Yoga in the Heights
The flier tacked to the tree on Clinton Street was promising: Free class at Dahn Yoga. As one who shamelessly exploits the various community classes offered throughout this great neighborhood, I was in.
First things first: This is no ordinary yoga. There are no "ohms" to begin class, no downward dogs. Apparently derived from (or in some way related to) the Korean practices of Qigong and Tai Chi, Dahn Yoga is all about energy ("dahn" meaning energy) and specifically about the little ball of it that resides just below the belly-button in the 2nd chakra. After some intense and almost violent stretching exercises (lots of bouncing up and down in various poses), we settled into Jung Choong breathing--which is basically breathing through your mouth in a series of poses that become progressively more awkward. There is not a whole of lot of room for the lungs to expand when one is gripping one's toes in plow pose. How long did we do this?
Hard to say, though this morning I woke up distinctly aware of each and every neck muscle ... at least the floor was padded so my spine seems to have escaped the wrath of the plow.
The meditation segment came next and requires that you concentrate
on your palms, held slightly apart in front of your chest. As you
slowly move them back and forth, you feel this pulling and pushing
sensation between them--a ball of energy, according to Dahn teachings.
Regardless of what exactly produces that sensation, I have to admit it
was pretty fun. Or perhaps the silly grin on my face was simply a
product of too much oxygen to the brain. We closed out the class with a
cup of tea--the instructor, my one class companion, and me.
I am no yoga expert. In fact, when asked by the very quiet, polite, and not-quite-fluent instructor what kind of yoga I regularly practice, well, I had to shrug. Visiting a new yoga studio is always a little awkward, and this one perhaps incredibly so, exaggerated by the obvious good will on the part of the instructor who, despite best intentions, lacked that warmth needed to set a newcomer at ease. The class is obviously a pitch for their studio, though the instructor was surprisingly oblivious to prices ($500 for 3 months or 10 classes for $200--ouch!). But Dahn Yoga is fun, active, and a nice way to perk up an otherwise lackluster Saturday--if you have two free hours to spare.
Dahn Yoga
130 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights
718-254-8833
Free class, 2 p.m. Saturday 27 January
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Careful. Try Googling "Dahn Yoga" + "cult" and see what comes up. There are some horror stories out there about this chain!
That (googling dahn yoga and cult) is very sad. We knew someone once who fell victim to the whole yoga cult thing. The class being free kind of sent up a flag for me. Of all the types of classes I've ever taken, I can't recall one, not even an initial trial that has ever been free. :/
Oh, well you should try Brooklyn Yoga's community classes! They are always free, and it's definitely not a cult. People who are going through their teacher certification program have to teach them as part of their class requirement. Since they are new it's not always a seamless class, but, hey, it's free :)
Be careful of this organization! I'm surprised they haven't been sued:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/dti/dtivisitor.html
Lots of info on these guys. Have some more over at BHB.
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/718
Interesting stuff ... though I have to say that in my specific experience last Saturday, there was no more pressure to join than what you'd get at a gym or health club. mostly just awkwardness. So sad about Julia Silverls death though ...
Reading that Dahn is giving free classes is not surprising. As in any business that has had bad press around the world, South Korea, Canada and U.S, it feels the need to lure people by saying no charge. This will no doubt last for a short period of time, Dahn is known for its honeymoon period. However when this ends, the staff will suggest courses, be they taken locally or in Sedona, ex-members have told of spending 10's of thousands of dollars.
Nothing in Dahn is truly free. Where does some of the money Dahn charges go? The founder, Chairman Seung Heun (Il Chi) Lee, who believes as an enlightened being, he needs over a dozen properties in his name, an assortment of luxury vehicles, freedom to take friends to golf courses and have an empire with over a 100 names.
Lee's life at the top is quite a contrast to the staff of Dahn centers, who are required to live at the centers and are encouraged to let go of materialist things.
So when you see free courses at a Dahn center, please take a pass. If you have doubts about what I've written, do google the internet for `dahn cult' and do your own research.
I just experienced my first Dahn experience tonight. I was oblivious to the fact that it was "cultish" as I was also lured in by the "free one-on-one consultation".
I brought my mother who is dealing with breast cancer and needs some stress relief, and they put us into the "group class".
I'm not "yogi" but I've done my share of yoga over the last 8 years. We started the class by pounding on our bodies- I assumed it was just a warm-up I've never done.
But it never stopped- that was the whole class, and then about 30 minutes of laying on the ground breathing.
There were only two other people in the class which should have been a red flag for me, and they did appear "glazed over".
At the end we had tea and then the korean (bad english) teacher told us to stick around. He started making us do more of what we did in the class. It was getting uncomfortable...I asked, "so do you do yoga classes too"- and he said, "this is the yoga class- we do stretching". huh.
He turns to me and said, "so you sign up today and I give you 10% off"- it was absolutely obtrusive. I looked at the prices and they were out of control high for what I just experienced. He followed us out of the room, and kept prodding us to book a 3 month block for over $600. We said we need to think about it. He was standing way too close to me as I was trying to gather my things.
He then tells me, "you have to pay for the class, though". and I said, " I signed up for a free consultation on-line- this is free" but he wouldn't agree so I handed him my credit card...weird.
The other person who worked there was staring at me and she looked like she was hypnotized.
The whole thing was so strange. I'm worried the tea had some drugs in it cause my stomach is so upset.
As we were driving home, I said to my mother something wasn't quite right- so here I confirm it by googling and seeing the "Real" story.
I just pretty much finished a 5 class deal for $80 (allowing me to attend classes when I chose to with no time expiration) in Chicago where I live. But that was offered only after I refused the $600 and $300 deals. Luckily I forgot my credit card at home and said I would send a check. (Whatever you do, someone said, don't give them your credit card number.) I was then called at home for my credit card number and again told the gal I would send a check. The classes were intense and I was glad when each one was over. Each day of the week introduced a slightly different energy presentation. I did feel good after each class, but I really got tired of the instructor threatening us with more repetitions if she did not see us smiling. A smile to me should be a natural response not to be demanded. Anyway, all intense energy activation... good stuff... but too intense and expensive. I will glean out of this the parts that are important to me. Much of what is used seems to be borrowed from yoga, tai chi, or shamanic energy drumming.
(By the way, I have done Bikram Yoga for 10 years... 2 years classes and 8 years on my own. I'm also knowledgeable of other yoga styles and this was not yoga as we know it. I've also done 2 years tai chi classes and seen some limited similarity to tai chi.