Dahn Yoga Boston, MassachussettsBoston MA Dahn Yoga Community Blog

Benefits: This exercise will train the muscles in your waist, buttocks, hips, thighs, and legs.

Note: Relax the chest and rotate the pelvis while keeping the upper body straight.

1.    Stand with your feet apart and knees slightly bent, making sure that your hips don’t slip backwards.

2.    Spread the legs as wide as possible and assume the horse stance so that the ligaments in the hip joint can be stretched.

3.    Rotate the pelvis and hip 10 times from left to right. Concentrate on the sensation of the pelvic movement and on exhalation. Keep the knees and chest stationary.

4.    Reverse, rotating 10 times from right to left.

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Jung is a Korean word meaning vital energy, while Choong refers to fulfillment. Ideally, the process of breathing creates life energy, which is then accumulated in the Dahn-jon. However, this doesn’t happen all the time. Why? Because the body is not properly positioned to gather the energy.

To gather energy, the outflow valve of the energy has to be closed. The hip joint, in conjunction with the tailbone, works as the valve for energy flow in the human body. Curling up the tailbone is very important because it helps to form a proper angle for gathering energy while causing a light tension in the Dahn-jon. Once the appropriate body position is taken, Ki generated by breathing is naturally gathered at the Dahn-jon. This gathered energy creates natural pressure around the abdomen, allowing proper energy circulation to happen naturally.

For deep and natural breathing, the blockage around the chest caused by stress has to be opened. Breathe naturally, focusing on the exhalation. Relaxing your chest and upper body will help you. To open up the blockages, exhale with the mouth open slightly at the beginning stage, making a “ha-ah” sound through the throat to deeply release stagnant energy from the inside of the chest. After a certain time of exhaling this way, you may breathe with the mouth closed. As for the principles, Jung-Choong Breathing is not very different from the traditional breathing techniques. The distinction of Jung-Choong Breathing lies in its focus on natural breathing in a proper position instead of concentration on and intentional control of breathing.

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Benefits: This exercise will help you reduce tension and stagnant energy from your whole body. It enhances blood and Ki circulation and relaxes the body.

Note: Breathe naturally and comfortably while rhythmically bouncing the entire body up and down.

1.    Stand with the legs shoulder-width apart.

2.    Bend the knees slightly and begin to bounce gently.

3.    Rhythmically bounce the entire body up and down. Sweep the sides of your body with your fingertips as you bounce.

4.    Turn the body 45 degrees to the left and rhythmically bounce the entire body up and down.

5.    Turn the body 45 degrees to the right side and rhythmically bounce the entire body up and down.

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There is a close correlation between depth of respiration and health. Our breathing is deeper when we are younger and becomes shallower with age. We observe that newborn children breathe with their abdomen, their lower belly rising and falling. The center of breathing gradually rises as children grow older. This change proceeds from what is called “abdominal breathing” to “chest breathing,” and then to “shoulder breath-ing.”

If you watch people of advanced age, or patients who are seriously ill, you will see that their shoulders rise and fall as they breathe. This indicates how shallow their respiration has become. In Korean, the shallowest respiration is called Mok-sum, or “throat breathing.” When respiration becomes shal­lower than this, a person dies. His or her Mok-sum, or “throat breathing,” is cut off.

Breath-work is a simple discipline that allows us to train our­selves to breathe in a certain way, essentially to keep our breath­ing naturally deep. As a basic principle, respiration should be deep, light, and natural. Breathing that is natural, and yet deep and light, is healthy. It may seem that breathing both deeply and lightly is contradictory}’. We associate deepness with heavi­ness, and connect lightness with shallowness. This principle of deepness and lightness might seem at odds with itself. How is such breathing possible?

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As bioenergy, Ki cannot be toucned or seen with the naked eye. A “sixth sense” is needed to feel or see Ki, not the five senses we use in our daily lives. Ji-gam is a basic method for awakening this sixth sense.

The Yong-chun and Jang-shim points are major channels through which energy enters and leaves our bodies, gateways through which the energy of the universe is supplied to the human body. First, before beginning training for feeling energy, it is important to sufficiently relax mind and body.

First, rub your hands together vigorously until your palms feel hot. Then clap at least 50 times. The feeling of the Jang-shim points will become even more vivid as blood circulates vigorously through the entire palms of both hands. When clapping, spread your hands wide like fans to ensure all of both palms are thoroughly stimulated.

Comfortably relax your entire body so there is no tension in your neck, shoulders, arms or chest, and relax your mind, as well. Press your palms together in front of your chest and focus on the feelings in your palms.

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Ji-gam begins in our hands, which are a particularly sensitive part of our bodies. The hands are the place where Jin-ki, the essence of energy, is most readily activated. Later, once we become proficient at Ji-gam, our practice reaches a depth where we are able to place our minds completely in one place, even without trying particularly hard, as an energy center forms in the Dahn-jon.

