Blog – Page 20 – Cheryl Ilov International

Mirror Neurons on the Wall….Mirror Neurons make You Smile

Written by Cheryl on August 21, 2017. Posted in Uncategorized.

Mirror neurons on the wall….mirror neurons make you smile. This is a twist from one of the scariest fairy tales I’ve ever heard, Sleeping Beauty. But, what are mirror neurons, and why are they important? They’re important because we have a tendency to mirror behavior that we observe. Imagine that you are having a bad day, and you come across someone who flashes you a radiant smile. Even though you may be carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, the natural tendency is to smile back. Immediately your mood is lighter. You feel like your load has been lifted a bit, and all of a sudden your day just got better. It’s not simply because someone smiled at you that lifted your spirits. When you see someone smile, there are neural pathways in your brain that are activated. These pathways...

Sticks and Stones, and Broken Bos

Written by Cheryl on August 14, 2017. Posted in Ninja Notes.

Sticks and stones may break your bones. As a martial artist, I know this to be true, because I personally experienced it first hand. I once broke a bone in martial arts, but it wasn’t my own. It belonged to my partner. It’s a long story, and perhaps I’ll share it someday. Although I love martial arts, I haven’t been training at all over the past twelve months. At least not in the traditional way, at the dojo and with partners. Between running a business, publishing a book, and keeping up with life, I’ve been pretty busy these days. However, I have been able to keep up with my ballet training. I am fortunate to study ballet with a remarkable woman who has a strong Tai Chi background, as well as many other incredible accomplishments. The woman is amazing! Jayne doesn’t teach a traditional...

Life is Full of Bumps in the Road

Written by Cheryl on August 7, 2017. Posted in Life's Lessons.

Ah, life. It’s not always easy, but it is always wonderful. Even when we hit a few bumps along the way. After all, these bumps in the road of life help us build character. I had my first series of bumps when I was just five years old. That summer before my fifth birthday, our family attended a church picnic at the local amusement park. It was a beautiful day, we were at White Swan Park, and everyone was having a marvelous time. All of us kids were in Heaven as we ran around from ride to ride. Finally, we came to the roller coaster, “The Mad Mouse.” It was the pride of the park, and was always able to strike fear and excitement in the heart of every child. The roller coaster had individual cars rather than a chain of them linked together like a train. It also had a series of bumps at the...

Toastmasters, Table Topics, and the Talk of the Town

Written by Cheryl on June 5, 2017. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Table topics. It was a term I had never heard before. At least not until I attended my first Toastmaster’s meeting six weeks ago. I was planning on visiting a few different clubs, just like the website recommended, and see which one was a good fit for me. I was also planning on keeping my mouth shut until I felt comfortable around the members. This is probably hard to believe, but I always get nervous when I meet people for the first time. Especially in a professional setting like a networking or business group. The thought of going to a Toastmasters meeting filled me with anxiety, even though the website made it clear that I didn’t need to participate in any capacity. I was welcome just to observe. However, I was still a bundle of nerves when I got in my car to drive to the meeting site....

A Unique Form of Movement Therapy: Feldenkrais!

Written by Cheryl on May 15, 2017. Posted in Fit Tips.

There is a unique form of movement therapy that is the best kept secret known to mankind. This movement method can help you move better, feel better, get rid of pain, stress, anxiety, etc. It can even help you reverse the aging process and engage in activities you never thought you could do before. You can even learn how to stand on your head. The list goes on and on. This unique method is called Feldenkrais, and here are a few reasons why Feldenkrais is unique from other methods. Move from your skeleton. In Feldenkrais, we focus on moving from our skeleton rather than pushing from our muscles. Because, our skeleton is what supports us, and our bones and joints are what propel us through space. Our brain and our nervous system is the command center that puts it all together for us. Our...

Springtime in the Rockies, and Feldenkrais for One and All

Written by Cheryl on May 1, 2017. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Ahhhh, springtime in the Rockies! It’s a beautiful time of year, and one that I love dearly. Springtime anywhere is always special, but here in the Rocky Mountains, you just never know what to expect. And you have to be ready for anything. It’s important to be prepared for any kind of weather or event that might surface, and it is also important to be flexible. The Feldenkrais Method can help you find the flexibility you need. Not just for the weather, but for every situation that comes up in life. I had the distinct honor and privilege to spend a beautiful springtime afternoon last week in my favorite place in all of Colorado, Estes Park. I had been invited to teach a Feldenkrais class at their remarkable library for their Wellness Program. Of course, I accepted. I love Estes Park, and...

