Concentrating on nothing but the music and finding their inner peace, 12 people gathered in Centennial Park on a recent Sunday morning, their arms stretched overhead, their eyes closed, their feet shoulder width apart.

One of the participants, Yuwei Zhang, let her arms fall to her side as she walked off the concrete stage. She put weekly Falun Gong exercises on hold to share her story of perseverance and survival -- a private version of an international story about a spiritual exercise with a long and sometimes troubled history.

Zhang, of Ellicott City, has been a dedicated practitioner of Falun Gong since 1996 -- so dedicated that she endured torture and imprisonment in her native China, in part so that she can freely practice this spiritual discipline.

Every Sunday at the F. Leonard Dunn Amphitheater in Centennial Park, Zhang and about a dozen other people gather for two hours to participate publicly in the meditation exercise they have come to value. They spend an hour in various standing poses, then another hour in seated meditation.

According to the Falun Dafa Association, Falun Gong is a non-religious, spiritual discipline derived from Buddhism and Daoism. It is based on three universal characteristics: truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

Although the discipline dates back to ancient China, its popularity began growing in 1992, when it was first taught publicly in China. According to the association, those who attended the teachings soon experienced profound benefits in their health and daily lives.

Zhang, for example, said after she began practicing at the urging of her husband, Liusong Ding, her back pain immediately disappeared.

By 1998, according to the Falun Dafa Association, at least 70 million people had taken up the practice in China alone.

Crackdown in China

But in 1999, the Chinese central government began a campaign to subdue the Falun Gong organization, according to a 2006 report to Congress written by Thomas Lum, a specialist in Asian Affairs with the Congressional Research Service. According to the report, the government suppressed Falun Gong out of fear of a possible political challenge and of social unrest.

Another local Falun Gong practitioner, David Tian, of Columbia, said the Chinese Communist Party felt threatened by the rapid growth and organization of the discipline. Tian said the communists were "so paranoid of the discipline even though it was peaceful."

Zhang was one of the targets of the crackdown. She said she was arrested four times and her apartment was ransacked. She said she was detained at a detention center and even forced to live in an all-male inmate building.

"The guards wanted me to slander Falun Gong but I refused to do so," she said. "I was not allowed to sleep when what I said did not satisfy them.

"After a few weeks of being tortured like this, I felt that I could no longer bear it."

A harassed Zhang eventually wrote a statement denouncing her practice of Falun Gong and its benefits, after which she was released from prison. Although the statement was her pathway to freedom, she still feels guilty about it to this day.

"I reluctantly said bad things about Falun Gong, which to this day I deeply regret," Zhang said.

Zhang, a research fellow with the National Cancer Institute, came to this country in 2004 after receiving a post-doctoral position at the National Institutes of Health. Her husband and daughter followed a year later.

Today, both Zhang and Ding are among the group who attend the weekly free, two-hour Falun Gong sessions in Centennial Park.

'Highly visible' in U.S.

Although the number of practitioners in this country is hard to pin down, Lum's report stated the spiritual exercise group has become "highly visible" in the United States since 1999.

Tian, who came to the U.S. in 1993, before the persecution began, said the exercises "promote a tolerance between people -- helping them deal with stress and interpersonal conflicts."

He said anyone can participate in Falun Gong, whether Chinese or not.

At Centennial Park, many passersby stop to read a sign propped in the grass in front of the practitioners which reads "Falun Dafa: a traditional self-cultivation practice for mind and body."

Although few people join in, many pause to watch for a few minutes or take one of the pamphlets hanging from the sign.

Tian said no one specifically leads the group because the exercises are "fairly easy to learn." He said when new people join, he or another experienced Falun Gong practitioner will assist them with the poses.

At a recent Sunday morning session Tian was helping a newcomer with his seated mediation pose.

"Soon he will be more flexible and at ease with the poses," Tian said.

Zhang and Ding both said they were overjoyed to be practicing and sharing this discipline in the United States.

"I like this country because I have the freedom to practice Falun Gong anywhere at any time. I'm finally able to sleep peacefully and I don't have to think about the Chinese authorities who would wait outside of my door and arrest us at any time," Ding said.