When we practice Ji-gam for the first time, we feel external Ki in the form of sensations like fever or heat, or what seems to be a magnetic force. Later, when that sensation deepens, we can feel blood flowing in our veins. With more intense concentration, even blood flowing in the capillaries is felt. Once Ji-gam takes place in our entire bodies, we sense each of our cells filled with energy, living and moving. We arrive at a state of mental unity, in which our bodies and minds are one. Once we feel energy and blood circulation is invigorated in the palms of our hands (Jang-shim), bottoms of our feet (Yong-chun), and Lower Dahn-jon, we can maintain this awareness of energy even while we practice Dong-gong. Frequently practicing feeling Ki in our normal lives helps with Jung-gong as well as Dong-gong practice. For the person whose awareness of the Dahn-jon is weak, Ji-gam training can be particularly helpful in activating the heat of this energy center. The next practice involves the simple method of feeling energy in the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet, where the body’s external Dahn-jon centers are located, and in the Lower Dahn-jon, which is one of the body’s internal Dahn-jon centers. The Ki sensed at first is external Ki felt on the surface of the skin. With repetition, however, these sensations grow more intense and clear. Immersed in this feeling of Ki, we find that our brainwaves fall into a pattern of relaxation, our minds become very peaceful, our bodies and minds relax, and we are able to feel even more intensely the internal Ki that is beginning to stir in our bodies.

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PURPOSE: Assesses lower-body strength, which is needed for numerous tasks, such as climbing stairs, walking, and getting out of a chair, tub, or car.

HOW TO TEST: Sit in a chair with your arms folded across your chest. Stand up, and then sit down again. Count the number of full stands you can complete in 30 seconds.

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The Senior Fitness Test provides an easy and effective way to measure the strength, flexibility, and endurance of older adults without sophisticated equipment. Safe and enjoyable for older adults, it also meets scientific standards for reliability and validity. Developed by In Full Bloom coauthor Jessie Jones, Ph.D., and her colleague Roberta Rikli, Ph.D., its accompanying performance norms are based on actual performance scores of over seven thousand men and women between the ages of sixty and ninety-four. When completing the test, do the best you can, but do not overextend yourself or push yourself beyond what you consider safe. Prior to testing, complete a five- to ten-minute warm-up and general stretching routine.

This test was not developed specifically for use with the Brain Education System Training (BEST) method used by Dahn Yoga, but it is a great accompaniment. It is especially helpful for assessing progress during step one, which emphasizes the connection of body and brain. If you work with older adults, or if you would like to assess your own condition, try using this test before you begin. Usually it takes approximately three months of consistent practice to fully experience the benefits of BEST, so it is preferable to retest every three to six months.

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In Oriental medicine, the Yong-chun is one of the most important energy points. Yong-chun means “like spring water spouts out of the earth, life en-ergy is created inside the body.” It is believed to be a source of great vitality and courage for your life. This same concept is represented in the West in the term “cold feet,” which suggests that courage is somehow connected to circulation in the feet.

Yong-chun is located in the front third of the sole, right under the ball of the foot, between the second and big toes. It is located in the indention where the sole print creates an upside-down V shape.

To stimulate the Yong-chun, stand up straight and comfortably, and lean forward about one degree from the center of the sole. When standee ing this way, your weight naturallv shifts to the Yong-chun. As vou do this, concentrate on your Yong-chun and use the strength of vour toes. Since the weight is now evenly distributed throughout the bodv, the joints won’t have the burden of bearing your entire weight. You mav notice that it is hard to stand still in this posture because your body will want to spring forward naturallv with little effort.

Now walk forward, concentrating on the Yong-chun and using the strength of your toes, as if you were grabbing the earth. As your weight is placed on your toes, all the weight that was on the heels will move to the front.

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Spend a few minutes observing how you walk normally. Notice if one leg takes more weight, or of there is pain on one side. Also notice your footsteps. You may notice that one or both feet turn inward or outward. The feet should remain consistently parallel, like the number eleven. If not, it is an indication that the legs are not in proper alignment with the pelvis.

This sort of misalignment can lead to serious problems in the knee and hip joints. Also, when the legs are not aligned, they consume more energy in each step. While walking, consciously try to keep your legs parallel with your knees turned forward. Your knees should almost touch, and the legs and feet should remain parallel throughout the entire step.

As Ilchi Lee tells in the human body, the pelvis is to the body like the foundation is to a building. When properly aligned, the rest of the body will naturally follow-. Carefully aligning your legs and feet in this way will help facilitate energy flow in the legs, and it will allow better accumulation of energy in the abdomen, which is the center of physical energy. Digestion and circulation around the organs will also improve as the entire body comes back into alignment, thereby improving your overall sense of well-being.

walking with the body symmetrical is the most basic principle ot Jang-saeng Walking, and it governs the whole circulation system of the body and energy. when telling tired or powerless at work, or when you teal pain and stiffness in the joints, focus on realigning your body for better energy flow. You will feel much better.

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