Cheryl’s View – Page 6 – Cheryl Ilov International

Sixty Days Of Cheryl: Reasons to Celebrate

Written by Cheryl on October 24, 2016. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Turning sixty is not the end of the world. As a matter of fact, I believe it’s just the beginning, and certainly something to celebrate. And I ought to know, based on personal experience. Not that I’ve ever turned sixty before. But when I turned fifty, magic happened. Full disclosure–my thirties weren’t so great. My forties were a nightmare. I wasn’t sure I would even make it to fifty. But the closer I got to fifty, the more I began to look forward to it. If nothing else, at least it would signify the end of the decade from hell. I was so excited about turning fifty that my girlfriends threw me a party, complete with a red tiara. This was an idea borrowed from the Red Hat Society. You know, the group of women who mark their fiftieth birthday by wearing a red...

Opportunities to learn

Written by Cheryl on June 27, 2016. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Opportunities to learn are everywhere, and they have a tendency to appear when you least expect them. I had one of those opportunities myself a few weeks ago when my husband and I went up to our favorite getaway, Estes Park. It’s located right at the base of Rocky Mountain National Park and is a fabulous place to hit the refresh button, relax, and to commune with nature. Or as I like to say, just to hang out with moose and squirrel. The first morning we were there, I pulled the curtains open to let the glorious Colorado sunshine fill our cabin. I was greeted with the breathtaking sight of a small herd of elk milling about and grazing in the grass directly in front of our picture window. I’m still enough of a city girl to go a little crazy when I see wildlife, and I couldn’t...

Groundhog Day, All Over Again

Written by Cheryl on February 2, 2016. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Here it is, Groundhog Day all over again. When you grow up in Western Pennsylvania like I did, Groundhog Day is very exciting, and a day we looked forward to with eager anticipation. Not only was Groundhog Day a huge event, it was treated like a National Holiday, even though we still had to go to school. After all, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s were long gone and there really wasn’t anything special to look forward to. But then there was Groundhog Day. Now, that was a something to be excited about! Let’s face it, the days were dark and dreary, the weather was brutally cold, and even the most hearty of us were pretty sick of winter. By early February the fresh white snow that thrilled us a few short months ago was still on the ground, collecting dirt and piled...

Feldenkrais®: Science and Magic

Written by Cheryl on November 30, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

I am passionate about science, especially neuroscience. If I hadn’t been accepted into a master’s degree program for physical therapy, I would have earned a master’s in neuroscience instead. However, I couldn’t see myself working in a lab all day. I’m more of a people person. Besides, if I had gone in that direction, I may never have discovered Feldenkrais. I absolutely love the method, and I love being a practitioner. My greatest reward is witnessing the magic of this method as it helps my clients improve the quality of their lives. However, my greatest challenge as a Feldenkrais practitioner is trying to explain what Feldenkrais is, how it works, and why it is so effective. Feldenkrais is not magic; it’s science, and is based on the scientific principle...

October’s Bright Blue Weather

Written by Cheryl on November 10, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

“O suns and skies and clouds of June, And flowers of June together; Ye cannot rival for one hour, October’s bright blue weather…. When loud the bumblebee makes haste, Belated, thriftless vagrant; And goldenrod is dying fast, And lanes with grapes are fragrant… When gentians roll their fingers tight, To save them for the morning; And chestnuts fall from satin burrs, Without a sound of warning…. When on the ground red apples lie, In piles like jewels shining; And redder still on old stone walls, Are leaves of woodbine twining…. When all the lovely wayside things, Their white-winged seeds are sowing; And in the fields still green and fair, Late aftermaths are growing…. When springs run low, and on the brooks, In idle golden freighting; Bright leaves...

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do….Or Not

Written by Cheryl on August 31, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Before I discovered Feldenkrais, I often found myself in situations that weren’t working out for me, or doing things I didn’t want to do, just out of habit. Even if I wanted to change, I couldn’t figure out how. The most glaring example was with my best and dearest friend. We met in ballet class 25 years earlier and established an unlikely friendship. She was quiet, reserved, shy, and highly intelligent. I was loquacious, demonstrative, outgoing, and just smart enough to get by. For some reason we got along famously. However, over the years what had begun as a wonderful friendship based on mutual support, respect, and caring somehow turned into one that was demanding, controlling, and manipulative. Our social interactions left me feeling drained, depleted, and even angry....

Opportunities to Learn are Everywhere!

Written by Cheryl on August 17, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

One of the greatest rewards of being a Feldenkrais practitioner are the wonderful students you meet along the way. Occasionally, a student becomes a friend and ends up being the teacher. You never know when, or how, it will happen. A few years ago I worked with a psychotherapist who specialized in Equine Therapy. He loved Feldenkrais (of course), and asked me to teach a workshop to a group of therapists at his ranch. It presented a fabulous opportunity for me as well as for the entire Feldenkrais community. You see, as a practitioner, I feel it is my duty to get out reach out to a variety of different populations and “spread the word of ‘Krais,” so to speak. The workshop was a huge success, and when it was over I began packing up my materials so I could leave. Suddenly...

Feldenkrais® Training: Who’s that lady?

Written by Cheryl on August 3, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

My Feldenkrais training was held in a beautiful old dance hall, complete with hardwood floors, huge windows, gorgeous chandeliers, and small mirrors strategically placed around the room. It was a beautiful room, and the perfect venue for our training. We often had visitors who would come to spend a day or even an entire week with us. Sometimes we only had one or two strangers in the room; other times we had a full house. Each morning the visitors were invited to stand up and introduce themselves before we proceeded with our first lesson of the day. In the middle of my third year of training, I arrived at the dance hall to an unusually crowded room. I wondered who all those people were and what they were doing there. I felt annoyed and irritated to see so many interlopers in my training....

The Power of Words, and Permanent Damage

Written by Cheryl on March 23, 2015. Posted in Cheryl's View.

I love working with people, and I love helping them recover from injuries and chronic pain. I recently worked with a young woman who was experiencing persistent neck pain from an auto accident. Along with her neck pain, she also had frequent headaches, numbness in her hands and arms, decreased cervical range of motion, difficulty keeping up with her job, and her home life was suffering. However, after just a few weeks of gentle therapeutic movement, her neck pain dramatically decreased, her headaches were gone, the numbness in her hands and arms were a distant memory, her cervical range of motion improved, her energy increased, and she was able to return to work full-time. Even better, she got a spark in her eye, a spring in her step, and her remarkable wit and sense of humor returned. We...

Neuroplasticity and getting out of that rut….

Written by Cheryl on February 3, 2014. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Trying to get out when you feel stuck in a rut, a habit, or a pattern that isn’t serving you well can feel pretty overwhelming. But, there is a way to gently crawl out of that rut without the risk of falling into an even deeper hole. The process is called neuroplasticity, and here are a few tips to keep in mind to help support the process. First, make small, slow changes to allow for new motor and sensory pathways to be activated. Give yourself time to integrate the changes, and don’t get discouraged if you feel like you’re not making progress. Remember, these changes are taking place deep in your nervous system in a visceral, organic way, not in a cognitive, thinking way. You can’t facilitate the process by trying harder. That actually gets in the way of your own...

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.