chun hwa

Sedona Red

2008-04-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am officially moving to Sedona.

Land of red rocks, perfect skies and unbelievable vortex energy spiraling up from the earth to the heavens.

The first time I visited Sedona was in January 2004, and I was beginning my journey as a Dahn healer.

I remember the drive down 89A from Flagstaff. It was like driving through a country Christmas card.
Snow on the ground, red barns and farmhouses covered with perfect white blankets. Warm lights beginning to twinkle from the windows as the sun made its way towards the horizon.
The drive winding down towards Oak Creek, feeling like I was driving through the mountains of North Carolina, evergreens and water and rocks and many a hairpin turn.

And then....

The red rocks.

I'd heard about them, seen photos of them, but it was like heaven itself was unfolding before my eyes in heartbreaking beauty. It literally took my breath away.

From that moment, my soul decided that this is home.

And now, it will become my new physical home.

For how long? Not sure.

New Mexico has been a true home for me. Another place that I had time to grow and develop. (The only other home on my list is South Carolina). And I will miss this beautiful desert, but I know that it is time to move on.

New Mexico, you are the place of my rebirth.
You are the place I left the shininess of my youth, and accepted the responsibility of my adulthood.

Sedona, here I come.

Crazy YEHA Girls

2008-03-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from the National YEHA (Young Earth Human Alliance) Camp in Sedona, AZ.

These girls are from New Mexico, and they rocked the house with their rendition of "Tell Me" (see my previous posts!)

For the full video of their performance see my sister blog. dahnyogalove.blogspot.com

"Tell Me" Craze!

2008-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

This is such a phenomenon in Korea. This girl group "Wondergirls" have made a sensation. The funniest part is that a group of REAL police officers in Korea learned the dance and started performing it to make the citizens happy. This clip shows them + another "Tell Me" sensation Jae Doo (cutest little boy in the whole freaking world).

Please enjoy. Once you're hooked, though, you may never get the song out of your head. :) We even danced this at my end-of-year meeting with all the other Dahn Yoga instructors! Can't get enough!

Pungseon (Balloons)

2007-12-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hopefully that worked. This is a dance I'm preparing for my end-of-year meeting with all the jidoja in America. Enjoy!

A couple more pictures of Soda Dam

2007-11-16T18:45:00.001-08:00

Soda Dam

2007-11-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

Last week, all of the jidojas and I went up to Jemez Springs for a quick hike around Soda Dam. It was very beautiful as a lot of the leaves haven't fallen yet, so they're shining fiery golds and reds. Also, it had been a really long time since I'd been hiking or outside in nature. Such good energy.

We even had to cross a not-so-little stream together. Good times.

River Refugee

2007-09-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

I just had to put this up here. The K-Crew and I all went to Pagosa Springs last month for a weekend of R&R. I took them all on what should have been a "white" water rafting trip, but what turned into (thanks to the plentiful rain) a chocolate milk rafting trip.

The water was so muddy and brown, it was literally like riding down Willy Wonka's chocolate river.

At first we were all avoiding getting splashed and muddied, but about halfway through we gave up and instead turned it into a sort of "mud"ball fight.

As you can see, this is Hwakyung nim in the aftermath of the battle.

A true refugee. hahaha!

hey buddy!

2007-08-03T19:23:00.001-07:00

hey buddy!
Originally uploaded by Melissa Koci

This little guy posed for me! What a smile.

Enjoy this snail kiss and pass it on....

You know, it is a minor miracle that there is a snail in New Mexico. They usually can't survive the arid climate, but recently we've had lots and lots of rain (like, raining every afternoon for 3 days is what we call a MONSOON).

Rain is so funny in New Mexico. It's like, no one ever thinks it's really going to happen (which is somewhat true. it only rains about 20ish days out of the WHOLE YEAR). So they don't make holes for the water to go!

So everytime it rains fairly hard, the streets fill up with water and you half expect some gondolier to start floating up beside your car window singing. Okay. Maybe I just wish that, but seriously, the sewer holes are usually on an uphill. C'mon. Duh.

see, i went to college!

2007-08-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

did you notice I figured out how to make a link?

sometimes i outdo myself. the agony of genius...

The Flying Star

2007-08-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

The Flying Star Cafes are by far some of the hippest trendiest little places in Albuquerque. They are owned and operated by a very brilliant husband and wife team from right here in Burque. (pronounced bur-kee for all of you non-New Mexican folk.) They've been in business for 20 years, and they have cafes and their little coffee shop spinoffs (Satellite Coffee) all over Albuquerque. They seem to have the eye for trendy and delicious atmosphere. I want to make Dahnyoga centers as popular as these great little eateries.

Now pay me 20 bucks, Flying Star, for plugging you on my blog.

