Dahn Yoga Boston

Jeff Woods started practicing Dahn Yoga at the Harvard Dahn Yoga Center while studying for his Master’s Degree at Harvard Divinity School. After graduating, he became an assistant manager at the same center, and later at the Arlington Dahn Yoga Center. He is now working for the Dahn Center Main Office in Phoenix, Arizona, but his former members will enjoy watching him on this bowing video, and possibly even more on the blooper reel that follow.

This is also a great video to watch if you are new to bowing, or love to practice it and want to share it with people you know.

The actual video, taken from Dahn TV: Centered Living (www.youtube.com/dahnyoga):

Here’s the blooper reel, enjoy!:

Brain Wave Vibration (BWV) is the signature moving meditation practiced at the Dahn Yoga Centers.  Most people learn it within their first few visits to a center. Developed by Ilchi Lee (founder of Dahn Yoga), BWV is an easy-to-learn and practical meditation technique to relax both mind and body through natural rhythmic movements.  BWV was recently the subject of a research study on the effects of mind-body training on stress and emotions.

The study was designed to assess the association between stress, positive and negative affect, and stress hormone levels in meditation and control groups. Overall the experiment found that people who engaged in a regular Brain Wave Vibration practice were less stressed and displayed more positive emotions. Stress factors such as depression, anger, and the manifestation of psychological symptoms in the body, were also significantly less in the meditation group than in the control group. These effects were similar to those found in experiments with other mind-body techniques.

It also found that there was more dopamine (DA) in the blood of people who engaged in Brain Wave Vibration than in healthy adults who did not. In subjects who had practiced Brain Wave Vibration for three years or more, blood dopamine levels were higher in those individuals with more positive emotional states.

Primary investigator Dr. Do-Hyung Kang from the Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Medical Center explained, “Now it is widely accepted that meditation has positive effects on regulating stress. This study supports similar results, but also gives us a clue that this can be by the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system [the system that generates the stress response], especially by elevation of DA level in this vibrative meditation group.”

This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of South Korea and carried out by scientists from major national research centers in South Korea, including several institutes at Seoul National University, as well as the Korea Institute of Brain Science. Sixty-seven people who regularly engaged in Brain Wave Vibration for an average of 43 months were gathered and compared to a group of 57 healthy adults. The results were published in the June 2010 issue of the international science journal, Neuroscience Letters.

Brain Wave Vibration as a mind-body training technique fit the aims of the study well. The researchers described the technique as being “designed to relax both mind and body through natural rhythmic movements. It is intended to be a simple meditation technique, a kind of moving meditation that can be used to manage stress and optimize brain health. This technique is designed to quiet the thinking mind and release emotions, particularly negative emotions, through physical movements and focus on body sensations.” To learn more about Brain Wave Vibration, you can visit www.brainwavevibration.com.

For more details about the study, visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546836 for the abstract and links to the full article.

How can I do Brain Wave Vibration?  (see www.brainwavevibration.com for more information)

1. Sit in a chair with your arms resting comfortably at your sides or in front of you on a desk. When sitting in a chair, do not lean your back against the chair, but keep your back straight.
2. Close your eyes and breathe comfortably, relaxing your body completely.
3. Begin gently shaking your head from side to side; take three seconds to shake your head from one side to the other.
4. Follow a rhythm that feels natural for your body. The vibration becomes stronger and deeper. Your head may also go up and down or follow the shape of an infinity symbol as you go deeper into the motion.
5. Focus on your brain stem, located at the point where your head pivots left and right. The vibration is spreading from your neck to your whole body through your spinal cord.
6. Repeat this movement for five minutes. Slow down your movement and focus on your lower abdomen.
7. Inhale and exhale fully three times.

[Reference] Brain Wave Vibration, Ilchi Lee, Best Life Media

I have been a Dahn Yoga member for 4 years now and am involved in several classes that are being taught at no cost in the Greater Boston area. Some of these classes

have been running for 7-10 years.  When I realized that the average member at the center has no idea about these classes are happening, I decided to share about them. They have been such a special experience.  Here is a brief glimpse.

The longest on-going class (started in 2000 by Danielle Gaudette, Boston Regional Director of Dahn Yoga Centers) takes place at the Sunrise Assisted Living Center in Arlington. Once a week, we hold a class in the community room with 10-12 residents attending. Several BMC graduates alternate weeks of teaching, and the staff frequently attend if their work schedule permits. The activities director tells us how much the residence look forward to our visit, and the volunteer instructors share the same.

The class at the community health center in Dorchester has also been ongoing for many years (since 2003?). It is geared towards people suffering with diabetes. I have been responsible for it for the past 3 years. Many are Cape Verde natives who don’t speak much English, and overtime we have learned to communicate without words.
I have grown to love these wonderful souls. The experience is much than doing stretching exercise and relaxation. I believe we have built a small community of trust and oneness of spirit. I have seen remarkable changes in several of the patients. The class has become a real part of their lives. They care about each other and have started taking responsibility for their health. Their moods have lifted and we have started teaching each other our native language. To hear an 80 year old Cape Verde woman count to 10 one day in English gave me great joy.

