Brain Wave Vibration

Dahn Yoga health practices shared in rural Nicaragua

Dahn Yoga class in Nicaragua

“Let go of all your air!” instructs Flor Maria to her patients as she applies a few new Dahn Yoga and healing techniques involving massage of the liver and stomach, tapping the chest and back and massaging the feet and legs. This January 2011 Dahn Yoga was introduced to the rural town of Achuapa, Nicaragua.

Eleven years ago, I traveled to Nicaragua as part of a university brigade and met Flor. Since then, I have missed her and wished to reunite. The opportunity came after we spoke on the phone in January 2010 about learning yoga. Flor enthusiastically applauded the idea and proceeded to set up a workshop and multiple private sessions.

Dahn Yoga’s use of meridian-focused yoga practices complemented Flor’s use of the principles of Chinese medicine and her personal philosophy of accessing the body’s natural healing potential to prevent illness and disease.

During our week’s stay, Flor gathered a group of 20 dynamic and motivated women interested in health of mind, body and spirit. We discussed problems the women were facing with health, stress and sadness and their interest in doing something pro-active to move their lives in new directions. They shared that this workshop was the best they had experienced and at least half of the group committed to continuing a class twice a week. They extended the invitation to us to return soon. Our hearts were deeply touched by their openness, willingness and initiative to integrate more body-awareness into their lives.

Flor often remarked how surprised she was that through breathing and tapping practices, people could leave the clinic pain-free. She is now prescribing Dahn-jon (abdominal) tapping to all her patients. Recently, Flor told me that she is practicing the yoga and that a chronic pain in her right leg and foot has finally subsided.

The town of Achuapa enthusiastically awaits more instruction on the practice of reflexology massage and Dahn Yoga. Each participant spoke to the need to have more outlets to release stress and tension from their bodies and minds and found that all our shared activity on massage and yoga accomplished that goal.

Rebecca Wheaton contributor and Dahn Instructor in DC Metro area

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Research Study Shows Practicing Brain Wave Vibration Has a Positive Effect on Regulating Stress

Brain Wave Vibration (BWV) is the signature moving meditation practiced at the Dahn Yoga Centers. Most people learn it within their first few visits to a center. Developed by Ilchi Lee (founder of Dahn Yoga), BWV is an easy-to-learn and practical meditation technique to relax both mind and body through natural rhythmic movements. BWV was recently the subject of a research study on the effects of mind-body training on stress and emotions.

The study was designed to assess the association between stress, positive and negative affect, and stress hormone levels in meditation and control groups. Overall the experiment found that people who engaged in a regular Brain Wave Vibration practice were less stressed and displayed more positive emotions. Stress factors such as depression, anger, and the manifestation of psychological symptoms in the body, were also significantly less in the meditation group than in the control group. These effects were similar to those found in experiments with other mind-body techniques.

It also found that there was more dopamine (DA) in the blood of people who engaged in Brain Wave Vibration than in healthy adults who did not. In subjects who had practiced Brain Wave Vibration for three years or more, blood dopamine levels were higher in those individuals with more positive emotional states.

Primary investigator Dr. Do-Hyung Kang from the Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Medical Center explained, “Now it is widely accepted that meditation has positive effects on regulating stress. This study supports similar results, but also gives us a clue that this can be by the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system [the system that generates the stress response], especially by elevation of DA level in this vibrative meditation group.”

This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of South Korea and carried out by scientists from major national research centers in South Korea, including several institutes at Seoul National University, as well as the Korea Institute of Brain Science. Sixty-seven people who regularly engaged in Brain Wave Vibration for an average of 43 months were gathered and compared to a group of 57 healthy adults. The results were published in the June 2010 issue of the international science journal, Neuroscience Letters.

Brain Wave Vibration as a mind-body training technique fit the aims of the study well. The researchers described the technique as being “designed to relax both mind and body through natural rhythmic movements. It is intended to be a simple meditation technique, a kind of moving meditation that can be used to manage stress and optimize brain health. This technique is designed to quiet the thinking mind and release emotions, particularly negative emotions, through physical movements and focus on body sensations.” To learn more about Brain Wave Vibration, you can visit www.brainwavevibration.com.

For more details about the study, visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546836 for the abstract and links to the full article.

How can I do Brain Wave Vibration? (see www.brainwavevibration.com for more information)

Sit in a chair with your arms resting comfortably at your sides or in front of you on a desk. When sitting in a chair, do not lean your back against the chair, but keep your back straight.
Close your eyes and breathe comfortably, relaxing your body completely.
Begin gently shaking your head from side to side; take three seconds to shake your head from one side to the other.
Follow a rhythm that feels natural for your body. The vibration becomes stronger and deeper. Your head may also go up and down or follow the shape of an infinity symbol as you go deeper into the motion.
Focus on your brain stem, located at the point where your head pivots left and right. The vibration is spreading from your neck to your whole body through your spinal cord.
Repeat this movement for five minutes. Slow down your movement and focus on your lower abdomen.
Inhale and exhale fully three times.

[Reference] Brain Wave Vibration, Ilchi Lee, Best Life Media

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