Dahn Hak Yoga Cult
I received a email from a friend yesterday saying she'd survived a close encounter with a cult. Actually it was far from a close encounter...she'd picked up a pamphlet on a Dahn Yoga center, was considering attending a class, looked it up on the internet, and ran the other way so fast she vanished in a puff of smoke.
Dahn Yoga is a multi-million dollar international enterprise. It has thousands of devoted followers who credit it with improving their physical and emotional well-being. The movement's website claims that "Dahn Yoga promotes a new culture supporting happier and healthier human beings by healing society one person at a time".
So why did my friend thank her lucky stars that she did some research before signing up?
Well there is this:
..many former students believe it's a cult that depends on mind control, brainwashing, and pushy sales tactics to win converts.[I-Team Investigation: Yoga Cult?]
Cult expert Steve Hassan said, "This is a totalitarian, authoritarian Korean cult that wants you to stop thinking and become a clone." Hassan says he has counseled -- and deprogrammed -- 14 former Dahn Hak students and that, in his opinion, this organization fits the classic mold. "I see a lot of people after they've left the group. They're still distraught having panic attacks, anxiety attacks, sleep problems, nightmares."
And this:
"..a healthy woman died in master "healer" training two years ago, allegedly due to dahn routinely using the pain of overexertion plus dehydration to foster a sense of mastery of mind over body and "enlightenment." Dahn is being sued for $84 million now."[Yoga.com Message Board]
And this first-hand account:
"I can give you extensive details about Dahn, private sessions, and brainwashing weekend workshop, costs, etc. I have been badly burned financially by them. This is truly a cult movement started by an arch con-man. it fronts as an exercise program, using the terms yoga and tai chi to lure people in. They love-bomb you and suck you in. I can give details of how the private sessions work here..."[Yoga Basics Message Board]
Many yoga practitioners who've had experience with Dahn Yoga feel that the exercises used are drawn from qigong, but the term "yoga" is applied because of its marketability.
Bottom line, please do your research and trust your instincts. We're all looking for a little meaning in life, and some unscrupulous souls are willing to take advantage of that.
Filed under dahn, yoga, cult
posted by kat@ohmtastic @ 08:07
66 Comments:
I've been to the Dahn Yoga classes and even to one of their retreats. I thought maybe it was like a cult because they have teachers that really pressure you to spend money and try to make you believe all your problems can be solved by the yoga classes. However, I would say that it IS as real as any yoga and that its not a cult- that's just me though, I'm not afraid of having my mind controlled by a yoga instructor. I recieved 10 yoga classes and a retreat for a resonable price of $100. (I'm crossing my fingers hoping that I don't fall under the spell of some cult leader in the future :-D)
I discovered this also, and wrote briefly about it here. There's a Dahn Yoga place up the block from where I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I didn't even make it to the first class... they want a $30 "energy reading" before you ever even get to take a class.
I found a much cooler place. Really cheap beginner classes, quit whenever you want, etc. Avoid these Dahn losers :)
I have a close friend who just got taken for almost $20,000 by Dahn Yoga and has come away traumatized. She is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. When she started to tell me - after months - what happened to her a Dahn she had a verbal hemmorhage that I found difficult to stop.
These people are evil.
Your friend was smart to stay away.
RA
I dunno - I just signed up for a one year membership at a dahn place in union square.
unlimited classes (2-3 a day if I want) for 1,500. that's a great price (in new york).
I don't plan to buy any of the extras.
dahn yoga, like anything in life, if what you make of it.
I have been in Dahn Hak for 3 years and have enjoyed the experience of the yoga exercise. EVEN though next level classes were recommended, I used a little word my parents taught me - NO. What concerned me most were the folks coming in looking for this to be the end all be all to whatever was troubling them. These were the folks that seemed to sign up for the additional courses, etc. My thought is whether it is Dahn Hak or the little church down the street, folks have to keep some common sense about them
I went to a Dahn class this weekend, I thought the class was really good. HOWEVER, at the end of class I was PRESSURED to join and felt like I was being sold a time-share. I told them NO and they got all huffy with me. I said to myself "This reminds me of a cult" then today I found this website which confirmed my suspicion. THANKS!!!
I've been a dahn mamber for more than five years. I love it and am saddened by the way people are reacting to it with such fear (and in many cases outright hatred). There are only a handfull of people who are behind this "dahn is a cult" thing. Yes, some of the push too hard with the sales pitch, but I can tell you that it's really hard to earn enough money to keep a center running. (This does not excuse this behavior but is meant to explain it.) No one becomes involved because they want to make another big corporation. In fact, I would say that most simply want something else, someother way of living in the world that is condusive to personal growth. Please be cautious of internet information. Yes, there are imperfect people in the dahn organization, but these posts are outrageously exaggerated, designed only to create scandal instead of looking at what Dahn really is. It baffels me (and hurts me) that so much of this comes from other yoga practitioners. One guym who runs "yogabasics.com" went out of his way to spread as many maliscious lies through his website as he could. He seemed to truly believe that all rumors about Dahn are true and would ban anyone from the website who tried to defend Dahn. He never had a single day of Dahn Yoga training; all he knew was that he hated it and wanted to destroy it. He would also delete any posts that he didn't like, claiming they were "offensive." Rick Ross's site also refuses to post any positive comments about Dahn, even though many people have offered. So, please think twice before you base your opinion on internet blogs. Are you being informed or falling for gossip?
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Granted it is difficult to keep a center running, but I don't hear tell of pressured sales pitches at other schools of yoga.
Yes, Kat the high pressure sales pitches should stop, but does this really justify the hateful term "cult"? By the way, I've read that most yoga studios close down within a year because it's so hard to make the rent.
Rod--
Please explain how your freind "got taken." She must have signed up for a whole lot of programs if she spent that much money. Did they refuse to give her the training? Did she simply not like the training? If not, why did she keep signing up for so much? A year membership in the center is only $900-$1200. The most expensive training, the six month healer training, is $10,000 before discounts (which everyone gets.) I really don't get how she spent that much, especially if she got nothing from it. To spend that much, she would have had to impulsively sign up for every program available. It would be like walking in Nordstoms and buying every outfit on the rack (and then blaming Norstrom for your choices.)
starting any business is a risk.
i've seen stats ranging from 50-75% failure rate for businesses in general in the first five years.
by incorporating the spirit in its practice, however, Dahn is supposed to be about something more than making money.
Wow!
I can hardly believe what I'm reading. Ever go to a car dearlership? Ever go to Bally's for that matter? If anything, i joined Dahn Yoga because they didn't hound me on the phone every day trying to get me to join. I went for the free class and they told me my options. Pressure...didn't get it more than i would at any other business. I've only been at it for 30 months and i love it. They do anxiously want you to attend their weekend workshops as if it was a bit of an urgency but I have a life and a mind of my own. I say no and they leave it alone. You get sucked in to stuff only if you allow it.
I started my Dahn hak practice six years ago (on-and-off) and it really hurts me reading some of the negative comments about Dahn hak. Yes, they may pressure you to sign up for some of the special training but, it really is up to YOU whether you actually do it or not. No one is going to threathend you or do anything even if you don't spend any more money on special trainings. And Yes, I would agree with idea that Dahn yoga cots money. But, I am truly willing to spend $100 some money a month just for my physical well-being and mental health. and from my own experience, I personally beilieve that it actully worth more than the moeny I pay. So, if you are so curious about it, why don't you try the class first, and see if you like it. If it works you, you join the class, if you don't, try some other types of yoga. there's no harm trying. You should remember that it is always your own decision and you know whether it is good for you or not.
I am the Dahn member, Dahn Healer and Dahn Instructor as volanteer base. I married and my spouse is not Dahn member. All Dahn masters are so "Pussy" for the sales. I totally understand that Dahn Center is 100% buisness but like me, I finished all special training and Healer, Dahn Insutructor (not full time) they always push to sell expensive healing sessions. My first Head Master keep calling me more than 10 times after 10 PM to my home "You need Healing session to release your stress" I was so tired to agains this Korean Master then I puchased 10 times healing.
Next Master pushed me to borrow money to YEHA member who wants to go Healer School. Becasue she does not have enough money. I said "NO" ($4500!) then this Master started to ignore me for 6 months. Then next Master pushed me to purchase 10 times healing session again becasue he wanted connect me he said. I feel member is always memebe. They try to take money from me. Dahn Healer school was very great and big asset of my life. All Dahn Master is very pure and focus this mission. But in fact they made this rumers and pressior. Dahnhuk is very great tool to maintain your body and mind but the Center must to change and improve in this Society. I simply like and Dahnhuk but I don't care Ilch-Lee himself. I just want to see our members happiness and smile when I teach the class. But my new JWJN again pushed me to purchase healing session and pushed me to see Ilchi Lee at Meditatin Tour in Canada. So I just stop going and quit teaching for a while. If Dahnhuk is turth, connect the Cosmic Energy, I will go back, because I am Life time member-$5000! very expensive healthcare center! Don't buy anything whatever you don't want. All the masters are just simple and don't know outside world.
