Information makes us who we are. The type of information you hold can determine how you speak, how you think, and what jobs you hold. A fortuitous meeting with a good piece of information may change our lives for the better, while a bad piece of information can lead us down a path of self-destruction.

When you input positive information into the brain, it will sparkle with creativity and hum with efficiency. For instance, if you tell someone, “You have come into this world to save the Earth and open up a new era spirituality and peace in the 21st century. Do you accept this?” If the person says “Yes” his brain will perk up and purr with delight. “No” and his brain will contract upon itself and darken as it shuts down its higher powers. But saving the Earth does not have to be a grand undertaking; picking up one more loose piece of trash or saying one more nice thing to your neighbor also qualifies. (Healing Society, Ilchi Lee)

You control your brain, you own your brain. This belief is the starting point for genuine mastership over your brain. Your brain is not you. Your thoughts and emotions are not you. You begin your brain mastership training in Dahn Yoga class by becoming more flexible and stronger than you thought possible. Change your brain by changing your information, no preconceptions! (BEST 5 Practice, Ilchi Lee)

Use your will power and imagination to create the change you want to manifest in yourself or in your life. Your imagination is the ability to picture in your mind something that does not exist in reality. Your will power stimulates and makes imagination a reality by putting your thoughts into action. Through regular Dahn Yoga practice we develop will power and imagination to improve our bodies, minds, and lives. Then we can accomplish anything our brains can imagine, no limits! (BEST 5 Practice, Ilchi Lee)

I think we all know too well the constant struggle between the mind and body:

“I know eating that piece of chocolate won’t make me feel good, but my hand keeps reaching for it!”
“If I go for a walk instead of watching TV, I’ll feel better….but I feel so lazy.”
“Getting up one hour earlier in the morning for some exercise and refreshment will help my day, but it’s too tempting to snooze for 5 more minutes, then another 5 minutes, then another 5 minutes….”

Dahn Yoga can help you bridge this gap between the mind and body. When your mind and body are connected through energy, then your mind feels what your body feels — so whatever your body likes, your mind tends to go in that direction, and whatever your body dislikes, your mind tends to steer clear from.

When you deepen your mind-body connection even more, you can reverse the process and use the power of your mind to overcome physical limitations, and really use your whole being to create for yourself whatever it is your heart desires.

“Children who seem to be good and obedient on the outside are always struggling with themselves on the inside. The brains of children have their own formula for survival; they always seek to conform to their parents in everything, as a matter of instinct, in order to be loved. An even greater danger is that the poor relationships with parents that children develop when they are young will stay with them, in distorted form, on into adulthood. Unable to stand out boldly and play the leading roles in the story of their own lives, children grow up to be servile and timid, and live their lives trying to please others and live up to their standards. If you truly want your child to be happy, you should begin now training to see correctly, hear correctly, and feel correctly. Only then will you be able to properly raise your child.”

-Ilchi Lee, The Power of the Brain

I think almost every single person in the world understands this concept through personal experience, in one form or another. Now that we recognize it, isn’t it time for us to make changes for a better generation?

When I first started my Dahn Yoga practice, I was shocked to find out how inflexible my brain was. Try this simple exercise to see how well YOU can flex your brain.

Hold up both your hands with your palms facing you, and make light fists. Then open up your right thumb and left pinky. Then switch, folding down your right thumb and opening your right pinky, and folding down your left pinky and opening your left thumb. Then keep switching back and forth in a rhythmic pattern, so that you have the rightmost fingers open together, and then the leftmost fingers open together.

Very simple exercise, yet hard to master quickly — what are you learning about the current state of your brain?

  Autism is one of the toughest disabilities for kids and families to deal with on a day to day basis.  People with autism often use repetitious and self-stimulating behaviors to avoid spending meaningful or intensive interactive time with others.  For example, the child might line up objects on the floor repeatedly, avoid eye contact, watch TV or videos over and over, stare off into space for long periods of time, or repeat particular sounds or phrases. These are the behaviors that lead people to describe autism as a child being in his or her “own world.”  Recently, the mother of a 4 yr. old autistic boy enrolled her son in private BE classes.  After 4 sessions, she has already reports that he is now initiating interactive times with her thru the use of BE exercises presented to him during the private classes.  She is overjoyed to be more effective and enabled to have the mother and child bonding they both need and deserve for a happy life!

