Love Yourself With All Your Heart

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Fit Tips.

Love is in the air. It’s February, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. It’s the season of love. It’s also the time of year when it’s really difficult to keep up with our health and fitness goals. I can’t speak for anyone else, but the short days, cold weather, and lack of serious holidays to look forward to kind of wears me down. I would rather hunker down on the couch with a box of chocolates and wait for the spring thaw. However, that will certainly put me far behind the eight ball when swim suit season kicks in. So, instead of hiding under the covers or throwing in the towel, here are a few simple tips to keep yourself motivated, moving, and at the top of your game: 1). Love yourself with all your heart.  Be kind to yourself. Speak softly and gently, and give yourself positive...

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Believe In Yourself, and All Things Are Possible….

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Cheryl's View.

What we believe is what we become. What we tell ourselves, and what we hear from others, is what we eventually believe. Even if it goes against our inherent belief system. Unfortunately, not everything we hear is positive. Nor is it always in the best interest of our health and well-being. Some messages we receive are so subtle that we might not even be aware of them. Others are blatantly shoved in our face like a cheese grater peeling away at our self-confidence.  Okay, the cheese grater analogy might be a bit extreme, but I’m sure you get the point. And, quite honestly, those are easier to deal with, because we can see them coming a mile away. And we can chose to ignore them. It’s the insidious messages that are far more dangerous to our belief system and our self-image. That’s because...

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Wishes Are Like Snowflakes

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Joyful Holidays.

Wishes are like snowflakes. Every one is different, and every one is special. Wishes are dreams that we hope will come true, especially during this special time of year. I love the holidays. There is a magic in the air that seems like anything is possible, and that dreams really can come true. At least, it seems that way as long as you’re not fighting traffic or the crowds at the mall. Or after you discover that some Grinch stole a package from your front porch. Grrrrrrrr. Maybe that’s why it’s harder to believe in the magic as an adult. We didn’t have to concern ourselves with such mundane issues when we were children. Our job was simply to live in the moment, and let our imagination run wild. Especially around the holidays. If we were lucky enough, we would even have some snow to enjoy as...

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Restoring Human Dignity, One Person at a Time

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Health Tips.

Human dignity is such an important part of our overall health and well-being physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Unfortunately, life experiences can chip away at our human dignity, and in some cases even brutally rip it apart. However, I discovered an almost magical method that literally helps restore human dignity, one person at a time. It was in February of 2000 when I found Feldenkrais. That statement sounds like it has an almost poetic and biblical sound to it, and I mean no disrespect. I do mean that it changed my life forever and helped me see the light. After I took my first Feldenkrais class, I knew I had to become a practitioner of this remarkable movement therapy and share it with everyone who was looking to move better, feel better, look better,...

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Vitality at EVERY Stage of Life

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Health Tips.

There are many misconceptions regarding getting older, as well as a lot of confusing and misleading information. This includes the belief system that aches and pains, lack of mobility, and various diseases are a part of the “normal” aging process to be both expected and accepted. It’s simply not true. But, when we hear these messages often enough we believe and adopt them. Because what we believe is what we become, even if it goes against our inherent belief system. However, with the right mindset, it is possible to enjoy vibrant health and vitality at every stage of life. A writer friend of mine often refers to what he calls “life’s most brutal truth–we are what we think about. This is never more true than when we face becoming card carrying members of...

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The Invisible Black Belt

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

A lot of people don’t know this, but I experienced a unique journey into the male-dominated, testosterone-infested world of martial arts at the tender young age of 47. To my surprise (and everyone else’s), I became my teacher’s first female black belt ten years later. In the twenty-year-long history of the martial arts school, no woman had ever achieved the rank of black belt. I was the first, and I shattered a lot of glass ceilings and belief systems along the way, including my own. I have many funny, inspiring, and heart wrenching stories as my training helped me evolve physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, I said spiritually. Because there is a strong sense of spirituality embedded in a high level and elite  martial art like the one I was studying....

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Secrets of a Middle-Aged Ninja

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

Secrets….we all have them. I probably have a few more than most. And many of them are secrets that I learned in my martial arts training. I’d love to share them all with you, but then you’d know too much. Besides, it might get me in deep trouble with the Secret Society of Ninjas. So, if you ever run into one of their members, please don’t let them know I have shared my secrets. This first secret might be a little disappointing. Ninjas really aren’t fighters. We’re lovers. We love life, our families, our friends, our homes, and our communities. We want nothing more (and nothing less), than to simply live our lives in peace and harmony. Ninjas aren’t about war, or warfare. However, we are warriors. Wait a minute….doesn’t that sound contradictory? It’s not. Because a true warrior has a heart...

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Evade, Deflect, and Redirect: Wisdom From a Warrior Queen

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

Evade, deflect, and re-direct. I hear those words in my head almost every day, especially if I’m faced with a conflict. In my fourteen years of martial arts training, these words were repeatedly reinforced. You might even say they were beaten into me, so to speak. The first thing you learn as a new student is how to evade an attack. Just get out of the way. After all, you can’t get hit and you can’t get hurt if you’re not there. It sounds simple enough, but it really isn’t. Because there are several ways you can respond to an attack. 1). You can freeze like a deer in the headlights. This is a typical response, and the outcome is never good. 2). You can fight back, which is a good strategy if you have absolutely no other choice. However, the chances of you being the victor is about fifty-fifty....

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Attitude is Everything: In Fitness and In Health

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Fit Tips.

Attitude is everything, in everything we do. When I was a little girl, I remember watching the incredible story of Peter Pan on TV. Parts of it was magical, and parts of it was downright terrifying. But, the one scene that really impressed me was when Peter taught John, Wendy, and Michael how to fly. Peter certainly had a point when he was teaching the children how to fly. To reach their goal, all they had to do was to think lovely thoughts. Without the right mindset, they were grounded. But with the right mental attitude, the sky was the limit, so to speak. Even after all these years, I can still recall that scene in my mind. The memory of that scene and Peter Pan’s advice has helped me get through a lot of challenging times and difficult situations over the years. After all, the only thing...

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Solitude: Taking Time To Enjoy the Gift of Silence

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Cheryl's View.

Solitude. I was blessed with the gift of silence and solitude a few days ago when I happened to show up thirty minutes early for a dance class. Fortunately, another class had just ended so the studio was open. However, when the dancers left the studio, I was alone. Really alone. There wasn’t another human being in the entire building. I began to feel a little anxious and upset. Where was everyone? Why weren’t people arriving for the ten o’clock dance class? Did I drive the forty-five miles from my home in Denver to Boulder for nothing? My anxiety escalated as I watched the dancers from the previous class get in their cars and drive away and I realized I was alone in an empty building. That was not a comfortable feeling. It was even a little bit creepy. Maybe I should just get back in my...

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