a hiatus for about a year, the program is back at the Newton Center. This program offers intensive healing in a supportive small group setting. It teaches participants to heal themselves, especially their organs, and deeply understand the connection between their 3 bodies– their physical, energetic, and spiritual (set of information) bodies. Participants have seen dramatic results, including weight loss. Here is a sharing from Maryann from the Beacon Hill Center:

I have been a nurse for 26 years and I have spent 22 of them at Massachusetts General Hospital.  I was diagnosed with bladder / ureter cancer in 1997 and endured 2 years of chemotherapy treatment, various surgical procedures and chronic back pain.  My work as a labor and delivery nurse was adversely affected as I found myself tired, over stressed and too uncomfortable to perform the duties associated with my position.  I decided to take an office position in 2000 to let my body rest. During the five years in that position I became very depressed, I gained excessive weight and I began to consume an excessive amount of alcohol.  I believe that I was attempting to anesthetize myself so that I would not feel anything.  I was about to have my 45^th birthday in May of 2005 and I decided that I wanted to

do something about my poor physical condition.  I found myself in a Dahn Center and I immediately signed up for the 6-month intensive program, which included 3 workshops.  I felt strong energy awakenings from the very first class and found myself very confused and frightened because I had no prior experience or knowledge of energy and I was not accustomed to feeling anything in my body.  I reluctantly agreed to trial the group healing class and I stopped after one month because I was skeptical about the expense, the time commitment and the benefits of the exercises.  Something prompted me to continue and I found myself returning to group healing classes for 1 day/week from January to June.  One aspect of healing involved being guided to watch my habits, my emotions and my body’s response to my emotions.  I became awakened to the stiffness and rigidness of my intestines through abdominal massage and then I gradually witnessed my intestines soften with daily morning abdominal massage.  The next step for me involved learning to focus my attention to isolate and move each individual organ through an exercise called “organ dancing.”  I’m now able to sense and feel more subtle and deeper vibrations in my spine.Through this healing process I have become sensitized to the effects of fear on my kidneys, my bladder and their associated meridians.  Because this healing process for me involved pushing through a great deal of fear, I now feel that I have more insight to my body’s way of holding fear and the association with my urinary cancer.  I have lost 55 pounds, stopped drinking alcohol completely, stopped all of my prescription medications for depression and anxiety and I have returned to patient care nursing on the OB unit.  I am enjoying good health again for the first time since 1997.

Lately my personal exercise practice has included 300 bows per day. I have only been doing it a couple of weeks, but it has been amazing so far. It has taught me how important deep and thorough circulation is to my body, mind, and spirit. It helps me connect to my essence, or true self, a least a little every day, so it feels truly special.

Since the last Shim Sung in Boston in November, a group of Shim Sung recent and former graduates have been doing a 21 day followup training that includes bowing exercise. It is amazing to see their shining faces when they come out of the training. They seem to be transforming themselves a little every day. That’s one thing that is amazing to me about Dahn Yoga. One simple practice repeated consistently can connect you to your true self!

The Healing Chakra Workshop was held in Boston this past Saturday at the Courtyard Marriott Tremont Hotel. I loved the workshop when I took it myself, and I’ve heard nothing but good news about this past one. One participant said that he hadn’t felt this healthy in 15 years. That’s really a great example of how tied what we call in Dahn our 3 bodies really are: our physical body, energy body, and spiritual (informational) body. We can improve our overall health by improving any of these three bodies. At the workshop I think they worked on all 3

Lucy is the beautiful Asian woman with glasses who is sitting to the left of trainer Master Kim, whose hand is resting on her shoulder.

When my children were young, I used to take them to Karate lessons and usually waited until the lessons are finished to take them home. I never took the classes myself, Karate and martial arts was simply not for me, not until I joined Dahn when I started to learn Dahn Gong(s), which are variations of Tai Chi forms. I really liked them, so when DahnMuDo was introduced in the States, I signed up for the center workshops and enjoyed them immensely, and finally attended DahnMuDo school in Sedona this September.

This is the most amazing and intense training I have ever been to. I had a recent injury on my knee (torn meniscus) and had a small operation and was afraid that, through extensive use of my knee in this program, it would tear again. But my knees and my legs actually became stronger and I was able to use them more vigorously and without any pain.

The training was very intense. We had an exceptional trainer and through her comprehensive way of training we learned what seemed to be impossible within 2 weeks. We were so busy learning and practicing everyday that I did not notice any changes in me until after I returned to New York when I started to feel my body; I can actually feel the inside of my whole back. My body seems to be coming alive and it feels wonderful. I do sometimes feel my heart and my DahnJon, but never before did I feel my body the way I do now. It gives me a renewed sense of love and respect for myself: my body, my mind and spirit as a whole. There is this immense joy of being alive in every sense, life is just so beautiful.

I am looking forward to practicing and learning deeper with my body. Through consistent practice, I know that I will become very healthy and happy together along with spiritual growth. I sincerely hope that everyone, regardless of age can join this program and have the same experience as I did.

I would like to thank Master Kim for her wonderful training, her firm but encouraging directions and instructions which made us all learned and got our first belt. I am grateful to have the team practices where I learned to be patient, to listen and to accept advice and criticism. I love the drumming lessons through which I can release and express my inner self and inner rhythm. I really appreciate all the valuable coaching and care from the training staff.

With HSP love,
Lucy msn, Great Neck Center, NY

This poem was written by Ilchi Lee about ilchi.com. I think it is a good invitation to the site, which has some fun multimedia resources. I especially like the video about Mago Castle in Sedona, Arizona. Enjoy the poem!

Do you know
that you are the Earth,
that you are Heaven?

You represent humanity.
Your soul knows this.
Your brain also knows.
And your body knows
that your body and mind are one with the Earth.

Your brain knows
why you have come to this Earth,
what the Earth wants from you.
Your brain knows.

Everyone has a brain.
But those who know the true significance of the brain
and those who know their own true worth
are few and far between.

That you have a great and sacred soul
That the future of humanity depends on you
That the future of the Earth depends on you—
These are truly matters of incomparable significance.
Ilchi.com was created to support you
in examining and solving these pressing issues.

You are welcome here at Ilchi.com.
That we have met to create a beautiful world
is truly precious and beautiful indeed.

The Earth needs us now.
Humanity has received much grace and love from the Earth.
Now it is our turn to repay that grace.
For the completion of all our souls and for a beautiful Earth
I wish to be with you forever.

I invite you to join me in awakening the greatness of humanity
and in creating a beautiful Earth.
I await your ideas with eager anticipation.

Ilchi Lee