Chi Kung Student Finds Peace Amidst Life's Challenges

Dear Dr. Stewart,
This letter is long overdue in expressing my gratitude to you and the magnificent staff at the Institute for Health & Healing. I've often wondered where I would be today if I had not discovered Chi Kung and Master Ko Wong. This class facilitated rapid healing with my severe should injury and helped me move through some very disturbing issues. The transformation that has taken place over the past year has reached a deeper level than I imagined possible. I have found that Chi Kung is the glue that holds me together. Thank you for offering this phenomenal program and special thanks to Dolly Martin, Roberta Wong, and Elizabeth Lombardo for their kind, understanding assistance in obtaining a scholarship during extreme financial hardship. These women speak from their hearts and are certainly worthy of recognition.

My story is full of tragedy and loss over a short period of time. After sustaining a severe shoulder/cervical injury and with it excruciating pain, I not only lost my job, but also an active, healthy lifestyle as a massage therapist, Blackbelt martial artist and professional dancer. A few months later, my husband and I were celebrating our first anniversary in a small mountain community when he suddenly had a heart attack and passed away. This event had occurred the night before my father was to be remarried. My world suddenly turned upside down. To be suddenly disabled and a widow was devestating.

My dad's wedding went on the next day. The burden of informing my husband's family of his passing and making arrangements for his services rested entirely on my shoulders. Needless to say, when I returned home to San Francisco, two weeks later, in a wheel chair wearing a sling on my right arm, carrying my husband who had been diminished to a pile of ashes, I was a complete wreck. My family and support system were miles away. As reality settled in, I realized just how alone I really was. At this point, I really didn't care if I lived or died.

To further complicate matters, I had finally arrived at a place of acceptance after my Mother's untimely passing from cancer. She had spent her final days at home. My Mom and I had been very close and held an intuitive connection that was undeniable. Since I had solid experience working in hospital and clinical settings, I had the honor of cradling my Mother out as tenderly as she had cradled me into this world along with the support of my Dad and Hospice. The memory of my Mom's passing intensified all over again during this time.

My doctor, Lois Sculy, referred me to the Institute for Health & Healing. I remember stumbling into Chi Kung class for the first time. I had missed the introductory session because it had occurred the same day as my husband's memorial. Master Ko Wong approached me and politely asked permission before entering my space. I pointed to my heart and shoulder as the areas where I needed the most healing. He rested one hand on my head and the other on the back of my shoulder. What surprised me most was the tingling sensation felt all the way down to my toes. I suddenly realized that I had been moving through life physically and emotionally numb. This had been a mechanism to help protect myself from feeling the overwhelming pain. I had completely checked out of my body. Tears poured down my face on the first day of class and long afterwards.

Upon first impression, the class seemed very strange, especially the laughing Chi Kung. I remember trying to perform some of the exercises in class unsuccessfully. I could not even reach my arm up and over to the opposite shoulder as required in the King Lok Pak Da exercises. I was in bad shape. Yet still, I perservered and forced myself to attend class every week because I felt so much better afterwards. The senior students assisting Sifu were always accommodating during my tearful moments.

Words fail to express my gratitude to Master Ko Wong and the Institute for Health & Healing. I have taken the Chi Kung class three times and participate in Walking Chi Kung whenever possible. Sifu (Master Ko Wong) is the most generous, kind, patient, compassionate, non-judgmental human being I have ever met. He creates a safe, peaceful environment for people at various stages of healing and health to come and experience their infinite potential. I am eternally grateful to Sifu for providing the survival tools I needed for daily living.

Today, people often remark about how something looks very different about me. They say I look younger, more relaxed, and that my overall presence has changed. Most importantly, I am able to laugh once again. I am amazed how much function has returned in my right shoulder. Now, I am able to perform all the exercises I learned in class. In fact, I notice that the more time I devote to Chi Kung practice, the higher my energy level rises. I require less sleep and am able to cope with life's daily demands. I have returned to being an active participant in life within my community at school and through volunteer work at CPMC. I have established new, meaningful friendships and have repossessed my life. I have learned how to accept change and embrace every moment as a miracle.

I thank you with all my heart.

Sincerely,

A Grateful Student*

*The name has been withheld