grace – Cheryl Ilov International

Episode #40: Living Differently-From Marine To Mentor

Written by Cheryl on November 25, 2019. Posted in Femininja Podcast.

Meet Tami McVay, business and lifestyle strategist dedicated to helping you find the courage, strength, and confidence you need to make your life better. Tami shares her experiences and perspective about thriving in a man’s world, building character, the resilience and tenacity of the human spirit, taking risks, and the power of adventure. With her unique background and engaging style, Tami will help you conquer your world! https://tamimcvay.com https://twitter.com/TamiMcVayMentor https://www.instagram.com/tamimcvaymentor/ https://business.facebook.com/tamimcvaymentor/?ref=py_c

Ballet Is For Everybody, and Every Age

Written by Cheryl on August 20, 2019. Posted in Femininja Podcast.

Ballet is the motherload for health, fitness, strength, and flexibility. However, traditional belief is that ballet is only for children and aspiring young professionals. That simply isn’t true! Adults of every age (and any age) can enjoy the remarkable health benefits of ballet. Ballet is the ultimate fountain of youth, and you are never too old to start taking ballet classes. I know many adults who began their ballet training in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s. This Bonus Episode features professional ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer and all-around great guy, Radoslaw Kokoszka. He shares his remarkable story of becoming a professional ballet dancer as well as his personal philosophy of ballet and dance in general. His unique and gentle approach to teaching ballet to people of all ages...

Hairless At Twenty-Five

Written by Cheryl on March 18, 2019. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Imagine a young woman waking up one morning, getting her coffee, having her breakfast, and then taking her shower. It’s just an average day in the life of a twenty-five year old. Until she gets out of the shower and begins drying her hair. She notices a small bald spot at the top of her head, and her boyfriend confirms what she sees. Instead of going to work she heads straight to the dermatologist. She is diagnosed with alopecia and told not to worry about it–it was probably a temporary situation, and isolated incident, and the hair would grow back. Five months later she was completely bald. Now imagine that young woman is you. You have just begun living a nightmare that just won’t end. You try every treatment that is recommended, no matter how painful and/or expensive....

The Debut Of The FemiNinja

Written by Cheryl on September 17, 2018. Posted in Ninja Notes.

Well, the results are in. After spending most of my summer deeply immersed in a podcasting contest, I finally got the news. I am thrilled and delighted to be one of four winners, and my new show, The FemiNinja has officially launched last week. Eee-ha! I think that’s pretty good, considering that the reason I entered the contest was simply to have the opportunity to (maybe) meet the woman who was running the contest (someday). Well, not only did I get my wish, I got a whole lot more than I had bargained for at the same time. As one of the podcasters, I am responsible for providing 2 episodes a week full of bad-ass content on a variety of different topics. The FemiNinja is about personal empowerment, strength, grace, confidence, health, fitness, standing your ground, finding your voice,...

No You Can’t–Or Yes You Can

Written by Cheryl on August 27, 2018. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Have you ever wanted to try something new, or do something different and exciting, and were told, “No, you can’t?” Perhaps it was pursuing a dream, achieving a goal, or changing a career, and were told, “No, you can’t?” I was born and raised in a small steel town in Western Pennsylvania, which is why I live in Denver. Nah….I’m just joking. More or less. My hometown was a great place to grow up, especially when I was a kid. We were all living the American Dream, and it was wonderful. However, I wanted more out of life than what my town had to offer. I always wondered what it would be like to get out on my own, see the world, and make a life for myself away from the safety net of family and everything that was familiar to me. During my senior year in college I decided to do just...

The Power of Grace….

Written by Cheryl on March 19, 2018. Posted in Ninja Notes.

Grace. It’s such a beautiful word. Just the sound of it brings forth a sense of ease, elegance, and peace. Who wouldn’t want to experience grace? Maybe we felt like we had it at some point but lost it along the way. (I don’t know what happened to it….I know I left it around here somewhere). Perhaps we feel like we have been looking for it all of our lives. It’s possible that we don’t even know what we’re looking for, but intuitively know that something is missing. What is grace, anyway? In my mind, grace is a feeling. It is a sense of confidence and well-being. It is about having a strong sense of self-awareness, and being comfortable in your own skin. You know how to set personal boundaries and how to cultivate healthy relationships. You respect...

Teaching Bullies Better Manners

Written by Cheryl on January 11, 2016. Posted in Ninja Notes.

I detest bullies. In my humble opinion they are sniveling little cowards with no manners or sense of human decency. They pick on those they perceive as weak, vulnerable, or helpless. If only we could teach bullies better manners, I do believe that the world would be a better place. And I believe we can. I recently taught a self-defense class for women and girls. There were several grown women as well as two petite and quiet teen-aged girls attending the class. Well, at least one of the girls were quiet. The other one was a lot more verbose and outgoing. They were sisters, and they were adorable. They were in the class accompanied by their grandmother, who thought it would be a beneficial experience for all of them. She was right about that! Although it usually takes awhile for ladies to...

Surrounded by brilliance….and neuroplasticity.

Written by Cheryl on January 30, 2012. Posted in Cheryl's View.

Don’t you just love it when the gifts keep coming? Just as I am still marveling at my Sensei’s brilliance two weeks ago in martial arts, I got another blast of brilliance from my ballet mistress. Dancers are visual as well as kinestetic in our learning experiences. We use our eyes as well as our bodies to learn choreography in our technique classes. We look in the mirror to check our placement as well as our movement patterns. However, sometimes we depend on the use of our eyes and the mirrors too much. For example, if we know we can look in the mirror and follow the other dancers, there is less pressure to learn the combinations. We can become complacent, and fall into the habit of watching each other instead of paying attention to the choreography. Last week our teacher gave...

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.

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