Okay, okay. I'll take the free internet access as payment.

Fun with Photobooth

2007-07-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

My new Macbook is taking me into a whole new world of productivity and creativity (and truthfully, a good bit of unproductivity, too). I love it. This is me getting all artsy.

Oh, by the way, for anyone who actually reads this blog who doesn't know where all the photos from my trip to SC are, here's the link:

http://flickr.com/photos/mskoci/

Wish I knew enough about HTML to make that a little prettier....

All in good time....
All in good time....

Gratitude

2007-07-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share my July joy with all of you out in cyberspace!

10 Things I'm Grateful for Today:

1. Sunday sunshine with nothing to do
2. Smiles on my friends' faces
3. Sleeping until the sun hits my face through the window
4. Having a dream of world peace
5. Working with people who have the same dream
6. Making it come true 1 person at a time
7. My family who supports me whether they understand me or not
8. Having a teacher who is True
9. Full belly of french toast

10. Just being itself.

I love you all!! Please find your 10 grateful things today (or more!)

Memories of Youth

2007-06-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

funny stuff. I call this the "Roll de Deux Personnes" (that's mock French for all of you untraveled folk)

I'm always trying to find new ways to challenge myself. This was the latest in my new endeavor to be circus-ready. You know, one never knows when one can be called upon to do some kind of circus act. (At least that's the theory I've been living my life with - more people should really try it.)

Recently I've been trying to walkover backwards on my hands. I find myself wishing my mom had put me in piano and gymanstics when I was 6.

There is a reason most gymnasts are under the age of 13. And it's not just flexibility.

If you tell a 6 year old to just lean backwards and walkover, they just do it. If you tell a 27 year old, then she stands there halfway leaning back and thinking: "What if I land on my head? What if my hands aren't strong enough? What if what if what if?" And if you tell a 45 year old, they just laugh at you.

I went to a gymnastics gym to see if there was any hope for me, and the person behind the desk sort of looked at me like "What are you doing here" She thought I was there to pick up my "daughter." Yes, gymnastics is seriously age-biased. She said they have an adults class on MW at 8:30. Great! That's for me! I imagined several 30-40 somethings praciticing their cartwheels and handsprings and what not.

Not even close.

Apparently the term "adult" in gymnastics-speak means: those who have already passed the golden age of 13 and have not yet become old and grey at 23.

Literally, every one in that room was in high school, or just beginning their young adulthood of 21.

Even the gym coach was younger than me. No, not intimidating at all! :) And of course all of those "adults" used to be those little 7-something gymnastic prodigies. The coach didn't really inspire any confidence when I talked to him. Apparently after 23, they put you out to pasture. There's no use. You are far too old!

Basically he said you can come in and do whatever you want. If I have time then I'll grace you with my presence. Then as a nice little closing remark he looked back over his shoulder and shouted

"Just don't get hurt!"

He might as well have said

"Just don't get hurt, grandma!"

Sigh. I didn't plan on facing my advancing age until at least 30. Here it is now at 27.

For any of you 20 somethings who think you are so youthful and never going to age- go over to the gymnastics gym and get a dose of leotard reality.

Anyway. In spite of those age-biased naysayers, I will do a back walkover before August 31st, and move on to my dream - the back handspring before my 28th birthday (October 19th).

Because who knows what 28 will feel like!

Love your age - ignore it, embrace it, but most of all - ENJOY IT!!!

Long time, no see. Sorry, blog.

2007-06-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Hi, blog (and any other passerbys). I'm not really sure that anyone ever reads these, but here I am!

Recently I was promoted to regional director for New Mexico. The first American! I had a lot of responsibility before, but now responsibility should have a capital "R". Now, I have a lot of Responsibility.

Okay, blog. Now you are updated for the world to see. All you passerbys, I love you!

Training

2007-05-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share this. This is what Dahn masters do at night. :) We stand on our hands and walk around! It's called "HSP 12 steps" HSP (Health, Smile, Peace) and 12 steps from step#1 - pushups to step #12 - handwalking (36steps).
After a full day of taking care of the center and the members, we train hard at night to stay physically strong and mentally clear.
A lot of these people handstanding never even tried this before, and are well into their 30's. And if you've ever attempted something like this after 30, you know how challenging that can be. Gotta give props.

Peepers

2007-05-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

my eyes - by me

The K-Crew

2007-05-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

This is my K-crew.

We all went to Carlsbad together. This is a really good shot of all of them at once.

They are some of the most amazing, dedicated, passionate human beings on the planet.

La Zona Del Crepusculo

2007-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you have never been through "La Zona Del Crepusculo" (or as the gringos call it "The Twilight Zone), you have missed a very important wonder of the world.

