(Clearwisdom.net) "With body standing upright, push both hands forward. The fingers point up. Keep the arms at the shoulder level. After the arms are straightened, stretch the whole body..." In the afternoon of October 24, attendees of the 30^th annual conference of Yoga Research Society (YRS) did "Vajra Toppling a Mountain" (part of the fist exercises of Falun Gong) in Thomas Jefferson University following Dr. Jingduan Yang, a psychiatrist of the University.

Psychiatrist Yang of Thomas Jefferson University gave a lecture on Falun Gong to the 30th annual conference of Yoga Research Society

Conference attendees worked very hard to learn Falun Gong exercises

After performing Falun Gong exercises, Suiya Green, a respected Yoga researcher, said: "I feel wonderful and very happy. I feel very energetic now and it [Falun Gong] is really great!"

The annual YRS conference traditional invites individuals to lecture on Yoga and Qigong and for the first time YRS added a Falun Gong lecture this year.

"I quit smoking shortly after I started to practice Falun Gong. I had been smoking for 10 years by that time, " Dr. Yang said, he then went on to talk about Qigong and cultivation. His talk was very easy to understand and very interesting. After his talk, some attendees asked him to teach the Falun Gong exercises. Then, following Yang's demonstration and instruction, everyone started to do the exercises.

"The feedback of this talk was very good. Many people seemed to have been looking for Falun Gong. Therefore, they were very excited when they heard my introduction, " Dr. Yang said. Yang said that a bookstore owner whose husband practices Falun Gong also attended the conference. The lady told Yang that her store had Falun Gong materials and she asked him to send more periodically.

Jingduan also talked about the ongoing persecution of 100 million Falun Gong practitioners in China including his sister who is still being detained in a Chinese labor camp.

"I have heard about the persecution of Falun Gong and I feel very sorry for this. There were also persecutions in the history. Nevertheless, goodness has always defeated evil in the end. I believe that Falun Gong will prevail as long as practitioners stay firm in their practice and belief. With time past by, Falun Gong will for sure receive more recognition..." said Suiya Green.