(Clearwisdom.net) Scottsboro is a beautiful small city located in the mountains of northeast Alabama. Residents of different nationalities live peacefully in close community. On November 19, 2005, several residents were fortunate to learn an exercise that is spreading widely in the world: Falun Dafa.

The local newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, ran an advertisement for the upcoming free workshop, and many readers gained an initial understanding of this ancient exercise from the East. The notice read, "This free exercise has helped millions of people in over 60 countries to improve their health, purify their minds and uplift their spirits toward healthy, happy, and meaningful living." One reader called to ask, "Does this exercise have any age limitation?" A practitioner told her that the exercise had no age limitations. From small kids to the elderly, everyone can learn and practice the exercise. She was very happy to hear this and brought her husband and children to the workshop.

The practitioners arrived at the city's public library ahead of time to make preparations. One practitioner set up a display board outside the gate to introduce Falun Dafa, one practitioner set up the video projector equipment, and several other practitioners distributed flyers to the library readers inviting them to the free workshop.

The workshop began with a practitioner first playing a short video to introduce Falun Dafa and then teaching the exercises. They played a section of Master Li's teaching video followed by one-on-one gesture corrections. The students from young to old learned the exercises earnestly.

Learning the Falun Gong exercises

Father and son learn the exercises together

One man said, "This exercise is very good. The movements are slow and I felt very relaxed. My heart felt very calm too."

After learning the five sets of exercises, the students and practitioners sat in a circle to share their experiences. The practitioners talked about how they benefited from Falun Dafa and talked about the importance of reading the book, Zhuan Falun. One woman said that she had not heard of Falun Dafa before. After today's workshop, she found the exercises very easy to learn and they made her feel light and relaxed. She said she could concentrate better and wanted to read Zhuan Falun.

The practitioners also talked about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong in China and explained why the CCP is persecuting this peaceful practice.

Learning the fifth exercise

Veteran practitioners share experiences with new students