Dahn Yoga DC Blog

The second stage of Brain Respiration is BR Versatilizing. This is my “shorthand” for the process by which we become more flexible and versatile. By that I mean that we are willing to explore new ideas or solutions and entertain notions we have never considered before.

In today’s slang Ilchi Lee guess this is called “thinking outside the box.” It is when we are versatile enough to step away from our preconceived notions about things and consider the possibility of a new notion that could change everything.

Sometimes this happens to us spontaneously. There are occasions when we suddenly see a familiar object or event in a whole new light. Or, when we ponder a particular problem tor a long time, we sometimes hit upon a novel solution that surprises us with its innovation.

These occasions spring from the plasticity that is inherent to the brain’s neural circuits. BR Versatilizing is intended to open our brain to new information and make it more adaptable to new experiences and situations.

BR Sensitizing helps us become more aware of ourselves in every aspect of our daily lives. It is the first step in mastering our lives.

Ilchi Lee advice that BR Sensitizing exercise trains you to feel your brain through the energy in your hands. Since our hands are most sensitive to the flow of energy, even beginners can easily feel the energy between their hands. As you concentrate on your hands and massage your face and head, you will feel the vibration of energy.

What does the brain’s energy vibration feel like? Although it varies from person to person, the sensation feels similar to that felt during Ji-gam exercises (see Chapter 4)—a tingling, prickling, or tickling sensation. No matter how small or subtle the feeling is, it is important to focus on it and let it expand.

1.    If you are sitting in a chair, rest your hands gently on your thighs. If you are sitting on the ground in a halflotus position, lightly rest your hands on your knees. Lift your right hand and turn your palm towards the right side of your face, about one to two inches from it.

2.    Feel the sensation of the energy in your hand. Keeping your hand one to two inches from your face, sweep it down the right side of your face slowly and deliberately. Move your right hand upward from your forehead and then down along the contour of your head to the base of your head. Circle your hand around the right side of your face and teel the energy radiate out toward your hand. Once you have felt the energy, lower your hand slowly.

3.    Repeat steps 2 and 3 with your left hand. When you have felt the energy from the left side of your face. slowly lower your hand.

4.    Now raise both hands and feel the energy from both sides of your face and head at the same time.

5.    Rub your hands briskly, until warmed, and gently massage your face, neck, and head.

Through BR Sensitizing you can develop the ability to see yourself much more deeply. You begin by observing every single step of the process by which thoughts, emotions, and preconceptions are adopted and planted within your own consciousness. And you will also learn how your body reacts to certain stimuli, what emotional traps you habitually fall into, and what chains hold your consciousness in check.

This is the beginning of the healing process. Healing begins when you become aware of what you have to heal. Your transformation begins as soon as you become aware of the discomfort that your body, emotions, and consciousness experiences.

In the beginning, the transformation will consist of small things; however, as you gain experience with BR Sensitizing, you will undergo a fundamental transformation that will affect all aspects of your life.

In order to feel your brain, you need to stimulate and awaken all of your senses. Since our brain is connected to every single part of the body, feeling and exercising the many differ-ents part of our body will also sensitize the brain. Dahn-jon breathing, meridian exercises, and Ji-gam training can be good BR Sensitizing exercises. They release tension, relax your muscles, calm your mind, and help you feel the subtle current of energy flowing through your body.

Purpose: Deeply relaxes the mind and body and releases tension in preparation for subsequent postures.

Concentration: Curl your tailbone gently upward and feel a gentle pressure in the lower abdomen.

Breathing: Relax the mouth and keep it gently open as you focus on exhalation. Let inhalation happen naturally without being conscious of it. Do not attempt to control your breath or the movement of the abdomen. Center on the sensation of emptying your body.

Time: Hold the posture three to five minutes, until your body relaxes and your breath deepens.

1.    Lie down on your back on a hard and warm surface.

2.    Squeeze your legs tightly together and then completely relax them. They will part naturally, about the width of one foot. The angle of your feet should be about 30 to 45 degrees from the floor.

5.     Place your middle fingers very lightly on your Dahn-jon (two inches below your navel). Do not press down since the Dahn-jon is sensitive to the slightest sensation. Keep the elbows resting comfortably on the floor. If your elbows lift off the floor, allow the hands to slide down the sides of the abdomen until the elbows rest on the floor.

4.    Relax your body completely, especially the upper body, chest, and shoulders.

5.    Curl the tailbone gently up, letting the lower back touch the floor as much as possible. As your tailbone tucks in, imagine creating a bowl for your Dahn-jon to collect energy, trying your best not to tense your legs in order to do so. You will automatically feel slight tension in your lower abdomen.