I trained as a Yoga instructor in the early '70s and in those early days yoga was considered a cult. How far we have come. I recently joined Dahn because I like the philosophy, the people and the gentle approach. Mostly, as a senior citizen, I can continue my practice without the athletics of the younger crowd and with the deeper meaning of yoga. Cult? So many groups are called cults by outsiders, even many mainstream religious organizations and of course, 12 step programs. If anything Dahn encourages deep thinking and contemplation as a part of its routine. As for the cost, its no different than any other yoga classes offered (excluding adult ed classes). Even the healing sessions are comparable to other "hands on" sessions like massage therapy, in cost. The seminars and workshops are also comparable to professional workshops and lectures. You can always say no to these extras.
I have been going to Dahn Center for a few months now and really enjoy it. I am sorry for the sincere "Master" teachers that they do not see how difficult their business model is for Americans to relate to. I know nothing about Ilchi Lee nor do I expect to become a follower of his. It is very sad to read the damning information from the internet regarding various scandals of the upper levels of the Dahn organization. It has been my experience so far that everyone I have met has been sincere, caring, and well intentioned, and the classes have been superior. What I like best about Dahn yoga is the variety of physical experiences, and the blend of spiritual/energy/and physical body exercise. I have asked myself if what I am experiencing is positive and I can say, very much so. I find the pressure to go to Healer School and take expensive seminars rather distressing but I know how to say NO when necessary. I find the rather expensive Gold membership well worth the price of an organization that has so many classes available after payment. I can go anytime I want and as many times as I please. My reasoning for not going to Healer school is simply that its price is too high for the courses. This does not make sense to me. If I have money to throw away sometime perhaps I will go; I have always wanted to see Sedona! So far I am pleased to say that I am very happy with my Dahn yoga experience. I do think that the business model is not entirely positive; there should be a way for people to take "drop in" classes at a reasonable fee with no pressure, many people could thus benefit from their wonderful classes without fear of being absorbed into a cult. Good gracious have we not minds of our own?
Let me tell you what happened to my boyfriend's sister.
She has her occupation therapist license and is degreed. She had moved to another state and got involved with the yoga craze. Yoga is generally a bunch of stretching so whatever- cool hobby. But its not the act- but the people!
She has two twin boys and a husband. She went from being a good mother to HARDLY being there. She is there once a week and the other time is spent going to yoga classes or hanging out with yoga friends. She also throw out all the televisions in the house because they give a "bad omen". She also will not allow any meat inside the house - including to her husband and the 3 yr old twins (no meat, fish, chicken etc). Everything has to be organic. She has radically lost weight about 50-60 pounds and looks very unhealthy.
Tell me this is not a yoga cult...right.
I went to the Dahn Yoga center in Georgia looking for an experiencing of simple stretching exercises to relieve my stress, and I wanted to enhance flexibility. I paid 15 dollars for an introductory class for an hour and a half and I was told to be relieved of all my symptoms such as IBS. Of course, I was attracted to that! At first I thought this might be the answer to my problem because I have been struggling with this for a while. But then, a little voice told me to do some homework. I'm glad I did! Because, I am not in the mood for brainwashing!!!!!!! Once the class was over I asked the instructor if this was a cult. He looked at me in shock and gave me the price of the class. I said it was too expensive... HOWEVER he told me he would lower it when I said no! Therefore, this is a retarted thing. NEVER go to a dahn yoga center thing. I don't respect the word dahn OR yoga so I am no longer capitalizing it.
Unfortunately, information on this organization is all anecdotal and has become a "he said, she said" kind of thing. The more detractors come forward, the more Dahn adherents come forward to protect themselves. Never mind that other yoga centers and spiritual practices require this kind of public relations management. I think there needs to be a serious inquiry into the Korean roots of this society by academics and/or journalists. There are reports that Ilchee Lee is sexual predator, and that his operatives have threatened his critics in Korea with violence and even death. For my part - I know he is not pure. No one who drives a yellow Hummer can be pure, especially someone who claims to want to heal the earth. As a close relative of someone who is intimately involved in this organization, I feel sad and powerless. Suffering has left a void in these people's lives that breeds desperation and lack of discernment. It is important to remember that Joseph Smith who founded the Mormon Church was a violent sexual predator (read Krakauer's "Under the banner of heaven"). The Mormon Church is one of the fastest growing religious organizations in the world. I believe one day my relative may well end up in jail, as they are up and coming the world of Dahn. I think jail may be a good thing, since it's harder to harm others while in jail, and the environment does lend itself to facing some basic form of reality.
I am really wondering.
I was and maybe am, a happy Dahn Yoga member - until yesterday.
First, I am a really strong person. After classes I was mentally exhausted and didn´t know why. I haven´t figured out what exactly happend to me. After the push-ups I was sitting on the floor and had a feeling to cry. I could hardly bare it.
After the 2007 vision meeting with the master she recommended me the Shim Sung workshop and I instinctively rejected to join the workshop.
I am a member since three weeks and visit classes four times a week. I don´t believe in their philosophy. I only like the exercises and they helped me a lot.
However, yesterday I did this research in on internet and what I´ve read was frightening. Otherwise I think you always find a lot of garbage on the internet. So what´s right and what´s not ?
I have a strange feeling to join classes tomorrow. A lot of the stuff I´ve read online did not happen to me. There was never a pressure to do or to buy something.
I already feel torn between belief and disbelief. They offered me a free class to join and decide if I would like to become a member and I was told I can join an "energy reading" if I would like to. I haven´t done it until now and they did not ask me again.
Fact is, all this, what I have read about Dahn Yoga, affected me more than the exercises and meditation.
Dahn Hak
I joined Dahn Hak 7 years ago. I still go there 3 times a week. However, this is not the same Dahn Hak that I joined 7 years ago.
I joined because I needed help to cope with stress and to find the purpose of life.
What I liked about Dahn Hak was the personal attention from Masters, and the combination of physical exercise, meditation and yoga. Master would track my progress by regular check ups to determine my readiness for a next level. Yes, some long-time students still remember levels – beginner, 9,8 …1. Each student would have a test in order to advance to the next level. With every level we would learn how to move energy during every Hang Gong position. Then I noticed that the Dahn Hak’s levels of achievement information displayed on the walls of the exercise room disappeared. Masters were not discussing levels anymore. Everybody started to do the same exercises, regardless of a student’s practice time. Why did this happen?
One explanation – the levels did not work, students did not advance, more people were disappointed and were leaving Dahn Hak. Another explanation – it was too difficult for Masters and the process did not bring enough revenue.
What I have also noticed – there was more effort to sign up students for special training, such as Shim Sung and the “New Human School”. As soon as new student would join a center, they were pressured to sign up for special classes, which are expensive.
I did not see any sense for new students to go to Special Classes right away. In my understanding of the Eastern way of spirituality – it takes a long time, continuous effort and years of commitment. It is gradual. I thought students should reach certain level in their Dahn practice before being ready for special training.
As the years went by I noticed that there was less effort to sign up students for “New Human School” and more effort to push people to sign up for Healer School, which costs thousands of dollars. Some students signed up for a Healer School just three months after joining Dahn Hak.
Again, I thought there should be a system to Dahn Hak. Through physical exercise and meditation students would learn about Ki energy, would learn how to fall and control Ki energy. Their bodies would go through changes to improve energy flow. Only then, Master would determine if a student is ready to become a Healer. Instead, as soon as they join, students are pressured to buy healing sessions with Dahn Master, which costs $150.00 - $200.00 per session and to sign up for Healer School
I talked to many people who joined Dahn Yoga (a new name for Dahn Hak) and then dropped out.
By the way, original traditional yoga has at least 8 levels of advancement, and it takes years and years of dedication and constant practice to become an advanced practitioner.
In my opinion there are no short cuts in spiritual journey. All those people that I talked to complained about the heavy pressure to sign up for Healing sessions, special training and Healer school. All of them left because of that. All of them initially liked and enjoyed classes and exercises. The drop out rate is very high.
I came to the conclusion that the movement of Dahn Hak toward creating a better world, a world filled with more love, peace and understanding has lost its way.
I think it transformed into the organization, where the ends justify the means, where everything is directed toward taking more money from people in order to expand faster, to take more money from people, to enlighten more people.
But most people cannot and do not want to buy a short cut to the enlightenment. Somehow people are not comfortable with high pressure sales tactics when they join the spiritual movement or join to improve their health.
Doctor Lee envisions 100 million enlightened people in 10 years. That was said 5 years ago. Considering that now most of the effort is directed towards signing people up for Healer School, are there 100 million people willing to pay $10,000.00 to attain enlightenment? It also seems to me that every word of Dr. Lee is considered gospel. His authority is absolute. If tomorrow Dr. Lee decides that all students should dance rumba before the class, that will be required in every center for every master and considered the most beneficial exercise. This looks very much like a personality cult and it is never good.
