Exercises that refine mind, body and spirit

Need a little boost of energy just a few short weeks into the new year? Is the January cold sapping your strength? Maybe Falun Dafa is the answer.

Falun Dafa is the latest in a wave of Asian mind-body exercise styles that have traveled across the Pacific. We've had yoga; we've had tai chi.

And now, thanks to a local couple, we have Falun Dafa. Li Huang and her husband, Bob McWee, of Middletown, are offering classes at the William R. Talley Recreation Center in Falun Dafa. The classes are free, and any age is welcome.

Ongoing classes will be completed this week, but practices will be offered at the Talley Center every Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Ms. Huang, an electrical engineer, says anyone from children to the elderly can learn Falun Dafa. "I cannot do many sports," she said. "I could not run or do anything strenuous. But since I started to practice Falun Dafa, I am full of energy."

Ms. Huang, a native of China, was in a biking accident when she was 7. After that, her right leg would ache if she did anything strenuous. About two years ago, after she had left China and moved to the United States, she learned about Falun Dafa.

Like many Chinese, she had practiced tai chi and liked the energetic feeling it gave her. Falun Dafa, however, goes a step beyond tai chi in the area of moral standards, she said. There are three cosmic principles associated with Falun Dafa, she said. Those are truthfulness, compassion or benevolence and tolerance or forbearance.

"If you follow these principles, you will achieve a higher moral standard," she said.

Falun Dafa was introduced in China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi, whose followers know him as Master Li. Also known as Falun gong, it is based on Zhen-Shan-Ren, which translated means truth-compassion-forbearance. Cultivation of mind, body and spirit is an important aspect of the Asian cultures.

Falun Dafa is characterized by the cultivation of a Falun, or a law wheel, located in the lower abdomen. Followers say the Falun, an intelligent spinning body of high-energy substance, automatically absorbs energy from the universe and rids the body of negative elements. The rotation of the law wheel is said to synchronize with the rotation of the universe.

Five exercises make up Falun Dafa. Three are active exercises while two are meditative. The exercises involve raising the hands over the head and doing gradual stretching movements. The exercises are taught in a series of nine lessons, and are usually done in group settings. The fifth exercise involves a deep, tranquil meditation.

Falun Dafa does not take up a specific amount of time. "I may wake up early and do it for one to two hours, but it is whenever you have the time," Ms. Huang said. Each of the movement sequences requires three minutes, while the meditation requires as much time as one wants to give.

"The movements are done to music that is slow and beautiful," Ms. Huang said. "The key point is that all humans originate from a spiritual level, and should return to the heavens." The teachings contain elements of Buddhism and Taoism, although Falun Dafa is not actively a part of a religion.

"There is no formal worship," she said. Instead, Falun Dafa is based on the principles of enlightenment. "The first person to introduce tai chi to this country now also practices and teaches Falun Dafa," Ms. Huang said.

Falun Dafa has been around for less than eight years, but already 100 million people are said to practice it, she said.

She found it made a big difference in the twisted nerve she felt in her leg. "Now, I can play, I can run, no problem," she said. She said she feels less tired since she began Falun Dafa. When she first moved to Middletown, she was earning a second master's degree at Hood College and feeling tired much of the time. "When I started practicing, I found my mind is so sharp," she said. "I would spend less time on school and yet I was more efficient. It helped me in work and school."

The founder, Master Li, has said that Falun Dafa does not heal illnesses. He wrote, however, "As a genuine practitioner, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body....The body purification will be done only to those who genuinely study the practice and Dafa."

According to falundafa.org, the Internet site for Falun Dafa, those who perform Falun Dafa exercises come from many backgrounds, from homemakers to scientists. It is performed in China, Europe, Australia, Russia and all over the United States and Canada.

The classes are always offered for free, Ms. Huang said. Donations are not accepted. Falun Dafa is not done for commercial purposes, she said. The classes often take place outdoors in public parks.

Although Falun Dafa originated in China, it is no longer sanctioned by the communist government there. It had been registered with the Qigong Research Association of China, an organization formed after the Cultural Revolution that was dedicated to cultivating universal life energy.

According to Falun Dafa literature, Falun Dafa's goal of guiding people to higher dimensions went beyond that of other Qigong organizations in China, which were dedicated to healing illness and keeping fit. Falun Dafa now has no status in Chinese society. Its founder now lives in New York state.

All activities are open to the public, although Falun Dafa's emphasis is on personal development, not on organizing events. That's why Ms. Huang decided to begin a Falun Dafa training course in Frederick. She recruited Tao Wang, of Rockville, to lead the classes.

Her husband, an American whom she met while he was in China, was slow to warm up to Falun Dafa, but now practices with her.

"I am a scientist, but in my spare time, I like to check out mind things," she said. "I always feel the good things you cannot buy for money. This is what I was looking for."