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The Cult Dossier · No. 124 · Eastern-Derived

Dahn Yoga

Body and Brain; Ilchi Lee's organisations

1985 – present · South Korea; USA (Sedona, Arizona)

XII. THE WIDER FIELD — CONCISE ENTRIES

Presents as a health practice

Who led it

ILCHI LEE (Lee Seung-heun, b. 23 December 1950), who says he gained his insights through 21 days of fasting and meditation without sleep on Moaksan in his early thirties. HE IS NO LONGER IN DIRECT MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTRES, and this file previously implied he still led them; he remains the movement’s author and figurehead and oversees affiliated bodies including the International Brain Education Association and the University of Brain Education. See L090.

What it worshipped and taught

Brain education and energy training derived loosely from Korean Sundo practice, sold through escalating workshop tiers costing tens of thousands of dollars. Former members and instructors allege unpaid labour, sleep deprivation on retreats, and pressure to recruit family.

Who was in it

Ilchi Lee; JULIA SIVERLS, 41, who DIED OF HEAT STROKE AND DEHYDRATION on a master-training hike at the Sedona centre in 2003; the 27 plaintiffs of the 2009 federal suit.

How it ended, or where it stands

ACTIVE UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME, which is the point most easily missed: DAHN YOGA BECAME BODY & BRAIN IN 2015 and still runs for-profit studios and community centres. No new litigation against the organisation was found for 2025 or 2026.

The dead

1 (heat stroke, 2003)

Of note

Representative of the wellness-franchise model, in which the coercive structure sits inside a chain of ordinary-looking storefront studios.

Its timeline

  1. 1985 First centre opens in Seoul.
  2. 2003 Julia Siverls dies during a Dahn training hike. Her family's wrongful-death suit is dismissed as against Lee in 2006, with the court finding no evidence linking him to her death, and in full in 2008.
  3. 2009 27 former members sue in federal court in Arizona alleging fraud, undue influence, wage violations and racketeering; most claims are dismissed that November.
  4. 1 APRIL 2013 The case is dismissed with nothing paid to the plaintiffs; some are ordered to pay the defendants 11,072.07 dollars in costs.
  5. 2015 Dahn Yoga becomes BODY & BRAIN, which lists more than 70 US locations.

Its people

Ilchi Lee

Lee Seung-heun

Founder, Dahn Yoga / Body and Brain · born 23 December 1950 · active 1985–present

Says he gained his insights through 21 days of fasting and meditation on Moaksan in his early thirties, and built a global chain of storefront studios selling 'brain education' through escalating workshop tiers costing tens of thousands of dollars. Former instructors allege unpaid labour, sleep deprivation on retreats and pressure to recruit family. her family's suit against him was dismissed.

Before the law. Never criminally charged. The civil suits against him were dismissed.

Where things stand. LIVING — confirmed active into August 2026 through his own publishing. THE ORGANISATION DID NOT CLOSE, IT RENAMED: DAHN YOGA BECAME BODY & BRAIN IN 2015 and continues to run for-profit studios and community centres, a fact this file should carry because the group is now generally encountered under the new name. He has published 36 books and oversees affiliated bodies including the INTERNATIONAL BRAIN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION and the UNIVERSITY OF BRAIN EDUCATION. HE IS NO LONGER IN DIRECT MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTRES, by his own account. The federal action brought by 27 FORMER PRACTITIONERS ran from 22 MAY 2009 TO 1 APRIL 2013; it alleged brainwashing and financial exploitation, and that Lee sexually preyed on young female disciples. It was dismissed with no money paid, and some plaintiffs were ordered to pay 11,072.07 dollars in costs. NO NEW LITIGATION AGAINST THE ORGANISATION WAS FOUND FOR 2025 OR 2026. As with Prem Rawat (L046), current activity is documented largely through the subject’s own channels.

  1. 1985 First centre opens in Seoul.
  2. 2003 Julia Siverls dies during a training hike; the wrongful-death suit is dismissed as against Lee in 2006 and in full in 2008.
  3. 2009 27 former members sue in federal court in Arizona; most claims are dismissed that November.
  4. 1 APRIL 2013 The suit is dismissed with nothing paid to the plaintiffs.
  5. 2015 Dahn Yoga becomes Body & Brain, with more than 70 US locations.

Checked 2026-09-16 · living: health details are kept at home

Julia Siverls

—

Died during a Dahn Yoga training exercise · 1962 – 6 July 2003 · active 2003

A 41-year-old professor of sociology at a New York community college, with a doctorate, who had committed to Dahn Yoga's training programme. On a retreat in Sedona, Arizona, she took part in a hike in temperatures around 100°F while carrying a heavy backpack and, according to the subsequent suit, having been restricted in food and water. She collapsed and died of heat stroke. Her family's wrongful-death suit was dismissed — as against Ilchi Lee in 2006, with the court finding no evidence linking him to her death, and in full in 2008. Her death is the clearest single instance in this dossier of the wellness-retreat model producing a fatality through endurance practices presented as spiritual training.

Before the law. Civil suit dismissed. No criminal charges.

Where things stand. Deceased 2003, aged 41.

  1. 2000s Joins Dahn Yoga while working as a college professor.
  2. 6 JULY 2003 Collapses and dies of heat stroke during a training hike near Sedona, Arizona, aged 41.
  3. 2006–2008 Her family's wrongful-death suit is dismissed.
  4. 2009–2013 A federal suit by 27 former members alleges a pattern of coercion; it is dismissed in 2013 with nothing paid.

Checked 2026-09-16

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