I think the idea behind Dahn Hak is great. I think the Dahn Hak practice is very good and a lot of people like and enjoy it. But only at the beginning. A lot of dedicated Dahn Masters are doing their best in all Dahn centers, these people sacrifice a lot.
It is not easy to be a Dahn Master. And I believe that by employing high pressure, real estate type sales practice, and by spreading these Masters too thin, the very idea of Dahn Hak movement is in jeopardy.
The idea, I believe, is to help people to become more spiritual, and to advance peace on our planet. So, Dr. Lee should decide if it will be a grass roots movement available to all or Healer training schools for a chosen few.
Nathan
Chicago center
01.16.07
Wheat from Chaff:
WHEAT: I've taken a few Yoga classes over the years and they didn't do much for me. Upon taking my intro class at Dahn Yoga, I was very pleased. I enjoyed it very much and wanted to pursue it further.
My wife has been going for the last couple months and it has been beneficial for some of her physical conditions. I', very happy with what they are doing for her.
CHAFF: Upon taking my evaluation, they asked some questions about health lifestyle etc. No surprises. It was noted how tense, tight and restricted I was from stress (no surprise there). She did some work on me and when she got the abdominal area and started working deep tissue, I had an emotional release and cried.
Soon, out came the contract. $2000 for a year of classes. I haven't signed yet (business is business). I found out my wife had a similar experience, but she signed up for about $5k worth of stuff.
We both did what we did of free will and we were aware of the emotionally vuneralble condition we were in at the time. But we are both very psychologically aware people and knew what was up.
I'm not saying we were taken advantage of, BUT, if someone came to court over their contract and I was on the jury, I would be VERY sympathetic to claims of manipulation.
Two persons experience, two different centers, two different "employees".
Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. There is something potentially very valuable to be gained from this program. But caveat emptor!
Firmly Grounded in NM
out of respect i will not name her but i recently lost someone i loved for many years to this group.
this is just a fair warning to others. in a period of one year she was encouraged to spend close to $20k (she had to take out loans when she ran out of cash) for training and extra healing retreats. she then quit her job ($45,000 a year) to devote her life to the dahn group ($20,000 a year) and will be working from 5am to midnight 5 days a week, in addition to, weekend events and other retreats. she also had to pay her own way to get to the required dahn employee training in sedona, arizona - twice. she was told she'd be reimbursed for the 2nd trip... sometime... meanwhile it's costing her interest on a credit card.
during her initial involvement i ignored the numerous posts thinking she was beyond their control but when she quit her job this week and told me i'd be forced to live around her new 'schedule' i have to agree with other critics how dangerous it is. the number of people who have gained from the organization's practices is outweighed by those who have been damaged.
they have convinced her that it is crucial to her spiritual well-being and to spread peace in the world to sacrifice her family and the people she loves and remove herself from society for the sake of personal enlightment.
when the path to enlightment is dependant on wrecked families i say the path and teachers are false.
Dahn Yoga is a manipulative and damaging organization that practices mind control to enslave and financially exploit their members.
To members this might not be obvious, as these aspects come out in their workshops and not in the regular classes.
A glimpse of this is caught in the Shim Sung training, but it is in their PowerBrain Method workshop that they show their true colors. The PowerBrain Method workshop is a 3 day course that costs $1,000.00 dollars. The name of this workshop is designed to attract people interested in neuro linguistic programming.
As I will describe as follows, in this workshop members are asked to perform certain actions that are damaging to their own minds and spirits.
1. On the 3rd day, members are asked to scream constantly in a very violent fashion certain phrases for a period of 4 hours. The first phrase is "I'm a courageous person" Members end up sobbing in the floor exhausted. This is repeated again. Once the member is lying exhausted on the floor, one of the Dahn Yoga master looks at you and evaluates you. The master then decides if he will pass you to the next level. This next level is to repeat "I love myself" in the same violent, non-stop fashion. This is followed by "I forgive myself".
Screaming these words is a contradiction that damages the mind and spirit of the members. It is designed to harden their souls and confuse their mind. Remember, this whole process is done over a period of 4 hours.
2. On the day before that, there are a number of exercises designed to weaken the mind. For example, members have to chat for half hour with each other garbling sounds, without using any actual language, that is, using a made up non-language. Try this with someone you know and you will feel it is actually scary. This is designed to confuse the mind.
3. Another exercise is to go outside and focus on an object such as a plant or building and to imagine what it feels to be that object. Then you have to go back to the masters and report what you felt. If you report you felt something, they said that's not the right answer and they send you back to observe the object. You repeat this several times until you finally understand, you are not supposed to feel or think anything. This is designed to mess up your mind and negate your identity.
4. In another exercise, members sit around a table, and they take turns insulting every one on the table, using any words you would like, including foul language.
5. Each member is asked to erase and delete all information from their minds. If you refuse to this, they send you to a separate room, where a master attempts to hypnotize you.
5. Once the member is willing to say that he is nobody, that he does not think or feel, the member is asked to choose a new name for himself.
All this is designed to weaken the mind, harden the soul, bring pure evil into the members' hearts and destroy their self-esteem.
You know honestly i been wondering about this place, i joined 3 weeks ago and i go probably 4 times a week, and since the first classes my defenses where but on high. they are Very pushy with all the extra classes and when someone constantly on you paying more money for things it is a worry for me and some times to touchy feel and loving,(my case i was wondering if my teacher was hiting on me...) but i have also considered that this place did just open for the 2nd time so i took in consecration that the places needs money. But i was invited to a healing ceremony 3 days ago, made me even more worried, felt a little scripted when people got up to talk about the classes. You know you always have one person talk about how different everyone says they are all the way down to the extremal touching story about how a women had lost everything her family was falling apart and health was failing and then she started doing this yoga and now is fine.you know TV Evangelist style The thing that also worried me was that all the "healers" were all in blue and looked pretty much the same.
They have even offered me a chance to go to Sedona... i thought sounded cool but thinking about it i dont know anyone their yet what a better chance to try and brainwash someone, middle of know where with know way back.... I dont know any more, i know that i am very aware of the chances of the cult things so iam not to worried about it...
i am not regreating it YET!
After reading so many posts, I would like to share my experience.
I did not really become a member of Dahn Hak, but applied for a part time position. It did not pay much but I could take classes for free three times a week.
I liked the classes, and especially the meditation in the end, which was always very calming.
However, I felt something was wrong with this program. Above all, the master was not knowledgeable. I would ask him many questions on why I have pain and the energies, but he could not give satisfying answers and would just say something like "keep tapping your toes."
Also, the pressure to buy more stuff is definitely there. If one can say NO then its ok. But the reality is there are many sick, depressed and emotionally vulnerable people who join Dahn Hak and are looking for ways to improve their health. Even though they gave me 50% discount to join Shimsung, I did not do it because I felt that it was too much. Too much to ask from a poor student, and too much if the mission of the organization is to help people and bring happinness. The reality is Dahn Hak is open to only those who can afford it.
As an advice to potential members, I think they should be very careful. I do not want to totally deny that Dahn Yoga is bad because they do offer physical activities that are beneficial for the body. They also call us to be more sensitive and learn to connect to our bodies and energies.
However, I would recommend to be extremely careful when it comes to money issues.
"I am really wondering.
I was and maybe am, a happy Dahn Yoga member - until yesterday... ."
That was me who´s written this.
Now, a few weeks later I am no longer a Dahn Yoga member.
Let me tell you what happened. My husband and me received an offer for a really nice houses, 25 miles away, and decided we would take it.
I then told the headmaster, that I am moving and that I probably wont come to classes after the move. She said, that´s not far away any I said she´s right, but the traffic, well one and a half hour to get there, that´s way too much.
She offered me the one year membership including this "fancy" dress for less but I rejected. By then there was one month of my current membership left and I decided I would use this 30 days. In the end I didn´t because I felt unwelcome. Not that I really liked all this hugging and kissing but I was practically ignored. First by the instructors and later the other members which was really sad. :-(
However, afterwards there is a lot of stuff coming to my mind. Of course, there was the headmaster and you could see, she knows how to keep her members excited and joyful during the lessons. She tought a lot of those Dahn Mu Do moves which was great. Than there were those other three instructors, absolutely not comparable with the headmaster. After a few classes with one of the "lower" instuctors I really felt boring. Always the same and somewhat, she just didn´t know what else to do with us. Once I asked her when she had her first Shim Sung and she told me, it is 12 month ago. Now please tell me, how a person like this could possibly have the capability to teach and guide people. Not to think of her lack of the human anytomy.
Yes, I have problems after a terrible accident six years ago. And, well, the classes helped me to straigthen my muscles but what if someone joins the classes and the lessons will only multiply the damage. Is "tap your body" a solution for everything ? Your shoulder hurts ? Tap it. Your knee hurts ? Tap it. But the pain - pain´s the way to healing. If it hurts it is healing. Accordingly to this I am in a status of healing since six years and it would be finished after Shim Sung and what else they offer.