6.    Close your eyes and focus on the energy flow inside your body.

Body relaxation articles by Prof. Ilchi Lee

Most noteworthy about this vital nerve is the correlation between its function and the phenomena people experience when they activate the Water Up, Fire Down energy principle. There is reason to believe that many of the phenomena associated with principle, including warmth in the abdomen, calming of the heart, teary eyes, and watering mouth, represent increased parasympathetic activity—a rest-and-digest workout for our autonomic nervous system.

Other parasympathetic nerves control tear and  production, as well as the emptying of the bladder and rectum. To those who nave experienced a Dahn Yoga class, these effects will sound similar to nouns when they bring their ‘energy down’ to the Dahn-jon.

Since the nerve roots of the parasympathetic system submitted to the base of the brain and the sacrum, one can speculate about a  connection between muscular contractions in the tailbone area—a key technique in the postures for the Jung-Choong Breathing—and overall activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.

Studies show that many natural health practices by Ilchi Lee, including deep abdominal breathing and acupuncture, can stimulate activity m the parasympathetic nervous system. So, the next time you feel energy flowing, remember that you might be helping to improve tone in your autonomic nervous system, too. Although further scientific research is needed, such synergistic exploration of energy principle and physiology can forge an expanded understanding of our bodies and minds.

After contemplating for a long time, Ilchi Lee tells that he went to the mountains. I vowed not to come down until I had found the answer for which I had been searching. For the next twenty-one days I did not eat or sleep, driving myself to the brink of death in my struggle to know. At the very end of my journey, a clear voice rang out loud within me: “My energy is Cosmic Energy, my mind is Cosmic Mind.”

I realized that I was a flower blooming from life. I was enlightened to the truth that I was a phenomenon of life. I realized that infinite life was expressing itself through me. I sensed life’s divinity breathing inside of me, and that by becoming one with that divinity, I was someone who could help create a world of blessings and creation. I felt great peace and love, and a healing mind, spring forth from my heart to the world.

But a question arose. My enlightenment felt so true and real to me, but how could I know if this was true enlightenment? Is my enlightenment real? Or is it nothing but an illusion? Who or what can prove my enlightenment?

I felt that I needed to check, verify for myself, whether my enlightenment was true or not. I believed the proof lay in whether I could communicate it to the world through practice.

I reasoned that if my enlightenment was real, I would be able to communicate the peace and love I experienced to others. If I could not do this, then the experience must only be my own mistaken thinking. Enlightenment that cannot be shared is not enlightenment. Enlightenment that cannot create is not enlightenment. This is how I set the definition and standard of enlightenment for myself. Sharing my enlightenment with as many people as possible to authenticate my own enlightenment—this is my life purpose.

Benefits: Prof Ilchi Lee advice that this exercise will increase the flexibility of the intestines and facilitate efficient circulation of both energy and blood. If you also tighten your rectal muscles during this exercise, you will be able to gather energy and feel warmth much more quickly.

Note: You should not overdo this exercise in the beginning since it may result in some discomfort.

1. This exercise can be performed standing up or lying down. When standing up, assume the same position as the abdominal clapping position (knees slightly bent, toes turned slightly inward). When lying down, lie on your back with your legs shoulder-width apart. Form a triangle by touching your thumbs and forefingers together and place them lightly on the lower abdomen.

2.    When pulling in, pull as if the front wall of your abdomen is trying to touch your back. Tighten     •. your rectal muscles at the same time.

3.    Then, push your lower abdomen out slightly, making it more round. You will feel outward pressure in your lower abdomen.

4.    Repeat the movement. Start with one set of 50 and work your way up to a set of 300 as you advance.

The realization of our soul’s purpose will be apparent by the dissolution of choice. Choice disappears when we pursue our purpose with total passion. We become one with our purpose, and the possibility of moving otherwise no longer enters the mind. Our passion is reflected by the spark in our eyes and the lightness in our step, propelling us beyond any obstacle, through any hardship, until we breathe our final exhale with a smile on our face. In living out our life purpose with passion, we discover unimagined treasures.

As we progress on the soul’s journey, we encounter the source of love and oneness that exists beyond separation. We come to know that this source exists inside all others as well, for their discovery. Compassion for ourselves, for others, and for the earth all flow out of such awareness. And healing begins.

Ilchi Lee says that when I was young I was haunted by endless variations of the question, “Why?” This occurred to the point that I could not focus on my studies. These questions haunted me until my late twenties. Even after I got married and had two sons, they did not go away. I lived everyday diligently, but I did not know why I was here or what I was living for.

After finishing a hard day’s work, I would return home. spend time with my family, then lie down on my bed. A deep sigh would escape from me. Living without knowing why was not truly living. It got so that I could not stand to live like this any longer, and so I swore my life to a path of spiritual training and practice.