How Would You Answer The Call to Serve?

Written by Cheryl on April 10, 2017. Posted in Cheryl's View.

How would you answer the call to serve? I recently had the opportunity to answer that question for myself, when I was called to report to jury duty. Oh, I’ve been called before. Actually, I have been called many times over the years. However, I have never been selected to serve. I’ve never even made it close enough to be interviewed as a possible juror. Who in their right mind would ever pick me as a juror? I have a look on my face that screams “GUILTY!” I simply can’t help it. My face is an open book, and the pages read “GUILTY!” So, I wasn’t too concerned when I received the summons to report for jury duty early in January. I just rolled my eyes, marked my calendar, and resolved myself that a Monday morning would be wasted. I don’t see clients on Mondays, so it wouldn’t impact my business....

Old-Fashioned Kind of Girl

Written by Cheryl on March 6, 2017. Posted in Cheryl's View.

I’m an old-fashioned kind of girl. And I have a love/hate relationship with modern technology. Especially since I consider myself technologically challenged. While I sincerely appreciate the miracle of modern technology, it still overwhelms me a bit. And sometimes it creeps me out. I feel like we don’t have any privacy anymore, at least not like we did in the good old days when I was growing up. When we were kids we didn’t text, message, or snapchat. We communicated the old-fashioned way. We stood on our front porch and yelled to our friends down the street to come out and play. Or we stood on our side porch and looked down the hill to see who was going to the swimming pool so we knew when it was time to join them. We didn’t have answering machines, let alone voice mail. If we missed a call,...

Mistakes….Making Them and Moving Along

Written by Cheryl on February 20, 2017. Posted in Cheryl's View.

I hate making mistakes. Unfortunately, I make a lot of them. The good news is, I also learn a lot from each and every mistake I make. It took a long time for me to fully accept and understand that making mistakes are an important part of the learning process. It’s bad enough to make a mistake in private, but none of us want to look silly in public. And I’ve done it more times than I care to admit. For example, I was late to embrace modern technology. Six years ago the only thing I could do on a computer was to send and receive email. I certainly have come a long way since then, and I am proud to report that I am completely self-taught. Which means I have made a lot of mistakes along the way. I have unknowingly breached online etiquette, unwittingly looked like a nit wit, and sometimes appeared...

Unlock Your Jaw and Heal Your Pain

Written by Cheryl on February 13, 2017. Posted in Fit Tips.

A lot of people develop jaw pain, tooth pain, headaches and TMJ dysfunction. However, often times our aches and pains are a result of unnecessary tension in our muscles, or from faulty movement patterns. After a period of time, these habitual patterns can cause excruciating pain, joint dysfunction and joint destruction. Yikes! However, we can interrupt these harmful patterns by simply improving our attention and awareness. Try this simple but highly effective movement lesson based on the magic of The Feldenkrais Method®. 1) Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. You may need to support your head with a folded towel. Don’t use a pillow–a pillow is too soft to provide your nervous system with the appropriate feedback (proprioception). Take a few...

All of her experiences, training and practice contribute to a truly customized workout/core-strengthening program for each of her clients.
-Claudia D.
She not only helped alleviate the pain, she helped me regain flexibility and got me back on my center.
-Misti M-K
She gently guide you so that ultimately you understand your body better and are able to move with greater ease and less pain.
-Gwendolyn P.
Some of the numbness around my knees has subsided and I’ve regained some feeling as well as had deep joint pain reduction. Flexibility and overall strength has increased.
-Melinda C.
Her gentle, loving approach is just what my body needs to fully recover from a recent car accident. I leave each session with a slight tingling sensation and movement seems much more fluid.
-Shannon G
Cheryl’s background in physical therapy, dance, Pilates, Feldenkrais, and martial arts make her very capable of not only understanding movement but helping others achieve their goals!
-Sheila S.

Cheryl Ilov International

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