I am upset because they made me feel unwelcome but I am glad I tried it. I learnt a lot about my body and my inner strength but today I know, I could have learnt those lessons without my feelings being hurt. They gave me a push to myself and I feel better. I wont deny it but I experineced that other people were pushed into long forgotten emotions. I saw people crying because during the lessons their long ago healed wounds were ripped open. Forgotten feelings were pulled onto the surface and for what ?
To show people they´ve got hidden emotions which need to get out of them.
If someone you love dies you will always feel sad and miss this person in some ways. That´s no hidden emotion. That´s the way things are. And in a state were you´re exhausted and relaxed those emotions are much better to use - for them.
I don't understand why I'm reading so many hate messages about this Yoga. If it's not the right path for you, then pursue other paths. I just joined Dahn Yoga four weeks ago. And at first, I was cynical because of these hate messages on the Internet. I gave it a try because it was close to my house and someone I trusted spoke highly of it. She turned from a constantly depressed worry-bug to a healthy energized woman able to listen to others as oppose to just complaining about herself. After four weeks of class, I can tell you I am also beginning to feel the change in my body and my mental attitude. This Yoga is as powerful as you make it. If you follow it sincerely, then sincere impacts will affect your body. If you are unsincere and half-hearted, then you may end up hating it. The movements and breathing exercises seem simple in the beginning, but they can actually be rigorous if you push yourself to overcome your limits. And yes, the first few weeks of classes were painful, but I was determined to give the program my best shot and I noticed that some of the most painful classes left me in tears, not tears of pain, but tears because they helped me come to term with the mental blockages in my body. As for the cost, the Yoga classes are reasonably priced. If you are going to invest in healing your mind, body, and soul, why cut corners and spend time with the cheapest guy on the block? The hardest part of Yoga is not the monthly fee, but the discipline that you need to put in to stay with program and to do the exercises sincerely. As for being pressured to buy more stuff, no one is putting a gun on your head. For me, the classes alone are helping me come to terms with deep emotional blockages and putting me in shape. I will stick with these until I find that I may need something more rigorous. I know of weekend sessions offered, but I simply did not sign up. A simple, "It's not something I want to do at this time" is a simple way to say no. I have taken other Yoga classes. I have also tried voice therapy and exercise to come to term with my emotional issues. I have also spent nearly a year working with a top psychiatrist at a leading medical school because of depression. And I myself am a science major with a degree from one of the top schools. I'm not a stupid idiot who can fall easily into a cult. And neither are the full classes of Dahn participants. There is something with this Yoga that clicks with some people. Perhaps you are one of them. Perhaps you are not. But the only way you can find out is not by reading this message or others messages on this board. I would recommend giving it your sincere effort for at least a month. If you don't like it, then walk away. Perhaps there are paths more appropriate for you. And if you like it, then see how far it can take you. It's only my fourth week and although I'm still learning, I know that the sincere effort I put in to give this Yoga my best shot has already paid off.
My advice to anyone interested in joining the Dahn organization is be very careful about setting and guarding your boundaries, especially when it comes to money because they are very good at manipulating people to sign up for programs. I have met some great people and pushed through some emotional blockages in myself through their basic classes and some of the workshops. They seem to encourage progress which would be great if there wasn't such a huge push to sign up for ridiculously expensive classes afterward. I made it clear that their $5000 classes were too expensive for me, and they countered by offering discounts and using sales pressure tactics. I was also put in very emotionally vulnerable states in healing sessions where unfortunately I trusted the masters to have my best interests at heart. Looking back on the whole thing, I wish I just stuck with the basic classes, but I wanted more of a good thing and spent a ridiculous amount of money pursuing it. I now have over $20000 in debt on credit cards and student loans which plague me everyday. Sure, no one put a gun to my head. These were my decisions, but I question the methods of these people who purport to care about the welfare of their members. Too much money is changing hands for this to be about peace and love. Someone's getting rich at the expense of others. Watch out, any can be put in a vulnerable state and get themselves into trouble.
I did the class, and took their "Self Discovery Workshop". I found out later that it's basically a knock-off of something called "lifespring". Almost every detail of the lifespring workshop is duplicated. I confronted the head healer at the Union Station place, and he said "how do you know that they didn't rip off Dahn Yoga?"
Well, lifespring has been around since '74, that's how I know.
After being involved with a martial arts groups that bordered on cultish, I started reading more and more about different types of cults. Honestly, the line between cult and group can be very blurry, but in my mind it rests on a concept called "bound rational" which is where your view of what is rational and what is not changes. An extreme example of this are Heaven's Gate followers who believe that committing suicide is a rational decision. However, it is not black and white, is a spectrum. Everyone's rational is bound in some ways, its a question of how bounded we are and well we are able to see the consequences of all our actions while using this decision making process.
Bound rational goes all the way up a lot of the time and frequently the charismatic leader (there is almost always one) is so out of touch with reality that they believe they are doing good.
As someone who has in fact been to Dahn Yoga, enjoyed the classes, listened to the sales pitches and decided it wasn't for me, I feel I can fairly safely say that while Dahn is father towards the bound end of the section than the free. People who are particularly vulnerable could get sucked in and find it alters their life completely and not always for the better.
There was more than a few times I felt uncomfortable with what was going on (and I don't mean I was tired of holding my legs in the air), but felt as though I couldn't say anything because anything other than positive feedback was not part of the culture. I had no problem leaving, but I can see how others would.
I would also like to say that in absolutely no way did I feel like anything malicious was going on at Dahn. There are a lot of cult like qualities to Dahn and a member whose rational was bound would not see it that way. They would be relatively certain they were doing good. Whether or not they are is a matter of personal judgment.
Hmmmm....?
I really dont know what to say?!
My experience was so good.
Why is everybody thinking so bad about Dahn Yoga.
I really don,t think that there is any kind of pressure.
All the Instructors i meet are friendly and kind.
And when there ask for somthink we dont want its always up to us to say ''Yes'' ore ''No''.
Keep going Dahn Centers. ;-)
reading all this about Dahn Hak got me to wondering about the high pitch sales I rec'd from Bali, 24 hour Fitness and other 'non - cult' clubs.
I think people need to use some common sense regardless of the organization.
also to remember what is done in each center may not be the standard for the whole. you know how we westerners are 'all about making the money.'
I have seen one center fail because they thought they would institute their own philosophy about how to pay, etc
anonymous:
"you know how we westerners are 'all about making the money.'"
obviously, this person hasn't travelled much. there are greedy elements in many eastern cultures, as well as, western and in this case it's the koreans who "are all about making the money."
anonymous:
"Why is everybody thinking so bad about Dahn Yoga."
if you read the posts, there are many bad experiences.
this is what happens when you claim to know the 'truth' and attempt to treat enlightment as a commodity for sale. it's also due to the dahn organization's business model which mandates rapid expansion (and more dollars) over quality control of there self-appointed 'masters.'
If you are not target, Dahn Yoga works well for you. Everything is my fault, but I spent $5000 for Gold membership, $10000 for Healer school, $10000 for Dahn Mu Do. Off course I went Shim-Shung, Healing chukura training, Energy Healing for 15 times over $3000. Many masters pushed me out money from my wallet. If I said no, they start to ignore me and called my house after 9:00pm or bothering my cell. Dahn Yoga is 100% business and they have to take care of the Center, Utility, Master's apartment, food and their salary. Good master is good salesman. When Master asked some special training, please speak up, no money and don't push! We cannot purchase enlightment by money, I feel very stupid that I spent tons of money just YOGA. This is my experience. Dahn Masters don't know anything at all, they are just controlled by Head Quarter in Sedona, Mago Garden. They focus to open many centers in USA and Japan. In Korea, many people said that "Dahn is Cult" I don't think Dahn Yoga is Cult, just business and very bad Korean style, pussy business at all. Please watch out! Especially young members, devoced weman members, don't be Dahn master. Dahn World is not heaven.
for anything you want to do that costs money, you should watch out and listen to what your instincts are telling you. I have been a Dahn yoga member for almost 2 years and I've had some wonderful experiences and awakenings that I would not trade for the world. I have seen how my own mind is my weakness and that truly we all have no limits to what we can achieve when we put all our heart and soul into it. I have felt the pressures from masters about going to special training, healing and classes and what I have figured out is that if you say NO with conviction...they will stop asking. As far as the master ignoring you after you decline a training. I thought about this and this is what I thought. If I was a master and I have a whole center of members to look after and one member has decided that they do not want to take any special trainings that you believe will benefit them...you would want to not try to persuade that person about trainings anymore and instead concentrate on other members that might want the training that could benefit them. I don't think it was malicious that the master stopped putting as much energy towards you as it is...there is only one or two masters to go around within a center. Also, I lost 18 lbs in the first 3 months and the stress and anxiety that I felt before I joined is much less now and I feel better than ever before. Don't get me wrong...Dahn Yoga isn't perfect, but there is nothing perfect in this world, but GOD. I've realized that everything you hear and read is just information...you have to choose what you believe from your own experiences. I don't believe Dahn is a cult, I believe that the Dahn practice is about energy and your soul and awakening/creating your mind and body unity. I hope that everyone that reads these entries/comments will make a decision based on their own ideas after trying Dahn Yoga out rather than just on what they read on the internet.
anonymous said: "If I was a master and I have a whole center of members to look after and one member has decided that they do not want to take any special trainings that you believe will benefit them...you would want to not try to persuade that person about trainings anymore"
No one is complaining about a master not trying to persuade them. If anything, the continual attempts at'persuasion' were the problem for me. What members do see as unjust is being ignored. It's called preferential treatment and we expect a master or any teacher to treat students equally. We all know about the extra trainings and are capable of choosing for ourselves without external pressures from the master 'sales people' who are abusing their position of power. When someone declines special training they should be informed that it's ok and they will continue on a healthy path with regular training, regardless of whether they spend the extra money. If this was some gym I wouldn't be surprised but Dahn Yoga presents itself as a peaceful group seeking enlightment.
