Dahn Yoga MA Member’s blog

On March 26, 2007, Newsweek ran a fascinating article about the connection between Yoga exercise and brain performance. It explained that according to Charles Hillman, a University of Illinois professor of neurology and kine-siologv, those who engage in regular exercise have fitter brains in addition to fitter bodies.

Brain Sensitizing, the first part of Brain Education System Training, ties into this idea. It uses specially designed exercises by Dr. Ilchi Lee with which one can awaken the senses, develop a keener sense of energy flow, and gain a greater awareness of the brain’s functioning. These activities are foundational to your health and to your progress through the BEST method, so please make them a regular part of your daily routine.

As Ilchi Lee explained in his book , the preceding Young Brain Quiz is not a scientifically designed assessment. Rather it is simply a fun self-assessment that is meant to help you to see your own habits and attitudes more clearly. If you would like to try a scientifically validated test, try the Senior Fitness Test on page 210 of the appendix. It is very easy to do, and through it you can see exactly how you measure up in comparison to other adults your age. It was developed in the process of testing more than seven thousand older adults for strength, balance, and flexibility. Created through the work of Jessie Jones, Ph.D., and her colleagues, it is one of the most widely recognized and commonly utilized methods in the world for determining senior fitness. Test yourself once before you begin BEST training, and then retest after three to six months.

Read books containing tips about Dahn Hak exercises and training.

How did you do? Remember, there are no right answers—just a sketch of where you are today. Ilchi Lee says that the fact that you are reading this book means that you are ready to take yourself from where you are now to a new level of brain awareness and growing wisdom. On to your scores. For each “a” answer, give yourself four points; for each “b,” three; two for each “c,”; and one for each “d.”

55-64 POINTS: You are very healthy and probably already engage in many of the practices in this book in some way. With a little fine tuning, your future is limitless.

40-54 POINTS: You’re part of the majority of people reading this book. You have some limits on your thinking and your lifestyle, but vou also have great potential. It won’t take long for vou to vault into your fulfilling life.

26-39 POINTS: You’re not feeling, looking, thinking, or doing your best, and you know it. You’re probably angry with yourself, but try to forgive. Nobody is perfect, and there is much you can do to improve your health, outlook, and mind.

16-25 POINTS: You’ve been allowing yourself to neglect everything that matters, from your health to your job to your future. You have to make some changes fast. Fortunately, you are reading the right book. These all tests will help you during Dahn Yoga training.

Dahn Hak practice articles by Ilchi Lee.

When life energy travels through the meridians, vibration is a natural expression of the body. When internal energy pathways are stimulated by the fresh injection of external energy, they not only expand with force and movement, but also clear away existing blockages. When this occurs for an extended period of time, the body tends to shake and vibrate, much like a curled water hose when channeling a powerful stream of water. This phenomenon is referred to as jin-dong.

Self-Vibration Exercise does not mean waiting around for the body to vibrate on its own. It means that you take the initiative to ignite the vibrating reaction in your own body. There are not any set or pre-determined patterns tor self-vibration. As Ilchi Lee instructs you just let your body go along with the natural rhythm of life.

Just as the neo-cortex, limbic system, and brain stem have their separate roles and activities, they each have a unique energy-frequency to which they respond. With proper selection of, and control over, the energy frequency, it is possible to stimulate or stabilize different parts of the brain. Generally, the neo-cortex responds more readily to intricate musical pieces with diverse sounds, such as a symphony, while the brain stem responds better to more “primitive,” simple driving beats of ancient Asian or African indigenous music.

Prof. Ilchi Lee writes in his book that light has a calming effect on the neo-cortex and sound has an immediate influence on the emotional control of the limbic system. Vibration in the form of a simple, powerful beat has a very noticeable effect on the brain stem, because the brain stem is the seat of Yullyo, the rhythm of life. When our consciousness is able to penetrate the layers of the neo-cortex and limbic system, and enter into the brain stem, we can meet with the energy of life.

Contemporary humans have a highly developed neo-cortex, to the point of sometimes suppressing healthy activity of the limbic system and the brain stem. The best way to tone down the activity of the neo-cortex and maximize life energy of the brain stem is with a repetitive, continuous rhythm. This is something like falling asleep to the monotonous hum of a car engine. Self-Vibration Exercise uses repetitive rhythmic vibration to tone down activities of the neo-cortex, activate the limbic system, and allow you to meet with the life energy that resides in your brain stem.

Read Books About DahnHak Basics.

When you yell “Ah,” your chest will ring. “Ah” is the sound that the energy of your heart makes when it is voiced. When your chest feels blocked in Dahn Yoga exercise, place your hands on your chest and shout out “Ah.” You will soon teel the fire energy of your heart flow outward as coolness and balance are restored.

