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Qigong
- Ancient Chinese
Healing
for
the 21st Century
Available
for sale online through
AsianConnections
!
Narrated
by James Shigeta (star of Flower Drum Song and Disney's
Mulan)
Directed
by Garri Garripoli
Videotape
length: 60 minutes
Qigong (pronounced "chee-gung") is a 5,000 year
old Chinese healthcare modality that has both endured the
test of time and is making a tremendous resurgence at the
threshold of the 21st Century. Literally millions practice
Qigong in China and around the world each day to successfully
treat diseases ranging from hypertension to cancer. The purpose
of this one-hour documentary is to provide a unique look into
the world where the elder Masters of this medical artform
dwell. Viewers will be taken on a journey deep into the Chinese
countryside to visit monasteries, temples, schools, and homes
of these Masters like the 93 year old female bonesetting Master
Lao and the spry 92 year old Wushu Master Duan Liang; seeing
them perform and teach their exercise and healing techniques
and hearing them speak in their original homeland settings
to gain historic perspective.
Thanks to the support of the
Chinese government, these Masters are being asked to come
into the public light. The reason they are being brought forward
is because of the tremendous scientific evidence that has
been accumulated to show the value of Qigong as component
of Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) as a treatment
for many chronic diseases that have no cure with Western Medicine.
The National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative
Medicine (OAM) in Washington, DC has funded in-depth CAM research
projects at 12 major universities across the U.S. including
Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and others. Twenty-nine
medical schools have included CAM courses in their basic curriculum
Some of these universities have even set up departments to
make permanent this area of study and incorporate Qigong in
their research criteria. This is concurrent with the Clinton
Administration's imperative to build a low-cost, all inclusive,
healthcare system for the populace. As Qigong moves into the
public awareness through these efforts and through the dozens
of videotapes and books coming onto the market, it seems critical
that an historic and cultural perspective is provided for
this "new" adjunct to our healthcare offerings.
A core message in this program will be to show that through
a melding of the East and West - a merging of traditional
methodologies and beneficial emerging-technologies - positive
solutions will be found to many problems that plague society
today. Qigong shows that people can take responsibility for
their own healthcare and achieve benefits for their body,
mind and spirit.
"Qigong - Ancient Chinese
Healing for the 21st Century" is produced and directed
by Garripoli, Emmy award winning graphics and special effects
designer, Tai Chi instructor and Qigong practitioner for 20
years. His expertise ensures a sensitive treatment of this
subject while making it accessible to the Western viewer.
The natural Chinese settings including Beijing, Datong, Luoyang,
the Shaolin Temple, Xian, Chengdu, Tibet, and Shanghai will
provide viewers with an insight into the wonders of the Chinese
landscape. The insights into the wonders of Qigong's medical
implications will be a unique offering for the growing number
of students, medical doctors, and healthcare professionals
from around the world. For all, it will be exciting to learn
of the history and current practice of this exciting cultural
gift from China which may hold the answer to better healthcare
in the next century.
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