I am the member for 5 years, I am Dahn Healer and was volunteer Instructor. I am Management Director of Financial Company, my spouse is not memeber, so I just stop teaching for volunteer. All Dahn Master that I met are so pure and trust Dahnhak. Dahn World is 100% business. For example, my center, rent is $6000.00, Headmaster's payroll is $2200.00 I guss utility & misc. is $2500.00 So total at least they have to make $10000~$12,000. Right now one month member ship cost $125.00??? so Center needs 95-100 new members every month. But my center cannot make 100 new member at all. So Head master start to push, Healer School($10000) Mago Healing ($8000) Dahn Mu Do School (4500) and very expensive healing session.
If member said, "NO" or "No Money" some Master start to push the memebers. Our Center is very old and we have 7 years, 8 years many senior members. They don't go Healer scholl, they don't buy anyting at all. Some Masters said, "They are just Stubborn, and they don't want to grow" For the Dahn masters, spending a lot of money members are important. Please think, Daha is 100% business. Masters get some commission when they sold Healer Schoolir some special trainig. One master asked me to buy 1000 copies HT book. They try to rank up "Amazon Ranking" I saw many unconfortable things at my center. Dahn is not perfect. I think Dahn Master try to guide for members grow but they have so many pressure by the Head Office in Sedona. They asked me more money, so I just stop going for a while.
i have been calling dahn yoga for over two months to complain about many situations regarding harassment, brain washing, down and outright nasty people who work there...to date nothing has been done....i'm going to spread the word to my entire county so that people do not join this ridiculous excuse of a place of peace...
dahn yoga is the worst.....they are a poor excuse of a place that teaches yoga and relaxation....that place stressed me out so much my husband does not want me to go anymore...it makes me so mad because i paid $1200 for the year and only went for five months.....do not join this hellhole
Dahn Yoga regular class is very good and effective. Deep strech, How to Breath, Meditation for 1 hours. When Dahn Master ask you to go "Self-Discovery Training", please just say "NO" I think Self-Discovery program is "Brain Wash" Please don't go to small healing room by yourself. Dahn Master gives you free massage and body checking, then they push to go Self Discovery training and other special weekend program. I am a member for a long time, and I realized that I cannot be spiritually awakened without spending a lot of money at Dahn Center. I don't need any title, like Miyongsa-nim, Sabanmb-nim, Junsa or any spiritually name from Dahn World. I really respect "Mother Teresa", without spending a lot of money at Dahn Center, we can be spiritually awakend. All Dahn Memers, pleas go to the Center for keeping your healthy body and peace mind. Please do not spend a lot of money if you don't want from your heart.
Please spend your time and money for your family. Don't do volunteer at the center, life is short and you have only one body of this current life. All Dahn masters and Instructors, please do not push your memebers to spend money. You have to learn how to business here. There are a tons of problems behind the Dahn business. Thank you.
Anonymouse 8:20
Please go to your center and tell your master for refund. The Dahn Center must refund your memeber-ship for 7 months. If your master ignored you, please contact head office in Sedona AZ. They have clear refund policy. Don't give up.
Or you can go to small claim court to your city consumer protection department.
Dahn. This is what i have to say about it. after having gone to the free classes for a while over the late summer and early fall, i had signed up in mid october. I'm young, and full of my mid twenties angst and sensucht and had found out about dahn after having come out of a very traumatic ending of a very entangled and serious attachment (relationship). At first it had helped me elevate my mood, energy level, self esteem and so on. to give credit where it is due, this happened because I joined being earnest about improving myself and the surrounding conditions of my life. Take that statement or leave it. Anyway, i found at first the dahn philosophy to be very close to my own piecemeal quilted together philosophy fragmented together from whatever may have crossed my ears. one thing that they preach is that everyone has their own unique path and that ultimately that path must come from within. but then they tell you (me) what you (I) need to do to find this spiritual growth you're (i am) looking for is to do exactly what they say. I 'signed up' for a weekend true self work shop, only to feel unsatisfied with the results and to be told that i had succeeded. And i signed up hesitantly after being outright called 'not a human being' for expressing some doubt about the program and the organization. So ultimately i get the mixed message of 'trust yourself but don't trust yourself.' i mean, 'you're so beautiful, shave and cut your hair.' I had long hair when i had joined. I chose to cut my hair at my dahn master's suggestion, but now they don't really like my mohawk. maybe you're reading this and maybe you know who i am. i've left. no hard feelings, although i did place a lot of emotional trust in my 'master' and don't appreciate this aftertaste of manipulation.
The massive dahn corporation has been using it's public relations muscle (and money) to quash any online criticism. Just in the last 6 months they've been buying up any domain related to the word 'dahn' and directing members to populate them as blogs, fan-sites, etc. The reason they do this is to attempt to push down sites that critique them in the search engines. Fortunately, it doesn't fool all search engines so you can still find investigative information on this group at sites such as: http://www.rickross.com/groups/dti.html , http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/d/dahn-hak/ , http://guruphiliac.blogspot.com/2007/11/taking-dahn-down.html , as well as others if you search hard enough.
I've recently joined and I am enjoying my experience with Dahn Hak yoga very much. It works for me. It is an individual choice and although I initially felt a little pressured because money doesn't grow on trees, I know my limits. Besides, I started thinking that I am abuntantly rich and don't ask me how, but it seems that I have more money than before. I don't know if it is the law of attraction or what. You are what you think. I had my moments that made me stop and think but the truth is...if this is brainwashing then please take away all of my learned anxieties and fears and show me how to see myself in a better light. If Dahn Hak can teach me to not be so skeptical of this world and learn how to be a loving and caring human being than please wash all of that away because I am ready for a cleansing.
I found out my friend is in this Dahn cult and i need to get her out. She has already spend over a 100,000 dollars and she wants to spend more and more. How can i get her out?
Dahn is a worthless criminal organization. You people will all pay for what you are doing, as your Ilchee fake master will. He will pay the most, believe me.
Am I really one of the scant few people to do Dahn Hak and spent entirely reasonable rates for it? For example, I went on one week-end retreat, for $100. Room, board, food included, along with the classes and training. Hardly taken for a financial ride. And I didn't walk away especially brainwashed -- I still feel pretty much like me :) -- and got a lot out of it.
Someone else posted here that all the talk about other people's Dahn experience has been more detrimental to her experience with Dahn than anything she herself encountered.
That's how I feel. My experiences have not in the least been with high sales pressure type people; and the health benefits of the practice have been palpable. All the cult chatter keeps scaring me; but my actual experience is contrary.
Of course, everyone should trust their own instincts. If someone does feel pressured, its more than reasonable to walk away. And I don't doubt that many have had that experience. Perhaps I've just been fortunate enough to work with some people in the group who simply don't operate that way.
Whatever positives there may be in Dahn, they are far outweighed by the negatives. Any group that enslaves, brainwashes, and isolates its members is bad. Those who have joined Dahn and credit their own psychological fortitude for not being conned are part of the problem. Go to any other yoga studio, don't go to this one. Why support financially any institution where there is even a hint of this activity? The arguments on this blog explaning the high pressured sales tactics of Dahn masters is also flawed, and probably part of the party-line. How much money does it take to keep a studio afloat? I have no idea, but Dahn has become a yoga-cult franchise, with enough money to spread faster than scabies. The truth is, these masters at dahn studios are victims who are themselves pressured to sell sell sell. They are pitted against each other. They work insane hours, live with other dahn members in dahn apartments, are detered from having outside relationships and are frequently relocated to other dahn centers. I miss my friend who fell into dahn, and I'm angry at these devil's advocates who claim it's 'not all bad.' No, but it's mostly bad. And even strong minds can be persuaded when in weakened states. Don't risk it, and don't perpetuate the problem. Also, those happy smiles at dahn centers aren't always real. I think we all know how hard it is to leave something when you've invested so much money, time, and love. For many, I believe it's a matter of not wanting to believe it's time to cut their losses.