Theresa Smith

Mountain View Dahn Yoga center

Good evening Master Kim,

I appreciated our talk and your advice. I am grateful for your willingness to be my personal mentor , consider this email my letter of acceptance to your wonderful offer. Hopefully you will not have to devote too much of your time to me.  I also want  you to have some free time to help all other members as well. (I know you do!) You’ve touched the lives of so many people and have brought personal enrichement amoung all Dahn Yoga members.

Your three questions are tough  to answer.

 The question is, “do I want to grow personally within myself” and my answer is “yes I do”, but I don’t know where to start and how I can stick with it for long term. Too many things are always on my mind yet I don’t know how to resolve them. Perhaps your physical and mental training will help me “clear my head” to think more positively about my current and prospective future. 

I will answer your questions simply because right at this moment I don’t know what else to jot down.

1.  My purpose is still unclear. I do have some kind of purpose in this life that I have yet to discover.
2. I need to become a stronger person from within.
3. Where do I see my future? I want to see a more positive future with a “Yes I Can do it” attitude. I want a future without my personal limitations interfering me, whether that be my past or my current problems. I should not be “blocked” or “afraid” to pursue something I want to do or try.

Thanks,
~ Sophie~

This question seems to be a very popular one among people who are interested in exploring Dahn Yoga a little more deeply. Here is my two cents on this matter.

Dahn Yoga is more than just yoga and is often described as a “holistic health management program.” It’s an energy training program based on ancient Korean energy principles to help to bring your body, mind and spirit together, so that you can experience and live your life fully as a whole person. A good way to look at the Dahn practice is not focusing so much on the yoga — yoga is just a part of the program. There are various energy training methods offered — the yoga classes being the most accessible and also very foundational — including breathing techniques, meditation, brain respiration, martial arts, drumming, dancing, energy healing, and many other forms. You can choose from this array of possibilities according to your needs to develop your true sense of self and recover your original state of health in body, happiness in mind and peace in spirit.

Please feel free to share your definition of Dahn Yoga!

Ilchi Lee

An article about Brain Development.

Many people don’t understand how important nutrition is to their brain. And, when they don’t get the nutrition their brain needs to think intelligently, it doesn’t help them to understand this simple concept - good nutrition feeds your brain!

After all, your brain is part of your body and it’s well understood that you need certain nutrients for your body. Why wouldn’t you need certain specific nutrients for your brain too? Yet, most people are extremely casual about what they eat - as if it’s only a matter of taste that’s important.

But, if your brain is developed enough to think clearly, it will be easy to understand this question. What’s the most important factor to our intellectual and cognitive development?

Some people say it’s genetics. Other’s say it’s the environment. While still others might argue that the most important factor in a person’s brain development is their self-discipline - in other words, how the use their brain.

Ilchi Lee

But, while all these factors do play an important role, the single most important factor for brain development and intellectual capacity is a person’s daily diet and the nutrition your get from it.

Ilchi Lee Dahn Yoga Founder

You’re probably familiar with the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” Well, if you’re eating an unhealthy diet, then that same principle applies to your brain. Eating garbage robs you of your brain’s full potential.

And it gets even worse. If you have a family and are eating a poor diet, you’re definitely dooming your children to a future of mediocre intelligence, poorly developed verbal skills, eyesight, hearing and many other physical and mental drawbacks.

But wait, it’s not too late! The good news is that at any time during a person’s lifetime they can still turn to nutrition for a better brain.

If you’re ready to improve the mental capacity and functionality of your own and your family’s brains, consider this. While all of your nutrition is important, the most important and beneficial nutritional factors for your brain are the DHA, EPA and other omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish.

Studies show that nearly 70 percent of a baby’s brain and more than 60 percent of the adult brain is made up of essential DHA and EPA fatty acids and that an adequate dietary intake of these oils is absolutely vital for mental and emotional health.

Ilchi Lee