A letter to CNN #20: DAHN YOGA MEMBER OFFENDED BY CNN’s STORY
Dear Ms. Janelle Rodriguez
Cc: Richard Davis, Shirley Powell, and Jonathan Klein
I am highly offended by CNN’s choice of what it believes as newsworthy. As a college-educated woman, with the power to make intellectual decisions, it was of my own free will to join Dahn Yoga.
Never have I been coerced into any type of torture, abuse, painful exercise or brainwashing. My mind and body belong to noone but myself. I make my own decisions, telling myself when to eat, go to sleep, wake-up, exercise, etc.
Isn’t that what a cult is? Someone trying to control your very being, telling when, where and how to do anything and everything.
At Dahn Yoga, we are taught to find ourselves, heal ourselves, at our own pace, not someone else’s pace. It is about finding your own inner peace not a leader’s idea, what his pace is,… My own pace, not yours, your brother’s or sister’s, or Harry down the street, but my own. Dahn Yoga has given me back my life, not taken it from me. A cult would do just that, take your life from you, make it theirs and never give it back.
I think CNN needs to stop the irresponsible reporting and find something else in this world that is more newsworthy than this to report on.
Thank you,
Denise Dunnigan
Houston, TX
Dahn Yoga Voice 
01/07/2010 at 12:57 am
I am not a member of Dahn Yoga as I only recently met one of their teachers through a friend who is a member for the past 6 years. After Meeting the two leaders of Dahn Yoga here I was impressed with their presence and read Ilchi’s book. In fact I have encouraged a few friends to go
to Dahn Yoga classes to help themselves these past few years.
To date, I have read three different books and plan to read another set of 5 books which I ordered through the website. Everything that Ilchi Lee teaches is very familiar to me. For anyone to claim this is a “CULT” is ridiculous and perhaps it is just a reflection within themselves with an imbalanced mindset.
Ilchi Lee’s writings explains his Philosophy of life, in his unique way which I can relate to, as I am a trained licensed therapist and specializes in Chi-gong, body balancing and Applied Kinesiology. I have agreed to accept the help and is now receiving life giving support from a talented and wonderful person here in Hawaii.
I am not a member . Reading and knowing a few friends who have been Dahn Yoga members…I am amazed at the mentality of the News Media’s view on classifying this as a CULT. Really is not worth talking about. but unfortunately there are greedy people that are wanting to exploit and pervert the many good intentions of successful people like the Dahn Yoga society. Here in America we stand for making dreams come true.
It is great to see that Ilchi Lee has accomplished the “Mago” dream as it too has been my dream for many years, since I could read: “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Reading his stories about this gives me hope that perhaps there is hope of sanity in this “earthmadness of disfunctional society we are faced with today.
We in America have lost values of a balanced society. If change is not embraced. then we all will be in a world of self destruction. Dahn Yoga is a facility that has helped ONE person at a time with much success , supporting the individual’s own effort to take responsibility for his own life.
Having a vision of “Mago’s Dream” is only creating a “critical mass” of healers with Loving and Caring consciousness which will allow to raise the consciousness of the “laggards of society”. I hope to continue to support this dream. I thank IlChi Lee for preserving that dream…since I at age 70 was about to think that every other person has the right to be “greedy and selfish” as we have a choice to be “loving and caring about truth and integrity”. If we don’t choose the good and supportive lifestyle we are all in it together. What we do to ONEself we do to every ONE else on Earth.
With only three weeks of “one to one” sessions with the “healer” of Dahn Yoga, it has given me hope to continue to live and overcome my health challenges.
The support they offer is according to each individuals desire to change and grow to take responsibility for ONEself. It is a process that allows SELF- Empowerment…I think, a cult is perhaps when people give their power away to some IDOL or Person, and subject their souls to an Entity outside of themselves.
Perhaps those people who have an imbalanced life will easily be mislead by their own perspective and insecurities. Reading ILCHI LEE’s Books,
(understanding a little about Korean Culture) my understanding of his writings, he has a unique and simple way of expressing what many practitioners and “healers” of the western world understand, except we would use different words to express the same thoughts.
The western mind may not appreciate fully the practices of meditation and body exercises that is taught…because most of us Americans do not understand the human body and how it functions. It has not been part of our educational curriculum in our school’s Physical Education class.
CNN is not being responsible…with their detrimental “JUDGEMENT” against Dahn Yoga. a CULT??? How often I have seen news media pick up on a gossip and detrimentally printed and broadcasted it as truth. This is clearly an injustice to human decency. Please restore America we can be proud of.
I hope there is more research and understanding to the meaning of the word. Actually “TRUTH NEEDS NO DEFENSE”, but I guess CNN has irresponsibly made the judgements without any UNDERSTANDING, and may have your own agenda? Please reconsider your news media standards for integrity and truth.
When is the news media going to be responsible and practice ethical news?
with an un-bias report. We have a freedom in America to free speech. But,
just because we have freedom of speech…whatever we do has consequences and whatever we do to harm another, the UNIVERSAL law of “Cause and Effects”allowing whatever we do out of harmony, (Whoever is responsible), CNN Reporters will have to bring this back to balance.
I AM here to support & hope to see what we stand for in America, May CNN rise above all of this and restore INTEGRITY TO in GOD we TRUST, and pursuit of happiness without any prejudice with justice and liberty for all.
Sincerely,
Alishaa Asakura
Honolulu, Hawaii