As a former "master" of Dahn Yoga, I feel compelled to set the story straight. The exercises and some of the concepts are beneficial. I know many people who experienced health benefits. Each Dahn Yoga center will be run somewhat differently depending upon the headmaster of the center. So some centers may not have the standard Dahn sales pressure. A member's experience will depend a lot on their headmaster. Yet my experience is that the negatives far outweigh the postives with Dahn.
There are many masters out there who have great hearts and good intentions, in fact most started off this way. Unfortunately, the Dahn system is corrupt. The system is built upon disempowering the members AND masters so that they don't trust themselves. Members trust their masters above themselves and masters trust Ilchi Lee above themselves.
Regular members probably won't hear much about Ilchi Lee. The organization has gone through great lengths to separate his name from the business, and yet he still controls the organization. He tells the masters what they need to ACHIEVE every year. He sets the goals (the VISION) and masters are taught to have the mentality to "achieve your vision or die." This is why masters will do anything to get a member to sign up for programs and pay a lot of money. I've seen crazy unethical actions performed by masters, but done with the zealous belief that their soul and the member's soul depends on it.
Even if you just sign up to take "yoga" classes, the masters will always have a hidden agenda for how to save your soul through enrolling in Dahn programs. Dahn masters are encouraged to have a plan for each member and to focus on the members with the most "potential." Dahn yoga suffers from a case of spiritual arrogance. Ilchi Lee and Dahn masters truly believe that Dahn yoga is the only path for enlightenment. This is how they justify many deceptive and manipulative actions - the end justifies the means.
Don't buy into it.
I've been doing Dahn Yoga for 5 months now. Yes, it is expensive. But I had already spent thousands of dollars on massage and chiropractics and was taking ibuprofen daily without relief of 10 years of neck and shoulder pain. I am not completely free of pain but now I actually have most days that are completely pain-free. My blood pressure has normalized. And I have not had an anxiety attack in 5 months. There was pressure to buy-in. But I've had that with lots of other things I've looked into and accept responsibilty for my decision. I've come to my own conclusion that Dahn is not so much a cult, but could be considered cult-like. Once I realized that, I knew I had to be clear about what I wanted to get out of my experience and not let my master talk me into more than I want. I have said "no" more than once without repercussion. And I take responsibilty for my actions and decisions. I have no plans on becoming "born again" Dahn but I plan on continuing the healing I have begun. I have done ShimSung, Dahn Mu Do (included with the membership) and will be doing Healer School next month. I believe that is all that I will need and wont go beyond that. Remember, any sales pressure you might feel really only comes from inside and your own internal struggles - dont blame it on the sales person, they just have a job to do.
healer school costs $10,000.
I've just joined my community center. Unlimited classes, 2 workshops, and a "healing session" for 6 months for $1150. If I attend class 3 times a week, I've paid $15 for 1-1/4 hours of class and the workshops, etc. are all bonus. Sounded like a pretty good plan to me, as a business woman. But as I was joking to my sister that I "think I've joined the moonies", I thought I should check the web. Very interesting back and forth. But the posts that make the most sense to me are the ones that acknowledge every individual's different needs and urge that each of us decide for ourselves. I'm grateful for the warnings and will certainly keep my radar up and ensure that all my future commitment decisions are done with the "business side" of my brain.
I have a son going into the Marine Corps. I'm fully supportive of his vocational choice and eternally grateful that we live in a country where our personal choices are protected by a group of committed "warriors" such as them. But have any of you ever read about what happens in boot camp????????? There are many noble organizations that could be accused of cult behavior and this very old, very lauded part of our American history is one of them! Sometimes the ends do justify the means. If you're worried about Dahn, then make sure you know where it's taking you and don't let it take you where you don't want to go!
After meeting the "Master" I was sold! Only now I know the facts, the master is only a Master of Deception. They go thru crazy training and have absolutely no real credentials. They are the pushiest people you will ever meet. They make you feel like you are inferior to them and you need all kinds of help? Do this workshop or that; anything for the thousands of dollars you will lose. Beware! Pushing in controlling ways of mind games. Say NO! So what if they ignore you. Watch them! They are always on the prowl. Money is their way. Lost Souls!
Looking for exercise, I joined a Dahn Yoga in Boston. I had never heard of it before. My brief experience with Dahn Yoga convinced me that this is a dangerous cult. A word of advice: don't drink the tea they brew for you. After the sessions, they always brewed tea and served it up generously. But I noticed the instructor would only pretend to drink it and was eager to hear hear how people 'felt after drinking the tea'. I only drank the tea once, but a few cups, and had a very strange mental experience afterwards. I strongly suspect they were drugging people. Lots of phone calls and pressure to buy special expensive brainwashing sessions. BEWARE: THIS IS A CULT!
Drug in the tea? Ha Ha! I am Dahn member for 5 years. When our master is very busy, I prepare for tea for members, don't worry everything is natural harbs. Dahn masters have so many pressure to collecting money by head office in Sedona. They have to open many many centers in the world for this mission. All masters are so sincer and devote this mission. If you feel this is the cult, don't join and don't pay anything. Say "No" for next step workshop.
I've read a lot of the comments and can honestly say most of them are not true. I have been a member since 06 but going on and off. They are honestly fantastic and the whole practice of meditation had allowed me to live more fully in the present moment and get over a serious case of anxiety I have been struggling with.
They are pushy for you to join but that's the only flaw I see in their whole operation. Everything else is great and I feel like the instructors really care about me and the other members. My instructor helped me set up a ride to go to class because I was afraid of driving due to anxiety.
I can honestly say after about 2 months of going there 2-3 times per week, my whole life has changed and I just feel more at peace.
All we do it exercise and meditation. If you consider that a cult then I really don't understand why. They have never tried to change my spiritual beliefs and I have told them many times I am a Christian.
OMG!
RE: The tea they give you-
I just read a comment that it's poisoned? Well not so because my instructor lead me to the backroom and gave me a couple of tea bags because I asked for them. They are rice tea you can buy in the asian market that I've been getting ever since. Geez people
Don't believe everything you read on the internet. If you are an open-minded person you'll give it a try before you knock it. Dahn offers a really different approach to exercise that leaves me feeling more energized and all-around in a better mood than when I came in. I come and go as I please to the classes (I signed up for a 10 class package for only $150- about the price of ANY yoga class) and I come when I want and don't come when I am busy. I have gone over a month without attending a class and they don't call me or pressure me at all for any reason. When I come they welcome me with open arms and say a friendly goodbye when I leave. That sure doesn't sound like a cult to me.... Cults typically encourage isolation from friends and family- also something you won't find at Dahn. Dahn IS however a business, and they do use sales tactics to keep their business thriving, but their tactics are much less brutal and high-pressure than those of large corporations... They hardly even advertise! Dahn is a franchise and when somebody buys a franchise of course they are under a lot of pressure to succeed- with Dahn they invest $30,000 in the business! Of course some of them are a little pushy- they are human!
Most of yoga classes are starting from at least from $200 ranges per month, and that's not even "unlimited" mostly 2 to 3 times for "your class and your instructor" only with come anytime at doing your "own practice". I recommend any of you to check your local yoga place's website for price. There is no price posted. Everyone most likely offers you 15 to 20 introductory first timer rate for one month. Then if you "consult" with your instructor for any other yoga from kundalini to whatever you think is suitable for you it will spike upto 300 to 500 for sure.
I agreed with many people said in this forum that it's more of just people who are pushing you with hard sales pitches than cult. If you can't afford it, you just can't. There are at least 15 to 25 people in the class, and I really don't think that many people (I am guessing about 1 or 2% in the class?) can afford to take fancy next class or retreat, so there is no peer pressure of mass control of what many cults have. (I personally have a friend who felt into a cult. he actually went to $4000 retreat, and he had to forcefully believe that he didn't put himself hard enough to find out what was bothering him, basically by publically confessing his problems in front of strangers whom he never met. So,people... people showing little love and niceness in yoga center is nothing close to real cult.) Mind you, any weekend retreat classes are more than couple hundred bucks because of all that good food and tranquil place to relax, so again, I really didn't see any cult culture there.
This is a cult. I belonged, and one day I woke up and realized I was in a cult. It does make you feel better...but I question whether it was from a wholesome source. I even signed my husband up because I believed so much in the benefits of it. I felt great, but the spiritual part of me realized eventually that something was not right. I got out, and I am much happier. Please, if you are thinking of joining...pray about it, ask some advice, have a friend visit...I wasted $2000 on this cult and I am so thankful that is all I had to pay to escape. I wonder so many times why the instructors just 'disappear' - it's because they do something that displeases the higher ups. My master came to a party at my house - and was gone before I could even say good bye. He pretty much told me he though it was a cult - but he had no other options. Stay out of it while you can - join a gym, they have yoga classes there, too. And you can stretch at home by yourself, without all the nonsense they insist on. Last item to note: I see the whole process as a growth experience, but I can see some people getting really sucked in and that scares me a lot.
