Coffin Conversations - by dementia

This past Sunday one of the unassuming ladies from local blog A Brooklyn Life took them up on their free class offer and experienced "some intense and almost violent stretching exercises" and "a series of poses that become progressively more awkward." It wasn't an entirely negative experience, but she didn't plan on going back. But in the post's comments, one reader suggested Googling "Dahn Yoga" "cult" and the search results are pretty spooky...

Cult expert Steve Hassan said, "This is a totalitarian, authoritarian Korean cult that wants you to stop thinking and become a clone." Hassan says he has counseled -- and deprogrammed -- 14 former Dahn Hak students and that, in his opinion, this organization fits the classic mold. "I see a lot of people after they've left the group. They're still distraught having panic attacks, anxiety attacks, sleep problems, nightmares."


A former Dahn Hak student told the I-Team, "I felt like I was in shock." This Las Vegas woman, we'll call her "Cheryl," says her experience with Dahn Hak was one of the worst decisions of her life. She visited the Dahn center in Summerlin to take yoga but quickly realized this wasn't like any yoga she knew about. The instructors told her they could basically fix whatever was wrong with her.

Cheryl said, "It will cure depression, your high blood pressure. It will cure any ailment, any medical ailment you might be suffering with." At the urging of her instructor, Cheryl signed up for a weekend retreat in California where she says she was systematically and emotionally deconstructed. She returned to Las Vegas a basket case.

She explained, "I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I felt like I was drugged." She was hospitalized for three days and then was treated by a psychiatrist who said she'd been through mental abuse similar to a prisoner of war. Cheryl continued, "...said it was a cult and I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder."

Master Lee, the Korean founder of the Dahn movement, reputedly possesses supernatural powers, healing powers, and believes himself on a par with Jesus or Buddha. Dahn yoga is regimented to get the body in shape so the mind can be tackled next. "Dr." Lee, who holds honorary degrees only, created the concept of brain respiration that is energizing and focusing the brain to the point that kids can read books without ever opening them. Children play a special role in the Dahn movement. In Korea, ads for Dahn are kid-friendly. The centers use cartoonish icons.