It's a noisy, fume-choked july afternoon in midtown Manhattan. Tempers are flaring in the crushing traffic and stifling heat of West 34th Street. But inside the Source of life Center, half a block from the Empire State Building, Terry Costiga and seven other refugees are enjoying the physiological equivalent of a cool ocean breeze. They're practicing Qigong (pronounced ehee-GONG), the ancient Chinese healing art that combines gentle movements with deep breathing, self-massage and meditation. At the instructor's gentle urging, the students raise their hands above their heads, pause and then push them down past their stomachs while breathing deeply and rhythmically. They repeat the move for 15 minutes, then sit down to meditate for 10 more. Afterward, Costiga, an athletic, 24-year-old computer programmer, heads back into the din with her mind clear, muscles relaxed and spirit restored. "I feel physically different," she says. "It takes the edge off a day's worth of stress."
展开▼