I am one of the original Dahn enthusiasts in my region. I first walked into a new Dahn center opening in my old neighborhood almost a decade ago. And now, after all these years, I am leaving. I feel like Neo in the Matrix when he takes the red pill and wakes up and really SEES for the first time, with open eyes. Once you take the red pill, you can't go back. And I wouldn't want to. I am eternally, blissfully grateful for having the courage to take that red pill. In answer to your question: Oh yes, indeedy, Dahn Yoga most certainly is a destructive cult. Pretty much the worst things you have heard are true. It's been about six weeks or so since I first started to wake up from the Dahn belief system, and the universe just keeps bringing more and more info to me. It just keeps coming.
If you are in Dahn now, either as an enthusiastic member with mostly/only super postive experiences thus far, or if you are one of the members who are being groomed to become a master, or if you are actually an instructor (instructors used to be called "masters" but the organization recently changed that practice), and you are reading this, I say to you:
I know you are probably going to dismiss what I am saying as nonsense from someone who is "unenlightened" or just "not getting it," even though I've probably been involved much longer than you have. You have been conditioned to think this way by the group leaders. Your critical thinking process has been systematically disengaged, in such a masterful way, that you (an intelligent, thoughtful person) aren't even aware of it. But I do know this. In the back of your brain, there is still some small voice that is questioning and wondering if this is all true, if Dahn is for real...
Only a very small handful of members don't have that questioning voice in their brains, and these people are truly the victims in all of this. That small group are called by those who have left "the lifers." The lifers may never get out. And I pray for them, I do. But you. YOU know that you have that small critical voice still inside. It's been supressed and buried as much as possible. You've been taught to regard it as "resistance" and laziness and "negative information" and any number of blocks your ego is throwing up to keep your soul from growing. What you don't know now is that that small critical voice in your head is what is going to save you in the end. It is a blessing, and later you will be very grateful for it.
You see, you have taken all of these classes and trainings thru Dahn, thru your center and Sedona, and maybe you've even gone to Korea, and as a result, it's like a voice (another voice) has been implanted in your brain that constantly filters and analyzes everything you see and hear thru the Dahn belief system. So I already know in advance how your brain is going to immediately dismiss what I am saying. If you can't find an explanation for my assertions, then you will just shut your mind down entirely and will refuse to think about it at all. And you'll go on your merry way.
But I know you.
I WAS you.
For many, many years. And I know that behind that voice implanted by the Dahn belief system, is the real you, that critical voice you've been taught to disregard. That voice will read what I am saying here and will wonder if it's actually true. You will wonder. You will probably dismiss, for now. But you WILL wonder.
And weeks or months or even years from now, when you, too, decide to leave Dahn (because almost everyone does, eventually), you may remember this post. And if you remember nothing else that I have said here, there is one thing you SHOULD remember, because it will help you so much: it's called "mind control." When you are ready, and you are leaving Dahn, and you are connecting with a whole network of supportive, loving individuals who have also left and who are willing to talk to and listen and share with you, then you will be searching for answers, and this concept will be enormously helpful to you. There is a book that really helped me to make sense of my experience and the Dahn belief system: it's called "Combatting Cult Mind Control." It's a bestseller than you can order thru Amazon. It was written before Dahn existed, but you will be absolutely stunned, as I was, by the parallels between Dahn and other cults that came before it.
I have come to understand that people walking in the door are usually groomed in one of two ways: either you're an enthusiastic member repeatedly pushed to pay lots of money for healing sessions and workshops, including repeated trips to Sedona. This is the group that is solely being used for money. These people are usually middle-aged or older and out of shape when they join. They will end up giving THOUSANDS of dollars to Dahn.
The other group is smaller. These are the young, bright, vibrant people who are recruited to be instructors. They usually don't have much money (although they will be pushed to open multiple credit card accounts and to ask their families for money). They are wanted for their ENERGY. One of the most interesting things I learned about cults is that they specifically target strong, vibrant people (not weaklings) because they know these will make the most enthusiastic, charismatic leaders who can convince others to join.
So you might be reading this post and a member of either group 1 or group 2. If you're in group 1, you're only going to be shown the most positive aspects of the group. Your experiences will be controlled in such a way by the group leaders that they are only positive, and that is because they want you to keep shelling out that money. It is amazing to behold the number of wealthy, middle-aged members of Dahn. It is common knowledge now that Dahn only opens centers in wealthy, white-bread neighborhoods. However, if you're in this group, observe the way that Dahn has completely engulfed your life. The instructors push you to do all kinds of trainings, and to spend most of your time at the center. Sure, the exercises make you feel quite good, but notice how doing them has begun to take up such large amounts of your time. Also notice that if you are hesistant to do the next in a long line of expensive trainings, you will be made to understand by the instructor that your reasons for hesitating are not valid. Ever. You are told that it's "your choice," but take note of the way they react when you say no. Watch and observe carefully.
Group 2 members are the true victims of mind control, and that is what people must understand who are criticizing Dahn. The young instructors running these centers are victims themselves. They are to be pitied, not attacked. Imagine the trauma their families feel at having lost a son/daughter/wife/husband/sister/brother to this organization.
Another classic hallmark of cults is the belief of the most involved members & leaders that they are part of a special, "chosen," elite, a group of spiritual revolutionaries who are going to heal the world. Did you know that this is the view of pretty much all cults? Did you know that this is what members of the Moonies also believed? When you are eventually coming out of the Dahn belief system, and you are reading everything about this subject that you can get your hands on, you will be flabbergasted to learn the number of parallels between Dahn and the Moonies. I now believe that, historically speaking, Dahn is a more sophisticated, modern-day version of the Moonies.
Here are some of the things I have learned in the last 6 weeks:
The business model for the American Dahn system is a Ponzi scheme. This is similar to a pyramid scheme. This is what Madoff was recently jailed for. A Ponzi scheme operates with a central figurehead at the top (Ilchi Lee). The next 2 or 3 levels of the pyramid (his closest associates - most of whom are shadow figures who you will never meet) are the only ones making money. And they are making MILLIONS, buying real estate left and right, creating many new "front groups" (another classic cult hallmark) and enterprises. Going down and down the pyramid, you get to levels, say, 8 and 9. These are the people who are MAKING the money for those at the top. These are the people who are in charge of the grunt work, the sweat, the labor, and most importantly, bringing new recruits into the scheme. The level 8 and 9 people are the Dahn instructors running the centers. These people work 100 hours a week for little money. They sleep 3 to 5 hours a night. They live in communal housing. Almost every moment of their time is given to inventing ways to make more $$$ for their center and for Dahn. In Dahn language, they are working for their "vision."
In this context, the way to convince a level 8 and 9 person on the pyramid to work like this, constantly and endlessly, to maximize profits and bring in new members, is to impose an elaborate belief system, something they can passionately and fervently believe in, a religion (if you will), that they will defend to the end. Also necessary is to utilize techniques of mind control in order to disengage their critical thinking processes. Again, I point anyone interested in this subject to the book "Combatting Cult Mind Control," which can be ordered off Amazon.
Forty percent of the income at Dahn centers is given to Ilchi Lee (although this may be done regionally, so individual center instructors, particularly the newer ones, may not always be aware this is happening), and the center instructors assume it's for opening new centers and other programmatic expenses. What is kept from them is that much of this money is for the personal enrichment of Lee and the people on the next 2 or 3 levels of the pyramid. Evidence of this is everywhere, and devoted members don't want to see it.
Many of you may have been in Sedona and seen Ilchi Lee's Hummer and his entourage of personal attendants who travel with him (usually anonymous, interchangeable Korean men in business suits). If you went so far as to inquire why Lee drives this expensive, environmentally-unfriendly vehicle, you were probably told that he needs it for the difficult terrain around Sedona, or that he needs it for "protection." Right? But if you really take some space and sit and think about this situation, you will see that your first impulse was correct, after all: there IS something not right about Lee's being driven around in a Hummer. In the context of the Dahn belief system, it doesn't fit. And your rational brain immediately sensed this. But the group leaders are experts at convincing you to distrust your own intuition and to conclude that there are things going on at higher levels in the group that you don't need to understand or question.
I can look back now in amazement at the way I "turned off my brain" in these sorts of situations and meekly accepted the explanations given me by the group leaders. And how ironic that Dahn is all about "waking up your brain"! The cognitive dissonance and groupthink are rampant.
The imposing of a spiritual belief system over a Ponzi scheme business model in order to rake in millions is really, truly genius. Lee and his associates should be congratulating themselves. They've done a great job, haven't they? Let's have a round of applause for them. Bravo, boys!
