By Sara StrongTwo Luverne women — one 71 and the other 92 — are stars of a new exercise video.Ardie Schmidt and Eloise Wohlford are featured in the video with Schmidt’s daughter, Ellie Drew, who is the instructor. Wohlford is also Drew’s grandmother.It isn’t exactly the typical "exercise" tape, however. It’s more of an instructional course in the ancient tradition of qigong.Pronounced chee-gong, the practice aims to improve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.Qigong is a good example of what’s old, becoming new again. It is believed to be one of the fastest growing forms of exercise and stress management.Wohlford says she notices physical and mental improvements when she keeps up with the practice."I just feel more active in general," she said.Schmidt said she is relaxed and calm after doing qigong. As far as doing an Eastern tradition deep in the Midwest, Schmidt says the grounded, practical people of Rock County would benefit."Especially older people," she said. "It doesn’t have any high impact and it helps you relax."Besides, she said, it takes about 25 minutes to go through a routine and it’s time well spent."Maybe we’re doing too many other things all the time," Schmidt said.Qigong has some similarities to the more commonly understood yoga. Both are more than just a series of body movements. Qigong is a combination of breath, posture and mind intention and is designed to promote a general well-being. The word qigong is made up of two Chinese words. Qi means invisible substance, such as breath or vital energy. (Think of it as vitality.) Gong means accomplishment or mastery that is cultivated through steady practice.The tape was presented to the National Qigong Association Annual Conference in August. Drew said, "Since then, people all over the country are writing back about how much they are inspired by a 92-year-old doing these ancient practices."The video was produced by the Institute for Conscious Change, of which Drew is president. She now lives in Tucson, Ariz.Healing thyself Drew realizes it may sound unusual to most people, but she said she discovered years ago that she had healing powers and a unique sense of detecting problems."I spontaneously developed this healing ability," Drew said. She could sense people’s "energies" and saw them improve after her treatments, sometimes on cancer patients.Drew, a 1977 graduate of Luverne, got into qigong when she was treating a patient in her massage therapy business and noticed the patient’s energies change over a six-week period. The 70-year-old woman had been practicing qigong, and Drew was intrigued.That was 1988. Now, she teaches qigong and is even a founding member of the National Qigong Association.It’s a long way from her days of living on a farm near Edgerton and helping with the family A&W in Luverne."My family has always believed in me. … But even very conservative people have come up to me and said how much they enjoy and appreciate qigong," Drew said.Rather than going to Drew for healing, she said qigong is about self healing. Some medical doctors have worked with Drew and have been supportive of the practice with their patients."I’d rather teach people to heal themselves than heal them. People have to take responsibility for their own health," Drew said.Some of those principles she picked up during her time in three Beijing hospitals, where medicine is practiced differently.More about qigongQigong was traditionally held in secret by spiritual masters, martial artists and the elite of society until the 1980s. The techniques and theories were often deliberately kept secret passed down through oral tradition to one person in order to keep these healing secrets. Today nearly 70 percent of urban Chinese practice it in different forms, as do many others around the world.Qigong can reduce stress, prevent disease, treat chronic pain, speed healing and recovery time after illness or surgery, improve coordination, relieve fatigue, enhance immune function, increase circulation, cultivate more energy and stamina, and calm the mind and emotions Western scientific research confirms that qigong reduces hypertension and the incidence of falling in the aged population.Ellie Drew will present two free Qigong for Health seminars for the public at 7 p.m. on November 17 and 18th in the Human Services building.Videos will be available there, or they can be purchased online at www.ConsciousChange.org.
