Sleep Your Way to Better Health

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Health Tips.

Ahhh, sleep. Nothing rejuvenates your body, mind, and spirit like a good night’s sleep. But for many of us, sleep can be an elusive dream, so to speak. Even worse, a lot of people wake up in the morning with pain because they “slept wrong.” Yikes! Because I truly appreciate the value of a good night’s sleep, I don’t believe that there is a “wrong” way to sleep. However, here are a few tips that can help you wake up to a pain-free morning. After all, I want you to be able to face the day feeling fit, fabulous, and ready for anything. 1) If you sleep on your back. Use a pillow under your knees to support your low back in a neutral position. Play with different sizes until you find the one that is the most comfortable for you. Be sure that the pillow you use under your head is the correct...

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Self-Confidence Is the Best Self-Defense

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Ninja Notes.

Self-confidence plays a critical role in self-defense. How we stand, walk, and carry ourselves communicates to the world how we feel about ourselves. People pay more attention to our body language than we think they do. And they respond to what they see, and what they think they can get away with. This really hit home when I was teaching one of my self-defense classes for women. There were several grown women and two petite teenagers in the class. The girls were sisters, and they were adorable. One was very chatty and outgoing, and the other one was extremely quiet and reserved. They were accompanied by their grandmother, who had decided they should all take the class together. It usually takes some time for women to feel comfortable in a self-defense class, and this group was no exception....

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Be Careful What You Tell Yourself

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Be careful what you tell yourself. Words are very powerful, and what you believe it what you become. Several years ago my husband and I were traveling to Atlanta to visit his family. We were on the train from the concourse to baggage claim and I was practicing a technique I learned in martial arts. I stood with my eyes closed, my knees bent, and without holding onto anything, I practiced finding my balance while I sensed the movement of the train. As I was getting into a meditative state, I heard a loud voice say, “I have to sit down, because I’m an old lady! When you’re an old lady, you can sit down, too.” I opened my eyes and saw a woman squeezing into the last available seat and talking to a little girl standing near her. I closed my eyes and went back to my musings...

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More Fit Tips For a Healthy New Year

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Fit Tips.

Here we are, already in the second week of the New Year. Hopefully, you’re still on track with your resolution to get fit and healthy, exercise more, or eat healthier. However, it’s easy to lose our motivation once we return to our daily routine after the holidays. The pressure of work and family obligations, combined with the cold, dark days sometimes get in the way of our good intentions. You might even be tempted to give up. But before you get discouraged or throw in the towel, keep these tips in mind to help you stay on track. 1). Visualize success. Imagine yourself achieving your goals. Close your eyes and see yourself as the fit and healthy person you want to be. If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. The practice of visualization is a powerful tool to help you accomplish...

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Memories, and Ghosts of Christmas Past

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Childhood Memories.

Memories are the best part of Christmas celebrations. And making those memories are even better. For most of us, Christmas has come and gone. But not for me, it hasn’t. My decorations are still up, along with my tree. My tree is the only one that lights up the neighborhood at night, and my neighbors are probably wondering why I haven’t given it up yet. However, I cling to my decorations as much as I cling to my memories, and the ghosts of Christmas past. I was born into a family that was lucky enough to celebrate Christmas twice in two weeks. My mother’s parents were from Eastern Europe, and were Serbian Orthodox. That’s a tribe (so to speak) that celebrates Christmas on January 7th instead of December 25th. As a child, it was a little confusing, no matter how many times my mother explained...

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The Grinch That Couldn’t Steal Christmas

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Everyone knows the story about the Grinch that stole Christmas. But I have a story about the Grinch that couldn’t steal Christmas, even though he tried. He couldn’t steal it because the faith of a child was so much stronger than he bargained for. I was four years old, and I was sitting in church with my family. There were parts of the service that I really liked, even as a child. However, I never liked the sermon. Mostly because the priest had cold eyes, never smiled, and had a booming voice that he used to full capacity when he preached to us. And most of the time, the message wasn’t positive. There was a lot of talk about hell, purgatory, and the fate that awaited us terrible sinners. I guess he believed in the God of vengeance rather than the God of love. When you have...

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Who’s got the power? You’ve got the power….

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Uncategorized.

I love going to a variety of power meetings and marketing classes. It’s a great way to meet people and learn interesting new ideas at the same time. Often, these get-togethers are pretty predictable while others are full of surprises.  I had one of those surprises a few weeks ago at a marketing class for women. It was a great class, full of terrific information. Just when I thought we were going to wrap things up, the facilitator invited us to participate in a little bit of visualization. The practice of visualization is very effective, and something I often use in my Feldenkrais classes. After all, if you can imagine it, you can become it. Or, what we believe is what we become.   She had us close our eyes and think of a woman we admired and respected–a woman who was strong and...

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Quick Tips for Stress-Less Holidays

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Joyful Holidays.

I love the holidays. It’s a magical time of year. However, along with the excitement and eager anticipation comes a significant amount of stress and anxiety. After all, no matter how carefully we plan our holiday festivities, sometimes they don’t always work out quite like we planned. The warm, cozy evenings with friends and family, the carefree winter days spent playing with the kids in the snow, out of town family coming to visit, and the fun-filled weekends at the shopping mall sound wonderful in theory. And then reality hits.  Let’s face it–the holidays can be an awful lot of work. Also, high expectations can lead to deep disappointments, especially when we invest so much of ourselves and our time making this the perfect holiday season for everyone else. Even...

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Tips to Keep Fit for Healthy Holidays

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Fit Tips.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and it’s just a few days away. However, Thanksgiving can certainly wreak havoc on your attempts to stay fit and healthy. It’s also a preview of what’s to come. The over-indulgence (and self-indulgence) of the holidays is right around the corner. But don’t worry–it really is possible to enjoy the festivities of the season without completely sabotaging your health and fitness. Since Thanksgiving weekend kicks the holiday season into high gear, here are a few easy and and practical fit tips to help you stay on track.  Tips to keep moving. As we say in the Feldenkrais community, movement is life! Having said that, it is crucial that you keep moving. If you are the one who is responsible for preparing the entire Thanksgiving...

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Diary of Seven Days of Positivity: Part II

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Uncategorized.

My diary of seven days of positivity certainly started with a bang. It was so good that I didn’t think anything else could quite live up to that fabulous day. I was wrong, as I discovered over the next two days.   Dear Diary, Day Two: The second day started off with another beautiful golden Colorado morning. It was Saturday, and I had the day off. After years of working Saturdays, I decided that I need to take weekends off. What a treat! Since I had the entire morning free, I baked banana bread from scratch. After all, is there any other kind? As the heavenly fragrance filled the kitchen, I got dinner ready in the crockpot. I do love my kitchen and love do to cook, when I have the time. I also love going to pole class, and that was next on my agenda for my Saturday off. However, pole...

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