Calvin K Cheung
10/1/11
Laura Douglass
Yoga: Theory, Culture and Practice
Experience and Lesson
I went to a Dahn Yoga studio located at Harvard Square, 1110 Mass Ave. in Cambridge; I got an interesting experience that I felt ready to do. I decided to go to this studio because I had walked by the studio several times, and was interested because a sign outside their studio said that it taught a “Chi” oriented yoga. As a Chinese person who is a little familiar to tai chi, this made me interested enough to go into the studio and write this paper on the experience that I had when I took a lesson there at the studio.
During the first visit, I was shocked at how homey and comfortable the atmosphere felt to me. It wasn’t till the second time I came in did I get to a lesson, where I was told that the actual studio was built six years ago, and that the practitioners had kept changing; because Dahn Yoga is a franchise, so each studio’s history is hard to keep up with. The studio was well prepared, as the floor was patted, so it was not necessary to bring in a mat, but it also meant that you have to take off your shoes before going on to the floor.
My lesson started out with some questions, and a bizarre machine that could measure my “chi”. Some of the questions I was asked were; why was I interested in Yoga, was I there as a stress reliever, was I there for physical fitness, and other questions like that. What fascinated me was what happened to me next. I was told to place my hands on a chi device that they have. Never in my life, was I told that you could measure chi so easily. By placing my hands on the device, the instructor was able to accurately give me a reading on what kind of a person I was. Before I could say anything, she reassured me that this was not some kind of physic thing, and that device was created by a Russian scientist. After all the questions, we got started with some exercises, which started as she telling me to bend my arms in unusual ways. As I got the hang of it, she pointed out some things about me, such as how even though I wanted to work on my flexibility I seem pretty flexible. I then got into a lying down position, and was told to do some kind of squatting position. There as I try to breath, I notice that I was getting tired, and my legs gave out. At this point, the teacher placed her right index finger and middle finger on the lower part of my chest, and told me to breath. As a person who is used to such physical contact, I continue with her instructions. She then placed her other index finger and middle finger on my stomach, and pushed down hard. She then told me to breath, it was kind of difficult as it she was pushing down on my stomach rather hard, but I pushed on. She then asked if anything hurt, and I told her that it tickled but there were no painful sensations. She then gently touched my forehead, and my stomach, and asked if I felt any kind of warmth on either side, I said that I felt most of the heat was on my head. She readjusted her hands, and put pressure on different parts of my chest, then asked me again where I felt the warmth. I told her that it was on my head again. She told me how this indicated that I have a pretty sensitive mind, and is easily triggered to think a lot, which may cause digestive problem. This made sense to me as I have had problem with digesting when there was a lot of things that went through my mind. After this exercise, she told me to sit up straight, and told me how the heat that I felt in my head should be in my stomach, and told me that I did have a warmer stomach than the average student that went to her studio. She then told me to start warming my hands, and try to focus my energy within that warmth. As I tried, I got distracted with the noises around me and was not able to “feel” that energy. And she told me that my mind tends to wander, and that this could mean that I have a hard time focusing on homework and other work, which I would have to agree on. The lesson ended after she told me a little more about my chi. I found myself wanting to know more, and wanted to come back some time again in the future. Overall, it was a spiritual experience that I won’t forget.
Culture and Practice
I did not get a real good sense of the culture, when I was at the studio; this was due to the fact that I had to schedule a private lesson to fit my schedule. Prior to writing this paper, I went to the studio a total of two times, one, to get an idea of what kind of yoga the studio was using and to schedule a lesson and then the second time to have the lesson. The first time I was there I did notice that there was a lot of Asians, whom I would assume are Korean, because the teacher was talking to them in Korean. I got a better sense of the culture, and reason for this practice of this form of yoga, when I was filling out a form about how I heard of Dahn Yoga. The form gave out a long list for reasons to why I would want to do Yoga, and it listed, stress, work out, enlightenment, relaxation, and etc. This gave me the idea that this form of yoga can be practiced as a form of recreational activity, or can be more meaningful to a person; it all depends on the student. However, I felt that even though it listed stress reliever/relaxation as a reason for using this kind of Yoga, I felt that the overall goal was self control, center-ness and perhaps even enlightenment. I am considering in going to the studio at least one more time before I make a decision to continue this form of Yoga.
History
Dahn, a Korean interpretation of Yoga was originated in North Eastern Korea around nine thousand years ago, was rediscovered be a man by the name of Ilchi Lee. These old texts were called Chun Bu Kyung, and practiced the idea of meditation and martial art (www.dahnyoga.com, 2011). Lee reintroduced Dahn Yoga in Korea in 1980s, and was called Dahnhak Seonwon, which translate to Vital Energy Arts Center, and as time progressed so did the growth of Dahn Yoga. Lee retired from the Dahnhak Seonwon center and started to work on how “chi” energy could work with brain respiration. After a researching, practicing and training with volunteers, he was able to develop a new form of Dahn yoga. As time progressed, Lee’s fame became bigger, and gained the privilege to teach his form of Yoga to the Korean Military. It wasn’t until 1991 was Lee invited by Philadelphian Korean business men to start teaching his form of Dahn Yoga in North America. Then in the 2000s, Lee’s form of Dahn Yoga spread throughout the world and became a franchise in 2008 in North America (www.dahnyoga.com, 2011). To this day there are many books written by Lee about his form of Dahn Yoga.
Theory
What I was told in the studio, by the teacher, the theory behind Dahn Yoga is that once you are able to control your physical body, you will be able to control your emotions and spirit. And that this idea of controlling your sense is way to become centered, which seems to be the overall theme/mission of the practice. What I read on their official website is that there is three principals of Dahn Yoga, which are Shim Ki Hyul Jung, Seu Sung Hwa Gang, and Jung Choong Ki Jang Shin Myung (www.dahnyoga.com, 2011).
Shim Ki Hyul Jung, which translate to from “Mind to matter” is the idea that that if you are able to bring your mind to the present while you are training, you will be able to monitor changes, or other things that happen in your own body(www.dahnyoga.com, 2011).. I notice this first hand in class, when I was asked what parts of my body felt “warm” when I was trying to focus my energy on lying still. Seu Sung Hwa Gang, which translate to “Water up, fire down” is the idea that water energy should be going to the head, to keep your head cool, and the fire energy should go down to your lower body, which will encourage health working system(www.dahnyoga.com, 2011). I got a better understanding of this when I was in the studio, when the teacher notice that a lot of “heat” or “warmth” was going to my head, and not enough of that “heat” and “warmth” was going to my stomach, and she told me that I seem like a person who thinks a lot, which may cause me to not care about what is going on within my body, which may lead to digestive problems. This made sense, as I have had stomach pains when I am upset. And finally there is Jung Choong Ki Jang Shin Myung, which translates to “From Health to Happiness to Peace” and is the idea that by controlling your physical body you will be able to control your emotions (www.dahnyoga.com, 2011).
Conclusion
Even after being a little discourage about the this Yoga studio, due to the negative reactions to former students of the yoga class, I still wanted to go there because of my interest in Asian Pacific martial arts, and religion. I did understand why the experience could have been traumatizing for others, but as a person who is familiar with these kinds of rituals, and method, I felt like home when I started the lesson. As I am considering in become a full time student at the studio, the only thing that stops me is the cost of the lesson. However, even with a high cost, I think I might try the place one more time before I make final decision.
Bibliography
Dahn Yoga. (2011). Retrieved September 2, 2011, from http://www.dahnyoga.com/about_dahn_yoga/
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