A letter to CNN #17: PROFESSOR, GRANDMOTHER, and DAHN YOGA MEMBER SHARES HER STORY WITH CNN

FROM: Judy A. Smith, Ed. D., jusmith@fullerton.edu
RE: CNN broadcast: Dahn Yoga
I am writing this note to you in anticipation of the airing of tomorrow’s show on the “Cult?” and Dahn Yoga. As I understand it there will be three evening airings and three morning airings which will allow the public to have full knowledge of what I am anticipating is a one sided piece of news since I have not heard of anyone receiving equal amount of time coming from Dahn Yoga I realize that you have received memos from many instructors, practitioners and members, please add my name to the list and I would like to trust CNN News to be the respected, intelligent reporter of news I have always found them to be in this segment.
I am a life member of the Dahn Yoga studio in Brea California studying with great teachers. I teach at the College of Education at California State University, Fullerton as a lecturer and coordinator of admissions in the Department of Special Education, credential and master degree program. I consider teaching, not a job, but a calling. I love to teach and I love to be taught by great teachers. This I have found in Dahn yoga classes and workshops. I have spent many years living the life of a teacher, housewife, parent, grandmother and now, the caregiver of a husband with dementia, parkinsonism and thyroid cancer. The last four years have been filled with grieving, letting go and searching for support. I belong to the St. Jude Caregiver resource center and completed grief work with a therapist. I went from the therapist to Dahn Yoga and my journey has been rewarding, exciting, healing and wonderful.

All my life I have been devoted to service and spiritual growth as well as mental and physical health and fitness. I find my Dahn Yoga classes and workshops exactly what I need to keep in strong and viable in all of these areas. It is totally compatible with my beliefs and goals of becoming whole and happy. I am learning forgiveness of myself and others. My family enjoys being around me because I am happy in spite of personal tragedy. I am so much more capable of inspiring the future teachers of the students with disabilities than ever before. Integration of mind, body spirit and a deep sense of peace and acceptance have been some of the things I have gained in Dahn Yoga. I am now more self-sufficient and have a high degree of energy and yet I can relate to other people better than I ever could before. My concentration is so improved allowing me to be more productive and useful in my world of work, personal relationships and my art and movement.
The instructors and masters at my center and the workshop instructors have all been kind, patient and so helpful. The readings by Ilchi Lee are so compatible with every other mind, body, spirit teaching I have sought out. Putting it together with the cognitive and kinetic pieces works for me!! That’s what is different about Dahn Yoga.
The Dahn Yoga people have been very professional, responsive, knowledgeable and competent and committed and caring to me. I am 70 years old and more active and happy than I have ever been in my life.
I believe that the lawsuits are totally unfounded and that Dahn Yoga has no culpability in any of the issues.
I hope that you will refer your viewers to http://www.dahnyogavoice.com for true information about our programs.
Respectfully and hopefully yours,

Judy A. Smith, Ed. D.