On July 1, 2011, Ha’aretz, a leading daily newspaper in Israel, published an article in its weekly North America edition about the death of Matan Givol, a former Dahn Yoga member and perspective franchise owner. Prior to his involvement with Dahn Yoga, he had been a prominent violinist and he had recently resumed his musical career in Israel. On May 22, 2011, before he was to perform at a concert in his home city of Tel Aviv, Matan took his own life.

The article in Ha’aretz provides some detail about the circumstances of Matan’s death and speculates as to the reasons he may have taken his own life, including the death of his father, pressures associated with his musical career and his mother’s belief that Matan was under extreme pressure from Dahn Yoga to open franchises in Israel.

We at Dahn Yoga & Health Centers, Inc. were very saddened to learn about the death of Matan Givol, a good man, with a deep and abiding commitment to peace. Though we sympathize with Mrs. Givol’s loss, we strongly disagree with any assertion that Matan was under pressure from Dahn Yoga, its employees or affiliates at the time of his death.

For almost one and a half years, Matan was on his own in Israel, planning to open independent franchises there. Those plans were based on his own personal interests and he was under no pressure from anyone in our company. During the time that Matan was in Israel, we had very limited contact with him, but we are aware that he had other pressures and personal concerns. We cannot comprehend why he chose to take his own life, but our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Joseph Alexander
Vice President of Communications