Author: Cheryl

I have a beautiful office, and I have been there for the past eight years. I love the space, and I love the location. But, for some reason, over the past few months the walls seemed to be closing in on me. I felt distracted, disquieted, and uncomfortable in my own surroundings. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but I knew I wasn’t functioning at my full capacity.  Until last week, when I had an epiphany. Something (actually someone) hit me right in the face. Figuratively speaking, of course. After all, I am a martial artist, and I certainly know how to evade and deflect an attack. My training automatically kicked in as I silently stepped out of the way and watched the negative energy being unleashed fly past me. Yikes! Good thing I got out of the way. Finally, I realized...

I managed to survive the first week of my Feldenkrais(R) Training. It was Friday, and I was spent. The week had been full of wonderful experiences and opportunities to learn, but it was also full of many trials and challenges as well. One of the challenges was that the beautiful dance hall that provided our training venue was having boiler issues. It wasn’t working. Most of the time we had no heat at all. On a good day we could hear the painful groans coming up from the bowels of the basement as the old boiler went through what could only be described as a mechanical death rattle. February in Colorado is cold. But during that first training segment we were greeted with an arctic blast that would cause a polar bear to roll around in blissful ecstasy. Unfortunately, we weren’t...

By the third day of my Feldenkrais Training, I was exhausted. I wasn’t sure I would make it through the day, let alone the rest of the week. But, true to form, my incomparable stubbornness kicked into high gear. I’d push forward, even if it killed me. It’s who I am and how I do things. I guess you could say it’s part of my belief system. That morning I set up my personal little camp site for the day and waited for my favorite phrase, “Lie on your back.” Instead I heard, “Roll to your front side.” Uh-oh… I wasn’t prepared for that. I hate lying on my stomach. It hurts my back, kinks my neck, and makes my entire body ache. To make matters worse, I was lying on a thin mat over an ice-cold hardwood floor. Yikes! The lesson began. We...

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows.” -Helen Keller We all know the power of positive thinking, but sometimes it’s a little difficult to stay positive when we’re confronted with life’s challenges. I especially love this quote by Helen Keller, who certainly faced a lot of challenges in her life, but kept her face to the sun and her back to the shadows. What a powerful lesson from a remarkable woman! It’s a lovely reminder that  positive outlook can make even a difficult situation easier, and a lot less stressful. Keep facing the sunlight….it’s good for your health!

After my little romantic interlude with the dance floor on the second day of my Feldenkrais(R) training, I started to loosen up a little. My nervous system was ready for the next learning experience. Or so I thought.  We were told to partner up, and just gently feel along each other’s spine. We were instructed to explore the shape of our partners spine, without judgment, but with a spirit of interest and curiosity, just like I did with that remarkable floor earlier in the day. I got down on the floor first. My partner, like myself, was a physical therapist. She was really smart, and she had a lot of experience. Apparently she also had her own interpretation of this exploration, because she had a lot of judgment about my spine. And, she found a lot of things wrong with it. “You...

Swiss Ball for Strength & Stamina Tell a Friend about this Course Do you have a Swiss ball rolling around your house that you hardly use? This quick and fun one-session class will introduce you to a variety of easy, strength building exercise that you can do in just a few minutes a day. Build your core, balance, and muscle strength while sitting, bouncing, and using weights in creative ways on your ball. Even 5-10 minutes a day can make a big difference in your overall fitness. Take home handouts with descriptions of exercises so you can repeat them easily at home. Cheryl Ilov is licensed physical therapist, Pilates instructor, and certified Feldenkrais practitioner. She specializes in therapeutic exercise and has been teaching clients of all ages how to improve their strength, fitness,...

Since I had survived the first day of Feldenkrais Training, I decided to show up for the second day. I still kept an open mind. Which meant that I could leave anytime I wanted to, and quitting was always an option, even if it was in the middle of the segment. Heck, even if it was in the middle of the day. Anyway, I walked into the dance hall that doubled as our training venue, and did a mental eye roll as I walked past the large poster proclaiming “This is the first day of the rest of your life.” Sheesh. I picked a spot on the floor, unrolled my big purple mat and set up my camp site for the day. Then I heard those magic words…”Lie on your back.” Ahhhhh, now you’re talking! “Sense your contact with the floor.” We began to sweep our arm slowly...

By the time my Feldenkrais training was about to begin, I was a nervous wreck. After all, 2 weeks of training, every 3 months for the next 4 years seemed like one heck of a commitment. Besides, I was overwhelmed by all of the pre-training discussions and email communications. On top of that, I was feeling pretty apprehensive about the “touchy-feely” sense I was getting from the training group. I didn’t want to bond with anyone. I didn’t want to share my feelings. I had no desire to change my self  image, and I certainly didn’t want to challenge my belief system. Most of all, I didn’t want to release anything I may have repressed over the years. I just wanted to learn Feldenkrais. I didn’t like the glowing faces and dewy eyed look my teachers and...

I heard about The Feldenkrais Method(R) over the years, but it took a long time for me to finally try a class. However, after my first class, I wanted to become a practitioner. I didn’t just want to become a practitioner, I had to become a practitioner. I had no idea what was involved, but how hard could it be? I was stunned to learn that it involved an intense 4 year long training program. But, that didn’t discourage me. After all, I had recently gone through a brutal twenty four months of graduate school to become a PT, so I figured I was up to the challenge. Then I discovered that the trainings were few and far between. As much as I wanted to become a practitioner, I did not want to have to travel to another city for two weeks every three months for four years to complete...