learning – Cheryl Ilov International

Episode # 49 Lifelong Learning and Endless Possibilities

Written by Cheryl on January 13, 2020. Posted in Femininja Podcast.

Mariah Ehlert, Certified Neurosculpting® Facilitator, Master Nutrition Therapist and Portrait Photographer extraordinaire returns to The FemiNinja Project to share the secrets of creating your own inner sanctuary and the power of forgiveness. She also explains how to rewrite your story, rewire your life, and releasing the magic of the mind-body connection. The possibilities are endless! https://www.mariahphotography.com/ https://www.therebelbrain.com/ https://www.facebook.com/MariahEhlertPhotography/ https://www.facebook.com/TheRebelBrain/ https://www.instagram.com/mariahge/:

The Invisible Black Belt

Written by Cheryl on November 6, 2017. 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....

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...

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...

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...

Live and learn….

Written by Cheryl on March 17, 2012. Posted in Ninja Notes.

What a wonderful weekend I’m having! It started last night with a fantastic instructor training class at Kusa Dojo. Okay, so it was a bit difficult to get to the dojo on a gloriously beautiful spring evening, especially being Friday evening and everything. To make matters worse, I had to maneuver around all the revelers getting an early start on their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at the local pub. But it certainly was worth the effort. It’s amazing how much you can learn about how you move when you really slow things down, listen to the quality of your movement, and go back to the basics. Oh, and it also helps to have two highly skilled teachers coaching you. I was able to find where I was making my mistakes and now have the opportunity to work on them, on my own, without...

The Reluctant Ninja….

Written by Cheryl on February 20, 2012. Posted in Ninja Notes.

Here I am, hard at work transcribing, editing and compiling eight years of notes from three different notebooks, several different legal pads, and a multitude of sticky notes gathered over countless hours of martial arts training, classes and seminars. This daunting project is in anticipation of testing for my next belt level. Some day. This next level is a comprehensive test which includes everything I have learned (or supposed to have learned) since the first day I entered the dojo and began training. Reluctantly, of course. You may recall that I was going to take a few classes, learn a few things, and then quit. I thought it was a form of recreation. Then I discovered how serious these people were about their training. I mean, they had notebooks, for Heaven’s sake! “What...

Habits, constraints, and neuroplasticity….let the learning begin!

Written by Cheryl on January 16, 2012. Posted in Ninja Notes.

In my martial arts class, we often practice something called “randori”. One student stands in the center of the room while the other students form a circle around them and take turns randomly attacking the person in the middle. It’s kind of like the Ninja version of monkey in the middle. And it scares me to death. It is my least favorite training activity, but my incomparable stubborness won’t let me opt out. And besides, the guys would make fun of me if I refused to play with them. Last week, after we completed our randori, just as I heaved a sigh of relief, Sensei said, “We’re going again.” He looked at me and said, “And you are not allowed to do the same techniques. I want you to find new ways to react to each attack.” My response...

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.

Tag: learning