The most troubling aspect of what I have recently learned is definitely painful to write and to think about, but I believe it's important to air it out and let it see the light of day. I have become aware of an entire network of women who have been sexually abused by Ilchi Lee.
For those who are reading this and are still heavily involved with Dahn, I know your brain is going to try to filter out and dismiss what I am saying as untrue. I know this because for years my brain did the same thing when I was presented with similar info (being rumors on the Internet). But for the first time, this info was presented to me in a way that I could not dismiss, because it was coming from people that I personally know and trust, not just strangers on the Internet.
Yes, it is true. I personally know a young American woman who claims to have been raped by Ilchi Lee. And I believe her. She is one of the last peope in the world I could imagine fabricating such a story. Through her, and through other connections, I have become aware that there are many such woman who assert that they were coerced into sex by Lee. Let's just take some space for a moment and sit and really think about this.
I will say it again: There are many such woman who assert that they were coerced into sex by Lee. How truly powerful is that statement? Now, if you are still heavily involved in Dahn, your brain is going to be busily at work right now, filtering what I am saying thru the Dahn belief system so that you will dismiss my words or tune them out. I don't need you to be convinced, because I am confident that down the road, when you yourself are ready to walk, you will be ready for this information, and it will come to you. You will be ready for that red pill. All that you really need to remember right now is that there is such a concept as mind control, and this: that when you do leave Dahn, even though you REALLY don't believe it now, your life is going to improve so much. You can't see it now, but Dahn has taken the world AWAY from you, and by leaving, you will get it back. You will get back a resolute faith in yourself and your own strength.
Try to go back and remember, if you can, when you first walked into a Dahn center. Try to remember the way that you felt (physically, emotionally, etc.) and who you were at that time. Now, no doubt, Dahn (the exercise practice) has made many improvements in your life. I read many accounts by people with disease and illness and Dahn exercise classes have really helped them to feel better and to build physical strength. The fact that the exercise program is so beneficial is Ilchi Lee's biggest ally, because when members hear cult accusations about Dahn, their brains immediately bombard them with memories of how crappy they felt before they started doing the practice, and how good they feel when they leave class, and they conclude the accusations must be false. More advanced members think about how fabulous they feel after workshops, or the loving, Buddha-like qualities of the group leaders.
What members don't understand is that, within the classic cult hierarchy, the group leaders are ALWAYS described as these loving, compassionate, kind, Buddha-like creatures. This is exactly how members of the Moonies described the leaders of THEIR group, and the Hare Krishnas, and so on. I now believe that radiating that Buddha-like state is a practiced and cultivated habit that anyone can become good at. The instructors interact with dozens of members a day and thus become very, VERY good at this. What is important is how they are behind closed doors, when paying members aren't around, and I know that they are as human as you or me, and no more "enlightened" than anyone else.
Now, in the beginning, terms such as "dahn jon" were unfamiliar to you and sounded silly, and you may have dismissed as hooey their pushing you to try this or that. Eventually, though, you gave in, and you found that - hey! boy oh boy! - they were right! You feel so much better!
And in this way, your resistance to the group's doctrine begins to be worn down. Remember, you are being led down a path, shown new things in incremental steps, and given info about the belief system in small doses at a time. After you allow them to lead you those first few steps, when you're still a newbie and all that Korean terminology is new and strange, and you figure out that what they're telling you, thus far, is actually quite true, and following their instructions results in positive changes in your health and state of mind, you start to doubt yourself. Let me repeat: This is when you start to doubt yourself and your own intuition. As you go farther down the path, more and more info they're telling you is unproveable because it's actually religious in nature. "Growing your soul" and helping others to grow their souls, even such ideas as your work for Ilchi Lee's vision will help to "save" the souls of your immediate family - these are unproveable concepts requiring a leap of faith on your part.
But you are inclined to believe this because the first few steps of the path (doing intestine exercises, coming to class regularly, taking Shim Sung, etc.) turned out to be true. So you begin to suspend your disbelief, and let them lead you futher down the path. Once you've gotten to a certain point, once that "Dahn voice" is implanted in your brain, thus allowing you to see and perceive everything thru the Dahn belief system, you will be able to lead others.
The instructors working in the American Dahn centers are working, working, working, making money money money. The ones who are good at it begin to see members as walking dollar signs. The mind control techniques which have disengaged their critical thought processes, don't allow them to perceive that they are not "enlightened." They are not on the path to spiritual enlightenment. The reality of running a Dahn center and making money has nothing to do with enlightenment. The workshops and endless trainings you are pushed into doing are designed to lead you down 1 of 2 paths:
1) Extract as much money from you as possible, until you get fed up and leave (again, these are often the older, middle-aged, wealthier members who don't have the physical strength to become full-fledged instructors)
OR
2) Convince you that becoming a Dahn instructor is what you were "meant" to do, at which point you will begin working in a Dahn center, which isn't pushing you towards enlightenment, but only renders your life, for all practical purposes, that of an indentured servant who is hell-bent on making money for the vision
So you see, the only paths available are 1 or 2, and both are a dead end.
I ask you now: What vision? How are the people on paths 1 or 2 in any way helping to heal the world? If anything, their spending all of their time in Dahn centers is keep them ISOLATED from their communities, all while nurturing a false sense of superiority and arrogance that Dahn is the "one true way" (by the way, yet another cult hallmark - every cult in existence believes that theirs is the one true way).
The American Dahn movement is designed, I can see now, purely for the purpose of generating more money. I've been around long enough now to say with confidence that I have yet to meet a single person who has joined Dahn and who I believe has achieved "enlightenment."
I now can see that noone (not even Ilchi Lee) has the power to grant someone else spiritual enlightenment. Note that, historically, humans who are commonly regarded as being "enlightened beings" (Jesus, Buddha, etc.) pursued their own path to enlightenment. They did not get there as part of a military-like group. They followed their own, unique, individual voice.
Giving their lives for Ilchi Lee's vision to heal the world is what being a Dahn master is all about. They are told, during their master training, that doing this will enable them to get out of the cycle of death and rebirth (reincarnation). They believe that this is their last lifetime as a human, and that when they die, Ilchi Lee will meet their soul at the top of Bell Rock (a sacred Dahn spot in Sedona) and will personally usher them into the next level. They believe they are moving on, after this life, to the next evolutionary level.
I know that the enticement of regarding oneself as part of a special, elite group, who are actually being given the opportunity to achieve enlightenment in this lifetime, is a powerful draw. And giving that up, for Dahn instructors who leave, can be traumatic. But they almost all do leave. Of the hundreds of American members/instructors whom I have met over the last decade in my region, less than 5 are still standing. Everyone else is gone, and has been replaced by naive new members who have no idea of the vast numbers of people who came before them, and left. And now, so am I.
Pam Zeckman, a well-respected Chicago investigative reporter investigated this company and the Dahn Yoga practices. Many people were swindled out of thousands of dollars under the "belief" they were learning healing practices.
I checked this place out. Signed up. Attended a few "classes" and a "workshop". Self-actualization is the goal: but that comes from the journey of an individual thinker, not through coercive practices of "group think". Uniforms? Having to speak Korean phrases to participate? Call me a maverick, but I am proud to speak English and be an American even when I want to take an occasional yoga class. Stay away from this brainwashing vehicle to steal your money and send it to Korea.
The classes are good and can be fun if you have the right mix of members. The price can be right when compared to other places. However everything beyond that is all about money and mind control. I have a loved one who has become an instructor and she has been changed for the worse. Her lifelong religious beliefs have been replaced by Il Chi Lee's teachings. Her cross is no longer on her bedroom wall, replaced by a picture of Mr Lee. She lies to me and other loved ones, borrows money from anyone she can, and gives everything she has to this money hungry cult. Dahn breaks state and federal labor laws and forces their employees to work without being paid, calling it personal training time. I personally talked to the masters to tell them she can't afford this and they need to stop pushing things on her because she can't say no, I was told it was a personal issue and they wouldn't get involved. I know many former members who got out and had to seek professional therapy in order to get their minds right again. These members told me about physical, mental, and sexual abuse that occurred in closed door training sessions or in the Sedona training center. The back office side of Dahn is a cult, period. The main focus of this organization is to bring as much money into Il Chi Lee's pockets as possible and they don't care who they hurt along the way.
I think what some of you don't understand is that the people working in these (Dahn Yoga) centers are hiding the truth and there lives are not what you think. Sure you can take a class or a workshop, even enjoy it.But at what cost? The people working in the centers are enslaved thinking they are helping humanity and the world when really all they are doing is supporting the founders extravagant lifestyle. The practice works because it was stolen from a legitimate practice. Thats why it feels good and pulls innocent, caring, intelligent peolpe in.
If your thinking of joining this group please look at the facts and ask yourself why. Why are so many people unhappy? Why so much controversy? Why is the founder a convicted felon?
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