He twists his arms with underwater-like motions, smoothly sweeping them around an imaginary sphere floating in front of his body. After five minutes, he slowly lowers his arms and asks if the audience saw anything unusual. A white, grayish haze all around you. Several others nod in agreement. As a qi gong master, the force is literally with Tse.
Practitioners say it strengthens organs against disease and illness while also reducing stress.
If it sounds as if it requires a leap of faith, consider that qi gong has been widely accepted in China for thousands of years. An estimated 90 million people practice it there, according to the American National Qi Gong Association. Rock paintings of people doing qi gong have been discovered dating back 4,000 years. At clinics in China, qi gong masters use energy to treat patients. Hundreds of styles have been developed.