Unless our head aches or our memory fails, most of us do not concern ourselves with our brains. We often think that the brain lies outside of the realm of our influence. Although we know intellectually that the brain gives us the ability to enjoy our five senses, we forget about the brain itself because we are unable to directly experience it. We do not really think of our brain as a part of our body. Moreover, we are often taught that the brain’s intellectual capacity is genetically pre-programmed, negating any notion that we might develop and transform our own brain.

Ilchi Lee founder of Dahn Yoga says through his new book that our brain cells begin to age and die at birth. Because brain cells are not regenerated, their total number begins to decrease as soon as we are born. However, assuming you live for .1 hundred years, the total percentage of brain cell loss will be only about four percent. This means that decrease in brain function in the elderly cannot be satisfactorily explained by loss of brain cells. In actuality, the key factor in quality of brain function is the network of neural connections inside the brain. Although we are born with a predetermined number of brain cells, we are able to consciously create and alter neural connections.