Dahn Yoga Class Texas Member's blog

Have you ever stopped to realize that you owe everything you are to your brain?
If someone asks you who you are, what do you say?
Maybe you say something like, “My name is John. I am a twenty-seven-year-old man of African descent, and I currently work as an elementary school teacher in Dallas, Texas.”
Instinctively, you and John both know that there is much more to you. John loves most of all to be in the presence of greatart. The hair on the nape of his neck stands up when he smells freshly fallen rain. Both of you have experienced a great range of love and suffering throughout your life. How can one name
or one identity sum up all of this?
All these things do have one thing in common, however—they were generated through the brain. John’s brain enabled him to become a school teacher, and it is through his brain that he feels awe when standing before a powerful painting. A symphony of sensory input and memory within his brain gives rise to his reaction to freshly fallen rain. It is also within his brain that he stores his definition of what it means
to be a man, twenty-seven years old, and African-American.
In some sense, you could say that you are your brain. Or, at the very least, the brain is the instrument through which you experience all reality. And it is through it that you interact with reality—in every emotional reaction, in every choice that you make, and in every dream that you dream. Everything you
ever have been or will become is because of your brain.

The conditions of your life at the present moment are also dependent on the condition of your brain. If you love the conditions of your life, you must use your brain to help you maintain that life. If you want to change the conditions of your life, it will also require effective use of your brain.

From the book “In full Bloom” by Ilchi Lee

Benefits: Increases circulation to the spleen and stomach.
1. Place your right foot forward and your right palm on your right thigh.
2. Inhale and reach your left hand back behind your head, your palm facing the ceiling.

    Let  your head drop  back as you follow the movement of the hand with your eyes.
3. Exhale and slowly return to the original position.
4. Repeat 3 times and then repeat on the opposite side of the body.

from the book “Power brain Kids” by  Ilchi Lee.

The Dahn Yoga Headstand method promotes blood and energy circulation is recommended to all Houston Dahn Yoga members.

Benefits

1. Dahn Yoga headstand promotes efficient blood circulation to the head and brain stem, relieving headaches.
2. Stimulates the brain and enhances memory, concentration, and focus.
3. Regulates hormonal functioning.

TIPS

1. Massage the neck prior to performing a headstand.
2. If you find balancing in the middle of the room too difficult, brace yourself against a wall.

Method

1. Place your forearms on the floor and interlace your fingers, pulling out your elbows so your forearms create a triangle on the floor.
2. Cradle your head in your interlaced fingers.
3. Walk your feet toward your head on the floor, and feel your weight shift from your feet to your head and forearms.
4. Find your balance using your head and forearms, and slowly bring your legs up into the air until they are directly above your head and your spine is straight.
5. Breathe naturally through your abdomen and hold this posture for as long as you feel comfortable.

Dahn Yoga is an integrated mind-body training method that combines deep stretching exercises, meditative breathing techniques, and energy awareness training. Its objective is to help practitioners achieve their highest level of personal potential.

The traditional name for Dahn Yoga is Dahnahk, which literally means “the study of energy.” In Korean, Dahn refers to the primal, vital energy which is essential to all life forms, and hak refers to the sudy of a particular theory or philosophy. Thus, a Dahnhak practitioner is one who studies the system of energy for the purpose of overall self-development.

From Meridian Exercise by Ilchi Lee