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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. |
