About Ilka
Ilka de Gast, PsyD is a psychologist who specializes in body-centered therapy and mindfulness. Ilka is a Certified Level Two Instructor of Wisdom Healing Qigong (WHQ). Ilka has worked at Santa Rosa Community Health (SRCH) in Santa Rosa, CA. for 8 years and teaches WHQ classes to patients with chronic health conditions. Ilka has also taught WHQ to patients with a cancer diagnosis at Sonoma Valley Hospital and teaches patients at St. Joseph Regional Cancer Center. Ilka teaches WHQ for self-care to medical providers and staff at SRCH to prevent burn-out and optimize health and wellness. Ilka co-teaches and manages the online Wisdom Healing Qigong Health Practitioner Course (HPC) for the Chi Center in Santa Fe, NM. This four month course introduces WHQ to Health Practitioners for personal and professional development, for self-care and use with clients. Ilka teaches the Giving and Receiving: Resilience Training for Health Care Professionals with Edmee Danan, MD, in Sonoma County, CA. The focus of the training is to teach Mindfulness and Qigong practices to enhance resilience and prevent burn-out in a clinical setting thereby improving the therapeutic relationship and quality of care. The training is specifically geared towards use with complex clinical situations, such as difficult patient interactions, chronic pain, trauma and grief. |
What is Qigong?
Qigong is a technology that applies ancient wisdom and the mind's creative
power to transform physical and emotional conditions for health and well-being.
What is Wisdom Healing Qigong?
Wisdom Healing Qigong (chee-gung) is a system of healing & transformation
for optimizing health & wellness. Using gentle movements, healing sounds, visualization
& guided meditation, the mind, body & heart are empowered with more vitality & joy.
Wisdom Healing Qigong includes:
Mindful movement, sound healing, guided meditation and healing circles.
Wisdom Healing Qigong practices:
Awaken Vitality mindful movement practices:
Spinal Bone Marrow Method, Hip Rotations, Crane's Neck, Bending Spine, Chen Chi and Wall Squats. These practices strengthen the shoulders, hips and spine, open channels and allow a free flow of life force energy.
Lachi healing - where the mind connects with simple hand movements to amplify and direct life-force energy.
Haola sound and movement (meaning = all is well and is getting better) - awakens mind-body connection, renews and revitalizes.
Inner smile meditation - cultivates goodness and self-compassion.
Five Organ Sound Healing technology - a powerful way to release emotional blockages and stagnated energy from the body's organs.
Lift Chi Up Pour Chi Down - a foundational practice of Wisdom Healing Qigong that uses the mind's focus and physical movements of expanding out and gathering in to strengthen the body, reduce stress, activate more life energy and increase emotional stability.
Benefits of Wisdom Healing Qigong:
- Strengthen the shoulders, hip and spine for improved physical health
- Awaken mind-body connection to renew and revitalize and cultivate presence
- Open the energy channels, allowing a free flow of life-force energy
- Release emotional blockages and stagnated energy from the body and organs for enhanced emotional health
- Promote deep nurturing, self-compassion, empowerment, and healing
History of Wisdom Healing (Zhineng) Qigong
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Wisdom Healing Qigong was developed by Dr. Pang Ming, a Qigong grandmaster trained in both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the 1980's he founded the world's largest medicine-less Qigong hospital known as the Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Training and Recovery Center. Through scientific research (3000 research papers were published during the 1990's) and more than 20 years of using Qigong practices, Wisdom Healing Qigong has developed into a system of working with energy to improve health conditions and enhance wellness.
By learning this system of self-healing, students graduated not only as physically healthy or recovering people, but also as much happier integrated beings. The Center has trained thousands of Qigong teachers and many Master Teachers. Most of them have chosen to dedicate their life to sharing and teaching Qigong. |
Master Mingtong Gu was trained by Dr. Pang at the Center in China. He brought
the teachings to the San Francisco Bay Area, CA., established the Chi Center in Petaluma and in 2016 moved the Center to Santa Fe, NM. Mingtong Gu offers an extensive online program as well as 5 day - 30 day healing retreats in the US and internationally.
Wisdom Healing Qigong is a system and a set of practices that can awaken, transform and integrate the entire body, from the cellular to the spiritual, restoring a person to their natural, healthy and balanced state of being. The practices work to re-pattern the physical, emotional and mental/spiritual energy that is not flowing freely
and is experienced as pain and suffering, into energy that is flowing freely, creating states of happiness and wholeness.*
* Based on the booklet developed by the Chi Center entitled "Lead Your Life into Lasting Joy and Vibrant Health".
the teachings to the San Francisco Bay Area, CA., established the Chi Center in Petaluma and in 2016 moved the Center to Santa Fe, NM. Mingtong Gu offers an extensive online program as well as 5 day - 30 day healing retreats in the US and internationally.
Wisdom Healing Qigong is a system and a set of practices that can awaken, transform and integrate the entire body, from the cellular to the spiritual, restoring a person to their natural, healthy and balanced state of being. The practices work to re-pattern the physical, emotional and mental/spiritual energy that is not flowing freely
and is experienced as pain and suffering, into energy that is flowing freely, creating states of happiness and wholeness.*
* Based on the booklet developed by the Chi Center entitled "Lead Your Life into Lasting Joy and Vibrant Health".