Now, make the sound “Eeh.” Feel the sound “Eeh,” as it circles inside your chest and travels up your spine. This is the sound associated with the stomach. The sound “Ooh” strengthens the lower abdomen, the center of your body mass. The sound “Huh” stimulates the lungs, and the sound “Shee” strengthens the uterus. The sound “Sshh” stimulates the kidneys.

Every sound has its own unique frequency of energy vibration that stimulates the associated internal organ. The sound “Om” has all five elements of energy, stimulating not only the internal organs but also the brain. By concentrating on the pathways of energy vibrations emitted by the sounds, you can feel how the sound vibrates from the brain, spreads through the chest, and fills the whole body, as you are transformed into one giant sound of the cosmos. The best time for Om vibration exercise is at dawn.

Read all about Ilchi Lee the founder of Dahn Hak and Dahn Yoga.

Dahn Yoga training information by Ilchi Lee

Bring up an emotionally traumatic or difficult memory. Reenact the experience in your mind and observe every detail of the scene, letting the emotion of the experience flow through you once again.

When you feel yourself immersed in the emotion, breathe in deeply then smile as you breathe out. Have your hands facing each other at about the level of your solar plexus. Spread your hands apart as you breathe in and bring your hands closer in together as your breath out. Try to synchronize your breath, smile, and hand motions.

Begin with a slight, barely observable smile. Then nurture the smile and make it bigger each time you breathe out. At first, your smile might feel artificial, heavy, and reluctant. Your face may twitch, your lips tremble, and your eyes water. The smile might fade in the face of past negativity then struggle to return. However, nurture the smile until it finally prevails!

Eventually you will feel the tension leave your face as if a taut rubber band has relaxed. Your whole face will smile and become a bright flower. You might feel an internal barrier shatter, letting in a stream of light. Feel your head clear as negative energy escapes through your temples and Baek-hwe.

At this moment Doctor Ilchi Lee advice that you are relieved of negative emotions associated with the painful experience. All that is left is the objective reality of the experience itself without the painful emotions. You are finally liberated from the emotion and are ready to see the experience as part of a learning process, offering valuable lessons to further your journey in life.

Relax your shoulders, close your eyes, and let a smile float on your face. Feel your body and brain relax. Feel the relaxation in your chest spread upward to your head.

Now, frown as intensely as you can and feel the tension generated in your body and brain to start Dahn Yoga training.

Smile, and then frown suddenly. Repeat this several times and note the reactions of your body. This is a good exercise for your brain.

Now, start with a smile and then nurture the smile into a big laugh, as you take note of the changes in your body.

Laugh out loud as loudly as you can. Allow your whole body, from your face to your toes, to laugh simultaneously. Feel the refreshing sensation filling your brain.

Prof. Ilchi Lee Brain and Breath Respiration Books.

During dahn Yoga training, practitioners learn to communicate with their bodies through energy.  As the body’s energy circulation is stimulated, its innate natural healing power is activated. Through consistent practive, practitioners can lead themselves back to optimum health. Essentially, they regain ture mastership over their bodies through the medium of energy (Ki).

According to Ilchi Lee book about breath respiration our brain is not designed to deal with two pieces of information at the same time. We cannot feel happy and sad at the same time. We can alternately feel happy and sad, but not both at the same time. This is a protective mechanism that our brain uses to prevent confusion from paralyzing our intellect. This characteristic of the brain means that we cannot hold on to negative emotions when we are feeling happy. In other words, we cannot feel sad or angry while we smile or laugh. On the other hand, we cannot smile and feel happy while we are still in the throes of negative emotions.

What would happen if you were to smile when you are caught up in negative emotions? At first, you might feel tension from competing emotions. But smile a little bit harder and you will soon experience a miracle. The negative emotions will be pushed aside and scattered to the wind. A smile is not just a simple movement of facial muscles. A smile has real power to positively affect your life. Admittedly, it is difficult to smile when faced with a difficult or painful situation. However, try lifting up the ends of your lips. You will quickly find yourself blowing negative emotions away with the power of your smile.

Yoga Practices Guide By Ilchi Lee.

Let us compare diagrams A and B. Let’s compare each panel of the window to a limit of consciousness for a specific individual. And let’s compare the arrow to our own awareness. As Prof. Ilchi Lee writes in his book if we were to use the whole window with its four panels, then we would be able to see a bigger picture through the window. We would also be able to see in all directions. If our awareness is thus limited by the boundaries of the window of consciousness, then we would only be able to “see” in a certain direction, unless we expand the window of consciousness to allow the arrow to turn fully in all directions.

Therefore, a person looking at the world through A and a different person looking at the world through B will see the same thing. However, they will take away a totally different awareness of what they have each, individually, seen. Brain Softening Exercises seek to expand your horizon of consciousness so that you will not limit your awareness. You will be able to experience a deeper reality and gain insight into the underlying dynamics of the world today.

Dahn Yoga Rules By Ilchi Lee