Discovering Chi: Energy Exercises for Emotional Vitality

The third volume in the Discovering Chi series (see VL-3/96) opens with instructor Linda Modaro engaged in a kind of stationery bouncing motion for what seems like about 10 minutes. Officially called "bouncing," this exercise is the first of four phases of exercises/activities for pepping up one's emotional vitality. In phase two, viewers will learn movements for helping various organs. In the lung exercise, for example, we are told that the lung is associated with metal, which is related to a) the color white, b) sadness, c) a pungent taste, and d) autumn. How these items are linked is, frankly, any crackpot's guess, though I am relatively certain that no branch of logic or science would support such a connection. Phase three is simply sitting or lying down, and the final phase is journal writing. There is nothing remotely exceptional about the presentation (beyond the weirdness of some of the comments) except this: The director is William Gazecki, Oscar-nominated this year for Waco: The Rules of Engagement (VL-3/98). A better choice for those who seriously want to unblock their chi is Qigong (VL-7/97). Not recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)