 Hello Earth citizens! This is Linda from Brain Education TV. Recently, I went to El Salvador and experienced the Brain Education tour with the Ibrea Foundation. First things first, if you're wondering what Brain Education is, it's the foundation of all the contents that we share on this channel. Brain Education is a comprehensive system of mind-body training for developing the brain's capacity to create physical, emotional, and mental health. The methods involve stretching, breathing, meditations, positive affirmations, and other mind-body exercises that rewire the brain to create an internal environment of health, happiness, and peace. And did you know? Brain Education spans all over the world! There are physical locations in five of seven continents where people can experience and practice Brain Education. Today, I will specifically focus on the Brain Education activities that are happening in El Salvador and Central America. This is the story of how Brain Education, with the help of a non-profit organization called the Ibrea Foundation, transformed a civil war-torn nation into a country of hope and peace. The first stop of our journey was Escuela Cantón San Roque, located just north of San Salvador. Elementary school students have been in the Brain Education program here since 2015, and they showed us a little demonstration of what they've been learning to manage their stress. I was really curious about how the students and teachers were affected by the Brain Education program from a direct perspective. So I asked the principal of this school, Daisy, about how she would describe it in her own words. Hola, me llamo Daisy Naves. Soy la directora de la Escuela San Roque y estoy muy contenta de estar participando en este programa. Es muy fabuloso y estoy dispuesta a practicar lo más y enseñarle a todos los niños de mi escuela. Next, I want to show you the school that started it all. This is the first school, a school en Distrito Italia, to receive the Brain Education pilot program in El Salvador. Distrito Italia is known as one of the poorest neighborhoods in El Salvador with the highest rates of crime and gang violence. You might never guess it from the looks of the school now, but it was once a completely different environment here. Many of the students either have family members who are in a gang or they have been personally affected by gang violence. The students of Distrito Italia greeted us with a beautiful performance of Arirang, which is a traditional Korean folk song about the joy of finding one's true self. Let's tune in for a moment. The students here from elementary all the way up to high school have been practicing Brain Education for over a decade. Here you see Laura. She was one of the first students to receive Brain Education training when she was a young mom at just 16 years old. At the school in Distrito Italia, there's one special place on campus that personally inspired me very deeply. In the middle of the school, there's a swimming pool with crystal clear water called Swimming Pool for Peace. Word got out in Distrito Italia about the positive physical, emotional, and mental changes that the students were experiencing in the school through Brain Education, so the parents and community members got together to give the students what they wanted most, which was a swimming pool. This is a sign at the entrance of the Swimming Pool for Peace, and it says, Swimming Pool for Peace, an initiative of Ilchi Lee, the founder of Brain Education and president of the International Brain Education Association, Ibrea. October 27, 2012. Discover your great inner value and manifest this value in your lives. Only then can you create peace inside yourselves, your communities, and in the world. Always have pride in the pioneering work of Brain Education that you did in this school in Distrito Italia from Ilchi Lee. The Ibrea Foundation has been implementing Brain Education programs in Distrito Italia continuously since 2011. Thanks to their efforts, Distrito Italia has improved so much. The residents are saying that the neighborhood is getting safer, and even the government is shocked at the transformation that this area is becoming more stable and peaceful. Isn't that so inspiring? We need to bring this to more communities around the world. Next, we headed westward to the famous Santa Ana Volcano, which happens to be the highest in the country. It was quite a long drive, but well worth the wait. We hiked in the forest within the volcano and even had a guide who explained the local plants and history of the grounds. We took some time to experience the meditation connecting with the energy of the forest, which was very refreshing and wonderful. Then finally, we hiked to a viewpoint to get a good look at the volcano. And... Tada! Check out this view! A view above the clouds. Wow! I couldn't believe this was real life. It looked right out of a movie. I could just sit here all day. Word got out far and wide about the Ibrea Foundation's impact on El Salvador with Brain Education, that it eventually caught the attention of the government of El Salvador. So the next day, we went to an event hosted by the government of El Salvador to present the work of Brain Education and the Ibrea Foundation to their employees. Lawyers, educators, public service workers, and many more attended the event who represented various sectors of the government. The Ibrea Foundation started implementing Brain Education in El Salvador in 2011. And since then, the program has now expanded to about 30% of the country's entire public school system. And this year, 20,000 teachers are on track to receive education from the Ibrea Foundation about how to bring the stress and emotional management methods of Brain Education into their schools across the nation. Isabel Pastore, the director of the Ibrea Foundation, gave the presentation and she was one of the key people who got this program going in El Salvador. The government employees had a chance to directly experience various Brain Education exercises and later had some time to openly share their ideas about the benefits they saw and felt and how they could use these techniques in their sector. It was absolutely inspiring to see their eyes and faces light up with excitement at the possibility of sharing healthy ways to manage stress and emotions. After the event, we visited two more schools, one in Usulutan and the other in Triumfo, both on the east side of the country. Here, too, we saw and heard how the teachers and students were experiencing better health, less stress, more emotional resiliency and better relationships as a result of Brain Education. It was especially inspiring to hear from the principals and teachers about how not only the students benefited from the program but also themselves because we all know teachers need a lot of help and support, too. Lastly, we experienced what I think was the highlight of the trip. This is the future site of the Ilchi Institute for Peace. Here, we'll be a building that will serve as the official education and training facility for people to become leaders in Brain Education and holistic well-being. So far, the Brain Education program in El Salvador has been growing as a grassroots movement in the schools. But now, with the construction of the institute, there will be an official home for Brain Education to grow in Central America, starting with neighboring countries like Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. The Ilchi Institute for Peace will have three main departments, Education, Research and Social Development. Just imagine a building here where people will be learning about peaceful solutions, experiencing mindful practices to create health of the body, mind and spirit, discussing initiatives to bring coexistence into communities and creating collaboration opportunities to spread this to as many countries who need it as possible. My heart flutters just imagining it all coming to life. Overall, I left this beautiful country inspired by what I saw. It was an unforgettable experience that humbled me and made me so proud to be a Brain Education instructor. I hope you watching this video can join us one day on a trip to El Salvador. We'll be waiting for you at the Ilchi Institute for Peace. Until then, hasta luego!