The Twilight Zone I am referring to is not good ol' Hitchcock's creepy TV show, but a real world twilight zone that exists underneath one of the most unassuming little podunk towns of New Mexico.

Yes. It is Carslbad Caverns.

I was there when I was 15 (and I can't remember a thing about it, except watching thousands and thousands of bats fly out of the cave at dusk.) You know, at 15 my mind wasn't focused on the natural beauty around me. It was always occupied with some stupid member of the opposite sex. Okay, for some of yous guys, that never changed. ;)

As I got further underground this inescapable urge to hide in the cave until they turned all the lights out kept gnawing at me. And there were so many places to hide...

Photographing the caverns was an interesting feat. I came out with quite a few unintentional creative masterpieces. (In my opinion anyway).

This is the Whale's Mouth. The Devil made an appearance in my picture.

Thanks, Satan. You look great!

I was mesmerized by this place. It awakened this deep desire to go crawling around in the dark with a flashlight attached to my head. And made me think of the word "spelunking" a lot. Which linked to another funny memory of a stupid computer game I used to play "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego". The spelunking clue always took you to West Virginia. And probably none of you have any idea what I'm babbling about.

Maybe lil' bro will understand?

View from below, looking up. Yup. That's the ceiling.

All those little stalactites just waiting for the next drip drop of sulfuric acid or whatever it is making such a beautiful mess down there.

This one turned out really well. That's hell down there in the crevice.

Yeah, we were pretty far underground.

A true wonder of the world. Next time I'm going for the crawling tour. :)

Flowers...

2007-04-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

These are flowers I sent to my Mom for kicking some butt at Dahn Mu Do school. Yep. My mom went to 2 weeks of intense, hardcore martial arts school. She is quite a human being. My brother's friend in Chucktown created these. She is a true floral genius.

HEALERS!!!!

2007-04-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

These are Dahn healers.

What is a Dahn healer?

A person actively creating their own health, happiness and peace and sharing that ability with the world around them.

They are truly great human beings.

Annie on the far left works her butt off everyday to share this with children in the Albuquerque Public School System. Her dream is to touch 100,000 children in 10 years. Right now she is working to get this into 100 schools by the end of 2007.

Just imagine if children really knew their great potential and inner power from the very beginning. Instead of getting that confidence educated out of them for 12+ years.

Yong Soo on the inner right is getting trained in a program that is delivered to corporations for teambuilding and productivity. Imagine if all the 9 to 5ers in the world spent their day becoming healthier, happier and more peaceful and actively working to make their biggest dreams come true instead of throwing their humanity away to climb the corporate ladder.

Dahn healers are REAL HOPE in the world.

Dahn Healers!! I love you!!

Motorcycle Mama

2007-04-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

I am officially a motorcycle woman. Whatever that means. I think everyone should ride and drive a motorcycle at least once in their life. Now I know what all the fuss is about. It really is fun. The guy is one of my members who is taking classes with his wife. His wife has Parkinson's and just after a month of training she has been walking so much better (without a cane, I might add). Also she had lost her ability to write, and now she is writing beautifully. It takes a little time, but when she writes something it looks like a work of art to me. Such good people.

The Art of Being Limitless

2007-04-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing human being. His name is O-woon. He is a master of himself and an incredible martial artist. And..... he'll be in New Mexico in just a few weeks!

He is a master of Dahn Mu Do - a martial art for enlightenment. Dahn Mu Do can be translated as "The Art of Being Limitless"

Whenever he does a demonstration, he doesn't just show a beautiful posture or form, but he completely expresses that perfect thing we each have inside of us. And inspires the audience to strive for that.

Here's a link to a great video.
http://www.dahnyoga.com/dahnmudo/

Awaken your limitless power within....

Through the eyes of a child...

2007-04-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

The little girl I met on Sunday took this picture. I let her borrow our center camera and run around and take pictures (most of which were a little scattered, not centered and a little ordinary). When it was time for her to go, I told her "Okay. You only have one more picture." And she spent a good 5 minutes looking around, scouting for her perfect shot.

And I would have to say... She found it.

Time to blog??

2007-04-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

I never thought I'd actually have time to have a blog. Or that I would actually use the word "blog" to describe one of my actions. We'll see how long this lasts. I remember "Live journal" of days gone by where I could post my thoughts and dreams. I actually just cancelled that journal a few months ago. It was funny to look back into my mind at those times.

I am hoping this will encourage me to share more of my life with those people that I don't see day to day (or for several years at a time). I am hoping to take more pictures and post them and let the outside world see glimpses of my life.

Chun Hwa means - become one with the Heaven, or True completion. That's where my soul is going. That's what I'm living for.

Hopefully this little blog will bring more light and love into the world around me and become a great creative outlet for my soul.

Thanks to my little bro who blogs, too. :)