Stress relief, increased energy, and flexibility, all among the common, familiar benefits of Dahn Yoga practice, can make a huge difference to people facing an illness that creates a significant reduction in these very qualities of life.

In classes throughout the country, about fourteen health care professionals, and others who have improved their own lives with Dahn Yoga, are taking the practice to about two hundred people who may need it most.

Oona Oh Haynes of the WayneView Care Center, a sub-acute and long-term care facility in Wayne, New Jersey, had invited Gregory Quinn to teach Dahn Yoga at WayneView with the hope it could help prevent falls among the elderly patients and residents.

After Gregory established the twice monthly class, what Oona found was that participants also increased their upper body strength, became more flexible, and reduced any stress and sadness. They felt more comfortable and more in touch with their body and, even though they are aging, seem to possess more vigor. Many of the patients and residents have commented, “I feel less tired than before.” Oona observes, “It’s great when Gregory laughs with them. It’s a laughter that comes from deep inside and they can’t help laughing with him. And, as they say, laughter is the best medicine.”

Jackie Addis of the Cedar Crest, New Mexico Body + Brain Center, also found less stress and increased energy from her classes. “I was seeing a big difference in myself at work from taking Dahn Yoga, so I thought I would help my coworkers.” A physical therapist at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, she and her coworkers often deal with a lot of stress and emotions in their patients, especially those returning from the current war and struggling with post traumatic stress disorder. To help them, Jackie has been teaching a weekly class for staff on Tuesdays from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm. She also uses Dahn Yoga techniques with her patients.

Donna, a licensed practical nurse who has tried Lea Ramos’s Dahn Yoga class at Optimal Health Primary Care in Henderson, Nevada, concurs with, “The class was great—amazing. You have this tingling sensation that makes you alert and awake. You feel really good about yourself. It’s opening up every single sense in your body that makes you feel really alert. Afterward I was able to feel really good. I expected to feel sore the next day but I didn’t. Instead, I had a huge burst of energy. That’s the most important thing to me. Usually I’m stressed and busy, and I feel tired when I wake up. But the next morning I woke up without my alarm.”

At the request of Dr. Brown, owner of the clinic, Lea has been teaching a class in a back room since February of this year and hopes to continue its expansion. When one woman came to the clinic after getting hit by an autistic child, Lea could not help but say, “I want to teach these kids.”

Katie Brisley-Logue of Union Square Center in New York City is already teaching Brain Education to children and adults with autism and other disabilities through her human resource work at YAI Network, a network of agencies based that provide over 450 programs for people of all ages with developmental disabilities as well as their families. Katie has taught managers at stress management workshops, the staff at home care facilities, and parents of children and adults with disabilities. She has also helped arrange for YAI Day Service program participants to learn pre-vocational skills at the Union Square Center in exchange for classes. Presently, Katie is helping the International Brain Education Association (IBREA) start a pilot project in which YAI staff learn how to teach BE to students with disabilities.

— Michela Mangiaracina