Member sharing
April 9, 2008
Before I started Dahn, several life events combined to create depression and a number of physical challenges. I retired from a 45-year working career, my sister had a major mental break, and my aged mother passed away. Arthritis, a couple of degenerated discs in my back, and soft tissue damage from a car wreck 40 years prior made getting out of bed in the morning very painful. I’d walk bent over from the waist for a few minutes before standing up strait. The Chiropractor and I had standing appointments 10 days apart. Activity always attracted me, but with pain and without a routine to follow inactivity took over, and I lost interest in life. Even thought I didn’t do much, I was tired all the time. The local senior center offered free access to physical fitness machines, but somehow I couldn’t get up and out the door by 10:30 a.m. to drive (not walk) 2 miles and take advantage of those machines.
It’s interesting how my membership came about. Since the story is long, I’ll just say that on 3 different occasions the subject of Dahn Yoga came up. The final was at a Body, Mind, Spirit expo where my girl friend and I signed up for an Energy checkup. Interestingly, we both bought memberships and she went to just 1 class. I am happily still with Dahn 3-1/2 years later. The drive to the Kirkland Center is often an hour each way, but I’m able to get up and be there at least 3 times a week.
Within 2 weeks of beginning Dahn I noticed an amazing increase in my energy level. I painted walls 13’ high from a ladder. I felt alive again. My many women friends asked “What are you doing, Leanne? You’re glowing!” I’d say “It’s Yoga”. There is no Dahn Yoga center near us, but now 5 of those friends are taking some form of yoga because they’ve seen how much Dahn did for me.
On the physical level, I noticed an immediate improvement in my back. I could get out of bed! (I’ve been to see the chiropractor only 5 times in the past 3-1/2 years!) Something, else, my eyesight improved. I went from a 2.50 magnification to a 1.25 magnification. I gained back 1-inch in height I’d lost. Energy filled me up. My body changed. Weighing the same as I had 6 years before, I lost 19-1/2 inches in my arms, thighs, waist and bust. I am wearing clothes I wore 20 lbs. less than I am now.
On an emotional, level traffic has always been a challenge for me. I’d be angry or anxious, frustrated and impatient. I mentioned a 1-hour drive. Well, that drive is only 20 miles, so you can imagine how congested it is. Before, I’d be mad and/or angry. Thanks to Dahn something switched. Now, it just doesn’t bother me. I still move in and out and do my best to find the lane that’s moving, only it isn’t a contest or a personal insult any more. I’m relaxed. It’s just traffic. It hasn’t changed, but I have. A number of personal issues from long ago have resolved themselves, come full circle. Thanks to the various programs Ilchi Lee created at Dahn, I don’t feel guilt or shame for not succeeding in some life choices a long time ago. I carried those failures for years, and now I’m free. That freedom improved my self esteem to the place where I felt good enough to start internet dating. I’m now in a serious relationship with a gentle, kind, thoughtful, funny gentleman.
Meditation calms and centers me. I value the serenity. Dahn practice teaches me that there are many ways to meditate, and the exercises we do in class take me right into a meditative state. It seems that when I start my day with meditation, everything goes better. Little things don’t bother me, and I handle big stuff better. I was a typical Type ‘A’ personality, and now am a Type ‘B’.
Leanne Garn