One of the members has even taken Shim Sung, has started taking classes at a Dahn Center and assists with class at the community center. My goal is to see more patients

Outreach Shim Sung at the Red Cross

attend Shim Sung and even to see some of the staff take the workshop.

An similar project has be initiated at a community health center in Jamaica Plain. The participants of this class are spanish speaking women suffering from depression.

The American Red Cross Blood Services hosts another outreach program. Class is offered 3 different times per week. Staff members attend from various departments. Recently the class has been formatted to allow staff to attend either a half hour of stretching and breathing or to stay and participate in the second half of relaxation and energy accumulation so more can participate.

As a result of this outreach, the first workplace Shim Sung in New England was held at Red Cross last February, with 10 people attending. The Red Cross supported the staff by paying a portion of the workshop cost and attendees who were nurses received continuing ed credits.

All of these outreach projects have offered a great opportunity for growth and a way to share with the community. The joy and satisfaction experienced is immeasurable. Seeing the smiling faces, sincere appreciation, and the relaxed mental and physical state of the staff and patients is a great reward.

Barbara Maffeo is a BMC graduate and instructor of Dahn Yoga.  She is a nurse and works for the Red Cross.

Last weekend young adults from the Boston Dahn Yoga centers gathered at the Blue Hill camp in New Hampshire for deep training. The main trainer was Danielle nim from the Arlington Center. Many Dahn Healers staffed the event. Why don’t you share about your experience here!

I have recently rediscovered Master Byukwoon sunsa nim’s blog. Master Byukwoon is the most senior Dahn master in the United States and was one of the first to come here from Korea. On the blog he shares many inspiring stories from his life. He writes it in Korean and then has it translated. My understanding of Dahn Yoga has deepened from reading some of them, so I wanted to share them with you: http://www.byukwoon.com/. Enjoy your learning!

Readers of this blog who are Boston Dahn Yoga Center members may remember Aaron, an instructor who used to teach Dahn Yoga and DahnMuDo in some of the centers in Boston. To give you a little update, currently Aaron is part of a demonstration team called YEHAP, or Youth Earth Human Alliance for Peace.

If you’ve been around a Dahn Yoga Center enough, you have heard of YEHA, or the Young Earth Human Alliance. YEHA is a loose organization of young adults who connect to the concept that our primary affiliation is as a citizen of the earth, rather than of any particular sect or nation. YEHAP is a group of these passionate beings, all Phoenixi (see previous posts for lots of news and explanations of the Phoenix Project) who are currently traveling around South Korea for 6 months performing at the Brain Wave Vibration lectures Ilchi Lee is giving there right now. They are also performing at larger shows, as well as colleges and town halls. You can share their experience by reading their blog: yehap.blogspot.com.

As you may know, I have recently completed an amazing session of the Tao Holistic Healing Program and moved to Sedona, Arizona to work for the publishing company that publishes Ilchi Lee’s Books:  Best Life Media.

 My sharing about the Tao Holistic Healing Program is that everyone should take it if they can You really learn Dahn principle, how to heal your body, and how to live for your true self, by experiencing it in your body. It involves exercise and education that allow you to see yourself and your habits clearly. The exercises are simple, but you go much deeper with them than you could go on your own. You really grow to understand what it takes to heal yourself on every level. And it is possible for people with a very poor body condition and limited movement to participate. Anyone can do it if they have the will to grow.

Keep growing everyone in Boston! I will continue to share with you through this blog.

Another blog from the Massachusetts Dahn Yoga Centers has joined cyberspace! Nicholas, a full-time instructor from the Copley Square Center has started a blog about the center. It is still in its infant stages, but I bet with a lot of love and support from Boston blog readers it will be a great success.

Check it out and leave a comment: http://copleysquareyoga.blogspot.com/

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!

Here is a list of Dahn Centers in the state of Massachusetts:

Andover: 166 North Main St., Andover, MA, 01810, 978.475.1116

Arlington:   32 Broadway, Arlington, MA, 02472, 978.475.1116

Beacon Hill: 122 Cambridge St., Boston, MA, 02114, 617.742.9642

Brookline: 235 Harvard St., Brookline, MA, 02446, 617.264.4851

Copley Square: 155 Boylston St., Boston, MA, 02116, 617.262.9642

Harvard Square:  1110 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02138, 617.576.9642

Jamaica Plain: 10 B Green  St., Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130, 617.983.9642 

Melrose: 537 Maint St., Melrose, MA 02175, 781.979.0066

Newton: 32 Union St., Newton, MA, 02459, 617.964.8333

You can find more information at www.dahnyoga.com.