(Minghui.org) Practitioners were invited to join the Jooga Festival in Helsinki, the capital and most populous city in Finland, which was held March 2 and 3, 2024. The Jooga (yoga) festival attracted qigong and yoga enthusiasts who were interested in improving their mental and physical health.

Many people stopped by the Falun Dafa booth as practitioners demonstrated the exercises, and some expressed an interest in learning them. They also signed a petition to urge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end the 24-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa. Many praised the practitioners for their persistent efforts to expose the egregious human rights violations in China.

Visitors at the Jooga Festival Helsinki learn how to do the Falun Dafa exercises.

The festival host arranged a place for the practitioners to teach the exercises, and many people signed up. One man said he felt strong energy and his hands became hot when he did the exercises. A woman said she felt comfortable and relaxed after she did them. A man said that one of his friends told him about Falun Dafa and suggested he try it. When he saw Falun Dafa listed in the festival brochure, he made sure he learned the exercises.

After Marjo from Hämeenlinna did the exercises she said that she felt “amazing.” She said she wanted to do the exercises regularly and asked if there was a Falun Dafa exercise site in Hämeenlinna.

Ilari and Ville were drawn to the Falun Dafa booth because they were curious about the three characters “Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance),” the principles of the practice. Ilari read the words out loud and said that he could sense energy from the exercises, which made him feel at ease.

After learning about the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China, Ilari said, “It’s insane. The CCP is evil. There are not many reports [about the persecution] in the media. The CCP is a dictatorship [and controls the information].”

Ilari said he had tried a qigong practice in the past, and was curious about philosophy, cultivation practice, and meditation. A practitioner suggested he read Zhuan Falun, Falun Dafa’s main book, and said it would answer his questions about life.

He left with the book and said that he enjoyed learning the exercises.

A woman from a nearby booth signed the petition, and said, “I like Falun Dafa. I’ve been to China and there is no freedom of speech. I know about the CCP’s human rights violations, and will ask my husband to come here and sign the petition, too.”

After Markku read a Falun Dafa flier, he said, “Years ago Finnish people did not know much about yoga or qigong. I know what happened in the persecution, and I support you.”